[Tab] New post at TAB: Tom's Anime Blog

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Tom:
Manga: Living Game

   Well, I've decided to branch out into reviewing manga, as well as
   anime. I read alot of manga, and a volume of a manga (which may
   contain between 3 and 12 stories) is long enough to warrant a decent
   review, while it's sometime hard to write about filler anime episodes.
   I also don't want to get into reviewing every episode as they come
   out.

   Anyway, Living Game is a manga about 25 year old random loser guy
   Fuwa, who moves into a larger apartment in the first chapter.
   Unfortunately, an earthquake destroys the building where the small
   business he works for was located. They decided to move the company
   into his apartment.

   This starts a parade of people moving through his apartment and his
   life. Foremost among these is 15 year old Izumi, his boss's niece who
   dropped out of high school and went to work for their company. After
   her first apartment is demolished, she moves in with Fuwa. Despite the
   age gap, she's the obvious love interest, and the series follows the
   ups and downs of their relationship. Many of these involve either them
   moving to a new apartment, or someone (like Fuwa's married ex) moving
   in with them.

   There are also some really nice supporting characters, like crotchety
   old man Tanokura or masked architect Sugita-sensei. (I don't think
   that either of them moves in with Fuwa, but Tanokura moves around
   alot.)

   So what is Living Game about? I'd say it's about finding a place for
   oneself, both literally and figuratively. Literally in the various
   apartments and houses that are rented or built over the course of the
   series, with the unreliable guy's various relationships complicating
   the figurative side of things.

   One scene that really appealed to me is vol 9 ch 5-6, in which Fuwa
   points out to an artistic architect how livability should trump art
   when designing a house. I think that this should be forcably shown to
   anyone who lets HGTV go to their heads.

   Living Game starts in 1990 and goes from there. It's right about when
   Japan's Economic Miracle collapsed, so we get to see that occur on the
   pages of the Manga. (Along with the huge cell phones of that era.)

   Stylistically, this is manga is drawn in a very cartoony style. I
   don't mean that in a perjorative sense, but rather to indicate that
   it's simple, with an emphasis on clear thick lines and solid areas.
   This manga is very clearly drawn, I never had any problem telling
   characters apart or what was going on.

   I'll call Living Game a good manga. I read it right before moving for
   the summer to Virgina, which was exactly the right time to read it.