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Red Colored Elegy is surprisingly thoughtful, engaging and a hell of a lot of fun. Going in I knew very little about the book but it doesn't take long to appreciate Hayashi's paneling and stylized art and his simple yet poignant messages. Given the context of the creation of this manga along with the passing of 50 years since its publication it is nothing short of fantastic. The intricate detail of certain scenes juxtaposed with characters pushing to the edge of the iconic combined with an array of interesting panel transitions makes the dated and amateurish art so awesome. I can understand others disliking the ... look of the manga, after all it is certainly not up to par in terms of detail to many of the more popular works we have nowadays. However, for me, the minimalism and the emphasis on the iconic characters creates a world which feels authentic and more easy to identify with.

There is no "story" as you generally think. No great quest, no search for deeper meaning, no mystery murderer. We simply observe two young lovers trying to find their way in the changing landscape of 1970s Japan. There isn't much of a conclusion either, life goes on. Despite this work being heavily rooted in contemporary Japanese culture the themes are universal. There will always be societal shakeups. There will always be times of political movements. The youth will struggle to find their place. This to me is what makes this manga so wonderful and so fulfilling to read. It is bold in its artistic choices and in its narrative. Not because it is gratuitous but because it is simple. It doesn't try to force a message on you, it doesn't try to awe you with a gold coating, it is an honest presentation of our universal experience. And because of that, I couldn't help falling in love with it.

It appears no one has criticized this manga on here yet I believe it is my civic duty to do something in the realm of critique although we shall see if this doesn't end up being a positive review in the end. Now I won't sing Nausicaa's praise despite my affection for this manga and as you can tell by my score that I would have a lot to say in that aspect. However, I would like to write this review to clarify an egregious, arguably an unforgivable flaw of Nausicaa that has troubled me for some time now. Nausicaa herself is an absolutely terrible ... character. There I said it. Truly, Nausicaa is the definition of a mary sue and she is so good at it she may well be the Mariest sue of all. She is perfect in every conceivable way. She is strong intelligent beautiful and just so happens to be the chosen one who can save the world. Despite only being a young woman she is better at everything than every other person on the planet. She is also perfect and flawless morally. She never does anything wrong aside from killing one person in a rage at the beginning. You would think that this would be her fatal flaw that could be developed and made interesting but nope never brought up again. She defies all odds to succeed every time and the entire universe moves in her favor. Wherever she goes rest assured she will do right. By god is it painful as someone who loves this manga to admit but Nausicaa ruins it. The entire supporting cast is fantastic and some of my favorites in any manga. Especially Kurotawa and Charuka they are both great, even princess Kushana is more interesting and human than Nausicaa. It really is disappointing but that's how it is. The wondrous world of Ohmu and the miasma. The rich and allegorical story. The beautiful art and thoughtful presentation. All held back by Miyazaki's love for Nausicaa or his inability to tell a good story without a flawless world savior??. I can't understand it. This manga is great don't get me wrong but it could be so much better if Nausicaa was not such a mary sue. Can she not make one single mistake???? I mean there is so much to work with but nah she never does anything wrong and everyone loves her because of it although does she really do anything nice I can't remember if it is her doing it or just the necessity for her to be good that is doing it. Unless some other reader has met a flawless perfect person that does everything right all the time and when they show up it seems like the world goes their way I refuse to believe Nausicaa is not a mary sue who only serves as Miyazaki's story mover. With such fantastic work done in every other aspect of this manga from minor characters to minor plot points to minor drawings somehow the most important one is floundered. Regardless I still like this manga and I think it is not only an important work in manga history it is also a fun read. But it needs to be called out for its blatant mary sue protagonist. Until this manga is re-written with Nausicaa fixed I will be its harshest supporter critic. This ended up not being that great of a review but I think my point is made so I rest my case.

I recently found out about this manga and given the interesting title and description I decided to give it a read. However, if the score isn't an indication enough I came out very unsatisfied. The premise of Patch of Dreams was interesting and I love stories that delve into the boundaries between fantasy and reality, sanity and insanity. This story does not lack that aspect yet I couldn't help but feel that this manga was hollow. I fear this could be due, in part at least, to the translation by Ponet as they are notorious for lackluster translations. The dialogue was choppy at best and ... awful at worst. It was not only unengaging but also insulting at times to read through the mess that was this book's writing. Since this partially to do with poor translation it is hard for me to get a real grasp on my enjoyment and appreciation for this book. It is possible that there are scans available that do a much better job at presenting this in a readable way however, I want to give my thoughts on it in the form I read. I would recommend looking for scans if you are interested in this manga and skip the Ponet Mon release.

