tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post896318815191088522..comments2023-03-26T00:57:48.542-07:00Comments on Eastern Standard: A petty rant involving Black JackAndrew Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03423087160541542219noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post-50945102989990640542009-07-14T20:06:53.083-07:002009-07-14T20:06:53.083-07:00If more of the sub-plots directly pushed forward t...If more of the sub-plots directly pushed forward the narrative, I'd definitely agree. But the somber tone you reference is why I can stand Tezuka's attempts more (where he'll fit in a normally inappropriate, throwaway joke that allows me to buy the pathos). Mind you, I like all of his three thriller manga, and also think he corrected the problem I refer to in the first fifteen volumes of 20th Century Boys (and, to be fair, later volumes suffer from a separate issue). But then I think of the unnecessary extensions of these sub-plots in Monster to grant Tenma further sainthood, or these asides in Pluto that come across as very clinical, and wonder how much more convincing I'd find his works if he'd slim the stories down.<br /><br />I can understand the adoration for Tezuka in Japan, given his influence. This is probably just me talking out of my ass, but I wonder if the appeal of his stories isn't too different than that of One Piece. Not that I'd classify his works as a whole as that kind of adventure, but reading cartoonish characters pulling off utterly fantastical achievements with plenty of winks-and-nods, supplanted by enough genuine sentimentality (OP taking the importance of dreams to the level of a dogma), is probably more than accessible for the Japan aesthetic.David Goodwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09838671470583348231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2616652632706177489.post-38822512164402308612009-07-14T19:22:14.587-07:002009-07-14T19:22:14.587-07:00While the particular sequence you highlighted in P...While the particular sequence you highlighted in Pluto is one of the most tedious and tawdry things Urasawa's ever done, and represents a real low for him as a writer, I can't really back you up on Tezuka's abilities to handle schmaltz.<br />It's a tone thing, with me; Urasawa usually manages to maintain some dignity, and his tone is consistently sombre enough that I buy into the emotional tenor and follow him.<br />Black Jack I just laugh at because it is fucking insane. I can't for the life of me work out why Tezuka has some sort of mainstream critical resonance; his books are shallow, bizarre, uneven, highly personal bits of improvisation -- you know, the sort of thing I usually eat up. Not the sort of thing anyone else takes seriously.Andrew Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03423087160541542219noreply@blogger.com