Today in "odd manga news", I have discovered that there's a
manga devoted to the USS George Washington, CVN-73. (Old news, I know, but I don't acknowledge the existence of any other kind.)
I don't know very much about it, but it seems that it was produced for distribution in Yokosuka as a way of humanizing the large American military presence. There's a
Navy Times article from last year that talks about it in more detail. I'm interested in what it signifies politically and socially, but I'm really not prepared to address that kind of issue, so I'm going to review it as a piece of entertainment -- which I think it aims to be, above all.
Overall, I think the piece is more interesting than entirely successful. I like the art quite a bit -- some panels are right out of Tezuka's more whimsical moments. Quite a lot of pages at the beginning and end are full-color, with some nice loose watercolors, but I prefer the grayscale look. Also, they can't seem to get the female lead's face right.
The main problem that I have is the dialogue. In English translation, at least, this manga kind of taxes my power to enjoy things that are lame. I mean, what am I to make of lines like "Their harmonious teamwork and the iron will of the American sailors make execution of each and every mission possible"? It doesn't make sense as part of the plot and it's terribly stilted. Sometimes it's better than that, sometimes it's not.
I guess the biggest thing that bothers me about it is that it's too easy to see the political bones showing through. I can
barely imagine a sailor, asked about his long service in Japan, saying "Japan is great! The food is good, and the people are kind and warm. The country's full of state-of-the-art culture, history, and traditions." It's a pretty big stretch, though. It takes me out of the work. It's too glaring a reminder that this is a genuine piece of propaganda, and, while that doesn't in itself make it bad, it's a distraction.
But the piece has its good moments, too. The descriptions of combat drills, with planes and helicopters taking off, and sailors running about -- there's something poetic about them. It's a richness of description that suggests, to me at least, that the author truly believes in what he's writing.
So I guess I don't recommend it too strongly, but it's got its moments, and of course it is interesting as a cultural artifact. Worth reading if you've got some spare time, or happen to like that sort of thing.
words from chris, 2009-08-03 03:03:26, los angeles