As for criticism beyond the clunky translation I have quite a lot. For one, the character art was confusing. The main character is supposed to be in her 20s yet from her design I really thought she was 12. Now normally this wouldn't really be an issue except there are flashbacks to when she was actually 12 in the story and her character looks exactly the same. Despite the decade of aging I could not make out many differences and I was constantly getting confused as to which time we are in. This coupled with the story being "surreal" and switching between past, present and dream I was lost for the majority of this book. This leads to a broader issue in the art, I did not like the character designs. Aside from the deliberately weird dream characters the humans all had very similar looks that I was often confused at which minor characters were appearing as they looked way too much like other ones. The art otherwise is passable but the character designs really messed with me.

If it couldn't get any worse in general the story and characters were flat, dull and clunky. The translation certainly hinders here but I think there is a general failure on the part of the original author as well. The message was hamfisted in on nearly every page that by the time I finished reading I had heard it so much I could recite it verbatim. Not only is the story is repetitive it somehow also manages to go nowhere and do nothing interesting with its premise. She is losing her mind from dreaming so much, okay cool but what does that mean? Her friend and brother died okay obviously that bothers her but again what is the dream world for? Conflicts seemingly arise due to her being in these different worlds but they are never resolved they just sit a limbo world. Did that person really get killed by her dreams? She fell in her dreams in the past and supposedly couldn't go back now she can, why, what is happening recently that changed? I really do not know. There is so little development and depth put into the dream world it could easily have been discarded from this story and the message remains the same. She can still have her hallucinations without the dream world. So again what the hell is the point of the dream world? If anyone else can figure it out please message me because I just could not piece together any reason why it is in the story other than to be a vehicle for the author's preaching.

The characters are boring and have no depth. I really cannot think of any good qualities about any of the characters. The main girl is losing her mind but she doesn't do anything that made me even remotely interested. I could not figure out why she acts the way she does. Is it the trauma of losing her friend and brother? Is it because she is just a strange person to begin with? She doesn't do anything nice or thoughtful for others she just acts like an airhead and yet people seem to like her despite her drifting off into dreams every 3 pages. Really I have nothing good to say about the characters. The only interesting things are in the dream world and they just are there for show not one mention of any sort of reason why they look the way they do or what meaning they have to the main character. Plain and simply I could not identify with these characters. This further hurts the story as now not only is the message hamfisted in every other line, the dialogue sucking and the art being meh, I couldn't even find one character moment I liked.

Overall, I did not like this manga. Maybe it was my high expectations after coming off re-reading some of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series I was keen on a powerful story about a troubled girl retreating into the dreamworld. Sadly, Patch of Dreams lacks everything that Sandman has: well written and human characters, meaningful and interesting purpose for the dreamworld, good art etc and etc. I don't rate this lower for the fact that a lot of my issues stem from the presentation of the story which I think the translation hurts and that could have been salvaged from a better translation. However, that doesn't excuse the general level of mediocrity from this manga. As someone who would consider themselves a fan of this genre of manga and comics "Patch of Dreams" or "Yume no Akichi" is one I would not recommend.

I happened to come across red snow while looking at Yoshihiro Tatsumi manga on amazon and as an aspiring fan of gekiga I decided to purchase it. I was not disappointed. It delivers on that nostalgic yet forlorn mood that can be found in Tatsumi's work. Red Snow captures that post-war Japanese identity that permeates throughout the other gekiga of the time period.

However, as with any short story collection it is a roller coaster of quality. Some of the stories were great while others were not. This could be a product of the editors at Drawn and Quarterly, the original Japanese publication or even ... Katsumata's own faults. Although the stories are all linked in the similarity of rural backgrounds I often felt the stories were disconnected thematically from one another. Sure the characters are all struggling rural people but I could not find the thread that linked them together. If it was there, it did not hit home with me. That being said, the stories had their moments. Also, they give a glimpse into the lives of people in a specific place and time that is different from mine own. An aspect of the written word that I think is irreplaceable. On that aspect red snow delivers. At the end of the day it is a gekiga about the lives of rural Japanese people. It isn't flashy or superfluous. Katsumata's style is very direct as is custom of gekiga and he knows what stories he wishes to tell. Sometimes they lack punch but their intention is clear.

The art is standard gekiga. Nothing to write home about. Not bad, not great, average gekiga.

Overall, I enjoyed this release and only wish that we had more access to other gekiga stories in the west. Because this style of comic does not really exist in western comics I will take any chance I can get to read some more. If you like gekiga, Red Snow is worth reading. If you are new to gekiga, I would recommend starting with Yoshihiro Tatsumi as I prefer his works in both art and storytelling. If you don't like gekiga, then I am not sure how you made it here but this manga is probably not for you.

