About Me
To the DonQuix Fleet and newcomers...
As a young reader, I gravitated towards manga for its vibrance over reading novels. I didn’t have the attention span, nor the imagination capable of rendering a novelist’s fictional world. Today, I partake in different, thick novels with no color or face to the character(s). Expanding my palate has effectively made me a connoisseur of fictional stories. As well as classes at my local university in Arts and how it’s applied all around us.
Looking around society with this new lense is a profound experience. Reassessing the purpose behind things and places I’ve been around my entire life. In digesting this content, I’ve learned that artists/authors/architects sometimes leave hints to their personal character and opinions in their work. Historically, this seemed to develop as a tactic to say what you wouldn’t be able to say without serious repercussions. Things that the world around you, just isn’t ready for. My reviews of these works are to honor those creators as well as my sense of self-satisfaction. I have always had a thing for puzzles, and it may very well spell my doom.
There are many signs that go unseen when readers chase dialogue in manga. It’s this element that keeps the mangaka ten steps ahead of their audience. Eiichiro Oda for one is a world-renowned mangaka responsible for the epic story of One Piece. He’s garnered a large audience on a steady tap. His work is part of the weekly news cycle. He has a forum he can openly speak to without fear of being chastised for his beliefs. Through a lot of hard work, he leaves his message between the lines to avoid blatant detection.
Though Oda’s work is translated, the visual aspect of a manga is universally understood and only filtered by different culture’s. For instance, a bow in America would not have the same effect as a bow in Japan; nor is it used as frequently. Understanding the concept of a bow will help understand why story-tellers have used it in their stories. A bow is a vulnerable position; hands tucked, and nape of neck exposed. a drop of one’s guard to the receiver suggests that they respect and trust the receiver. I find these gestures to be the advantage mangaka and comic artists have over novelists; an illustrated balled, clenched fist.
Let’s take a closer look towards chapters 1133 and 1134 of One Piece. A character (Robin) reunites with a long lost remnant of her days of happiness and innocence. Her friends (The Strawhats) have heard many good things from Robin about the reintroduced character (Saul). In this scene, Oda demonstrates the heart of simple-minded characters. Typically, in today’s society, if you’re not complex, you’re obsolete. This is Oda’s answer to this stigma. Nervous about making a good impression with Saul, Luffy premieres a cultural gesture no one in the scene understands. He planted his feet in the ground horseshoe shaped stance as if saddled and prostrated an open palm to Saul out of respect. Despite Saul not recognizing the gesture, he recognized Luffy’s intent and it was well received. The intent was part of Luffy’s character, but the gesture was picked up along his journey. In a few pages, Oda washed the stigma of “Monkey see, monkey do.”
My reviews of stories don’t just focus on the plot, but it also evaluates a mangaka’s habits and tact in drawing and scripting. Monkey see, monkey do; generally noted as a pathetic individual doing something they don’t fully understand. Saul was entertained by Luffy’s attempt to show honor and respect. And yet, he knew how serious Luffy was about Robin. It was like a scene out of The Godfather. Addressing Robin’s original protector with an open palm and sleeves drawn to show that Luffy has no tricks up his sleeves. That he intends to handle Robin with care. Essentially, these simple-minded people are not to be underestimated. They can be just as capable as a character of high-class etiquette in formalities. Even more so capable to handle any sense of danger that comes for their crew.
This was a taste of what I intend to do with this channel. Look past the flashing lights, thriller, and blazing-fast action to translate the “words between the lines”. Be it choice vocabulary, character name clues, framing, setting, figures of speech, etc, I will deduce the underlying message. We’re a quarter century into the 3rd millennia and we as a society have some catching up to do. Interpreting the signs in the media will be crucial to staying afloat and I choose to lend a helping hand to those that are having trouble seeing the fine print. Welcome to the DonQuix fleet.
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