tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post6199300413853745098..comments2023-03-26T00:57:48.542-07:00Comments on Eastern Standard: At least I learned what miso isAndrew Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03423087160541542219noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post-60897374212084768802009-05-15T16:34:00.000-07:002009-05-15T16:34:00.000-07:00I think you're really selling it short, and ignori...I think you're really selling it short, and ignoring the growth in characters like Saki and Madarame. Anyways, Genshiken isn't a huge favorite of mine so I'm not going to spend a lot of time defending it. My general point is that flat or underdeveloped characters work fine in purely comedic stories and can be overlooked to a degree in plot- or setting-driven stories, but if there's going to be any attempt to make the reader care about the characters, they have to be well-rounded and believable. Genshiken succeeded in that, and Moyashimon shows occasional moments of it, but I don't think Ishikawa is quite capable enough to pull that off. In which case, it's sort of resigned to being, as Andrew said, a case of "textbook-itis." I just think it has the potential to be better.flyingrobotshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18336906525664369023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post-82704062581899216672009-05-15T14:19:00.000-07:002009-05-15T14:19:00.000-07:00Actually, I thought Genshiken massively lost its w...Actually, I thought Genshiken massively lost its way when it started moving away from the cringe-inducing otaku comedy. That was a fairly unique hook (at the time; now self-referential nerd japery has become a well-represented subgenre), and when Ogiue came in it basically became one of a vast number of relationship books, and not a particularly good one. I don't hate the characters or anything, but I think it's vastly overstating things to claim they're legitimately well-developed. Compared to, I dunno, your average Jump book, sure, but those are written for eight-year olds, not a very high bar to jump over.Joe Iglesiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06271218647133689762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post-90460463662412125082009-05-15T13:24:00.000-07:002009-05-15T13:24:00.000-07:00The otaku stuff is mostly retarded but there was d...The otaku stuff is mostly retarded but there was definitely a tipping point where the most simplistic cardboard characters were abandoned for in-depth studies of the more realized and interesting ones, and this coincided with a slow fade-out of the setting. That's the moment where it became a legitimately successful story and not just a silly comic comic book. I don't know that Moyashimon will ever reach that point, but like I said above, maybe Ishikawa's just not as interested in that. His fantasy series in Good Afternoon is a total pandering shlock-fest.flyingrobotshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18336906525664369023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post-33301780093077695042009-05-15T11:44:00.000-07:002009-05-15T11:44:00.000-07:00I think his characterization is fine, but the rati...I think his characterization is fine, but the ratio of it to everything else is a bit off. I'd prefer he start with character and move on to science and he often ends up going the other way.<br />I also think he has a bad habit of trying to be subtle about some character moment and just being cryptic instead.<br /><br />Haven't read Genshiken because I despised Kio's earlier work from the very bottom of my soul. I understand Genshiken was a breakout work for him, and it certainly had a less repellent art style, but it's hard for me to believe he could ever be really worth reading.Andrew Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03423087160541542219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post-77717080055742747312009-05-15T11:15:00.000-07:002009-05-15T11:15:00.000-07:00I always like to compare this somewhat to Genshike...I always like to compare this somewhat to Genshiken because they share several features: a lot of obscure errata in a particular field, boisterous camaraderie in the college setting, subtle and occasionally obtuse humor, and some kind of artistic pizazz that draws the eye (those adorable little germs vs. oh, I don't know, the cosplay portions of Genshiken).<br /><br />But when I mull over that comparison, I can't help but recognize the one major shortcoming of Moyashimon, which is that Ishikawa just isn't as adept at characterization. He's very good at maneuvering them into comedic situations (Weekly Masayuki Ishikawa proves that) but in other ways they lack depth, and they certainly don't transcend their setting the way Kio managed. It took me a while to notice this, because I was so engrossed with the incredible volume of text and the constantly-goofy commentary that Ishikawa keeps up. But it's definitely THE problem that he has, and I can't really tell if he's an immature storyteller or simply just not that interested in peddling drama. For that reason I don't really see this withstanding the test of time or becoming any more than a cult favorite, but I do hope it does all right. There are definitely a number of weirdos that are just waiting to read this but don't know it yet.flyingrobotshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18336906525664369023noreply@blogger.com