Tanabata no Kuni

STORY

During civil war period in Japan, a warlord army aimed to invade a village but was defeated by mysterious power of the villagers despite the army had a numerous manpower.
At present day, the main character, Yoji Minamimaru, has a strange power that he can make a small hole on paper or cup if he desires.
One day Yoji is called from Marugami seminar (studies of history and ethnology), the professor is already gone and Yoji finds several things on which an egg-size hole is ripped at the professor’s office.
At the same time, a strange homicide that half of human head is ripped off happens at a town.
In order to research the relationships among his strange ability, the holes the professor left, and the homicide, Yoji goes to the town Marukawa-cho, and he faces several problems and realties there.

(Hitoshi Iwaaki/1997-1999/4 books/Shogakukan)

COMMENT by Shun

Deeply set-up scenario packed in just four books and well-organized last scene which makes all questions readers may have solved, this cartoon is a masterpiece of the writer Hitoshi Iwaaki as well as his best-known cartoon Parasite. Comparing only the completion rate of the comics, I would say this is better than Kisejyu.
Although it is a great satisfaction you feel from the admirable last scene, I sometimes hear that some people say it is too simple that the word Sachiko, a village girl, speaks is only ‘welcome’ when Yoji visits the village again after everything is solved.
No matter what they say, however, I can see a special feeling included in the simple and short words ‘welcome back,’ and it deserves for the last scene, regarding Sachiko’s thanks, who has lived alone in narrow and dark world, to Yoji who released her free.

Shun's Score 9

七夕の国

STORY

戦国時代、とある里を侵略しようとした島寺軍は、圧倒的な兵力にもかかわらず、里の人々の不可思議な能力によって敗北した。
時代は流れ現代、大学生である主人公の南丸洋二は念じるだけで紙やコップに小さな穴を空けるという、使い道のない特殊な能力をもっていた。
ある日南丸は丸神ゼミに呼ばれるのだが、教授は失踪しており、ゼミ室には卵ぐらいの大きさの穴がえぐりとられた様々なものが残されていた。そして同時期、頭が半分えぐりとられるという、不思議な殺人事件が起きる。
自分の能力と教授の残した穴、殺人事件の関連性を調査するため、事件の起こった丸川町へ向い、多くの問題と真実に直面していくこととなる。

(Hitoshi Iwaaki/1997-1999/4 books/Shogakukan)

COMMENT by Shun

４冊に凝縮された細部まで煮詰められた設定、最終巻で次々と一本につながってゆく南丸たちの能力と丸神村の関連性、同作者の寄生獣と並ぶ傑作である。完成度の高さだけでいったらこちらが上。
最終話のかぶり寄りの伏線回収の満足感はとても大きいのだが、ラストの南丸が再度丸川町へ訪れた時の幸子の「ようこそ」という一言が、あっさりしすぎでは？といった声を耳にすることがある。
しかしハカセから見たら、狭く恐ろしい世界でずっと生きてきた幸子の、暗闇を切り開いてくれた南丸への「ようこそ」にこめられた思いこそが最後の伏線回収であり大団円なのだ。

Shun's Score 9

ドラゴンヘッド

ストーリー

修学旅行の帰り道、突如発生した大地震によりトンネル内に新幹線ごと閉じ込められ外界と遮断されてしまう。
横転した車中には死体が累々と横たわり凄まじい状況であったが、運よく生き残った、テル、アコ、ノブオの3人は脱出を目指して生きる術を模索する。
長く闇に接しすぎ正常を保つことができない3人であったが、狂ってしまったノブオを残しなんとか脱出する。
外の世界はドス黒い雲に覆われ荒廃しており2人は落胆するも、再び気を取り直し生まれ育った街を目指し歩み始める。
大地震の原因とは？2人は家族を見つけることができたのか？極限状態における人間の本質と狂気を描く

(望月峯太郎/1994-2000/10巻/講談社)

感想 by Shun

パニック系マンガのはしりのひとつである。幅広い世代の読者に衝撃を与え金字塔になるかと思われたが、大きく広げた風呂敷をたためないまま終了し、結果駄作と評された作品である。
当時高校生だったハカセももれなくハマり、友達と大地震の理由から結末の予測まで、ああでもないこうでもないと話し合い新刊を待ち望んだ。
序盤から中盤のおぞましい展開は見るものを惹きつけ、特に大地震の影響で閉じ込められたトンネル内で、暗闇・孤立といった恐怖がノブオの精神を壊していく様子は必見のシーンである。トンネル脱出後も奇妙な集団との遭遇や、暴徒との戦いなどの様々な恐怖が絶えず飽きることなく読める。
しかしだ…、最終話が全くもって納得いかない。人間の弱さと強さを表現する詩のようなものが書かれて、突然終わってしまった。後は自分たちで想像しろよといった具合にだ。大震災の原因の提示もなければ、グッドエンドでもバッドエンドでもない。正直話を広げすぎて理想の結末が思いつかなかったのではと？作者の技量をうたがってしまう。

