I Tried To Read A Japanese Comic Book

I hate Japanese comics.

There. I said it. I have said it for decades, in fact.

But lately, I have come to realize how wrong I was.

While I have always looked upon Japanese manga (comic books) as poor imitations of the Western cousins, I failed to understand it for what it was.

I always looked at how the Japanese artists usually seemed to draw their creations in a cute manner… larger than usual eyes, smaller heads, larger lower bodies… everything always seemed proportionally off… and this is coming from someone who loves the anthropomorphic ducks (Uncle Scrooge McDuck, his nephew Donald Duck and grand-nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie).

I have come to realize that perhaps I was being racist.

Personally, I still dislike the Japanese tendency to oversize the eyes… I have always thought it was a means of de-Japanizing themselves… to make their creations more Western… and maybe that was the reason, and now people just continue to do it because that's the way it's always been done.

That - by the way, always doing something because its always done that way is a Japanese thing I hate. It's not a racist thing here, it's just I hate the way it takes forever to necessitate change.

So… I was bored at lunch and went to the local mall and into a bookstore - hmmm… comic books. Hmmm… American comic books… hmmm… either I have all of the originals, or they look boring and staid. Hmmmm… Japanese manga… Hmmm, I write about Japan sometimes… Hmmm, why not see why millions of Japanese people and millions of fans around the world like Japanese manga? Hmmm... I use the word 'Hmmm' a lot.

Because I hate the art style.

But what if I'm wrong? What's the big deal… maybe I've grown a bit in mind, if not body.

So… I looked and I looked… there were maybe 30 different manga comics and some 20 books of each.

I picked up the first book of Naruto. It looks all right. It's about the adventures of a pre-teen boy and his quest to become the ultimate ninja.

While Naruto and the rest of the characters lack the overly large eyes, despite it being a Japanese comic book none of the characters (main ones, anyway), actually look Japanese (okay, maybe Sasuke does).

Now... I like ninja. I went out with a ninja girl (sort of). Her name was Shinobu, and everyone called her 'ninja girl' because 'shinobi' means ninja. She was also deadly.

Is it worth the $9.99 Canadian to find out? $12.99 for Book 2?

And… why is it $9.99 Canadian while the U.S. price is $7.95. ($12.99 Cdn and US $9.99 for Book 2).

This double-digit printing of the collected works was published in November of 2012 - and I'm pretty sure that the Canadian and U.S, dollars have been at par for well over a year plus now. What is that? An additional $0.30 a dollar?T

The Canadian dollar hasn't been worth 30 cents less than the U.S. dollar in many years. What crap! Try 2007! That's when the Canadian dollar sucked.

I have no idea who to blame, but it is published by Viz Media, LLC.

Whomever is to blame - you are ripping off the people of Canada. Boo!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's point of view), I did not notice the price disparity when I purchased it. I bet that's what the publishers are hoping for. I wouldn't have bought it.

But I did anyway.

Despite the robber baron price gouging, Naruto is decent. Very decent.

I was all prepared to hate it, but I didn't.

This was an English language translation by Viz Comics of the original material presented in the weekly Shonen Jump magazine back in the year 1999. It is still being written and drawn by the creator Kishimoto Masashi (surname first).

However... I think that because it's a weekly book, and he prepares some 20 pages a week, there is no way in hell Kishimoto can actually do that. Sergio Aragones (did the Mad  Magazine marginals) and maybe Jack Kirby (co-creator of The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The Sandman, OMAC, Kamandi, The Demon and so many more!) could possibly have done that amount of art - but even then, I don't think Kishimoto has that type of speed skill.

Instead, I believe he may draw the main characters and has others pencil in the background (Dave Sim worked this way with Gerhard (no last name - Stay Hard?) and Sim's awesome comic book Cerebus), and others do the inking and lettering. I do believe he writes the whole book, though. Feel free to correct me, if I am wrong.

The English version of the Naruto comic book was prepared in typical Japanese style so that I had to read it, if you will, back to front and right to left.

It took about 20 pages to get the hang of it, and soon it was no trouble to follow along with the well-translated (I assume) script.

But here's where my Western eye fails me. When it comes time for less talk and more action, I often have no freaking clue what is going on. Stuff is happening, but I don't know what sort of stuff.

It's all very disappointing to me. I have close to 40,000 comic books collected over 40 years, with my oldest being the first three issues of Miniature Life magazine - in fact, I bet I own the only copy of the 1911 first issue in the world. Certainly the only CGC'd (comic grading company) one. I have several books worth thousands of dollars (including several involving anthropomorphic ducks), have an encyclopedic knowledge of comic book lore (which makes me extremely popular with the ladies). Wow... I couldn't even type that with a straight face.

The point is, I know my western comic books. I know them well and I have no problem in following the plot. But these Japanese ones... maybe it will get better with practice.

As well, strange sound effects that are Japanese-like abound ('Tak' and 'Onnng' are two examples), and since they are part of the art, they remain intact in the translated story. They are sound effects the way the Japanese hear them - and that's fine. No complaint, except that I wish I could discern what it is I am supposed to be hearing.

So... I read the first book of Naruto, and I enjoyed. So I bought another with the inflated Canadian price tag. And then another.

While I still have difficulty in following the action (fight scenes) when no one is talking, I am quite impressed with the plot.

Now... rather than tell you all about the plot, and who the artist/writer is, let me just humbly state that if you are looking for an addictive comic book to follow, might I suggest Naruto. I also suggest Lone Wolf & Cub, Mai the Psychic Girl, and if you can find it Frank Miller's Ronin, a six issue mini-series the creator of The 300 and various classic Batman and Daredevil stories did in the early 1980s (1983-4).

I like Naruto enough to continue reading the stories, and possibly to pick up a Sony PS3 game of it. All of this is unsurprising to me, as I do have an addictive personality. I like what I like, and I continue until I have it. Sucks, but it's true.

I've read a lot of other Japanese manga  - ones that ares supposed to be the greatest thing since Prince Valiant - and haven't enjoyed them, but I will listen to any suggestions you have, and will try them. Anyone?

Cheers
Andrew Joseph