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Spoilers for the original anime, no spoilers for the movie.

Steins;Gate The Movie is a heartfelt send off to the "main timeline" in the original series. It tries its best to put a neat little bow on the series, and mostly, it succeeds. Where it doesn't succeed is when it defies established canon, such as bending and changing time travel mechanics or having characters act a bit heightened for the sake of the scene. The latter is a very small gripe and only happens in the beginning; the best example of this is Kurisu acting a lot more emotional from the get-go. Along the same lines, ... there were a couple of moments where characters just conveniently had certain objects on their person at a time or place where it didn't feel natural for them to have it - nothing too important for plot, usually just something to facilitate a cute moment. There are various scenes like this that are obvious nods to fans, and while I did find them pretty sweet, they did take me out of the story just a bit. Very small complaint for me, but your mileage may vary.

Now, the former might be a larger point of contention for fans: this movie did change up the mechanics from the show quite a bit. It's hard to discuss it without spoiling things, but this movie takes some concepts from the show and bends them to serve this new story. Specifically, the retention of vague memories across world lines (déjà vu) is expanded to accommodate the new main conflict, and other rules are changed or broken to support this as the new focal mechanic. Remember how in the anime, there could only be one active world line? Well, that gets throw out the window. Remember how the S;G world line was meant to be free of time travel? Yeah, well, out the window. Time leap limit? Divergence? Bah, who needs those? Out the window! Basically what I'm saying is that you're gonna have to go into this with the acceptance that it's not canon. Once you get past that though, you are in for a treat, because this is a love letter to Steins;Gate through and through.

The premise alone is quite good: Okabe struggles with derealization and can't seem accept the Steins;Gate world line as reality because of his conflicting memories from other world lines, causing him to disappear from reality. (Yes, I know that makes little sense according to the original mechanics, but trust me, just go with it.) Kurisu, much like Okabe in the original story, must use time travel to make him recognize the current world line as real so that he can exist in it again. That's pretty much all I can say without spoiling the plot. Things progress somewhat similarly to the anime, but with a focus on Kurisu. This allows us a more intimate look into her character than the series had time for, all while being faithful to her characterization there. Sure, I think some of her reactions were a little exaggerated, especially some comedic moments in the beginning, but they do fall in line with how she has acted at different points in the series. It was also just really nice to get some more of Kurisu x Okabe. While I think the series did their relationship justice, it was nice to indulge in something more focused on their romance, complete with callbacks that will make any fan smile from ear to ear. I don't think this would've fit well into the series, so I'm glad to see it here.

And that is more or less where I land with this movie - I don't think a lot of these things would fit organically into the series, but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy the hell out of them here. The focus on romance, the fan nods, and even the sci-fi concepts--when viewed independently--were extremely enjoyable. If you are able to see this as an independent story from the main series, or can reconcile your headcanon, I think you'll enjoy it immensely. But if you are the kind of person that can't get past the changes, you are safe to skip this entirely. Much like the "Egoistic Poriomania" OVA, this is a non-canon addition for fans who want more, but it doesn't necessarily add much to the series. The series ended in a very satisfying manner, so some might also want to stay away to preserve their sense of finality. That said, I would definitely recommend this movie. It's a very solid movie on its own, but it is also a nice cherry on top if watched after the main series. This gets a solid 9/10 from me, only losing a point due to the breaking of existing rules.

Before Dawn and the End of the World is one of the first published works of Inio Asano. Much like his other early works (City of Light, What a Wonderful World), this story is told through a series of connected vignettes, some consisting of a single chapter and others a few, all with a common theme. The theme should come as no surprise to anyone who's ever read Asano. Put simply, it's nostalgia. That, however, does not do it justice. This is an intimate study of the overactive dreams we all have as children, our naive worldviews, our hope and optimism, our vibrant spirit of ... life... and how we lose sight of those things in adulthood. It's a story about remembering what it is that each of us lives for, reclaiming that old spark, and reconciling it with the harsh present of adulthood.

