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Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Red River


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neocloud9



Joined: 06 Oct 2008
Posts: 1178
Location: Atlanta, GA
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 10:44 am Reply with quote
Oh man, I loved the heck out of Red River back in high school. I should revisit that someday...
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chloes_fork



Joined: 08 Jun 2004
Posts: 58
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:57 am Reply with quote
Though this is one of those titles where Viz has allowed random volumes of its long run to drop out of print Mad, I managed to collect the complete series by shopping several different sources a couple years back. My inner Japanese teenage girl -- as I call the part of this adult American male that inexplicably loves good shoujo -- enjoyed the heck out of it.
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Ingraman



Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 1084
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:35 pm Reply with quote
I've got the whole set sitting on my "favorites" manga shelf, right next to Basara, Nana, Fruits Basket, Kare Kano, Gals!, Berserk, Negima, and a few others.

It's a series that I pull off the shelf and reread occasionally. Did it have a "preview" in Shojo Beat? I'm not remembering why I chose to start the series or how I came across it, but I bought each book as it was released, so I never had to track down various volumes. It's another one of those girl-goes-to-"different"-world series that I like, along with Vision of Escaflowne (anime, not manga) and Twelve Kingdoms, but I found Fushigi Yuugi to be intolerable.
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Aylinn



Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 1684
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:50 pm Reply with quote
This article remained me that I still haven't finished reading Red River.

Quote:
In fact, why do ancient history manga always have to be about someone traveling back in time?

If you don't want travelling back in time, you can always try this.
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EireformContinent



Joined: 30 May 2009
Posts: 977
Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land)
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:08 pm Reply with quote
It's a nice device to explain world to the reader while not making characters sound like Captain Obvious. What is more, the modern character can always be the only person having similar morality to reader- it can emphasize the values dissonance and let author have one character who don't seem like psychopath to modern reader.
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zeonozero



Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 85
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:44 pm Reply with quote
Jason usually convinces me to check out older seires, and this definatley peaked my interest with the historical aspect... but man 28 volumes.... only deterrent there honestly, definately wont buy, but ill still read somewhere
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Snomaster1
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Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Posts: 2915
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:15 pm Reply with quote
A modern day Japanese girl goes back in time because of a magic spell and has adventures in that time period. To me,this sounds a lot like "Inuyasha." In fact,I think both "Red River" and "Inuyasha" may have been inspired by "Crest of the Pharaoh" or as I've heard the title "Crest of the Royal Family." For those who don't know what I'm talking about let me explain it.
"Crest of the Royal Family" is about an American girl named Sarah who has a huge interest in ancient Egypt. One day,she ends up going back in time because of a magic spell. She winds up falling in love with the Pharaoh of the time. To me,it's a shame that this manga hasn't been translated into English. I think it would do well over here. And if you're wondering how I found out about this manga? I read Jason Thompson's book on the subject,that's how.


Last edited by Snomaster1 on Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
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lys



Joined: 24 Jun 2004
Posts: 1017
Location: mitten-state
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 5:18 pm Reply with quote
Snomaster1 wrote:
"Crest of the Royal Family" is about an American girl named Sarah who has a huge interest in ancient Egypt. One day,she ends up going back in time because of a magic spell. She winds up falling in love with the Pharaoh of the time. To me,it's a shame that this manga hasn't been translated into English. I think it would do well over here. And if you're wondering how I found out about this manga? I read Jason Thompson's book on the subject,that's how.


Hahaha, I would totally buy [at least the first few volumes of] Ouke no Monshou if some publisher was crazy enough to license it... but I don't know how many others would do the same. It's a 50+ volume (and still going!) shoujo manga with super old-fashioned art. There's no way that "would do well" here at this point in time. Glass Mask probably has better chances for being more well-known (and "only" having 40+ volumes), and nobody's jumping to publish that here either. Maybe someday... some far-off day...

EireformContinent's comment about the modern-character device allowing for a protagonist with relatable values/morals was interesting and totally makes sense! When I read Kaze Hikaru (set in the not-so-distant 1800s Japan), there are times when it's really striking that the characters have totally different values based on the culture and time period they lived in (which then leads me to realize that I can still relate to many of those characters despite the value-differences, because of their basic humanity. Ahh, Kaze Hikaru is such a good series...).

