Apr 20, 2024
This manga series was about a scholar who traveled the islands of Japan researching the origins of folklore and tales of gods. Sometimes, his adventures reflected these tales, showing how stories were told and retold.
This manga was about stories about stories. The cyclical nature of these stories meant that the best and most interesting stories get retold again and again.
If it’s a manga that has middle-aged protagonist, I’m there! As a manga reader who’s approaching that age, Professor Munakata was a relatable character. He was an academician too, another tick on the list of things in common I have with the professor.
Researching
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these folk tales gave the professor an image as a folklore detective and his musings on the stories served as the climax for each chapter. The professor has this Sherlockian quality and both being idiosyncratic characters sell the vibe.
The professor’s pet research theme was iron and the human migration that resulted from groups of people chasing iron deposits. This was established early in the first chapter and formed the motivations of the character.
The stories were mostly episodic with a two-parter or three in the mix. The chapters have enough pages to tell a one in done story. Each chapter would have a legendary musing by the professor and have that tone of finality. These meant that the main character had little impetus for development. As a Sherlockian character without a Watson, it made it challenging for the professor to work shop the chapter’s theme and it often climaxed with a soliloquy.
As the number of chapters build up, the stories got recurring characters who sometimes act as the foil for the professor. Subsequent chapters also revealed a bit of his backstory to flesh out the character.
This series is a great read for mature readers. Especially readers who enjoy stories about stories in a modern setting with a sprinkling of some magical realism. Only a sprinkling, it definitely grounds itself in reality.
This series was certainly received well. It was originally seven volumes, but a remastered edition with added content and story bumped it up to eight volumes. It also has a sequel series that revisits several of the themes in the original series.
For a manga that was recognized by the British Musem with an exhibit, it certainly lacks a definitive English translation. I wish it did, because the series lends itself well with a rereading.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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