Believers by Naoki Yamamoto

Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2004 2:56 am

Quote:

Hey I actually registered JUST to post about Believers. Its that awesome! Thanks MS!

You're most welcome.

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And the whole eating poo thing, ewww. With the Japanese censorship rules, that pic posted here makes it seem like she's going to find out what it tastes like too hehe.

Actually that was...

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

...a dick.

Groupie Joined: 03 Apr 2004 Posts: 118

Summer Soldier wrote:

Quote:

And the whole eating poo thing, ewww. With the Japanese censorship rules, that pic posted here makes it seem like she's going to find out what it tastes like too hehe.

Actually that was...

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

...a dick.

I know, I was joking about how Japanese publishers (well respectable ones that is) require genitals to be either invisible or black, but its still obvious what it is. Unless you were joking about how I was joking about what it looked like? Sarcasm is too hard to get across in forums and I suck (no pun intended!) on picking it up. Confused

Street Musician Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 402

i really hope things turn out well for those guys. yeah, a happy ending would be really cool, if they could find happiness living with their own philosophy.

Street Musician Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 419

I hope some authorities pick up on this and arrest them.

Groupie Joined: 03 Apr 2004 Posts: 118

You want them to get arrested? Laughing

But they're so...ineffectual. They're just frickin sitting there. How is this organization accomplishing anything? Brainwashing takes too long! Turn 'em into mindless killing machines already! Twisted Evil

Well, actually I vote for they go crazy and kill each other and/or quit. Or maybe they find out it was all pointless. I just can't see a happy ending, the mangaka seems so bleak and heavy on the dark humour. Still, I feel sorry for them. It looks like they were all losers in real life. I hope at least something good happens to them.

What other works has Naoki Yamamoto done? I read the two one-shots, they were hilarious! Especially TV Makes You Stupid. That poor poor social worker. I'm addicted to his work now.

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 2:22 pm

Other works by Yamamoto that are available in English are Dance Till Tomorrow (7 vols) from Viz, and Arigato (4 vols) over at the Hawks website.

DTT is a rather mundane story, and I can kind of understand why that was his first English-translated manga, even if it's not his best. Arigato tackles the issues of family life and security in modern Japan (well, early 90s Japan). It's quite funny, but the first chapter is a barrier that most people won't get over.

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 4:24 pm

I'm kind of curious about his next manga in IKKI, "Hakai", which'll be one of his rare collaborations with another artist (he draws, Suzuki Matsuo pens). Have to wonder how much sex he'll put in it, and what Uri "spoon bender" Gellar has to do with all of it. ^^

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 5:14 pm

Chris V and I had a huge Naoki Yamamoto discussion somewhere. I think it was in the "Worst Manga" thread.

I like Dance Till Tomorrow for what it is (a love comedy/soap opera with some sex thrown in), but like stephen said, it's hardly his best work. It lacks the scathing humor and the surrealness of his latter works. It's entertaining enough though, and I wouldn't advise anyone against purchasing it. Just don't expect it to be the kind of mind-blower that Believers or Arigato is.

I too am looking forward to Yamamoto's new series, and yes, I'm also curious as to what role (if any...) the spoon bending man will play in it. I've read some of Matsuo's writing, as well his collaborations with the mangaka whose name escpaes me at the moment, and they were excellent.

Fan Boy Joined: 20 Aug 2003 Posts: 43 Location: MA

Quote:

I've read some of Matsuo's writing, as well his collaborations with the mangaka whose name escpaes me at the moment, and they were excellent.

Katsuo Kawai.

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 3:02 am

Chris V wrote:

Quote:

I've read some of Matsuo's writing, as well his collaborations with the mangaka whose name escpaes me at the moment, and they were excellent.

Katsuo Kawai.

Yeah, together they form the "Team Kurenaimanji" (crimson swastika). I see they have done some stuff for Comic Cue, too.

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:19 am

Kotonoha wrote:

Yeah, together they form the "Team Kurenaimanji" (crimson swastika). I see they have done some stuff for Comic Cue, too.

Mmm...I'm not sure if "swastika" is the appropriate translation for "manji". It would imply certain things that I don't think they deserve to be associated with...

Anyway, thanks to Chris V for supplying the name of the artist. Team Kurenaimanji have also done works for Comic H, which were consitently the best material in that magazine.

On a manga-related not, Matsuo recently made his movie directorial debut with "Koi no Mon", based on the manga of the same title by Jun Hanyunyu. "Koi no Mon" is a title that I've always wanted to translate, but I doubt that I'll ever get around to actually doing it.

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:40 am

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Mmm...I'm not sure if "swastika" is the appropriate translation for "manji". It would imply certain things that I don't think they deserve to be associated with...

Since we're already off-topic I might as well add this intriguing conversation to the mix:

======
<flyingrobots> yeah jeez seriously is that guy a nazi or what
<Zero_Dreams> is a manji
<ChrisKern> Well, if you read the English version they explain it on the first page
<ChrisKern> that the guy is a neo-nazi
<ChrisKern> and tried to work symbolism into BoI
<Yrobianot> BotI is really slow though...
<flyingrobots> manji? is that japanese for NAZI?
<ChrisKern> yes
<Zero_Dreams> close
<ChrisKern> they use it to indicate temples on Japanese maps
<flyingrobots> i knew it!
<Yrobianot> no
<ChrisKern> because all the temples are run by nazis
<Zero_Dreams> it's the japanese for gay nazi
<Yrobianot> manji is the name of the solar symbol
<ChrisKern> see, after WW2, there were many nazis left in Japan
<ChrisKern> and they were like "dood what are we going to do"
<flyingrobots> naturally
<ChrisKern> and the Japanese government said "you can run these temples"
<Yrobianot> or something close to that
<ChrisKern> and they were like "ok, but only if you put the nazi sign on the map"
<petr> and they drew a manga?
<ChrisKern> and they said "fine whatever"
<ChrisKern> and one of those temple guys draws Blade of the Immortal
<petr> lol
<Yrobianot> well yeah, the nazis didn't die - hitler didn't kill himself, he travelled back in time to rural Japan
=====

So Matsuo & Kawai are also among those temple guys, hmm? Wink

As for the translation of "kurenaimanji", maybe "crimson sun" is a better alternative?

Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:58 am

Just out of curiosity, did anyone actually read through Chairman's synopsis of his epic novel in chapter 6 all the way? If you did, I suggest that you get a life.

Street Musician Joined: 23 Jul 2003 Posts: 302

I read the first large bubble completely, then skimmed the second. I wanted to read it, but then again we all know I don't have a life.

Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:44 pm

i read it... just because i felt really sorry for the person who had to translate it.