Sorry for going off-topic to other series—yet again, I haven't read this one yet. But wonderful, highly entertaining column, once again!!
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wandering-dreamer



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 1733
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 5:45 pm Reply with quote
Oooooh, started reading this summer and I got a good way through (maybe half way through?) but I just haven't had the time to finish it yet, should really do that soon.
Aylinn wrote:
If you don't want travelling back in time, you can always try this.

*adds to to-read list*
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EireformContinent



Joined: 30 May 2009
Posts: 977
Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land)
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 5:58 pm Reply with quote
Lys, thanks for mentioning Kaze Hikaru, it sounds very interesting.
Glass Mask has one important feature- it was adapted into anime, so western fans can enjoy it in that form. While licensing any long-running shoujo manga sounds like drunken dream we should be heppy that we have at least that.
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Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:07 pm Reply with quote
I am angry. I read this column regularly, but this is the first time I knew within seconds that I had to purchase this manga. And I can find stores selling too, so I don't have an excuse not to buy it. So this column has set me back a few hundred dollars. I hope you're happy.

I love shoujo manga, and I love history (although my favorite pre-Roman civilization was the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, whose skill in trade was matched only by their incompetence in battle), so this is a perfect match for me. Now, I'm off to search under the couch for some spare change.
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chichiriNoDa



Joined: 13 Dec 2007
Posts: 532
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:03 am Reply with quote
EireformContinent wrote:
Lys, thanks for mentioning Kaze Hikaru, it sounds very interesting.
Glass Mask has one important feature- it was adapted into anime, so western fans can enjoy it in that form. While licensing any long-running shoujo manga sounds like drunken dream we should be heppy that we have at least that.


You should definitely check out Kaze Hikaru. One of my fave shoujo series ever...

I loved Red River, now I have to re-read it again. Smile
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:04 am Reply with quote
Lys wrote:
Snomaster1 wrote:
"Crest of the Royal Family" is about an American girl named Sarah who has a huge interest in ancient Egypt. One day,she ends up going back in time because of a magic spell. She winds up falling in love with the Pharaoh of the time. To me,it's a shame that this manga hasn't been translated into English. I think it would do well over here. And if you're wondering how I found out about this manga? I read Jason Thompson's book on the subject,that's how.


EireformContinent's comment about the modern-character device allowing for a protagonist with relatable values/morals was interesting and totally makes sense! When I read Kaze Hikaru (set in the not-so-distant 1800s Japan), there are times when it's really striking that the characters have totally different values based on the culture and time period they lived in (which then leads me to realize that I can still relate to many of those characters despite the value-differences, because of their basic humanity. Ahh, Kaze Hikaru is such a good series...).


You and EireformContinent are totally right! Having a modern-day protagonist timeslip into the story is a good way to make the setting more understandable. But I also like stories like Kaze Hikaru (or Hitoshi Iwaaki's "Historie") where you see everything from the POV of a person from that time. Although usually, to make them more sympathetic, they end up being an exceptionally nice and forward-thinking person from that time, i.e. they're not totally sexist, they don't own slaves, etc... -_- Even "Mad Men", which tries hard to shock the viewer with the cultural differences between the characters and modern-day people, occasionally tiptoes around some things... and "Mad Men" is set just 50 years ago....


Last edited by ptolemy18 on Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:06 am; edited 1 time in total
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:05 am Reply with quote
Snomaster1 wrote:
A modern day Japanese girl goes back in time because of a magic spell and has adventures in that time period. To me,this sounds a lot like "Inuyasha."


It's actually not very much like "Inuyasha", because there's no monsters and not really any magic in "Red River." (Except for the magic they use to send her back to the past. But they don't meet any ancient Hittite monsters or anything. Sigh.....)
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:09 am Reply with quote
Melanchthon wrote:
I am angry. I read this column regularly, but this is the first time I knew within seconds that I had to purchase this manga. And I can find stores selling too, so I don't have an excuse not to buy it. So this column has set me back a few hundred dollars. I hope you're happy.


Mwa ha ha ha ha!

Quote:
I love shoujo manga, and I love history (although my favorite pre-Roman civilization was the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, whose skill in trade was matched only by their incompetence in battle), so this is a perfect match for me. Now, I'm off to search under the couch for some spare change.


I love the Phoenicians & Carthaginians too! They got so shafted by the stupid Romans! I hope that "Hannibal" movie actually gets made. (Last time I heard, there were two different studios trying to do a Hannibal film, one starring Vin Diesel... "Chronicles of Hannibal"? I'll believe it when I see it...)

BAAL 4-EVER!~~!!!
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