And Part 4 of my three-part series (why am I feeling like Douglas Adams here?) analyzing manga. Starting in on action scenes here, because I'm working on laying out an action scene myself and I need all the help I can get.
Again with the image warning for slow modems. And another warning this time: I'm using Hiroaki Samura's BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL here. It's violent. It's got some gore, with people getting limbs lopped off and such, but part of the point of the story is to take the samurai ethos that we're all familiar with and point out: hey! For every honorable, strict, controlled, proper heroic samurai following bushido out there, there's a million nasty, loutish, violent sons-of-bitches. But the story, while dark and violent, has humor to leaven it, and delves into some pretty interesting philosophical questions on the nature of honor, what the point of martial arts really is, and how far people will go to achieve their desires. For the type of story that it is, the violence is justified, I think.
Plus, the art's
stunning and Manji is a badass.
There is also language. There's a big FUCK in one of the panels, so if I just offended you, you might as well go back to the FRUITS BASKET essays and do your best not to think about how the characters who turn into animals when hugged by the opposite sex engender children.
(Oh, please. Don't tell me you weren't wondering about that.)
( Onwards and upwards! )Index to the Series