Manga Blurbs

Something that I found curious about ‘Mushi-shi’ the first time I read it is that this manga does not have a continuing story arc. The chapters are set up more like “mini-sodes” and then we’re off to a different mischief making spirit in the next chapter. The story does keep the same protagonist though; Ginko, a witchdoctor type of character who has the knowledge to dispel or help people live in peace with mushi. I do like how the story is set up so that the sections are literal chapters of Ginko’s life.

I also decided to read some of ‘Buddha’ by Osamu Tezuka. I can’t quite pinpoint the style of this manga yet. I feel like the characters at the very beginning have more details. As the story progresses the people and animals get the same amount of detailing and simplified. ‘Buddha’ takes place in India, but the language is American city slang. The panel layout reads fairly easily though. For some reason it took me a minute to remember that Tezuka made ‘Astro Boy’, which on my list of least favorite series. 

‘Scott Pilgrim’ isn’t something that I would group into manga. I believe the artist is Canadian, and I feel like the style fits more into late Western cartoons. I read the first few volumes from a friend, and greatly enjoyed the humor. (I was disappointed with the movie, there were a few good lines, but I felt like it fell short) The comic has a sassy flair to it and relatable characters. It also reads in the Western left to right, same as ‘Buddha’. Traditional manga reads right to left.