This manga reads like a horror B-movie. If that sounds fun to you, pick this up. As a whole, I'd say the quality is lacking, in both story and art. There were some instances of good horror pacing and paneling, but as a whole the suspense felt lacking. The art is as basic as it gets for a good 75% of the manga, but sometimes it improves dramatically for some of the more gory or stylized scenes. These can look shockingly good, but it's mostly because of how bland the rest of it is. Still, if you're in the mood for a quick, fun, slasher ... flick in manga form, this could be worth a look. Otherwise, spend your time on better books.

This is my first Matsumoto manga, and it won't be my last. Taiyo Matsumoto really knows how to elicit a very specific feeling and tone.

These short stories aren't great stories in themselves; they don't have any plot or character development. They are tone pieces through and through. The art isn't all that great either, but it oozes with charm and really captures that punk rock vibe that's present throughout the book. I loved how there were tons of graffiti, to the point that the bottom of the page was chock-full of annotations from the translator. Loved all the music references too (Jimi Hendrix, The ... Beatles, Sex Pistols). Really helps cement the type of tone Matsumoto is going for. All in all, this manga is a perfect snapshot of teenage delinquency in the 80s and 90s in Japan, and the blues that fueled it.


I'll leave you with two quotes from Matsumoto's after thoughts at the end of the book:

[talking about teenage delinquents] "In retrospect, I realize that for these youth, for whom the present was already the past, the camera was an important item. But at that time, when their actions didn't quite make sense, I was strangely attracted to them. They answered to reason with their fists and never questioned their excessive passions. Their frankness and their sense of being true to themselves won me over. They were my heroes."

[after talking about how those delinquents now have families, are responsible, etc] "No matter how passionate you were, no matter how much your blood boiled, I believe youth is a blue time. Blue - that indistinct blue that paints the town moments before the sun rises. Winter is coming."

In Clothes Called Fat by Moyoco Anno
Long-Winded Review #8 (Thicc edition)

Intro:
In Clothes Called Fat, by Hideaki Anno's wife Moyoco Anno, is a very solid josei manga about the insecurities we face every day, whether that has to do with our personal appearance or our psychological hangups.

Plot:
For the most part, we follow an overweight girl, Noko Hanazawa, who is the constant target of workplace bullying and social ostracization. She blames all of her problems on her weight and thinks that once she's skinny, everything will fall into place. So she seeks help to get thin, but of course things don't quite go as expected. The manga ... also puts some focus on a few other characters, namely Noko's boyfriend, who is intimidated by pretty, confident girls, so he encourages and even forces Noko to remain fat, despite not being attracted to her, because he feels like she won't leave him if she stays overweight. It goes into his mindset even deeper, to the point of revealing that him staying with her makes him feel like a good person, for staying with her despite her looks. It's a bit fucked up, but I have known many a relationship like that and this is the first time I've seen it explored, albeit not too deeply. Another character of focus is Noko's co-worker, who constantly bullies her and others, manipulating the workplace to like her, while stepping on "ugly people" because she hates "hideous things", all for an ego boost. So when she runs out of people to step on, she finds a deep dissatisfaction with her life, much like Noko and her boyfriend, who think changing singular things about themselves will make them fulfilled and content. That is the central theme of the story - a pervasive dissatisfaction with life that most of us have, that we think will go away if we fix a few things. But of course, it's never that simple.

Themes:
Anno does a great job exploring the psychology of an addict, in this case a food addict, but it feels a lot more universal that that. The ups and downs Noko goes through are highly relatable, whether you're addicted to food, drugs, shopping, or whatever else. For the most part, these themes have been endlessly explored in media, and Anno doesn't really stray from the beaten path, but sometimes she'll hit a subtle note of insight that elevates this manga above other similar works. Anno never really leans one way or another with her commentary, touching on several aspects of the issue. She acknowledges how part of of the problem is society for shunning outcasts, but also criticizes the blame-shifting some people will make for their problems. I honestly don't know how someone with Noko's problems would react to this manga; they might find it very insightful and encouraging, or they might find it critical and discouraging. At the root of it, the main motif of the manga is contentedness. Fat, skinny, pretty, ugly, confident, shy, strong, weak; none of those qualities are inherent sources of happiness or sorrow. The main message of this manga is that contentedness comes from within, and unless you get to the root of the problem, you will always be dissatisfied with life.

