anyone reading "Number Five" by Taiyo Matsumoto?

[gazorenzoku]

Anyone out there reading "Number Five" by Taiyo Matsumoto? I assume that the English name for the book is "Number Five," but I'm not really sure. Anyhow, I am in the middle of the second book, and it is really blowing me away! How much has been transated into English now? How much is released in the West?

Of course I love the strangeness of the story and the weird, surreal art, but I was just noticing that the layout on page 104 of book 2 is incrediblly emotive.

I have read some other Taiyo Matsumoto work, but this one is his best yet, in my opinion. His art is so emotive! People are calling him the "Japanese Mobius", but I think that while his pen technique and penchant for surrealism is similar to Mobius, his lines convey much more emotion than Mobius, who to me seems to have a line that is sort of detatched and almost cold (which is what I find interesting about Mobius, though).

Any thoughts on this work or others by Taiyo Matsumoto? Anyone seen the movie made from his comic, "Ping Pong"? (I haven't seen it yet, and I think it might not be in theatres here anymore, so I guess I'll wait till it comes out on video...)

[Ray Radlein]

Viz has published one large volume of No. 5 over here. It contains the first four chapters; I assume that it corresponds to the first volume published where you are.

I have it, but haven't read it yet; I got it on the strengths of the art, the little bit of it I read in the store, and, mostly, the fact that I found his Black & White to be a work of sheer genius.

[gazorenzoku]

yes, I think his black and white art is something to be enjoyed/studied/emulated. But mostly just enjoyed. There are a few color pages in there, and they are nice too, but the black and white is just awesome. And he uses absolutely no tone!!! I just got finished reading the second volume and now I am rereading the first volume because I kind of forgot a lot of it (there was a long wait between vol. one and two).

Hope to hear more from you after you read the whole thing. Can't wait to hear that vol. 2 is in English! I'm so glad that Viz is picking up on this kind of thing, since it is so different from the standard fare of Japanese comics translated to English. When I am rich I want to order the English version as well, just to see what it reads like. I am interested in the translation of course, but also I want to see what the composition looks like flipped horizontally. I think his compositions are just incrediblly good, and so it would be interesting to see them flipped to follow Western left to right style...

[Guest]

yes, I think his black and white art is something to be enjoyed/studied/emulated. But mostly just enjoyed. There are a few color pages in there, and they are nice too, but the black and white is just awesome. And he uses absolutely no tone!!! I just got finished reading the second volume and now I am rereading the first volume because I kind of forgot a lot of it (there was a long wait between vol. one and two).

I nearly suffered a catastrophic failure of context here, until eventually it dawned on me that you didn't realize that I was talking about a comic called Black & White -- presumably because it was called something else over there. A quick reach over to the bookcase, and I found out that its original title was, give or take the usual orthographical uncertainties, Tekkonkinkurito (as an aside, it's pretty easy to spot the words for "Iron" and "Concrete" in there -- who knew that playing Tekken could be so educational?).

And, yeah, what you said about the art is also true.

Hope to hear more from you after you read the whole thing. Can't wait to hear that vol. 2 is in English! I'm so glad that Viz is picking up on this kind of thing, since it is so different from the standard fare of Japanese comics translated to English. When I am rich I want to order the English version as well, just to see what it reads like. I am interested in the translation of course, but also I want to see what the composition looks like flipped horizontally. I think his compositions are just incrediblly good, and so it would be interesting to see them flipped to follow Western left to right style...

It is actually becoming more and more common for American publishers to issue the volumes right to left (after all, it saves a certain amount of time and money in the translation process). TokyoPop does, and I think that Viz does as well; although they only do it with new series so far -- after all, it would be really disconcerting to have the first three volumes of a series printed left to right, only to suddenly switch around for volume four, or whatever. So the copy of Battle Royale that I bought recently is right to left, but the third volume of Uzumaki, which I bought a little while earlier, is still left to right.

And yeah, both Viz and TokyoPop (and Dark Horse and Comics One) understand that there's a limit to how many Magical Girls and Giant Robots comics they can move into the market at the same time ; which means that they are printing some more atypical works, such as (glancing over at my bookcase again) Yoshizaku Yasuhiko's Joan, or Junko Mizuno's Cinderalla, to pick a couple of examples. And it's also giving them the confidence to print some less obvious "mainstream" titles such as, say, Iron Wok Jan.

[Ray Radlein]

Ah, crap. Thought I was logged in.

I guess that's why my .sig didn't show up in the Preview window, huh?