Evolution. Stagnation. The slow decay of the human race. Unravelling, the future collapses beneath our feet. Nothing can be done. Or can it? This is the essence of Texhnolyze. Providing meaning to an empty existence. And that is what we shall be discussing the simple yet powerful philosophy of one of the most impressive anime I have seen. Let’s dive in.

Texhnolyze is both a nihilistic, brooding godawful drudgery that makes you feel abysmal while watching it and a provocative tale of understanding the meaning of life. These two seemingly contrasting ideas are on full display throughout the show. The absence of dialogue, sound and any ... sort of idea as to what is going on makes the first few episodes of the series almost unbearable to sit through. The grunting, the bland colors and decrepit infrastructure force the viewer to endure a tremendous amount of empty time. To some this will certainly throw you off and have you cursing the show for its slow nature. However, to fight through the torturous opening you will begin to see that it was created with the intention of being boring and heavy in order to model the brooding empty nihilistic perception of life. No show I have seen so perfectly captures the meaninglessness of life as Texhnolyze’s opening episodes do.

Despite its start Texhnolyze is not about sulking and retiring as the emptiness overtakes one’s life, rather it is all about doing anything to fight it. Ichise is symbolic of a person who lives only for the sake of living, the evolutionary animal that knows it must not die no matter what even if it possesses no reason to live. This survival instinct is what keeps Ichise moving and nothing beyond that. He has no real reason to live and has no fabricated meaning to his life. He simply chooses to live because that is what life is biologically programmed to do. I find this aspect of his character fascinating as no matter how much easier it would be for him to give up and die he never does but without reason or motive. Is it ignorance or courage, in my opinion neither it just is an instinct, raw unbiased instinct, although living without reason to humans is akin to stupidity (just look at how we treat animals whom only live to live).

In contrast to Ichise’s survival only mode, through Yoshii do we see someone who lives for a reason. Yoshii is the catalyst that begins the war in Lux through his mischief and by openly acting out against the end of times. He knows that life is meaningless and inevitably everyone will die. However, as he used to live on the surface he does not wish to give in to the inevitable like everyone else. Yoshii desires something, anything that provides him with a meaning to life. Thus, he goes to Lux in order to scream and cry into the void that he was here and that there was a meaning, even if fabricated by himself, to his life. By stirring up the factions of Lux, Yoshii is able to not only make his life vastly more meaningful he is also giving the people of Lux a reason to live, if they wish not to die or lose control then at least they will have a meaning to their life and will not become like the people on the surface. Yoshii does not care that people will die because they would have inevitably died anyways and it is better for them to go with a passion rather than the emptiness of the surface people. Yoshii’s ideology is extremely interesting and it is one that I have adapted into my own life. Although I used to scorn the hedonistic aspects of life and believed that a person should discipline themselves sometimes I am drawn back to this idea of living as you wish because there is no point so you might as well do what you want. Yoshii exemplifies this idea and although it conflicts with my own at times I can’t help but envy the ecstasy of living without restraint.

Now this answer to nihilism is not the only fascinating ideology provided in Texhnolyze but the idea of transhumanism is constantly brought into the fray. However, unlike most works that deal with transhumanism and the evolution of the human race Texhnolyze takes a different perspective and ostenstibly more nihistic than moost ofther sci-fi. Texhonlyzation (cyberization) is a popular procedure for high ranking Organo members and other people. It is a means to improve one’s awareness, strength, and agility but aside from the violent aspects it is also a way to prevent people’s bodies from dying. The implications of Texhnolyzation could be vast however Texhnolyze handles it in an ironic manner, rather than these changes having major positive effect on the lives of people they almost make living worse. The excessive Texhnolyzed Shapes Kano invades Lux with are sickening and barely human, although super soldiers they are a far cry from an ideal evolution of the human race. Most other texhnolyzed people don’t fare much better aside from being saved from swords on a few occasions, having metal limbs doesn’t make them anything more than that, no fullmetal alchemists here. This is a biting critique of the transhumanist belief of many science fiction shows that see cyberization as a means of evolving humanity. Personally, I wish more time was dedicated to Texhnolyzation in the show so we could understand better the implications it has on the world and maybe seen more interesting developments in it for we did not really get much explanation on it. Though I guess that is texhnolyze’s nature. In the end, Texhnolyzation is a powerful criticism of transhumanism and the idea that humanity can evolve beyond our current level through cyberization and other biological enhancement of the body. As Kano unleashes the shapes to destroy humanity while the intentions of texhnolyze that doc had in mind were to save humanity, irony akin to Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle.”

