linkblogging

[telophase]

And for a post that's not all about me, David Welsh's Flipped column this week is a give-and-take with John Jakala about Bleach and the parallels they can draw with superhero comics.

Note: they have not read further than about volume 6, which explains an assertion or two. XD Spoilers up through volume 3.

Comments

[m00nface.livejournal.com]

That was really, really interesting, thanks for the link! I don't read comics, but the superheroes and formulae they refer to are ingrained in Western pop culture, so can appreciate the comparison between Ichigo and Peter Parker as well as anyone.

My only objection would be that they dwelled so long on the idea of Ichigo as a rebellious slacker outcast , when it's made perfectly clear well before volume 6 that he studies very hard to get very good grades because people assume he's a rebellious slacker outcast based on the colour of his hair. He's laid back, but he's also studious, has plenty of friends, and if I recall correctly he only gets into one non-shinigami fight that we see, outside school and over a righteous cause. I agree with their point about perceptions of outsiders, but Ichigo's behaviour isn't what makes him an outsider, it's his physical appearance, experiences and attitude to life as a direct result of those things.

I really enjoyed reading that though, and loved this: I think that's one of the strengths of Fruits Basket too. So many different dysfunctions to choose from!

XD Fruits Basket's success explained in a nutshell...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

:D I did like the point they made about what each society sees as the outcast group, though.

And felt that a few times they were using elements that were common to many types of stories as signals of similarities between Bleach and superhero comics, but that's not too big a problem - they are, after all, elements in superhero comics that occcur in Bleach in addition to being in other stories. XD

[m00nface.livejournal.com]

I liked that point too (it was what I meant when I said "the perceptions of outsiders", but considering how much they wrote about that I can see that was pretty vague! XD ). It's not something I've ever considered about manga before, let alone in comparison to superhero comics, though I don't read Western comics so that's hardly surprising. It was interesting to hear from people who do read both though, and I was pleased that they picked up on and enjoyed the optimism that pervades Bleach, and other shounen manga. It's one of my favourite things about manga in general, and the biggest reason I like an abrasive brat like Naruto way better than a cool guy like Sasuke (whose angst o'erhangs him like a hat. XD I love that icon).

[telophase.livejournal.com]

That is a total genius icon, isn't it? octopedingenue done good. XD

And they especially mentioned the pacing in Bleach - you have the frenetic action followed by moments of utter stillness, which is more of a manga thing in general.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for the feedback!

You're right that Ichigo gets good grades, although his classmates still seemed surprised by that fact. I think that's because even his friends have an image of him as a tough guy. (Even Orihime teases Ichigo a couple times about his gruff demeanor.) And even though he gets good grades, Ichigo still acknowledges his less-than-polished attitude in that same scene: "I've got a bad temper, so I get in fights easily. If the faculty hassles me, I usually mouth off."

It probably reinforces your point about perceptions. Even though Ichigo gets good grades, his classmates and teachers still see him a certain way. For an American superhero equivalent, I thought of Matt Murdock (Daredevil), who was teased for being a bookworm when he was young, even though he was quite capable physically and athletically. Because of his circumstances, though (father who made him study rather than play sports), his peers saw him only as a bookish nerd.

And I've read up through volume 13 so far, so I realize that once we get into the "Soul Society" arc the focus of the book shifts from Ichigo's episodic patrols protecting innocents to the effort to rescue Rukia, but I think by that point the book has pretty firmly established its superhero credentials. Even American superhero comics go off on lengthy tangents that have little to do with the "classic" model of fighting crime / evil, so I didn't try to fit that into the superhero paradigm. (And I was mainly trying to convince superhero fans that they should check out Bleach, so I was focusing on the parts with the strongest similarities!)

- John Jakala
http://sporadicsequential.blogspot.com