Foreign Friday: Thoughts about Serials 5, The Walk-Away Thoughts

Ever finished a book and your thoughts ran like this? Oh man that was so awesome I can’t believe it’s over already! I’ve gotta tell someone about this book so I can rave about that one part where the main character did that super amazing thing, and that one guy who I thought was a jerk actually had the secret plan that saved those other guys!

Or, have you ever felt like this? Wow….that was so good. I’m depressed its over, what am I going to read now? Maybe I should just reread it!

How about this? That was the stupidest use of paper ever…

For serials, there is a great need to keep the readers engaged and entertained enough to make them come back to the sequel. Those walk-away thoughts, the ending vibe that a story leaves you with when you close it, is a vital part of writing. The easiest way to do that is to leave off on a cliffhanger. I’ve continued on with even mediocre stories with the thought “well, I do sorta want to find out what happens…”

Since Foreign Fridays are usually about manga, let me say a few words about them, and why I, a not-so-young adult American who never read comic books as a child, love them. First, I love the ability to express a character’s emotions or actions through art, as I’ve said before. It’s really true that a picture is worth a thousand words. I find that Japanese manga artwork simply strikes me as the best to convey both emotions and actions for the sort of stories I like to read. Second, I love that the plots are not American in style; they are different than the usual fare we American writers write, simply because they originate from a different culture. Okay, so some of the plots get a little bizarre, and occasionally there are references or attitudes I really don’t get, but I can write that off as a cultural thing. Speaking of culture, I also enjoy learning tidbits about Japanese culture through the manga they write.

Manga is fun! Isn’t that the point of writing?

Foreign Friday: Thoughts About Serials 4, The Climax

Climax! The goal of the story, what everyone who reads a story is striving to reach (with enjoyment and fascination, hopefully). It can make a reader come back again and again…or be the reason the book is dumped out a window or into a convenient fire. The climax is the point of the story, or the moment where the main character exhibits change, or the world ends, or whatever the goal of the story is. Screwing up the climax screws up the book. Period.

The same can be said with serials. In fact, the longer a serial runs, the more dubious the final climax can be. In some manga I’ve read, the climax is never reached, usually due to the series being cancelled or ended prematurely. They feel abrupt and disappointing (all that potential for nothing…). In others, the series outran the original plot, and the event that should have been the climax just becomes one bump in a longer series of bumps, and the whole fabric of the story becomes twisted. (I won’t name names, but trust me author, readers can tell…)

The manga series whose climax draws upon events and information that the main character enacted or obtained in order to create the climax, or climaxes that are completely unexpected twists (and yet stay within the framework of the story), are the ones that readers talk about. The story in which the climax is the GOAL is the one that people remember.

The goal is the GOAL!

Foreign Friday: Thoughts About Serials 3, Sub Plots and Secondary Characters

Its obvious that the longer the story is, the more opportunity you have to add development to the main characters. But have you ever noticed that the longer a series is, the more prolific and the more detailed the secondary characters become? Suddenly, you are just as concerned about a side character’s sub-plot troubles as you are with the hero on the main quest! This becomes very apparent in manga, and an excellent example can be found in Naruto. There are several arcs within the series where Naruto isn’t in it at all until the end! Even the author Masashi Kishimoto admits overhearing that Naruto “is a manga where the main character isn’t very involved is used quite stingily.”

Because most stories won’t allow everything to happen to the main character in a prolonged series, having secondary characters take the fore is an expected outcome. However, just make sure that you remember who the main character in the story is, and to keep them in focus!

Foreign Friday: Thoughts About Serials 1, Continuity

For the next few weeks, the Foreign Friday topic won’t be a particular series, but on some thoughts that have struck me as I read x-many different manga. As a reader, these things are interesting, and as a writer, these have been bits of enlightenment that I hope will improve my own writing. These retrospections were brought on by the recent publication of the 60th volume of Naruto in English.

Continuity. One of the biggest things that can make or break a series is its ability to cohere nicely over a long period of time. Naruto is the longest manga I’ve read, and I am greatly impressed with Masashi Kishimoto’s ability to keep the plot (and the characters, and the jutsu, and the biju) going so smoothly. There are still rough patches where you can see that he made changes in order to bring the plot in a different direction than it was going in the beginning, but he smoothes these over, so that only the people like me who have read it 20 times pick up where he altered from the original idea.

