| Having read the book and seen the movie, I think this may be the definitive version of the story. I loved the book, and highly recomend it, but I really like the way Takami has expanded on the characters and the backstory for this Manga version. Unlike the movie where they had to cram a 600 page book into two hours, with this eight vollume manga they have the oportunity to expand that 600 pages into 1600 pages. Sure, you can't fit as much information on a comic page as you can a page in a novel, but almost tripling the length really gives Takami the chance to flesh some things out that were only hinted at or briefly mentioned in the book. Again, don't get me wrong, I loved the book, but based on the first two Manga (the first 400 hundred pages of the comic story,) I think almost every character and situation has been improved, expanded, and refined. Shuya becomes even more noble and likable (and you get to see more about why all the other students seem to like and trust him,) and almost every confrontation he has becomes even more tragic because Takami gives him the chance to be more vocal about not wanting to hurt anyone. Also, in relation to that, Takami spends more time explaining on why the people who force Shuya into fighting act the way they do as well. Another scene that I think benifits greatly from the new telling is the scene where the two lovers commit suicide to avoid having to fight and to avoid losing each other. It's a great scene in the book, but even better in the manga -- the artistic flashback as they jump is heartwrending. An anime magazine in their revue of the Manga tried to say the scene was done better in both the book AND the movie, which I found rediculous. The book is arguable, but in the movie the scene lasts maybe a minute, you get no background information, and you care very little. How that can be compared to the comic, I don't know, but I really think the whole revue in that particular magizine was way off base. As for Giffen's dialogue -- I know some people have complained that he Americanized it -- well, to them I say "that's what he was supposed to do." It's a translation, and part of translating a book is getting the idea across -- not just the literal words. Japanese translated straight into english often seems vague, mystical, unclear, or just plain impossible to understand, and I'm sure English translated straight to Japanese is the same. When I read a translation, I accept that I'm not going to be reading the writers exact words, but that I will be reading his or her ideas instead. Giffen does a tremendous job in my mind of translating Takami's ideas into words the American reader can relate to, and I can't imagine a translation going any better. As for the art -- it's very well done. Some of it is gruesome -- but hey, that's part of the story -- but at the same time, some of it is beautiful. The characters are nicely done and easily distinquishable, and the action plays out in ways easy to understand visualy. I really can't think of a single complaint, artisticaly speaking. Then again, I'm not sure I can think of a single complaint about this manga at all. I even made my wife read it, and she loved it as well. In short, I loved the book, think the movie was pretty good (despite making some needless and overall plot weakening changes,) but feel that the Manga is the one that really tells the whole story and lets you know the characters the best. |
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