Shun's Score 6

Dragon Head

STORY

On the way back from school trip, some high school students get shut into a closed tunnel caused by a sudden huge earthquake when they were on train. Luckily survived three students, Teru, Ako and Nobuo, then seek a way to survive. What do the three survivors, staying in dark for a long time, see after escaping from the tunnel? Reading the comics, you can see human nature and madness when faced in an ultimate situation.
(Minetaro Mochizuki/1994-2000/10 books/Kodansha)

COMMENT by Shun

This was released out as a new panic type comic ahead from the others. When the comic first came out, it shocked a wide range of readers. I think most of the readers expected that it would become a landmark of panic type cartons. But, it didn’t. The farther the story went, the worse the comic became. As a result, it was evaluated as a trash.
I was a high school student when this comic came up, and I was also one of those who first loved it then left it later. My friends and I were frequently guessing ‘’why the big quake occurred?’’ or ‘’how this story would end up’’, and we were all looking forward to reading the next comics.
In fact, for the beginning to the middle of the story, you will perhaps get turned on by the terrifying story. My personal must-see scene is this; Nobuo, one of the three survivors, gradually gets insane and becomes lunatic at last caused by packed in tunnel where is dark and makes people lonely.
Even after escaping the tunnel, the survivors face several problems such as encountering a wired armed group, battling with rioters and so on, anyways you won’t probably get bored till the ending.
However, in my opinion, I don’t get the last episode, or well, I should say it’s a crap. It ended up with the scene of poetic words in which expressed weakness and strength of human beings. It was just like ‘’you estimate the ending by yourself, ok?’’ …What?? You see no mentions about any reasons of the quake, and you can’t even see it is a good ending or a bad ending. Frankly, probably the writer couldn’t handle the story because it expanded too broad, I believe. I can’t stop doubting the writer’s ability. What a shame.

Shun's Score 6

ヒカルの碁

ストーリー

囲碁漫画。囲碁とは交互に盤上に白黒の石を置いていき、領地の広さを競い合う日本古来伝わるボードゲームの一種である。
小学校6年生である主人公ヒカルは、祖父の家の蔵で血痕のついた古い碁盤を見つけ、その碁盤に宿っていた平安時代の天才棋士である藤原佐為に取り付かれることとなる。
囲碁のルールも知らないヒカルであったが、「神の一手を極める」という、藤原差為の目的に半ば無理やり付き合わされ、囲碁の世界に入っていく。
全く興味のなかった囲碁であったが、様々な好敵手と出会い、囲碁の深みに惹きこまれプロへの険しい道のりを歩んでゆく。
(ゆみほった&小畑健/1998-2003/23巻/集英社)

感想 by Shun

囲碁のルールを知らなくても問題なく読める。実際に「ヒカルの碁」が連載されていた「少年ジャンプ」の読者で囲碁を指せる人は殆どいなかったにも関わらず、大ヒットマンガとなった。
マンガには「弱者が成長して強者を倒す」、「最初からの天才がその才で活躍する」というベタながら面白い2つのパターンがあるのだが、通常主人公のみではこの2つのパターンを共存できない。
しかし「ヒカルの碁」ではヒカルが打てば前者、藤原差為が打てば後者となり（差為は幽霊のため実際はヒカルが打っているように見える）、同時に2つのパターンを実現している。
突然素人になったり手練れになったりとおいしいとこ取りで、スカッと感がハンパなく再読性が非常に高い。
ちなみにヒロインはマンガ界のツインテール四天王の1人である。

Shun's Score 10

Hikaru no Go

STORY

This is an Igo-based comic. Igo is a Japanese traditional board game played by two persons in a game. The players alternately put white or black stones in order to expand each territory on the board.
The main character, Hikaru, is a 6th grade elementary school boy. One day, he finds an old bloodstained Igo board at his grandpa’s storehouse. In the board, a genius Igo player in Heian Era (an old Japanese era approx. 794~1185), Sai Fujiwara is inhabited, and Hikaru gets haunted by Sai by touching the board.
After haunted by Sai, Hikaru is forcibly led into the world of Igo along with Sai’s purpose, ‘to master the god’s mate’ although Hikaru had no knowledge or interest about Igo till then.
Despite that, he begins deeply drawn into Igo world by meeting several stimulative rivals, and gradually steps forward the winding road to be a professional Igo player.
(Yumi Hotta&Takeshi Obata/1998-2003/23 books/Shueisha)

COMMENT by Shun

For reading this comic, you don’t need to know about the rule of Igo because there are clear descriptions when necessary. In fact, when this comic became a big hit in SHONEN JUMP, very surprisingly most of the readers rarely had knowledge of Igo.
I would say, in general, there are two patterns of hit comic; one is, ‘‘a weak grows up and beats a strong,’ and the other is, ‘‘a genius flourishes with a gift he’s got.’’ Usually a comic has to choose one of those because main character usually cannot play more than one role.
In this comic, however, the former pattern fits when Hikaru plays by himself and the latter does when Sai plays in Hikaru (it seems Hikaru plays the both roles.)
By this method, it makes possible that one person who is an amateur can suddenly change to be a professional. This makes me feel satisfied after finishing the comics, and leads me to read them again and again.
By the way, in my opinion, the heroine, Akari Fujisaki, is one of the big four carton heroines whose hair is twin tail… Well, I may comment about this later…

Shun's Score 10