The name of this was taking from the manga, "What A Wonderful World" which translates into "Subarashii Sekai" in Japan. For those wondering as to why I chose this, I found the manga to something of a rather interesting tale.
For those who do not know, "What A Wonderful World" is a manga that was created by Asano Inio. The plot of this two volume series is essentially taking you through the life of several characters in Japan. It allows you to get an experience as to how they live and the hardships they face and whether or not they can overcome these difficulties. All in all, it ties to the title that each of them wish to live in a wonderful world.
Over time, you some how find yourself just falling in love with the characters despite the fact each may be featured for no more than two or three chapters. Strangely, Asano somehow manages to connect you very quickly to each of his characters. They each carry their own personalities that make them unique while you still acquire this idea as to how people actually live and act in the real world and the thought processes in their minds.
One of my personal favorite stories within this manga is the chapter entitled, "The Bear From the Forest." It is the tale as to how a school student gets kidnapped by this man who wears a bear suit. He threatens her to do certain tasks for him while he stays in hiding. The reason being is that he himself is being chased by a far more criminal group of people than himself. He tells the girl that if she does all of his tasks, he will let her go and give her X amount of dollars. She of course, not having much other choices, does the tasks for him.
Over time however, it is clear that the girl develops a sense of Stockholm Syndrome for this mysterious masked bear man. She in turn gives him a little synopsis of an event that happened to her, one that completely turned her life upside down, and he counters by doing the same. She tells of a time when she was in love with her teacher and he got her pregnant, and he tells of a time in which he and his wife fought to a violent level.
All in all, after they shared these tales with one another, it was when they had been discovered. The bear man insisted that she leave but she demanded that she stay, she had wanted to be with him. However, he grabbed her head and held it close, explaining to her that he knew what it was like to be in a situation like hers. He told her that in life there are the good and the bad, and that she should aim for the good in life and not end up like him.
He managed to get her out alive. At the last second tossing her the briefcase with all of the money, then willingly accepted death from the group that was after him.
But that is the thing about "What A Wonderful World", it has these beautiful stories that don't quite work out the way you hope for. They work out with reality. (To an extent. There are a few magical themes in there.) You actually get a feel for "If I was in this situation of normal life, this is how it would actually be." It isn't just a mix up of some unreal fantasy that you see in most other story plots. (Not that I am stating I dislike them, it is merely nice to see a change every so often). All in all, it gives the reader a good way to connect to the tales depicted on a more realistic level.
Not to mention, I much enjoy the art style. The drawings in "What A Wonderful World" really allow us to see a different style from the norm. Not that I am dishing on other styles, but this art never seems to be very popular in the manga and anime genre. It is a great change to see an art style like this and personally it is one of my favorites.
All in all if I had to state, I feel like I would definitely give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The story line, art, and character developments really tie in well together while give you something from the standard school girls and magic you see so often.
But back to this being my first blog post. The above is the reason that I entitled this blog, "Subarashii Sekai" for it is a wonderful story that I fell in love with. Granted it is not my favorite, but it is one of those that fall up in some of the best manga I have come across in my lifetime.
To those curious as to what this blog will be, I hope to center it around discussions of anime I have watched and manga I have read throughout my lifetime. It may stray every so often, but it will essentially contain those roots. I hope to review, suggest, and strengthen your minds about the good, the bad, and the unique ideas that creators come along with as well as maybe a few snippets about my life. And as a closing, I leave you with this video. Since "What A Wonderful World" has no anime adaptation I know of, I will leave you with the spectacular video of Chatmonchy's song, "Sekai Ga Owaru Yoru Ni".
No comments:
Post a Comment