Hisae Iwaoka

Why I read it: I like to get more scifi in my manga, as well as seinen. And Ikki (the Japannese mag this originally ran in) stuff tends to be sort of off-beat, which intrigues me. Well loved by critics. Still wasn't high on my reading list, but it happened to be at the library...

Pros: Interesting world with nice world building that reveals details slowly. A good amount was explored through this volume, while I still got the feeling there were plenty more aspects of the world to be explored show more in the future. The main character not only entering into an new profession but beginning to work alongside the former coworkers of his deceased father (who died on the job) make a nice setup for good personal drama.

Cons: The unfairness of the class system is much less delicately (than other aspects of the world) and much more frequently hit over your head. This wouldn't be a problem if it were something the manga were going to engage with fully and realistically, but the characters' attitudes toward it seem to mostly range from cheerful "Well, what are you going to do? *shrug*" to just vaguely melancholic. It's an attitude some might have, sure, but there's definitely some skirting of the uglier side of social injustice going on here.

Conclusion: I find that a lot of slice of life manga--with their goal of avoiding sensationalizing everything--actually go the opposite way and make life look calmer and sweeter and more lobotomized than it really is. There's an audience for (or certain reading mood) this same as there is for sensationalized stories, but I'm not really it. I also hold that if that's what this manga wanted to be, maybe it shouldn't have introduced/hit us over the head so much with the darker threads like the main character's dead father or the unfair class system. As is, while certain aspects of the manga are realiistic and interesting, the characters come off to me as emotionally unrealistic, and I can't really get into it. show less

I’ve been aware of Hisae Iwaoka’s near future slice-of-life manga series Saturn Apartments for a while now. Considering my proclivity for science fiction, it is somewhat surprising that I took so long to get around to reading it, especially since I’ve heard very good things about the series. But when Saturn Apartments was the only manga to make the top ten list of the American Library Association’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens in 2011, I couldn’t ignore it any longer. The first show more collected volume of Saturn Apartments was originally published in Japan in 2006. The English edition of the book was published by Viz Media’s lovely Signature imprint in 2010. I have enjoyed just about every manga released by Signature, increasing the odds even more that I would like Saturn Apartments.

In the near future, the entire earth has been set aside as a nature preserve. The human population has completely removed itself from the planet, now living inside a ring encircling the Earth 35,000 meters above the surface. Most people live in the lower levels of the complex, the middle levels are primarily devoted to public works, while the elite, rich, and powerful inhabit the upper levels. Mitsu lives in the lower levels. A recent junior high school graduate, he has chose to become a window washer like his father before him. Cleaning the outside of the ring is a dangerous and demanding occupation. In fact, Mitsu’ father was lost in an accident while working a job. No one seems to know exactly what happened on that day, but the event affected the entire community.

Iwaoka’s artwork is quite distinctive and I became rather fond of it. I wouldn’t call the art pretty, some might even call it ugly, but it is cute and lovely in its own way. The characters have large heads with small but expressive facial features. While everyone has very similar, stocky body types, it is easy to tell the characters apart. It’s also nice to see such a wide range of ages done in Iwaoka’s style, from toddlers to older adults. The world-building in Saturn Apartments is also very well done--something that the artwork helps emphasize and capture. The differences between those living in the crowded and dirty lower levels and those living in the pristine and luxurious upper levels are made clear simply by looking at their setting. The backgrounds are wonderfully detailed without being too cluttered, really adding to the sense of place. The Saturn Apartments and its environments are just as important to the story as the characters.

I wasn’t wowed or blown away by the first volume of Saturn Apartments, but I did enjoy it. So far the series has a quiet charm and has more depth to it than I first realized. There is a sadness and loneliness to the story that is effective but not overwhelming. Humanity has been literally separated from its origins, making individuals’ struggles to establish and maintain meaningful connections and relationships more vital than ever. Saturn Apartments takes a closer look at these relationships--it's about people. Particularly important, and who ties much of the first volume together, is Mitsu’s father, a character that only appears in flashbacks and as part of other people’s memories. It is obvious that he has impacted the lives of others and his disappearance greatly affected those around him. Mitsu, who feels abandoned, needs to learn about his father and through others is able to begin to better understand parts of his life. I am looking forward to following Mitsu further in the next volume of Saturn Apartments.

Experiments in Manga show less

The race to the conclusion is picking up steam. A factory fire helps our protagonists cast aside doubts and muster their courage, becoming the heroes they need to be to make their dreams come true.

A bit of a lull in an otherwise very good series. As this volume begins to gear up for the series' conclusion, there is not enough focus on the characters and embedded short stories that are the highlight of the early books.