[gazorenzoku]

A quick reach over to the bookcase, and I found out that its original title was, give or take the usual orthographical uncertainties, Tekkonkinkurito

Interesting... I wonder if I have that one or not... Is it by Matsumoto Taiyo? My wife bought me some of his books randomly when she found out that I liked him, and that he was supposed to be an up and coming source of interest in the comics world here in Japan, but to be honest with you at that time I was a little bit tired of reading stuff in Japanese for a while, and I might not have read it all, or even if I did, I certainly wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I can now. For some reason, I have finally crossed a weird psychological wall that was keeping me from really enjoying Japanese comics. You know that pure joy you get from reading something in your own language by someone you really just love? Or when you get a new CD by a band that you love. It is an electric moment. Like going to going to a friend's birthday party at an ice cream store and seeing that nice, big ice cream cake make its way out onto the table. I get that when I get a New X-Men comic by Grant Morrison or an X-Statix comic in the mail nowadays. It is similar to getting high, reading those comics and then drawing my own. But I never was able to get that same feeling from Japanese comics, even when I read them in English. Now, I have finally been able to approach that feeling with this "Number One" series. It is just electric. Pure sugar-ice-cream-cake. An absolute joy to read, and I am so glad that I have future installments to look forward to. That feeling of looking forward to it only enhances the joy of finally being able to read it. And, as a side note, I saw that vol. 3 is in bookstores here, so next paycheck I'm definitely getting it!!

(as an aside, it's pretty easy to spot the words for "Iron" and "Concrete" in there -- who knew that playing Tekken could be so educational?).

That is pretty interesting. I wonder what would happen if various countries all around the world got really good at making video games. Then you might wind up learning a little bit of a whole lot of languages...

It is actually becoming more and more common for American publishers to issue the volumes right to left

That is INCREDIBLE!!! Finally!! That is the way it should have been done from the beginning. Western comics are usually published left to right here, even when they are translated into Japanese. The composition is a big part of the story, and also you get that cross-cultural feel. I am so glad to hear this.

And yeah, both Viz and TokyoPop (and Dark Horse and Comics One) understand that there's a limit to how many Magical Girls and Giant Robots comics they can move into the market at the same time ; which means that they are printing some more atypical works, such as (glancing over at my bookcase again) Yoshizaku Yasuhiko's Joan, or Junko Mizuno's Cinderalla, to pick a couple of examples.

Great!! Wonderful! When I was in America, before I moved here, I used to think Japanese comics sucked because they just weren't translating any cool stuff (ok, that's a really rude way to say it.... I guess I mean stuff that I personally think is cool). But now I see that Matsumoto Taiyo is getting published, and Junko Mizuno too!! She is the BEST! Like some sort of psychadelic mix between R. Crumb and Mike Allred with a lot of that Japanese "cute culture" mixed in (and somewhat twisted). I don't know of Yoshizaku Yasuhiko...

I'm also glad to hear that there are Western people out there enjoying and spending money on this non-mainstream-style stuff!! Maybe this could be the beginning of a real underground or indies movement in Japanese comics. Not that any one movement could take over the entirety of the comics industry here, since it is so huge and involves so many genres, but I have noticed that indies-type stuff is not as big here as it is back in the states, so I hope that one day it is a viable market here.

[Ray Radlein]

A quick reach over to the bookcase, and I found out that its original title was, give or take the usual orthographical uncertainties, Tekkonkinkurito

Interesting... I wonder if I have that one or not... Is it by Matsumoto Taiyo?

Yep. It concerns two street urchins, named Black and White, as they deal with the incursion of a new crime boss into their city, Treasure Town. And it is their city -- despite the fact that they are maybe ten years old or so, pretty much everyone who knows of them fears them. Their place in the town's ecology is not unlike that of Godzilla or Gamera, or one of those other monsters who are both destroyers and, occasionally, protectors; or perhaps like the furious wind and rain of a typhoon. Even the local yakuza fear and avoid them.

For all his violence, White has a childish innocence; and for all his fury, Black is especially protective of White. The whole work is very different from almost anything else out there right now.

And yeah, both Viz and TokyoPop (and Dark Horse and Comics One) understand that there's a limit to how many Magical Girls and Giant Robots comics they can move into the market at the same time ; which means that they are printing some more atypical works, such as (glancing over at my bookcase again) Yoshizaku Yasuhiko's Joan, or Junko Mizuno's Cinderalla, to pick a couple of examples.

Great!! Wonderful! When I was in America, before I moved here, I used to think Japanese comics sucked because they just weren't translating any cool stuff (ok, that's a really rude way to say it.... I guess I mean stuff that I personally think is cool). But now I see that Matsumoto Taiyo is getting published, and Junko Mizuno too!! She is the BEST! Like some sort of psychadelic mix between R. Crumb and Mike Allred with a lot of that Japanese "cute culture" mixed in (and somewhat twisted).

I sort of think of the art style as "Powerpuff Hookers."

I don't know of Yoshizaku Yasuhiko...

He evidently started out as an animator on Mobile Suit Gundam, but his work -- at least as published over here -- seems to lean towards historical stories. Joan is the story of a young French girl in 1440, during the Hundred Years' War, who hears the voice, and sees visions of, Joan or Arc, calling her to complete the task of restoring France. It is beautifully drawn, in a very natural, non-exagerated style.

