X-Day 1, Tokyo Babylon 1
X-DAY 1 (X-Day (Volumes 1 & 2)
), by Setona Mizushiro.
This is my manga pick of the week. The art is fairly generic googly-eyed shojo, but the story and narrative techniques are quite unusual. As much as is possible for a comic book, which tends automatically toward an omniscient or multiple point of view, this one is told in the first person. The layout, which involves a lot of white space and large chunks of narrative (sometimes repeated in different contexts) evokes a feeling of loneliness and alienation.
Rika is an angsty high school girl, depressed over her boyfriend having dumped her and taken up with one of her friends, and over having been psychologically unable to return to sports after an injury. She goes to a chat room in the school computer lab, signs in as "11," and casually mentions that she wishes the school would disappear. One of the other chatters, "Polaris," jumps on this and begins talking about blowing up the school. Some of the participants ignore this or tell her she's overreacting, but "Jangalian" and "Mr. Money" start discussing it with her. Polaris signs off, leaving a clue for anyone who might wish to find her later.
Intrigued, Rika follows the clue to Polaris' private chat room, which has been locked to everyone but her, Jangalian, and Mr. Money. The four of them start bonding and gingerly circling around their original discussion. Soon a near-tragic event leads them all to meet, where they find odd gaps between their real personas and online ones. Or are their online personas really who they are, and their roles at school merely what they're forced into by society?
This is a very intriguing beginning to a short series (only two volumes). It's dark, but despite the incendiary subject matter it's told in a low-key manner which only makes it more believable. The exploration of roles and personas is also quite intriguing. I recommend this. Even though I can't really believe that the story can be either fully explored or wrapped up in just one more book.
Tokyo Babylon Volume 2
, by CLAMP. Gorgeous art, and better (and darker) stand-alone stories than in the first volume. But I really want to see something start happening with the main story arc between Subaru, Seishiro, and Hokuto. I know how it comes out from having read and watched X/1999 first, but I don't know how or why it all went down the way it did, and it seems no closer to that point in the second volume than in the first. There's seven total, right?
), by Setona Mizushiro.
This is my manga pick of the week. The art is fairly generic googly-eyed shojo, but the story and narrative techniques are quite unusual. As much as is possible for a comic book, which tends automatically toward an omniscient or multiple point of view, this one is told in the first person. The layout, which involves a lot of white space and large chunks of narrative (sometimes repeated in different contexts) evokes a feeling of loneliness and alienation.
Rika is an angsty high school girl, depressed over her boyfriend having dumped her and taken up with one of her friends, and over having been psychologically unable to return to sports after an injury. She goes to a chat room in the school computer lab, signs in as "11," and casually mentions that she wishes the school would disappear. One of the other chatters, "Polaris," jumps on this and begins talking about blowing up the school. Some of the participants ignore this or tell her she's overreacting, but "Jangalian" and "Mr. Money" start discussing it with her. Polaris signs off, leaving a clue for anyone who might wish to find her later.
Intrigued, Rika follows the clue to Polaris' private chat room, which has been locked to everyone but her, Jangalian, and Mr. Money. The four of them start bonding and gingerly circling around their original discussion. Soon a near-tragic event leads them all to meet, where they find odd gaps between their real personas and online ones. Or are their online personas really who they are, and their roles at school merely what they're forced into by society?
This is a very intriguing beginning to a short series (only two volumes). It's dark, but despite the incendiary subject matter it's told in a low-key manner which only makes it more believable. The exploration of roles and personas is also quite intriguing. I recommend this. Even though I can't really believe that the story can be either fully explored or wrapped up in just one more book.
Tokyo Babylon Volume 2
, by CLAMP. Gorgeous art, and better (and darker) stand-alone stories than in the first volume. But I really want to see something start happening with the main story arc between Subaru, Seishiro, and Hokuto. I know how it comes out from having read and watched X/1999 first, but I don't know how or why it all went down the way it did, and it seems no closer to that point in the second volume than in the first. There's seven total, right?