Forum - View topicJason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Peepo Choo
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nottimkai
 Posts: 77 |
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You sir! You made my day!
Never thought I'd live to see the day, and you did justice to the work and the artist. More people need to know about Felipe Smith. And for my part, I had no idea he was back to work on a new title! Time to hit up my local comic shop! Great article, looking forward to the next! |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7358 |
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Sweet, he's working on something else? Awesome!
I definitely think Peepo Choo got cut short, but he did leave it in a place where it could continue if need be, and I'd freakin' love to see it continue! It's just a damn good comic, I could care less what country it's from, it's awesome! I love how over the top Morimoto Rockstar is, when he kills a man, he carves random Engrish into his torso ("So/Cool/Groove/Dead"), and it's simply amazing! Pacing wise, it definitely reminded me a lot of MBQ (or would it be the other way around for me since I read Peepo Choo first and it's what made me get MBQ?), with lots of threads going on at the same time coming together in the end, but following the many plots never felt like work or anything. I'd love more people to give MBQ and Peepo Choo a try, even if one doesn't consider them to be "manga", it's impossible not to consider them to be good comics. |
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
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I forgot to mention the most important thing: that Peepo Choo is published in English by Vertical, of course!
http://www.vertical-inc.com/books/peepochoo.html |
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Anime World Order
 Posts: 390 Location: Florida |
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Given that Felipe Smith was himself a former "Rising Star of Manga," I have every certainty that the depiction of the This is Totally Not Stu Levy character in charge of the This Is Totally Not Tokyopop anime company is shall we say, heavily inspired by reality. When I reviewed Peepo Choo three years ago, I posited that the narrative of it was indeed an autobiography. Felipe Smith just split up his life experiences across multiple characters. Yes, this does imply that I'm saying he's murdered many people in horrific fashion, but I've been in the same room as him. HE'S CAPABLE OF IT, I ASSURE YOU. I do think it's possible even post-1980s for something to be hugely popular in the US yet dead in the water in Japan and vice versa, without younger fans being aware of that fact. In fact, perhaps that's true now more than ever. Contrast the most popular anime titles in the US with the most popular in Japan and you'll see there's not as much overlap as you might think. I'm surprised I still encounter fans here who don't know that Naruto is less popular than One Piece in Japan, but it's not as common knowledge as I thought. Plus, there's a bit of a disconnect at times between "what Japanese anime viewers want to see" and "what the rest of the world's anime viewers want to see." Certainly, few in Japan seem to particularly care for the international mega-hits of anime circa the 1990s/2000s: Trigun, Ninja Scroll, Ghost in the Shell, Samurai Champloo, Burn Up!, MD Geist....okay, maybe those last two are reopening old wounds, but even recently it was announced that more Beyblade animation will be made due to its US reception. On the flip side, it's not like US fans are crazy for Toriko, Pretty Cure, or Cardfight Vanguard en masse. As to the question of how this is depicted in Peepo Choo: can that level of flagrant deception still be pulled off TODAY, now that we have simulcasting? I'll answer that question with another question: how successful do you suppose the "Cool Japan" initiative is, and among which demographics? |
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Animerican14
 Posts: 963 Location: Saint Louis, MO |
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I've heard of Felipe Smith before and how his stuff like MBQ was pretty good stuff compared to many other OEL manga that came out in the mid-2000s, but I wasn't too interested. The art style and seemingly-try-hard "edginess" of the content didn't help. Knowing about the satirical angle of his work now, though and the clash of cultures explored in Peepo Choo, it sounds like a fun read after all. Also intriguing that Peepo Choo was more involved with Japan's manga market than I thought. Great article, Jason! (Though I'm afraid that I cut myself a bit short, lest I spoil for myself some of the stuff that happens in later volumes-- I really want to try this manga out, thanks to you.)
I also really really appreciated all the contextualizing that was done in the introduction regarding "manga" with American involvement and cross-cultural perceptions between the States and Japan. That link to that article on anti-Americanism and nationalism as expressed through manga in particular was a great read. |
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
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Perhaps, once the government starts promoting something as an example of proud national culture (like, say, Rozen Maiden), that's when you really know it's gone to sh*t. |
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law240
 Posts: 77 Location: El Paso, TX |
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I remember reading MBQ on a fluke and loved then desperately started looking for Peepo Choo but it hadn't come out in the states whats the status on it now?