Yoshizaku Yasuhiko's other work to appear over here is a two volume version of the life of Jesus; for what it's worth, the first volumes of both Joan and Jesus are available, in PDF format, for free online (along with many other titles) from their publisher, Comics One.

[gazorenzoku]

It concerns two street urchins, named Black and White, as they deal with the incursion of a new crime boss into their city, Treasure Town... The whole work is very different from almost anything else out there right now.

wow! sounds like another work to get excited about. I'll check to see if I have it.... if not, I will definitely be getting it after I pick up the third volume of "Number 5".

I sort of think of the art style as "Powerpuff Hookers."

ha ha. That's a good way of thinking of it.

Joan is the story of a young French girl...

Cool. I'll see if I can get my hands on this one too.

Yoshizaku Yasuhiko's other work to appear over here is a two volume version of the life of Jesus;

Sounds like an interesting read.

for what it's worth, the first volumes of both are available, in PDF format, for free online

That is great! I just can't bring myself to sit in front of the computer and read much online comics anymore... I would rather wait till I have the money and buy the print versions. But it is nice to know that the stuff is available for free for those who like to read stuff online.

Soooooo, have you finished reading "Number 5" yet? I was pretty busy this week, so I haven't finished rereading the first volume yet, but I did get finished with vol. 2. As soon as I finish re-reading vol. 1, and as soon as payday comes around, which might happen at around the same time, I am going to purchase vol. 3. Can't wait!! Right now I am totally poor because I am only working part time so I can have enough time to draw comics during the weekends.... if I don't start getting published in a year or so, I am going to move back to full time work, though. This is my one year experiment to see if I can actually get published.....

[Ray Radlein]

Soooooo, have you finished reading "Number 5" yet? I was pretty busy this week, so I haven't finished rereading the first volume yet, but I did get finished with vol. 2. As soon as I finish re-reading vol. 1, and as soon as payday comes around, which might happen at around the same time, I am going to purchase vol. 3. Can't wait!!

I've been fairly busy trying to keep my computer running, alas. A continuing series of inexplicable problems over the last couple of months has left my computer with a severe case of "My Grandfather's Axe" syndrome (as in "This is my grandfather's axe: My father replaced the blade, and I replaced the handle.") as I pulled and pushed at different bits of it trying to figure out what was going on. I think that I have most of the problems ironed out now; all I have to do still is reinstall every last piece of software that I own (whee!).

Right now I am totally poor because I am only working part time so I can have enough time to draw comics during the weekends.... if I don't start getting published in a year or so, I am going to move back to full time work, though. This is my one year experiment to see if I can actually get published.....

Right now I am totally poor because I am not working at all so I can have enough time to be unemployed.

[gazorenzoku]

To bad about your computer... Hope everything goes well. My computer has taken to freezing up every so often, usually twice or more a day... what fun. I called customer support and asked about it after maximizing the hard drive, checking for errors, etc., and they said that it is just something that happens sometimes, and cannot be prevented. Reading between the lines I could hear the customer service person saying, "That's what happens when you buy one of our computers, jerk, now leave me alone - I get 50 calls like this a day." Yep. Computers....

Anyhow, I read vol. 1 and 2, and payday has come and gone but I haven't gotten vol. 3 yet. I suppose I will get it sometime this week. Looking forward to it! Let me know what you thought after reading vol. 1. By the way, my impressions after I went back and reread vol. 1 was that vol. 2 was much more emotional and action packed. I personally liked the layouts and art much better in vol. 2 also. But vol. 1 serves as a really good introduction to the whole story, and has lots of good parts too. Maybe the author is just getting better as he goes? If so, I really look forward to vol. 3!!

Anyone else out there reading this book?

[Ray Radlein]

I wanted to drop a quick note here to mention that I just read that Viz has now issued Junko Mizuno's Hansel and Gretel in TPB here. Too cool.

[gazorenzoku]

wow, that is cool. Things are slowly but surely moving in a good direction!

Ok, I bought Vol III of "Number Five" and read it last week. This time around there was a heck of a lot of surreal imagery, though I can't say why without giving away the story. Once you get to the end of vol II, you'll probably understand why. Anyhow, there was a lot of difficult words that I imagine must enhance the reading experience if Japanese is your native language, but I must say that I was totally lost most of the time. Usually I try to read comics without a dictionary these days, just skiming over the parts I don't understand, because looking stuff up has just become too much of a drag lately. But I must say, with Vol. III, I think I will have to go back up and look up quite a few of the words.

Anyhow, for those reading it in English, when it comes out, this shouldn't be a problem.

Yeah, so, the art is great, though. I really love the sketchy style. And there is a cool mock advertisement in the beginning that has the same spirit as Chris Ware type stuff. What a great book....

By the way, I have changed my web site domain to www.vince-coleman.com