On the other hand, Bleach has suffered as it continues. I’m not sure if Tite Kubo had meant for it to end at a *ahem* particular climax, and was then asked to continue it, but since he’d essentially finished the story he was just throwing things together at random, but the plot has become really…weird. I can forgive him for the occasional plot holes in the past (and some of them were rather large holes), but I just feel like he’s not trying to make it make sense any more.

What I take away from this is the knowledge that people do notice when the plot takes a sudden swing out into left field, and they do get confused when the Big Secret is not only no longer a secret, but no big deal to any of the characters. While changes to the direction of the plot are good (twists are always enjoyable), you have to make them make sense as much as possible.

Foreign Friday: Oresama Teacher

This week’s Foreign Friday is Oresama Teacher by Izumi Tsubaki.

The Story

Mafuyu is the ideal yanki chick—no-nonsense, take-charge, and hard-hitting. But when she gets expelled for being a delinquent, her mother, fed up with her daughter’s wayward ways, sends Mafuyu to an isolated school far off in the country.

Mafuyu, determined to make the best of the situation and make her mother proud, decides to turn over a new, feminine, well-behaved leaf. But her yanki soul can’t be kept down, and the night before school starts she finds herself defending some guy who’s getting beaten up. One slip wouldn’t have been a problem, except the guy is…her teacher?! How can Mafuyu learn to be a girly girl if her teacher won’t let her forget her yanki past?

The Characters

Mafuyu is a an energetic tomboy with little academic prowess and a good deal of self-confidence. She is brave, but easily duped. Her teacher Takaomi is tall, cool, and difficult for Mafuyu to understand, and holds a lot of influence over her. Together, they form….trouble.

What I Thought

I hadn’t thought that this story would be much good when I picked up the first volume from the library, but as it progressed, the light humor developed into something a little deeper (not a whole lot, but at least by volume 7 you realize that something deeper is going on). It’s light and entertaining, a young girl out to change from a rough gangster to a proper lady, and having every obstacle imaginable thrown in her path. I haven’t finished this series, but I do intend too. There are over 12 volumes, I believe.

[My local library is closed, and is being rebuilt. I am devastated. The next library over is completely out of my way….sniff sniff.]

Foreign Friday: Magic Knight Rayearth

This week’s Foreign Friday title is Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP.

The Story

Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are Tokyo schoolgirls with nothing else in common, until one fateful day changes everything: the three are summoned to the magical realm of Cephiro and find that their lives are inexorably intertwined. They have been chosen to become Magic Knights!

The Characters

Hikaru is optimistic, and strong of heart (as should be expected of the main character). Umi is rich and cool. Fuu is soft, and more internal. Basically, they are a classic trio.

What I Thought

Magic Knight Rayearth  is one of CLAMP‘s older series…and a lot can be said for art development and plot flow over the last 20 years. However, despite the fact that the beginning of the series reads like a video game (level up!) it has the signature plot twists and depth that you can count on from CLAMP. The plot has two distinct arcs, and both have their high and low points. The first was more mind twisting by the end, and the second was good if not as CLAMP-ish. All in all, good, but not CLAMP’s best. There are 6 volumes, all in English and available in the U.S.

There are a lot of names, people and creatures from this series that appear in other CLAMP stories, the most notable being the creature Mokona, who stars a role in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle as well as a black counterpart in xxxHolic. Hikaru appears as a doll in Angelic Layer (and is named after her role in Magic Knight) and she is a life-sized automaton in Tsubasa before appearing as a human in the final volume, along with Fuu and Umi; she also has a cameo in Kobato.

Foreign Friday: Captive Hearts

At last, the next Foreign Friday is out! This time it’s Captive Hearts by Matsuri Hino.

The Story

Carefree Megumi Kuroishi was living a life of luxury until the day a girl named Suzuka Kogami walked into his life. All of a sudden, Megumi finds himself kneeling at Suzuka’s feet and prostrating himself like a servant. What Megumi doesn’t know (until that very moment anyway) is that his family is cursed to follow the orders of the Kogami family.

