Manga in French and Twelve Kingdoms #4

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17c. 1 volume of PxP.




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manga updates

Written and illustrated by Wataru Yoshizumi

From Glenat
Ruri Himeno est la vice-présidente du Conseil des élèves au lycée Seiô. Le sujet de la réunion du jour porte sur “P”, un mystérieux voleur qui dérobe essentiellement des vieux objets sans valeur, et ce dans l’enceinte de l’établissement. Qui se cache derrière le personnage énigmatique de l’histoire ?!

Some points:
- 2 short stories quick read.
- I've reread it a couple of times since I like the art and characters.
- Ruri Himeno is a vice president of the student council of Seio high. A mysterious thief stole some old objects which usually didn't have any real values. Who was it?

Bottom line, it's a short and fast read.


17d. 4 volumes of L'Orchestre des Doigts (Wagayubi no Orchestra).







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Author's Manga Updates, since I can't find the series!

Art and Story by Osamu Yamamoto

From Edition Milan
Vol 1: Cette fiction est inspirée d’une histoire vraie, relatant l’apprentissage de la langue des signes par de jeunes sourds-muets japonais. L’histoire commence en 1914 avec l’arrivée à l’école d’Osaka d’un jeune professeur qui a étudié la musique et a renoncé à poursuivre ses études en France. Il a en effet décidé de travailler dans une école d’aveugles et de sourds-muets, l’Institut d’aveugles et de sourds-muets d’Osaka, fondé en 1901. C’est ici qu’il rencontre Issaku, jeune enfant sourd-muet exprimant une grande violence car ne sachant pas communiquer. Le professeur n’aura de cesse de l’aider et de découvrir par la même occasion le monde complexe du silence et l’incompréhension qui l’accompagne.
Vol 2: Takahashi a enfin pris ses marques dans la grande école d’Ôsaka pour enfants sourds et aveugles. Mais le combat n’est qu’à moitié gagné et Takahashi a pris la juste mesure des limites de son enseignement. Apprendre en effet la langue des signes aux enfants les aide à mieux se comprendre et s’exprimer, mais ne préjuge en rien de leur aptitude à se faire comprendre de leur famille.
Vol 3: Le volume 3 poursuit les aventures du professeur Takahashi et de ses élèves. On retrouve, comme dans le volume 2, une mise en avant des conditions historiques désastreuses dans lesquelles le Japon se trouve plongé, et la lutte sociale des plus défavorisés contre le pouvoir des seigneurs en place, comme une transposition à grande échelle, du sort réservé aux sourds face aux entendants : le destin de chacun dépend de sa naissance. Un fatalisme contre lequel les démunis se révoltent.
Vol 4: Le destin est en marche et scellera le sort des sourds et malentendants de l’institut d’Osaka…Un ouragan dévastateur rase les frêles murs de l’école, jetant ses pensionnaires à la rue, comme une allégorie de ce qui se trame à des milliers de kilomètres du Japon. Car, bien loin de là, a lieu le fameux congrès de Milan, où la langue des signes sera condamnée au profit des méthodes oralistes, malgré la défense ardue de notre héros, M. Takahashi, ouvertement conspué par la profession.

Some points:
- I learnt about this manga from a french manga blog called mangaconseil and thought it was interesting. And it is.
- from the blurb above in summary: inspired by a true story telling a story about the sign language for the deaf and mute in Japan. The story started in 1914 when the main character Takahashi was a high school student and ended at his death bed when he was in his 60's.
- The struggles of the parents of children who are deaf and mute to understand them.
- There were 2 schools of thoughts: teaching children to read lips and talk and never use sign language, the other are using both whichever is appropriate. There were prices to be paid in all things!
- There was also the earthquake in 1920s where the Koreans who lived in Japan were killed and some of the mute were killed with them because the way to find out if a person was japanese was to say a particular phrase in Japanese and Koreans couldn't pronounce them correctly. Of course, the mute couldn't say them at all! Some escaped because they had papers to say they were mute!
- There are many interesting characters. One of the Japanese teachers went to the US and met Helen Keller!
- It was sad how when Takahashi was retired and didn't have a purpose for his life. He missed it so much.

Bottom line, such good series.


18. 1 volume of Hotaru (ホタルノヒカリ - Hotaru no Hikaru).




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Manga Updates

Art and Story by Satoru Hiura

From Kana
A 27 ans, Amemyia Hotaru ne vit déjà plus. Comme le dit son patron, Takano Seiichi, c'est un "poisson séché". Au travail, elle semble normale, mais chez elle, c'est une parfaite himono-onna : elle paresse en buvant de la bière et en mangeant devant des mangas. Elle ne sort jamais et sa dernière relation amoureuse remonte à la fac. Mais le jour où son patron va venir habiter chez elle et où un nouvel employé incroyablement beau, Makoto Teshima, va l'embrasser, elle comprendra que sa vie de Himono-onna ne peut plus continuer et qu'il lui faut réapprendre à vivre normalement si elle veut enfin être heureuse...

Some points:
- The main character Amemyia Hotaru is an office lady. She's 27 and not interested in going out to find a husband. On her day off, she'd rather lounge about at home in her sweats (comfortable clothes) until one day, the owner of the house where she lived came and evicted her ...
- It's a fun read. Hotaru is a totally different character than Fujii in Suppli. Her job is similar to that of Choko Kuze in Butterflies, Flowers. I like this series much better, though.
- I finished and reread it since I like it a lot. I'll get more of this series.

Bottom line, I like it so far.


19. The Twelve Kingdoms: Skies of Dawn (風の万里 黎明の空, Kaze no Banri, Reimei no Sora). First sentence: ""Be Well", her mother said, pinching back tears."




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Written by Fuyumi Ono

Some points:
- I got the hardcover, didn't get past chapter 1, then I read about the printing problems (page skipping) so that pushed it down even more. The errors were fixed in paperback, so I got the paperback and finally finished it in a day!
- The book covers to the end of the anime. It looks like Tokyopop won't publish #5 because Kodansha took away the license. I wonder if Kodansha would ever print it!
- Both Suzu and Shoukei annoyed me at the beginning. They blamed other people for their fates! I felt so uncharitable for wishing Shoukei to be punished by the king becuase she stole from her. Good thing they mature gradually.

Bottom line, very good story, will reread.

Continuing series: Manga

• Professeur Eiji 5-7
• Otaku Girls (Fujoshi Rumi) 4
• Complément affectif (Suppli) 6-7
• Skip Beat! 23
• The Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko #2

Rambling

• Looks like Platinum Garden 8 has been put back in my rs order even though I can't find the book anywhere on rs website. I wonder if TP is honoring the order? IIRC last time I checked when TP announced that PG 8 would be in POD, the book was gone from the order. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
• BeNippon has closed shop BeNippon twitter It's really too bad, I did order a few things from them and was happy with what I got. I even got an oop From Far Away Art book from them.