Art:
The art is pretty solid. Nothing amazing at the surface level, just your usual josei art style. It's fairly minimalist, but with a slightly messy flair about it. It's very similar to Kyoko Okazaki's style, which makes a lot of sense considering Anno used to work for Okazaki. I do find Anno's style more appealing personally. Where I think Anno shines is in her portrayal of Noko's face and body over the course of her weight loss and weight gain. She really captures that dead, weak, look that anorexic people often have, where they might be smiling but look like they're about to pass out any moment. Her portrayal of Noko's overweight body is equally as good, and very realistic. Anno doesn't shy away from nudity at all, and I think it really helps drive home the themes of the manga. Noko's body is never drawn to look inherently repulsive. In fact, for the most part I found chubby Noko to be pretty cute. On the other side of the coin, Noko's abusive co-worker, who's supposed to be extremely beautiful, is often be drawn to look somewhat unattractive, in part due to her nasty personality, and in part due to the subtle expressions Anno is able to convey.

Conclusion:
All in all, I liked this manga a lot. I couldn't help but compare it to Okazaki's Helter Skelter as that deals with plastic surgery addiction and touches on similar themes. I think that this manga is more coherent and solid overall, but Helter Skelter had a bit more charm. That said, I think they're of similar quality. But I'm not here to compare, I'm here to review this book on its own virtues and flaws. I think Anno accomplishes what she set out to accomplish. She had some very good insights on the psychological profiles of archetypes of people we meet every day (or may very well ourselves be). She often hit some subtle notes, but sometimes felt a little too on-rails. I think some aspects of the manga could have been developed further, or more efficiently, but overall there is sufficient depth to be found for a one-shot volume.

Final score: 8.5

This review isn't my usual more formal style, but figured I'd post it here regardless.

Helter Skelter is another great manga by Kyoko Okazaki. While I didn't think this was as solid as Pink, it is very close in quality. For the most part, it is just as good, but the art suffers from what appears to be some rushing (apparently this manga didn't go through the cleaning process that manga usually go through before being collected in tankobon due to Okazaki getting hit by a car near the end of the publishing process). In Pink, I praised Okazaki's deliberately messy style, but here it is ... messier and it doesn't feel deliberate most of the time. It's not necessarily bad, and I do still find the style appealing, but I think others wouldn't. The art does, however, drastically improve in the last few chapters. As for the story, it is a lot more plot driven than Pink. Even though it's very predictable, the ending was very satisfying, and despite advertising a continuation, I think it is perfect as is. While this story doesn't really do anything new, even for the time that it was originally published, it does present the subject matter in Okazaki's unique style of storytelling, sometimes taking ridiculous and even surreal turns. The characterization of Liliko and the other characters was absolutely spot-on, being both realistic and a caricature of those types of personalities, walking the line between real and surreal, actuality and hyperbole. The facial expressions were incredibly expressive, the dialogue was unflinchingly raw, and the inner monologue was sublimely revealing. The pacing was absolutely perfect, ramping up (or down) as the story progresses. The whole thing was a joy to read. The immensely cathartic ending was the cherry on top the series needed to punctuate on the thesis. Would highly recommend unless you have an aversion to the art style.

She and Her Cat is a sweet little story about the invisible hardships of 20-somethings. Miyu is a 20-something year old woman with an office job, barely any friends, and little contact with her family. The story follows her life through the eyes of her cat Chobi. Each chapter is a different season and we see snapshots of both of their lives. This was a very melancholy story about how hard life can get even when nothing drastically bad is happening to you, and about how the little things can hold it together, in this case her cat. I thought it was compelling from start ... to finish, but ultimately lacked the nuance I've come to expect from seinen slice-of-life stories. Regardless, it was a very solid read that I would easily recommend. 7/10

Pink by Kyoko Okazaki
Long-Winded Review #6 (crocodiles are cute fuck you edition)

Pink is a manga that just doesn't give a fuck. Pink is both anarchic and capitalist. Pink is both punk rock and pop. Pink is both sour and sweet. Pink is pink.

