Today I’m showcasing a manga that’s very near and dear to my heart. I credit it with not only getting me into manga, but comics in general. It shifted my perceptions of comics away from tights-and-capes and made me see the breadth of story telling available within the medium. So, if it could do that for me, maybe it could get you into manga.
The name of the series is ‘Short Program,’ written and drawn by Mitsuru Adachi. It’s a two volume collection of short stories, usually of the romantic-comedy variety. While volume two is fun and has the occasional flash of greatness, volume one is pretty much perfect. It’s on that volume that’s I’ll be concentrating on.
Adachi’s art is simple to the point where some might find it a little plain, but Mitsuru is a masterful story-teller. Instead of being a sorcerer who wows you with dazzling images and dramatic moments, Adachi is more like a magician, calling your attention to certain elements and then surprising you with some deft sleight of hand. Little details, gestures and throw-away lines, all end up being the key to everything in these stories. Mitsuru rarely makes a big deal out of the big reveals; he gives the reader just enough so that they can figure it out themselves. And instead of feeling manipulated, you end-up feeling like a participant in the story, as close as the situation as the characters.
My favorite stories in volume one include junior high school reunion. As we see the kids (now in high school) mingle, the story flashes back to their junior high school days. The back and forth makes for a much more powerful story than if it had just been told straight-up. My other favorite takes place in a guy’s living room as he and his buddy watch the Olympics. How do you get a romance story from that? (And no, they're not gay). Adachi manages and it’s great.
Short story is a difficult medium, no matter if it’s print or comic. None of Adachi’s longer form work have been translated into English, which is a shame because it’s wonderful to see the same deft touch he uses in Short Program in a long, serial format. But at the same time, he has the short story format nailed. If you like short stories and want to see how their best utilized in comic book form, you need to check out Short Program.
If there’s one pain about Short Program, it’s how hard it is to find. Published back in 2000, the artwork was flipped so that it read the western way (a bonus for people getting into manga who haven’t gotten the reading from right-to-left thing down yet). Amazon doesn’t have it for sale, though you can buy it secondhand. Still, it’s worth your while to track down a copy.
Next week on MFPWDM: Shannon takes a long, hard look at manga mega-stars CLAMP and sees if there’s anything there for non-otaku.
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