The Characters

Megumi Kuroishi is a man who has the perfect life, with no particular ambitions and little motivations until the long-lost heir his father’s employer’s estate is found and returns home. Suzuka has lived a great portion of her life in China (where she’d gone missing) and her experiences have left her shy and uncertain about her life as an heiress in Japan. Together they make a sweet and entertaining team.

What I Thought

Although the series is relatively short, Captive Hearts manages to tell a complete story. Not only does Hino strike the amusement factor of having a man enslaved in lavish and ridiculous adoration whenever he looks into the girl’s eyes, but she also touches on the serious handicap this puts on a relationship. I feel that it was well balanced with both humor and drama. Some of the more serious aspects of the story include kidnapping and child enslavement, as well as feudal period marriages. It was a worthy read! There are 5 volumes, all available in English in the U.S.

Foreign Friday: Wish

We’re back at it! This week’s Foreign Friday title is Wish by the ever-popular CLAMP.

The Story

When Shuichiro rescues an angel he is granted a single wish. The problem? Shuichiro can’t think of any wishes that he couldn’t grant himself. Refusing to leave Shuichiro without granting a wish Kohaku, the angel, moves in with the young doctor to help out around the house and wait for a chance to return the favor. Of course, angels aren’t the only supernatural beings wandering the Earth. Soon, demons and archangels alike are stopping by Shuichiro’s house, making things difficult for his angelic roommate.

The Characters

Shuichiro is a hard character to get close to, as his thoughts are rarely expressed, and his face is pretty much deadpan (much like xxxHolic’s Domeki). On the other hand, Kohaku is full of emotion and expressions, making an interesting duo whose full dynamics never seem to be fully explained. Which is typical CLAMP.

What I Thought

In true CLAMP style, the characters are more complex than they first appear. It could be argued that Kohaku is genderless (being an angel), but when in human form looks like a woman. Conversely, all the demons in human form looking like men. If that is the case, there could be a romantic angle between Shuichiro and Kohaku, or it could just be….gay…..or bizarrely platonic. Anything’s possible with CLAMP. Wish is a short series, which may explain why there are some parts of the story that remain vague and unexplained. It finishes out at 4 volumes, all available in English in the U.S. It doesn’t rate in my top favorites, even from CLAMP, but elements from it have leaked into their later works (the heavenly bunny messenger appears in Kobato, and Kohaku makes several appearances in the Kobato anime.)

Foreign Friday: Heaven’s Will

This week’s Foreign Friday title is Heaven’s Will  by Satoru Takamiya.

The Plot

Sudou Mikuzu has a very special talent — she can see ghosts. And because of this predisposition, she’s become a magnet for all sorts of unwelcome monsters. Luckily for her she’s just met Seto, a friendly, cross-dressing young exorcist. Sudou needs protection from all the creepy phantoms bugging her, and Seto needs to practice his exorcism skils. Consequently, the pair decides to team up and help each other. In return, Sudou promises to bake a cake every time a ghost gets zapped!

The Characters

Sudou is an interesting female character because she has a lot of normal flaws that many fictional heroines don’t have. Still, she is strong when she has to be, and is a good friend. Seto is a young boy with a kind heart, handling the loss of his sister in a very unusual way…

What I Thought

Heaven’s Will is a interesting story with a lot of subtle angles. It’s only one volume long, and could possibly been cut short, but the ending is enough for the reader to have some closure. Topics like the dealing of trauma in your life, handling grief and blame, and making friends are surrounded by the world of the paranormal. It’s a very interesting read.

Foreign Friday: The Legend of Chun Hyang

This week’s Foreign Friday title is The Legend of Chun Hyang by CLAMP.

The Story

Chun Hyang is the feisty young daughter of the village shaman and a master of the martial arts. When a tyrannical warlord threatens harmony in her village and abducts one of her friends, Chun Hyang vows revenge and sets off on an adventure that would become a legend.

The Characters

Chun Hyang is young, brave, and endearing. Mong Ryong is cool, handsome, and often surprising.

What I Thought

Since it is based on Korean folklore, I was very interested to read The Legend of Chun Hyang. It lived up to my expectations in that it has a typical complicated CLAMP plot, detailed illustrations, and a very promising beginning. Unfortunately, there are only a few chapters in this series total, so the single volume is all you get for the story. Still, I enjoyed what there was of it.