Embedded Files
Today's book review is a two-fer. 2 books! For the price of FREE! 8D
The first is a cute little one shot manga called Cowa! Written and illustrated by the legendary Akira Toriyama, author & artist of works such as Dragon Ball and Sandland, this little book contains the epic journey of Paifu, a half-were koala, half vampire, Jose, his ghostly friend, and former sumo wrestler Maruyama (dubbed Makoleen by the monster kids) as they race to save their town from the dreaded Monster Flu.
Packed with equal parts humor, action and heart, Cowa! shows Toriyama in fighting form (albeit originally in 1997!), with his bold and clear style and heartfelt storytelling. What starts out as short episodic chapters (Paifu steals a watermelon, Paifu & Jose meet Maruyama, Paifu and his arch rival Arpon facing off in a humorous dual of wits), eventually becomes part of a cohesive and connected narrative to fetch medicine for the village. The first chapter is in full color in this Viz publication, while the rest are in the usual toned shades, and presented in its original Japanese right-to-left format. (click for larger views)
The characters are all a joy to read, from the simplistic and gutsy Paifu, to the humorously arrogant Arpon, to the stoic but soft at heart Maruyama. The villains are pretty easy to identify, like evil land developers whom try to extort a family, while other antagonists like the monster who guards the witch's forest are less black & white/good & evil. Each character is also developed with their own unique look as well as personalities. While there is some action-y violence (of course, being a Toriyama work!), and a bit of gun play later in the book, the whole manga is meant for and perfect for the little ones in mind. Its a great little book to have around for the Halloween holidays. I heartily recommend Cowa! for all ages, but especially for the little ones as well as the Toriyama/shonen manga fan. You won't be disappointed.
The second book today is the enchanting and gorgeous Hipira, which stars the eponymous character, a young vampire who lives in the town of Salta (a vampire-only community within the high walls of the town) with his sprite friend Soul. Hipira is a bit of a prankster, often crowing like a rooster as if to signal the deadly morning and daytime that his community so fears (being vampires), but he has a good heart deep down, being helpful when he needs to be, and adventurous and curious other times.
Surprising to some, the story, which is told in short chapters no longer than a handful of pages, was written by acclaimed writer Katsuhiro Otomo, who's most infamous work would be the manga Akira (and who would also go on to direct the animated adaptation) and Steamboy. The story is simple, with a direct narrative that never talks down or becomes too overly saccharine.
And how can it, with the dually adorable yet at times spooky art. In gorgeous, saturated colors and a cool color pallatte, the book is illustrated by Shinji Kimura, whose background art credits include My Neighbor Totoro, Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, and Lupin the Third: The Plot of the Fuhma Clan. (click for larger view)
Halfway between a storybook and a manga, the art is almost seamless in its panel transitions (sometimes only divided by a hazy white space that's integrated right into the whole of the page), the book is a joy to behold. The art has a sketchbook quality at times, with scratchy, loose crosshatching or shading that never calls attention to itself and mostly adds a wonderful texture. Most of the pallette is composed of cool blues and greens, with accents of cool but vibrant reds, and bright warm yellows (mostly in Soul's design, which is that of a yellow glowing wisp). Its a lot like an animated film frozen in place but still retaining its lush life despite being immobile.
But! If you find you did enjoy the book, an animated series was made in 2009, which takes the gorgeous art from the book and breathes animated life back into it via CGI. As lovingly crafted as the book illustrations, the CG models in the anime move adorably (though with a japanese anime frame rate, which makes it slightly choppy in movement, for those who look for it). While short (only 10 episodes, sadly), the anime expands the world of the book in new and added-to stories. Don't also hesitate to check out the website for it, which not only has news (sadly, japanese only) of the Blu-Ray release, but cute art of the characters and information on the series.
Like Cowa!, I also highly recommend Hipira to all audiences, especially the younger set, for its art, and its adorably simple but heartwarming stories about a little vampire. I also recommend giving the anime a go, since it takes what I love the most about the book and expands on it.
Bottom Lines: Both HIGHLY Recommended
--Dio (10/27/11)
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse