A Drifting Life (劇画漂流) is a historical slice of life by Tatsumi Yoshihiro. The manga was originally published between 1996 and 2005 and was collected into to 2 tankoubon in Japan and one large compiled volume in English.
The story follows the main character Hiroshi, who is a fictional stand in for the author himself, over 15 years of his life. The story begins in post war Japan when the young protagonist begins to submit his manga to magazines for publication. To his surprise some of his 4-koma manga gets published and he begins to realize a career in manga. Quickly he is drawn into more than just drawing and writing and collaborates with a handful of other artists to create a small publication to showcase their own work. These effort attract the help of Tezuka Osamu, who the author begins a professional relationship with over the years.
As the author see's more of his works published he begins to want to change the boundaries of the medium. Heavily influenced by flood of foreign films and cinema in general, Hiroshi tries to convey through his art and writing manga that isn't manga. In order to make a living he has to publish small stories for publications aimed at the profitable rental manga world. Usually comprised of styles the editors suggest to help boost sales of the magazines. He also publishes single volume works but wants to do something more fluid and connected, struggling for a prolonged story. As his art matures the manga industry is plagued with criticism from school an parent organizations for being inappropriate for children. This pushes him further to come up with manga that is recognized as something different that is meant for mature audiences, something other than entertainment, something with meaning and depth.
This is a fantastic look at both the struggles manga authors face in regards to their creative freedom. But most importantly this is a great lesson in a pivotal point in modern manga. The industry as we know it now really got its start in this time and the changes that the country went through also greatly affected the industry. Tatsumi is one of the key players in the world of respectable and mature manga, or as he preferred it to be referred to, gekiga. The changes he was a part of helped to usher in a new way of accessing manga, helping to keep it relevant in the TV age and beyond. He came into his own as the medium was making the transition from 4-koma sketch manga to full blown dramatic story telling. Publishers had to figure out how to remain relevant with the decline of rental manga and to persuade consumers to purchase publications for themselves as the economy exploded.
The artwork is what it is, Tatsumi has a classic style for his characters, a style many younger readers will be turned off by. But his is a master in exposition and layout as the story flow smoothly from the transitions of time and location. The strength of the series is its fly on the wall depiction of the philosophies at that time behind the medium and the things that made it change and grow into what we know today. If you want a detailed explanation of how to be a manga artist read Bakuman. This manga is for a historical and scholarly look at the medium and it is a great read for that. The story will probably bore younger readers who are more interested is impressive fight scenes but if you want to know more about the medium instead of just consuming it this is a great piece to read and enjoy.
The English version was released by Drawn and Quarterly and should grace the book shelf of any serious manga fan.
The story follows the main character Hiroshi, who is a fictional stand in for the author himself, over 15 years of his life. The story begins in post war Japan when the young protagonist begins to submit his manga to magazines for publication. To his surprise some of his 4-koma manga gets published and he begins to realize a career in manga. Quickly he is drawn into more than just drawing and writing and collaborates with a handful of other artists to create a small publication to showcase their own work. These effort attract the help of Tezuka Osamu, who the author begins a professional relationship with over the years.
As the author see's more of his works published he begins to want to change the boundaries of the medium. Heavily influenced by flood of foreign films and cinema in general, Hiroshi tries to convey through his art and writing manga that isn't manga. In order to make a living he has to publish small stories for publications aimed at the profitable rental manga world. Usually comprised of styles the editors suggest to help boost sales of the magazines. He also publishes single volume works but wants to do something more fluid and connected, struggling for a prolonged story. As his art matures the manga industry is plagued with criticism from school an parent organizations for being inappropriate for children. This pushes him further to come up with manga that is recognized as something different that is meant for mature audiences, something other than entertainment, something with meaning and depth.
This is a fantastic look at both the struggles manga authors face in regards to their creative freedom. But most importantly this is a great lesson in a pivotal point in modern manga. The industry as we know it now really got its start in this time and the changes that the country went through also greatly affected the industry. Tatsumi is one of the key players in the world of respectable and mature manga, or as he preferred it to be referred to, gekiga. The changes he was a part of helped to usher in a new way of accessing manga, helping to keep it relevant in the TV age and beyond. He came into his own as the medium was making the transition from 4-koma sketch manga to full blown dramatic story telling. Publishers had to figure out how to remain relevant with the decline of rental manga and to persuade consumers to purchase publications for themselves as the economy exploded.
The artwork is what it is, Tatsumi has a classic style for his characters, a style many younger readers will be turned off by. But his is a master in exposition and layout as the story flow smoothly from the transitions of time and location. The strength of the series is its fly on the wall depiction of the philosophies at that time behind the medium and the things that made it change and grow into what we know today. If you want a detailed explanation of how to be a manga artist read Bakuman. This manga is for a historical and scholarly look at the medium and it is a great read for that. The story will probably bore younger readers who are more interested is impressive fight scenes but if you want to know more about the medium instead of just consuming it this is a great piece to read and enjoy.
The English version was released by Drawn and Quarterly and should grace the book shelf of any serious manga fan.
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