A site called the Open Critic discovers horror manga-ka Hideshi Hino and goes to town with six reviews of his work, accompanied by a brief essay. There’s an awful lot of attitude on display, but the reviews and links are probably worth a peek for Hino fans.
The first paragraph kind of makes me doubt the whole thing, though:
Manga, as we in the west have come to know it, manifests itself in cute-girl images and effeminate-pretty-boys with big eyes and androgynous bodies. Depth of emotion is removed by a dearth of reality. In creating the singular style, the artists have removed much of what connects a reader or viewer from the characters and, for lack of better word, neuters the text.
Actually, I think most people who read manga do feel connected to the characters. And I thought John Jakala did a pretty good job of disposing of that old big-eyes stereotype. It sounds like someone needs to send these guys a copy of The Push Man.
Wow, what ignorance. I’m didn’t even bother to finish the post.
I second Tivome on this one. While it’s certainly a worthwhile look at Hideshi Hino, the side of “look here, we literati have managed to find a gem in the manga junk heap” is certainly not appreciated. Kudos to you, Brigid, for leaving it at “an awful lot of attitude.”
We the Literati … wow … from our perspective, while we aim to engender discussion, The Open Critic claims no authority … Trevor wrote that intro with naught but good intentions … his opinion stands for what it is, a representation of the somewhat broad lack of knowledge of a somewhat fringe genre.
I know, I know, fans will argue otherwise, but western culture has for the most part not embraced manga or graphic novels to its breast.
So, here I throw down the guantlet, The Open Critic will publish any cogent piece refuting Trevor’s Hino intro, in either a general or specific fashion. Contact me, Peter Williams at peter @ morainebookservices . com (remove the spaces).
I’ll facilitate any debate gladly.
Regards, Peter Williams, The Open Critic