Forum - View topicNo.5- Totally wacked out manga
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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I remember walking into this comicbook store that vaugely resembled my nearest New England Comics. I can't remember what I did when I first came to the store, but I saw an odd looking, oversized paperback on the shelf. It was the third volume of Taiyo Matsumoto's No.5. I howled with joy, carrying on, not believing that it had actually came out. Thats when I woke up at 8:30 this morning and proceeded to use every swear in the English language. Unfortunatally this practically ruined my entire day until the Sox pulled out a victory, but makes me fear that we may never get to see the rest of one of the best mangas out today.
Now that I got that off my chest, I can tell you why you should be reading this manga that most fans have probobly never heard of, thanks in part to its weirdness. By Taiyo Matsumoto (Black and White, Ping Pong) its about an agent named No.5 (real name is Yuri) who has kidnapped a short, stout woman from the Rainbow Council, the cabal that he was part of with eight other agents (#1-9). This simplstic plot takes place in a bizarre world that resembles are own, with members of the RC hailing from races similar to our own. The first two volumes show No.5's battle with various other members of the RC as he flees with Matroshka. Its a pretty simplistic plot, but the way that Matsumoto tells the story is amazing. There are so many diffrent genres in one book that you'll find yourself in awe while reading. There are many suggested emotions of the characters, and we get a firm grasp on their personallitys, as well as the state of the world, without using over the top emotions. Matsumoto explores the personallitys of the council members, and their storys are very interesting. My favorite was No.6, a battle hardened old man who lives with a young woman and her son for a time. This has been done before, butthe way Matsumoto presents it evokes such strong emotions from the reader. The two volumes just left me dumbfounded with all the ideas and possibilitys. Then the art. Matsumoto is very influenced by the Europian style of art, and his art is surreal and odd. Its alot diffrent from Black and White, with a more sketchy style, and is even weirder. It will take some readers time to get used to, but its very good and loaded with detail. Everything in the world is weird, from the lionsheeps to the old man with an afro as big as a truck (which a cat lives in by the way). My favorite example of the mangas strangeness is the leader of the Rainbow Council, who wears a bunnysuit with the word "Genius" on the front. Its a pretty hard thing to describe, and its definitally not for everyone, but I would definitally say this is one of the best mangas available on the English market. Its not very clear when Viz is putting out the next volume unfortunatally, but I have faith that it will eventually come (its extreamly slow in Japan also). Any thoughts/criticisms? |
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jfrog
 Posts: 925 Location: Seattle |
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I still need to pick up the first volume...
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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Well I do own the first 2 volume but havn't got a chance to read it yet.
I don't like oversized manga, Blade of the Immortal is probably the biggest size I would prefer, but No. 5 is freaking huge. The art is blown up and I think it would be more fitting if it was smaller, but that's just my opinion. I need to read it though. |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Why don't you like oversized? True that some things work better in smaller format, but I really appreciate that more detailed works are oversized. No.5 is pretty detailed, and there's just so much random crap on each page (E.T. movie, Beatles poster) that it kind of helps to have it big. And it does more for some more simplistic art too, like Even a Monkey Can draw Manga! (especially in the subliminal messages section and pictures of the author
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darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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Yea I understand that larger book provide more detail, that's why Blade and Vagabond are good size yet still compact and portable. No. 5 is very detail.
I feel that a more compact size is better though in term of "looks". Let's say that a 5x7 manga is a dvd and a 7x10 manga feel like a laser disc. This has nothing to do with the content itself, but more about the convienent of having it smaller. Also to me, it feel more like a "novel" than a regular comic book. I wish more comic TPB were digisize too. I know the Street Fighter TPB is digisize and it still retain all the detail as it's bigger version. I wonder how many people prefer larger size manga. This would make a good topic. |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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I agree that the comicbook size doesn't work for everything, and that the DH/Viz "meduim" sized books are probobly my favorite type. I'm sure alot of people wouldn't like them because of the higher price, but from what I can gather flopping the books accounts for alot of the cost. Thats why Vagabond is so cheap, despite being the same size as the old, more expensive Viz paperbacks. This holds true for Darkhorse as well if you compare the price of the new 3x3 Eyes to the old (though I'm not sure why they need to charge 4 dollars extra for Berserk/Hellsing).
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darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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I think it cost them quite a bit to licensed it. Otherwise, I don't see why dark horse don't price it at the same level as Trigun. AS for the art of No.5 , its definitely weird. I intrigue by the different art style (like Blade or One Piece), but I agree you have to get used to it since it's not common manga stuff. |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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I really can't see them costing more than Trigun, as thats a bigger property. I just think they're still in the mindset for publishing comicbook TPBs (more content=higher price). But No.5's art is strange even compared to Matsumoto's other manga. I think he really goes out of his way to vary his style, and I appreciate that. I still like Black and White's art better, but No.5 is really appealing. |
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