Another major aspect of Texhnolyze is the idea of having personal agency in a world devoid of meaning. I already talked extensively about the philosophical motivations (or lack thereof) that some characters possessed. Now I would like to discuss the importance of agency in the show, in my opinion yet another fascinating element of the story. Living in a world where you have no control over your own mind, actions or body is horrifying. If you are alive then at the very least to live comfortably one must have what is their own under their own power. This however, is not possible in rigid societies whom restrict many personal freedoms and warp our identities. Ichise is constantly fighting to gain control over his life. We are introduced to him as a prize fighter who is brutally attacked and nearly dies only to be spared by a doctor in order to be used as her test subject. Then in an act of pity is granted a membership in the Organo in order to do the handy work for Oonishi. He follows Ran around who sees his future and knows what will happen to him and that there is little he can do to change it. Nothing that Ichise has is his own, not even his arm and leg. Thus he continually struggles to gain control over his mind and body. I’d love to tell you how he manages but I think I’ll leave that up to you. Ran also struggles deeply with having agency over her life. As the Prophet of Gabe, Ran is supposed to be their seer and tell them what they must do based on the futures she sees. However, Ran despises her ability and wishes to be rid of it. She does not want to accept her role and refuses to act upon the visions that she sees. Ran is attached to her label of seer and wishes to be rid of the responsibility and torture that comes from knowing the future of the end of humanity. Ichise and Ran, among all the other characters, find that they no longer are in control of their own lives and although Yoshii attempts to quell this fear, in the end their lives and deaths remain out of their jurisdiction.

Those are the three major areas I saw Texhnolyze handling; the philosophy to overcome nihilism, the irony of the transhumanists, and the collapse of agency leading to the end of civilization. This is all I have to say 4 months after seeing the show, I only read briefly up on the names of some things however the philosophies and themes developed in the show stayed fresh in my memory. Given a rewatch I believe I can add extensive detail to these three themes as I know for certain I could talk about Oonishi more along with adding better descriptions and examples for what I do talk about. Thus I do hope you can understand that this is not a finished product and I will return to update this blog after I rewatch Texhnolyze whenever that may be. This is less of a review and more of a thematic analysis since I believe this is a better way of communicating my thoughts. But since I am posting this on my MAL now (already been posted on my AA account) I should say that the animation is good though the character art is not that impressive, the music is great although used minimally and overall it is a show I enjoyed.

When it comes to manga I have found barely any series that have impacted my perception on both the medium and my entire life as much as Ultra Heaven.

Ultra Heaven is a profound experience and it is a shame that so few have ever been introduced to it. Ultra Heaven's obscurity is due to it's heavy dealing with drug use and it's non linear storytelling. If you only take what you see it comes off as very outlandish and weird and you most likely will not enjoy. Now if you're feeling like taking a step back and truly analyzing the message behind Ultra Heaven ... you will find more than you can even hope to decipher.

Ultra Heaven is without a doubt the most sublime and psychedelic visual experience in all of manga. The characters are drawn extremely accurately to actual humans and their emotions are portrayed vividly. The background art is fantastic but most of all it is the manga’s use of panels and the incorporation of psychedelic elements that make the art a true standout. Ultra Heaven loves to break the boundary between dream and reality and it does that best through the panels. Typically in manga, the panels are very structured and box like and the pictures are stuffed inside. Ultra Heaven has these panels more when the characters are not “tripping” and makes it feel more like reality. Then when the “trip” begins the panel usage completely changes becoming curved and morphing into the line art and moving you along with the story. Ultra Heaven’s art style and use of panels is revolutionary as there are no manga that are willing to break apart the structured style and to go with something so unique. I would not be surprised if the author had experimented with hallucinogenic drugs before because the art is so vivid and realistic that it truly feels like this is what a drug trip is like, not that I would know. The art style is truly sublime and ground breaking in its beauty and use of panels and is something you will not find anywhere else, in any medium let alone manga.

The story of Ultra Heaven also breaks manga conventions and maybe even more strikingly than the artwork. Stories about drug abuse do not come around often and if they do then they are meant to steer people away from drugs. Although Ultra Heaven could have that effect it is not against drugs, more it shows how drugs can unlock deeper levels of the human consciousness that are otherwise inaccessible and maybe even give us a view into the fabric of time and space, meet with God, or to see the instance of death only to return to life. Because of this dealing with psychedelic drug "trips" Ultra Heaven's storytelling is extremely non-linear and follows a very distorted yet surprisingly ingenious and captivating style. It combines flashbacks, reality, and dreams without ever revealing to the reader which is which.

