Whenever I take a look at the history of manga, I always manage to find something interesting or fascinating that I’ve yet to discuss. In this case, I’ve known about akahon manga for a while now, mainly due to my adoration for Osamu Tezuka, but I thought it would be interesting to take a look at akahon manga, their place in manga history and why manga fans should be aware of them.
Starting off with the word “Akahon” itself, it is written in Japanese as 赤本 with the first character, 赤, meaning red and the second character, 本, meaning book. The term originally referred to children’s books which were released in the Edo-period of Japan but would later refer to the manga that was produced in early post-war Japan. These manga were printed on cheap paper that had a reddish brown colour, were sold at low prices and typically targeted children.
The Ten Cent Manga release of The Mysterious Underground Men replicates the visual style of akahon releases.
As I’m sure you’re well aware of, there is a perception that animation is targeted exclusively at children and while this perception, brought on by the Dark Age of Animation, is slowly being eroded, this delusion still remains prevalent. Of course, not all animation is aimed at children and it shouldn’t be a case that an age rating decides whether the work is suitable for adults or not but it’s also indisputable that an 18s rated work isn’t targeted at children. Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some 18s rated anime and how to avoid the mistake of showing these to kids.
First off, I should clarify what I mean by 18s rated since it may not be clear from an international perspective. Living in Ireland, I import almost all of my DVDs and Blu-rays from the UK. Within the UK, it’s mandatory that all home video, whether they be VHS, DVD, Blu-ray etc., be given an age rating from the BBFC before it can be legally sold. I’ve expressed my frustration about this situation in the past but I also thought it would be interesting to look at anime that is, at least in the West, definitively not aimed at children.
I want to start off by saying that I love JRPGs. My favourite game of all time is a JRPG and I am continually drawn to these games as I quite often enjoy their storytelling, graphical style, gameplay etc. However, there is something that I’ve come to dread now when I play JRPGs and that is having to deal with their side-quests. It feels like JRPGs are not only behind Western RPGs when it comes to side-quests but that they’re getting progressively worse as well! Given that, I wanted to discuss this problem and take a look at some JRPGs that are rife with bad side-quests.
Before I start discussing the problem of bad side-quests in JRPGs, I want to take a moment to discuss what side-quests are, what makes a side-quest good or bad and some examples of JRPGs and Western RPGs that have great side-quests. At its most basic, a side-quest is an optional quest that the player can do to earn some kind of benefit such as new gear, lore and experience. Ideally, the task presented to the player should be enjoyable, contribute to the world and characters and have a reward that makes the side-quest worth doing. It’s easy to point to Western RPGs such as The Witcher games and The Elder Scrolls as great examples of how to do side-quests right but I also want to point out some JRPG examples. One JRPG side-quest that I remember very fondly is the Wutai quest from Final Fantasy VII. The side-quest introduces a problem that shakes up how you’ve been playing until then, presents quite a bit of backstory to one of the characters and their motivation, completes the arc of a villain from earlier in the game and presents numerous new equipment, materia and experience to make it worth doing. Chrono Trigger is another great example of a JRPG with great side-quests which develop your party members’ backgrounds while presenting great rewards for doing them.
As many of you might be aware by now, I am a massive fan of horror films. I’ve recently written some articles about some of my first experiences with anime and manga and I thought it would be interesting to provide the same type of anecdote about horror. Therefore, I’ve decided to share my story about how I discovered the wonderful world of horror films.
Around the time that I was in secondary school, I had begun to develop an increased interest in films with the intention to not only experience and enjoy but to also help develop more conversation topics for when I talked to people. I bought a book, now quite outdated, called “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”. As I perused the book, looking at all of the films that I had never heard of, I came across a particular image that instantly grabbed my attention.
A picture of Leatherface from the 1974 film “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre”.
Before I start sharing these thoughts though, I wish to briefly run over what a video game remake is as opposed to a video game remaster since these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. To quickly summarise, a video game remaster uses the original assets while making changes to UI, improving graphics and audio, increasing the frame rate etc. while a video game remake rebuilds the game from the ground up.
I’ve spoken before about the history of manga but it was more of a synopsis than anything else and it left the door open for me to expand on various aspects of manga history. I was recently perusing manga topics and I came across the term “Ponchi-e”. Understandably, I first thought it had something to do with ukiyo-e but I very quickly realised that it was entirely separate and a topic worth discussing. Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the important impact of ponchi-e on the medium of manga.
In order to explain the etymology of ponchi-e, I first need to discuss its origins. Soon after the end of the isolationist period of Japan, a British man named Charles Wirgman traveled to Japan. Having worked as a sketch artist for the Illustrated London News, the world’s first illustrated newspaper, he soon set up a magazine called Japan Punch. The name appears to have been based off of the British magazine “Punch” but this also explains the term “Ponchi-e” which is a katakana version of the word punch while attaching it to the kanji 絵 which means picture.
I’ve spoken before about ways that you can watch anime legally through streaming services with Netflix being one of those options. However, I think it’s also worth having a discussion about the impact that Netflix is having on the anime industry as well as some fascinating ways that their relationship has played out.
Try as I might, I can’t remember the first time that I heard the name “Clive Barker”. If I had to guess it was probably through Hellraiser but I can’t say this with any certainty. Nonetheless, his works have been truly spectacular and Clive Barker deserves to be more well-known as a horror legend. Therefore, I thought it might be interesting, as a horror fan, to take a look at the man himself, the media that he’s worked on and why I admire him so much.
Born in Liverpool in 1952, he notably witnessed the death of Léo Valentin, a famous Frenchman who died in 1956 in Liverpool after a skydiving stunt went wrong. As he grew up, he became involved in the theatre at Quarry Bank High School and, after studying English and Philosophy at the University of Liverpool, he co-founded a theatrical group called “The Dog Company” which would go on to produce several plays as well as bring in future collaborators such as Doug Bradley and Peter Atkins.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