On a surface level, this might come across as a simple humorous slice-of-life story with no plot. And really, it's not much more than that, and that is exactly the point. Pink's philosophy is "fuck assumptions, fuck how you're supposed to feel, fuck all that" This philosophy is perfectly embodied by Yumi owning a fucking crocodile that just hangs out in her apartment, ... because why the fuck not? This line of thinking permeates the entire manga and it might not be obvious at a first glance, but that's exactly the point. You don't need to be deep and stuffy to send a message to your readers, you can embrace the ridiculous shit life throws at you and laugh it of. Get yourself some sweets, have some casual sex, buy some cool stuff, and move on.

You can be an office worker with a side-gig as a call girl, own a cute ass crocodile, enjoy fucking old men, enjoy eating sweets and hanging out with your bratty little sister, fuck and befriend your step-mom's young boyfriend, embrace capitalism because buying things is fun, enjoy sex with a rude and verbally abusive man that robbed you because fuck it the sex was amazing. Had a bad day? Fuck that, do something fun right now. Life goes on, and why dwell on the negative? Buy some cute clothes and move on.

The art reflects this perfectly as well. Most of the time, Okazaki's pencils are loose and cartoonish. Some might call it amateurish, but it's intended to be just as it is. It emphasizes Okazaki's unique sense of humor and the philosophy of the book. The comedic timing is absolutely flawless and I found myself laughing every other page. I love the exaggerated expressions, I love the ridiculous situations the characters get into, I love the fact that no fucks are given. Just enjoy a damn manga and have fun. All that matters is getting through the day in whatever way makes you happy. Enjoy the here and now.

This manga gets a 10/10 from me. Its unique charm, its humor, its shamelessness, its casual depth is unmatched. Pink is loose and free. Pink is sugary and chewy. Pink is one of a kind. It doesn't take itself seriously, and neither should you. Life is ridiculous so get yourself a cute ass crocodile.

Haru yo Koi or Awaiting Spring is a one-shot originally published in Ctrl+T, which is primarily an Inio Asano art book containing original art, a colored Punpun chapter, some interviews, some other bonus material, and two one-shots, this being one of them. This was also recently collected in the Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2018 exclusive "Solanin: An Epilogue" along with the new chapter #29 and a proper translation of this (as opposed to the awful fan translation that's online where they not only had poor grammar, but also got plot points completely wrong). The first time I read it, I had it sitting at a ... 6 because the fan translation was just so poor that I didn't even understand certain plot points, but upon reading the official translation, I loved it. The official translation gets the poetic phrasing of Asano's writing perfectly. The story in itself is fairly simple, but it gets an 8 because it does exactly what it was intended to do: show that life goes on, other people are living their lives independent of you and the people you know, and that the things you leave behind will be picked up by someone else. Asano manages to pack a lot of personality into these two characters given the small amount of pages he has to work with. Definitely worth checking out, but I'd recommend trying to find the official translation. Keep in mind this score is relative and dependent on the fact that this a one-shot, so I'm not judging it by the same standards as a full manga series, because that would make no sense.

/End of Haru yo Koi review/


And in case you are interested in the Solanin Epilogue chapter #29, since they were now collected together in the West, and since MAL does not yet have a listing for it, here is my review of that (obviously as an extra and not affecting my score of this listing). Message me if MAL does eventually make a listing for the epilogue.

I thought the epilogue was great. Much like Awaiting Spring, it achieves exactly what it means to achieve, and that is that time goes on, things change, and we must move forward. It is set about 10 years after the events of Solanin and mostly focuses on Meiko's life, but also shows where all the supporting characters have ended up. It continues the themes of the main story and puts a nice bow on the whole thing, all without invalidating or somehow souring the closure of the original ending. The most interesting thing about this chapter is seeing not only the characters' growth, but also Asano's growth as an artist. His art looks exponentially better here than it did in Solanin, with more realistic characters, better shading, and the use of his signature background technique. I thought it was clever to include this together with the one-shot which was done 5 years after Solanin and 5 years before the Epilogue, essentially showing the evolution of Asano's skill and techniques. One of my favorite things about this little book was the afterword, where Asano explains some of his reasoning behind the pivotal turning point in Solanin and reflects on his journey since then. It's hard to score one-shots, but this is easily a 10.

