Post by crowhats on Apr 18, 2012 22:06:08 GMT -5
Autobiographical works are often a mixed bagged. On the one hand a first person perspective can tell a reader more about what something is like on a personal level, and how the author feels at a certain time. This point of view, however is viewed through the author's own bias. A Drifting Life, is a very unusual example of an Autobiographical work, because it shows more then it tells, and lacks a really strong sense of personal bias. Despite its odd nature it manages to be one of the best biographical comics I have ever read. It overcomes a lack of monologue with an immensely detailed concept of scene and setting. The straightforward nature of this title shows the influences, and actions that affect the author's life. This manga also gives a great look into the history of the early Japanese comics market. These features make the work feel a lot like a visual remediation of a dramatic piece.
The art for A Drifting Life is a great combination of a older aesthetic of art, and realism. Tatsumi’s art mixes a Tezuka like style with life drawing techniques. It is clear that Tatsumi has considerable experience artistically drawing both in a gag and realistic style, based upon the style he uses in this book. This drawing technique is simply superb, and provides a strong sense of style that only a master artist could employ. His drawing are exciting, and engaging despite the mundane nature of the setting, due to his immense attention to detail he has. His artwork reflects the story, and creates a beautiful balance between realism, and caricature.
A Drifting Life follows the the life of the author Yoshihiro Tatsumi, and his career as a manga writer during the early periods of manga. The tale is told from a series of events in Tatsumi’s life, both highlighting his triumphs, and the many conflicts he encounters. What is so interesting about the story is that it relies so much upon the visual. Most of the narration in this work is explanatory, and is for giving the reader a sense of background. Instead of expressing inner thought, Tatsumi prefers to use major events in his life, and the setting to reflect his influences. A Drifting Life details his coming of age, his involvement in the manga industry, and his eventual disillusionment with the writing of shorter works. The story describes how he and his friends worked toward moving manga in a more mature direction, and the conflict this creates within the manga industry at that time.
What is so interesting about this story is that it isn’t really a work of despair or triumph. Tatsumi recounts his life, and the lessons that he learned within it. The work ends in a way that is ambiguous, and realistic. This is a very unusual approach to writing an autobiographical work. Most autobiographical writers try to end their works with an underlying theme, or as a recount of their personal triumphs or failures. Tatsumi does neither, and instead seems to take the stance that a life rarely can be summarized in such ways. This work is more of a reflection on the manga industry, and Tatsumi’s role within it, rather than a book with a direct central theme.
There are a lot of characters within this story. Many of these characters have a strong connection to major events of the story. For this reason I will mostly be discussing the lead, and then briefly talking about the rest of the cast. One thing really interesting about the author’s self portrayal is that he describes himself as a nice person, but also as a sheltered dreamer. He is unaware due to his focused and naive nature what it is like to fall in love, what his brother is going through, or initially that his father is cheating on his mother. His dream of being a professional cartoonist also blinds him from other parts of his job such as business disputes, and judging others work productivity. He carries his father's trait of scheming, but views his plans as being a result of pure heated dreaming, rather than of self centered greed. It is kind of tragic to see his optimism crushed in the story, which makes you feel for his cause. His character is both is easy to like, and at the same time reflects personal flaws that are interesting.
The main story for A Drifting Life goes through three main phases, and has tons of characters in each phase. One of the most important of the characters throughout the book is his brother, who also becomes a manga artist. Due to his family's initial poverty his brother is often sick and bedridden. This cause him to feel great frustration watching Tatsumi’s success. His rivalry/friendship with Tatsumi plays a major part in the brothers life, and is reflected strongly within the manga. Tatsumi’s publishers are another important aspect of the book. They give him the power of free expression, but also are the limiting factors in the work he can pursue. They play a key role in his life and career as manga creator, both by allowing him an outlet for his dreams, and later by having a hand in crushing those dreams. The other important characters that affect his career are the other creators he works with. These other creators also influence his life, and they work with him as a team to produce books and stories, and to push the boundaries of early manga. All of these characters, and many more appear in A Drifting Life, and drive the story. For this reason it really is hard to cover in detail most of the individuals contributions.
A Drifting Life is truly a masterpiece in design and content. The artwork has a unique mixture of realism and caricature, and has a immense detail to it. The story has a play like quality, using mostly dialogue and background about the time period to describe important events in Tatsumi’s life. The work has a complex realistic feel, and chooses to be ambiguous, rather than to create a forced moral. While it has droves of well developed characters, it is Tatsumi himself that stands out the most in this narrative. While this is definitely special interest work, if you have any interest in biographical stories or the early manga business then you need to own a copy of this book. This is without a doubt one of the best biographical manga works I have read (my other favorite being Disappearance Diary).