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zawa113
Posts: 7358 |
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Vertical released all three volumes, they've been out for a couple years now I'd say. |
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here-and-faraway
 Posts: 1529 Location: Sunny California |
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I thought the ending was the sign of an underdeveloped storyteller who didn't know how to finish what he had started. I agree with all of the positive things said about the manga and really enjoyed the story...until it ended. I can forgive some of the loose threads, but the one thing I couldn't stand is spoiler[ the complete lack of closure between Morimoto and Gill]. To have such a big build up and absolutely no climax left a bitter taste indeed. |
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RestLessone
 Posts: 1426 Location: New York |
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I bought the three volumes a couple months ago. It was a fun series, particularly seeing it poke fun at both Japanese and American media and stereotypes. I wasn't aware that Smith was involved with Tokyopop before now, but knowing this...Yeeeeeah, that speech does seem a little reminiscent of Levy's treatment of manga, fans, and his company. Heh.
While I was reading it, I couldn't help but wonder how the Japanese readers felt. It's certainly different and zany. How did they look at the satire? At this point, I'd say most manga/anime fans (at least the older ones) are aware that a lot of what we read and love isn't popular or the norm over in Japan. Do people there fall into the common pitfall of assuming a culture based on the pop? (Not necessarily of the US.)
I had this problem, too. I wondered if it was meant to be 3 volumes and it was simply a poorly executed finale, or if it didn't resonate with the readers and was cut short. An extra volume to tie up everything would've been nice. |
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partysmores
 Posts: 284 |
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*sigh* I'd love to own this, but Vertical has it listed as an adult title, and my mother would kill me if she saw that cover art...
Can anyone tell me just why it is 18+? It sounds more like a fun comedy with some adult content then porn. |
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RestLessone
Posts: 1426 Location: New York |
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In addition to course language and some violence, the thing is chocked full of sex. It's never portrayed seriously, as in the series just doesn't contain a straight-up realistic romantic couple. There's almost always some comical set-up. So Peepo Choo is not porn--it's a comedy at its core--but it's very much present. As a note, it's more than just silhouettes, too; it's fairly graphic stuff. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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Where do you see that? It's certainly not an adult manga where it was originally published in Japan, and for the US release, there's no cover warning, and nothing on Vertical's page: http://www.vertical-inc.com/books/peepochoo.html nor Random House's page: http://www.randomhouse.com/book/202098/peepo-choo-1-by-felipe-smith/9781934287835/ nor on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Peepo-Choo-1-Felipe-Smith/dp/1934287830/ nor on BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/peepo-choo-1-felipe-smith/1019168239 where anyone can buy it . . . |
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Snomaster1
 SubscriberPosts: 2916 |
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I too,can't imagine how the Japanese must have felt when they read "Peepo Choo." They must have been in disbelief over this one. The typical Japanese reader must have been thinking "What in the heck am I reading here?" From what I've seen in the article,it's most likely an over-the-top satire on both Japanese and American otaku.
I also agree with Mr. Thompson about attracting more flies with honey than vinegar. I tend to like the more positive portrayals of America in manga like "Cipher,""Chrono Crusade,"and "Gun Blaze West" than some of the more negative portrayals. I've got the feeling that the Japanese are glad that Felipe Smith is back in America and not in Japan. I don't think they could handle the type of manga he does. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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^ I don't think the reception was really negative at all. Considering everything, he did extremely well for not only being a foreigner, but publishing a semi-autobiographical material that is a fusion of foreign and local. He would not get his Tankobons published if he did poorly or if there was such a negative reaction. From what I've read about Japanese commentary and reviews they found it interesting and/or perplexing. At best, some of the jokes, situations, sarcasm probably escaped them and they may have lost interest in the end, but there was no backlash or anything like that.
WRT:
Turns out to be quite the opposite actually. Flies LOVE vinegar (which makes sense since vinegar is the product of fermentation, a natural scent or signal of death/breakdown/decay) |
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