MW by Osamu Tezuka
Long-Winded Review #5 [Immoral Edition]

Series Overview:
Tezuka's 1976 manga MW follows the story of Yuki, a sadistic criminal mastermind, and Father Garai, a Japanese Catholic priest. They are the sole survivors of a poison gas leak that killed off an entire island's population. They also share a complicated relationship. They are lovers of sorts. Essentially, while hiding away during the MW gas leak incident, a 20-something Garai (not yet a priest) took advantage of a young Yuki thinking he looked quite gentle and feminine. After the incident, Yuki suffered some brain damage due to slight exposure to the MW gas that caused him ... to lose all sense of morality and started committing atrocious crimes. Garai, feeling guilt over the MW incident and what he had done, became a priest to repent for his sins and attempt to cleanse Yuki and redeem him. As adults, despite Father Garai's resistance, Yuki constantly seduces him and uses him, taking advantage of his good nature and guilt. Over the course of the story, Yuki commits a chain of seemingly unrelated crimes towards a specific goal, while Garai tries to keep him in check or stop him. This forms a very interesting dynamic, as they go back and forth between lovers, adversaries, and collaborators, usually all at once, all the while getting to the bottom of the MW conspiracy.

Writing:
Tezuka's writing here is more accessible than in Ayako, which is his only other work that I've read. In Ayako, the story developed on many fronts and spanned decades. In contrast, MW has a much more linear story focused on the two main characters. Much like Ayako, Tezuka touches on some important historical issues of the time, in this case the American military bases stationed in Japan at the time and the fear of weapons of mass destruction.

It also casually features many homosexual and bisexual characters, with Yuki himself constantly cross-dressing to commit crimes or seduce important people of both genders, and Father Garai liking both men and women despite his priesthood. I found this to be very progressive for the time, even by today's standards. Not much commentary is made about it, instead it's just casually there. Same goes for its depictions of sex, both hetero and homosexual. From what I understand, at the time, especially in Japan, sex in general was a point of controversy, in sequential comics or otherwise. In contrast, much like in Ayako, female characters are mostly there to be victims to be killed or used (not that the males in the story have it much better, but it's worth noting). Compared to Western Comics and other media in the '70s, I still feel Tezuka was way ahead of his time in both social issues and writing conventions.

The main appeal of the story is watching the dynamic between Yuki and Garai, and seeing Yuki's plans play out in clever and interesting ways, while Garai struggles with his faith and values. Sometimes there are cliches and contrivances, but for the most part it was satisfying to see the plot develop. It's also worth noting that Tezuka does this in only 26 chapters, all while not being reliant on heavy text like some other works of the time, manga or western.

Art:
The artwork in MW is quite good, and a slight but noticeable improvement from Ayako, which was released about 4 years prior. Tezuka's style is fairly simple, with clear line work and only a slight use of shading when necessary. Sometimes it can be a little cartoony, even cheesy, but that's a product of the time and it generally doesn't impair the serious tone of the story. His drawing prowess really comes out when he draws detailed cityscapes and natural landscapes. I was especially impressed by his various depictions of Yuki, who seamlessly transforms from a suave business guy at work to a convincing woman in disguise, or from a burly macho man in the streets to an effeminate sensual man in the sheets. He is a very well designed character whose appearance works for nearly any disguise without altering his body type or facial features, and it takes a real master to come up with and draw a character like that.

As for Tezuka's paneling style, it is very dense, usually having from 6 to 8 panels in a page. This allows him to meticulously pace the story, while showing more moment to moment actions and reactions than a modern manga might. Despite having so many panels per page, for the most part he goes light on the text, instead opting to depict characters' expressions, body language, actions, and reactions to get the point across. Very good use of "show, don't tell", which is refreshing especially when compared to Western Comics of the time. I find Tezuka to be a masterful sequential artist for these reasons, and along with his easy to parse style, it makes this a very smooth read.

As a word of warning: if violence, sex, emotional and sexual abuse, torture, manipulation, and various other despicable acts offend you, steer away from this book. This is a story about a man that embodies true evil, after all.

Conclusion:
All in all, this was a very enjoyable manga. It's not perfect, suffering from some cliches and contrivances and a few predictable twists. But regardless of that, the plot was interesting enough, the pacing was great, the art impressive, and the main characters absolutely incredible. I would highly recommend this if you're at all interested in '70s manga.

Final score: 9/10