Kenji Tsuruta

“Memories of Emanon,” by Kajio Shinji is a very interesting short story, included in the 4-volume collection Speculative Japan. It was not surprising that the manga rendition was just as "memorable."

The only other thing translated into English by this author is “Reiko’s Universe Box.” These two brief short stories are enough to give me an idea of his author’s style. I do wish more of his stuff was translated, but I’m always wishing that, and I’ll probably always keep wishing show more that, unless I somehow magically start reading Japanese. The concept is unique, as far as my experience has proven – at least no one has come up with this idea in anything I’ve come across. It’s an example of what you can do with a solid S-F idea. You take one idea and make a story out of it. What makes the story compelling? It’s not just the idea, but the two main characters. There are some amusing side-characters, but the main male character has personality, and a good voice, and the female character is intelligent and interesting. You get their chemistry. It has the quality of a Haruki Murakami story, but with less rhythm, the same amount of humor, and more science. Murakami is like Philip K. Dick and Kajio Shinji is more in the vein of Heinlein. I miss good science fiction with an emphasis on style and characters. Even Heinlein gets dry sometimes and recycles a lot. But I could see myself reading the whole series of short stories about Emanon, if it ever gets the full treatment. The manga proved to be good, though it offered nothing new to me that the story hadn’t already provided besides fluid and exceptionally good artwork. What’s more, the story is tinged with the nostalgia that you feel when you meet that one person who makes a big impression on you – it has the quality of that cherished memory that you are unwilling to let go of, and their imprint of you seems to last forever, even if the inspiration they provided was minor, brief and unexplainable, it is impossible to expunge from memory. show less

This is a simple story beautifully drawn. A young delivery pilot serves all of the tiny Japanese Islands far from the big cities, but when her grandfather dies and leaves her clues about a mysterious island, she becomes obsessed with finding it, even more so after she has a close call.

The protagonist spends most of the book in a bikini, but it feels more like the comfort of island living rather than anything exploitative. She also has a Very Good Kitty who tags along on her journeys snuggled show more into the front of a jacket she wears while flying. show less

Once again a beautiful package with just as beautiful art. A couple of more questions answered, but many remain.
The only real negative is that it was a quick read, I finished it before I finished my cup of coffee.
Interesting essay from Dark Horse that explains Japanese Comics' publishing history/practices both in the States and in Japan. Also, the essay goes into how volume 2 of this manga came to be. An interesting read.

A fun and humorous manga that revolves around a Chinese restaurant owner, lovingly known as Miss China, and her two good-for-nothing inventor scientist tenants who never seem to be able to pay the rent. Tsuruta's attention to detail in his drawings is what sets him apart from many of the other mainstream manga artists.