Manga Reviews: Ramna, Akira, Rohan, Tokyo Babylon, Thermae Romae
Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)
Ranma ½ Manga Review
Ranma ½ was one of the first mangas I ever read. Later on, I did try to watch the anime show. I wasn't able to watch it. It could have also been the fault of bad English duds.
Anyhow, the manga was about Ranma who was training to be a martial artist. His father takes him to town one day to meet his arranged fiancé.
His fiancé does not like men. Ranma also has his own issues. One day while training, he falls into a cursed lake.
Whenever he is exposed to cold water, he turns into a girl. His father has a similar curse. In his case, he turns into a panda. As the manga progresses, the changing gender causes Ranma a lot of problems.
This is best illustrated in one of the duels he had in the manga. As a girl, he had shorter legs and this caused him problems against his male opponent.
He was eventually able to pull through. It was interesting to say the least. I never finished reading the manga, so there is no chance of me spoiling the ending. I got bored around volume 15.
Akira and Manga Review
I first saw the Akira movie. I thought it was pretty original in every fashion. It took place in a futuristic Japan. The protagonists were teens who were in a biker gang.
One day, while getting into a bike feud Tetsuo comes in close contact with a weird psychic kid. This chance encounter awakens his psychic powers. This causes a lot of problems because the people in Japan are not supposed to know about Espers.
In the middle of it all, there is the most powerful psychic named Akira. In the movie, they never bother to show Akira. They simply give an odd jump to the end.
I later read the manga. The movie was good, but it removed plenty of the mind blowing weirdness. The manga was not so much about psychics; rather it was about drug abuse.
In the manga, Tetsuo must keep taking this drug in order to maintain powers akin to Akira. Since he is thirsty for power, he tends to take things a little overboard.
I would like to see the complete version in the form of an anime show. The manga was one of the first Japanese comics to be completely translated to English. The pieces are there. So, why not make an adaptation faithful to the source material.
Children of the Sea Manga Review
This manga is a bit like a fish documentary, except that it stars humans. The best rendering of personages in the manga are the fishes.
The children too have an interesting design. The manga stars Ruka, who gets kicked out of the soccer team for injuring another player.
While going back home she runs into one of those fish kids. These children have the unique ability of staying underwater for prolonged periods of time.
One side effect is that they tend to get overheated because their bodies are used to low water temperatures. Around the time Ruka met these kids, they are starting to disappear.
Why this is occurring is still up for debate. Scientists spend most of the time not providing any useful answers.
The best thing about the manga is the scenery. The character designs are also decent enough. I recommend the manga, but mind you that it is a bit slow.
Rohan At the Louvre Manga Review
This is a short manga made by the creator of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. It is about the personage named Rohan. He seems like a comic manifestation of Hirohiko Araki.
I cannot blame him for the temptation of showing up in his own mangas. Cervantes and other writers have been doing the same thing for years, even I show up in my own manga from time to time.
In this story, Rohan was remembering his early years as a novice comic artist. He had problems drawing women. All his mangas were a sausage fest.
I can tell you for a fact that he still has not learned how to draw women. All his maidens lack the natural grace of women that are found even in the most masculine maidens.
He might be a reincarnation of Michelangelo, a painter who drew women as if they were men, with Adam’s apple and everything. You don't need to draw women right in order to make a good manga.
I myself struggle to draw men. That still hasn't stopped me from publishing my own mangas. Now, back to the review. The Rohan story was amusing. I recommend this manga.
Tokyo Babylon Clamp Manga Review
Tokyo Babylon is a prequel to X. It is about Tsubaru and his romance with Sheishiro. He was introduced to him by his twin sister.
She wanted to distract her twin from his day to day nonsense. Tsubaru normally spends him time fighting vengeful spirits. In the middle of it all, he has to deal with a strange curse mark on his hand.
He does not know what it means, or why he must keep it hidden. The manga only has 7 volumes. They have nice drawings, which is just what you would expect of Clamp.
The ending was a bit melodramatic, with the small violins. It got made into an anime show two decades ago; never got around to watching it. The manga was at least an interesting reading.
I read it while I was in High School. The manga was eventually burned by parents that have issues with Yaoi stories. More, the pity.
Thermae Romae Manga Review
Thermae Romae is a strange manga I found in Biscayne Bay of FIU. The smaller Campus of FIU has its largest manga collection. This manga was about the misadventures of a Roman guy.
He specializes in making baths. One day, he feels like he is in a rut and his relationship with his wife is not all that well. He feels like it is his civic duty to make the perfect Roman bath. One day, he falls in a bath and travels forward into the future.
He sees there a Japanese bath. He does not understand the language, but he takes note of everything he sees. With each new chapter, he draws new ideas he takes back the Roman world.
Along the way, the reader learns more about bathing tradition in Rome. It was a big deal back then. Hot baths were considered key in the health of the romans. All in all, it was an interesting manga. It also got made into a live action movie.
