Forum - View topicHanaotoko by Taiyo Matsumoto
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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I just finished reading Hanaotoko... Holy shit, I like it better than Black & White. Honestly, the only other time where I smiled so much while reading a manga is Yotsuba&!. Taiyo Matsumoto had me continuously grinning like a stupid idiot -- to make a stretch, nearly like Hanao himself. I can't really describe this manga as anything else but "utterly lovable and completely heart-warming." It's hilarious with both witty and immature humor going on at the same time, and the emotions that permeate the story are just so touching and genuine, in a way that only Matsumoto can convey.
That's not to say that there isn't any sort of suspense and conflict, because there is plenty of that going about. Shigeo's character makes it clear from the beginning with the troubled relationship that he has with his father. Yet, in the end, his character growth is some of the best that I've encountered in the medium, spoiler[going from a conceited brat who'd, in my opinion, no sooner lift a finger to save his father from dying to riding and running to cheer his father in his debut at-bat.] Oh, about that, I loved the ending. Easily one of my favorites in manga, possibly one of my favorites in fiction. Everything just comes together perfectly, and you're feeling exactly what Shigeo is feeling as spoiler[he's in the stands, ready to watch his dad live his dream by hitting that home run, hearing the chorus of cheers of fifty-thousand fans.] It was breath-taking, and I can't imagine it ending in a better way. And what to say about the art? Matsumoto's style is generally a love/hate type for the readers, and I fall in the former category. It's energetic. I can never get enough of the panel work. The oddities of the environment somehow always seem to fit in with the narration. The use of expressions more often than naught tells more than any words can (most notably in the chapter with no dialogue except for a "Woof!" at the end, titled "Silence"). All in all there's a subtle beauty in the way Matsumoto makes use of his artwork, and it really shines in Hanaotoko. If you aren't against scanlations and are interested in excellent seinen manga, I beg you to check the series out. It's a quirky slice-of-life comedy that will leave you satisfied like few other manga will, and it's by one of the most remarkable manga-ka out there. Check it out. |
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Hoenheim
 Posts: 44 Location: Santa Barbara, California |
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I've only read two of the three volumes so far, but I'll give my thoughts on those. Also, I haven't read them super recently.
Hanaotoko was my first Taiyo Matsumoto manga, so of course my first reaction was "woah!" or something along those lines at the art, which I think annoyed me then. Overall, the first volume didn't really impress me consisting of pretty much clichés, one of my biggest annoyances. Some of it was fun, most of it was just eh. Upon finishing the second volume, I had a change of heart. Yes, the clichés were still present, but done... uniquely as well as the series overall having a more original feel than before. I remember one scenespoiler[, I think where Shigeru was talking to his mom about staying with Hanao, ] where I was expecting cheesy dialog and it turned out to be kind of touching. I pretty much consider the first volume development for the fun stories to happen in the, in my opinion, superior volume. Also I'd been getting used to the art and starting to love it, mainly for it's uniqueness. Hanao and Shigeru really seemed to develop their character in this volume moving away from having annoyed me in the first. The stories, having pretty much no major plot and being one-shots, could easily be re-read. I loved that silent chapter as well. While I can't say I adore the series, I prefer Black & White, I'll still say you should read it. Despite it's clichés, it's pretty unique. |
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shamelessfanboy
 Posts: 48 |
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A Hanaotoko lovefest? I can dig that. I'm afraid I'm not one to make long posts, but I will say this: This manga is extremely lovable. If you don't like Hanao, then you have no soul. I was really happy to see this finished up, the hiatus coming when we were so close to the end was killer.
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godakame
 Posts: 112 Location: Disney World |
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Hanaotoko has been on the back burner for quite some time. I don't really take kindly towards sports manga or the like, so I've been pretty meh about it. But with such a positive response to the manga, I guess I'll pick it up this weekend...I hope I'll still have a soul.
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Well it's not really a sports manga, more of a comedic slice-of-life that just happens to feature some wacked-out baseball scenes (which hardly take up any pages). You shouldn't have a problem. Hoenheim: See, I really wouldn't fault it for using cliches. I mean its virtually impossible to create a narrative without borrowing something or at least following some sort of narrative convention. It's only when cliches take the place of substance or become blatant that they really detract from the story, and neither example happens in this case. In my opinion the only part of the first volume that I had problems (not in terms of writing, but rather readability) was Shigeo's character. Its hard to sympathise with such an obnoxious brat. His relationship with Hanao provided plenty of comedy and despite the fact that I liked it quite a bit the initial offering didn't floor me like most of Matsumoto's work does. And then he grows up. Shigeo's development as a person is one of the most belieable and engaging transformations I've seen in manga. The cooly cynical, precocious and even easy-going (until Hanao shows up of course) character that he becomes is the absolutely perfect foil to his father, who himself is one of the greatest characters I've ever seen in the medium. But I think Hellkorn sums Hanaotoko's appeal up perfectly: it makes you grin like an idiot every single chapter. The comedy is pitch-perfect, the characters (as I've already mentioned) are wonderful and the wacky-surrealness of its world just pulls you in. I think everyone tends to overly focus on the surreal nature of Matsumoto's stories, but one of his biggest strength's is his ability to envoke emotion out of the reader. No matter how insane the story is or how seemingly haphazard his storytelling is he always manages to keep his stories grounded in human emotions (with some exceptions). To summarize, Hanaotoko is amazing and should be read by all. On a seperate note, I think that we've been pretty lucky in that every single manga from Matsumoto, both scanslated and published, has had an incredible translation, which REALLY helps. Summer Soldier can write his way around most professional translators, and some of the dialogue in Hanaotoko is genius (I'll have to dig up the classic Humphrey Bogart line from the second volume). |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Eh, I already told ya how to go about finishing Hanaotoko via AIM, Hohenheim, so I'll leave it at that.
Heh, I put it off for a few months and was "rewarded" by reading it all quickly.
Kagemusha, never, never stop praising Taiyo Matsumoto's stuff.
spoiler["I wake up at four a.m. and run three kilometers every morning. It's a hard-boiled life. Humphrey Bogart would be proud of me, hehe."] 
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Ayokillyou
 Posts: 29 Location: Brooklyn, New York City |
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Am I missing something?
Is this out or is it made of magic? If it's made of magic, then I'll just wait until some enterprising wizard publishes it for me to read. |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Those that have read it have more than likely read it through scanlations, myself included. If by any chance you aren't familiar with them, just know that they're illegal, so don't bother asking for them 'round these parts. And it is unlikely that Hanaotoko will be licensed for North America considering that it wouldn't hold that large of an audience. |
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Ayokillyou
Posts: 29 Location: Brooklyn, New York City |
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I wish I could say that I was shocked and scandalized, but somehow, (and I stress magically) the full three book set is waiting for me at home.
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