The most profound aspect of Ultra Heaven is its questioning of why do humans choose to escape from reality. Whether it is Kabu and other drug addicts, the pseudo-Buddhism inner evolution cult, or just regular people we all find ways to escape reality. Why is it that you watch anime or read a manga? Why do we play music or watch movies? Why do people take drugs and risk their lives? Ultra Heaven constantly asks these questions and it is executed to perfection and allows the reader to not only view them in the context of the story but also in their own life. Watching Kabu "tripping" on Ultra Heaven or diving into his inner subconscious we wonder why he chooses to do this and we also wonder why we choose to escape reality. Is it the euphoria? The sanctuary? The didacticism? Is it a weakness of sentient beings? Or is it a combination of all this? In all honesty, I don’t know I would dare to say that is a combination of euphoria, feeling of sanctity and didacticism along with an overall weakness of beings that possess higher intelligence to want to escape into a different realm of consciousness. I can guarantee however, that I never would have thought of any of this if it were not for Ultra Heaven. That is another fascinating aspect of Ultra Heaven. It merely turns on the switch and your brain does the rest, the imagining, the thinking, the being. Our minds are merely the machines that allow us to perceive and interpret the infinite expanse of the universe. As the story of Ultra Heaven twists and morphs into something more then manga itself your entire understanding of the medium will change. The life you live will come into question; the faith you have will be questioned; the evolution of humanity onto a higher plane of existence, all of these topics will be presented to you and it the only way to understand them is to think. For whatever reason you were born with the ability to think, you may know nothing but you can at least think and therefore you exist, don't waste the life you have, dream or reality.

Ultra Heaven is also extremely successful in its use of visual symbolism. Although I do not know the author’s, Koike Keiichi, intentions in creating this manga I will give a short analysis on some symbols, or what I took as symbols, that appear in the manga. The religious symbols and allusions are numerous. Seeing beings of light during a trip, going to a faraway place, the roller coaster to paradise, Ultra Heaven itself, and the pseudo-Buddhist cult all are symbols of god, and religion. The constant recurrence of eyes could be seen as a symbol of the breaking of reality and dreams, perception becomes distorted and too numerous to differentiate. The boundary to life and death being seen in the flat line is there even one at all. There are more symbols that I cannot even begin to uncover from this manga as I am not capable of discerning all of that information.

I would like to quickly mention that Ultra Heaven’s characters all possess personality and human emotion but the manga is short and very few are fully looked into aside from Kabu and his female friend, who may be named Sally. They are interesting and help to create an advent for the story. Kabu’s trips provide the perfect perspective in which to convey the overarching messages to the audience and allow for full artistic expression. Kabu is so realistic I wouldn’t be surprised to walk into a rehab clinic and find people just like him. I would dare to bet if you are a recovering drug addict you will be able to connect even better with Kabu’s struggles. The exploration of his mind takes the meaning of psychological manga to a new level as we truly journey in his subconscious and see what he sees, which happens to be extremely sublime and psychedelic.

In an attempt to find a flaw in this manga, seriously I tried, the best I could come up with is this: Ultra Heaven is not for everyone and may very well leave you with a negative impression due to the outlandishness and obscurity of its central topic and art style, and if you are not prepared to analyze it on a deeper level, or don’t think it can be analyzed, and only see what is presented to you than you will not gain much from reading it aside from a strange trip with funky art. If I can even call those flaws of this manga, I don’t think I can.

Ultra Heaven is more than manga; it is a transcendent work of human thought and emotion. Ultra Heaven is profound, it may be flawed and I would not disagree if someone were to point one out, yet I could not find anything of significance that holds this manga back aside from the aforementioned reason, again if that reason can even be considered a flaw. With a story rich with thematic and personal relevance, symbolism, and possibly even allegory, it has inherent literary value. The artistic style and use of panels is revolutionary and distinct in the medium that no other work I have read compares to the mastery of blending together page, word and picture into one that creates a sublime visual experience. The series is accurate in its psychological development of the human mind and in its description of the effects of drugs on the brain. The manga should have changed the entire scope of the medium with its usage of panels and unique storytelling execution but has remained so obscure due to its central topic which remains taboo in many cultures. Ultra Heaven is a manga masterpiece with a revolutionary and unparalleled art style, daring concept, unique and brilliant storytelling, immense thematic reach, and abundant personal relevance, a mind melting trip that will open your eyes to the brilliance of the unconventional and reconstruct what you thought manga could achieve. Thanks for reading, Quaz Out!

(Review originally posted on my Anime Amino page however I edited it to not include spoilers so I could post it on MAL)