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Being A Leader? All You Need Is A Little Yoshitsune (20th Century Boys)
When you think about leaders, you think about how strong and powerful they generally are. However, there comes a point where leaders eventually fall. If the leader was passionate and charismatic, the group without its head often falls into ruin. There are times when someone else decides to step up. Now what happens if the person stepping up isn’t someone who may not look the part, but ends up possibly a person who manages to do a good, possibly even better, job than his/her predecessor. This happens to be quite the case with Yoshitsune, a major supporting character from Naoki Urasawa’s Eisner-Award winning (and once again nominated) “20th Century Boys”. Yoshitsune is someone who makes you believe that we all can be leaders and that we can step up to the task with proper support.
Yoshitsune’s past involved growing up with a group of kids (including the main protagonist, Kenji Endo) playing “heroes and villains” in Japan during the late 1960s’. The kids playing heroes created a secret base to play at and came up with some ideas/scenarios of villainous acts the kids would overcome. They put the scenarios on a notebook entitled “The Book of Prophecy”. It wasn’t until 1997 that events detailed in “The Book of Prophecy” were brought to life by a mysterious cult leader named the Friend, who happened to be associated with the kids in the past. Kenji, who is appalled at seeing his childhood fantasies become horrible reality, forms a group consisting of the childhood friends he played “heroes and villains” with to stop Friend. Despite not having a tough personality, Yoshitsune sacrificed his normal life to join Kenji. The group took a stand against Friend in 2000, but lost and Kenji went missing. Since then, Yoshitsune became the leader of his own rebel group to continue the fight against Friend. Despite being a leader, Yoshitsune feels that he is not quite adequate to be one.
It is very enlightening to see Yoshitsune’s growth from being timid to inspirational. Yoshitsune may not see it, but he has six qualities that make him a great leader.
Decisiveness - Yoshitsune stands firm in his decisions to protect the people around him and to discover the truth about Friend. He actually worked as a janitor in enemy territory to rescue people who have been victimized by Friend.
Competence - Yoshitsune manages to create and maintain his own secret base for his group and provide members with the welcoming-comfort of safety.
Integrity - Yoshitsune’s followers believe in him and respect whatever he chooses to do. The trust between Yoshitsune and his men is developed because of Yoshitsune’s continued heroics.
Vision - In Volume 12, Yoshistune gave a speech to his followers at a New Year’s party he hosted and proclaimed that in 2015, the goals were to prevent further events detailed in the Book of Prophecy from happening by researching more about the mystery of Friend and to finally end Friend’s reign.
Modesty - Despite working extremely hard, Yoshitsune feels he isn’t as great a leader as people think he is and will praise others that he feels are better/smarter than him.
Persistence - For the last 14+ years since 2000, Yoshitsune just kept on fighting against the Friend despite the Friend’s worldwide celebrity status and never gave up hope that the Friend would one day be stopped.
As Ed Sizemore of Comics Worth Reading pointed out in a review of Volumes 12-13 of the manga, people often confuse charisma with leadership. It doesn’t hurt to have charisma, but it’s not the ultimate solution to being an effective leader. Having a huge sense of focus while being supportive is the best way to go to have a chance of getting people to follow you.
Yoshitsune represents the type of leader who’s not always featured in the spotlight. He’s a leader that doesn’t completely focus so much attention on himself and is more about actually get things down. What’s also special about Yoshitsune is that he chose to lead his own life into a specific path that would help cultivate future leaders. The way Yoshitsune is modest about himself is similar to the way some people believe their efforts aren’t special. We’ve all been through moments where we believe we don’t deserve credit for our efforts, but forget the fact that we tried means something. Trying something is a huge step forward and is something to be really proud of. If you never go out and try, then you might feel even worse and nothing will change.
Need some more motivation? Here’s a quote from Teruyuki Kagawa, the actor for Yoshitsune in the live-action movie adaptation of 20th Century Boys, about the character.
“Yoshitsune may appear insignificant and may never excel in a working environment, but I think his character evokes an important message about taking responsibility for our own life because each of us is the star of our own lives.”
We are all leaders, believe it.
This entry is part of the VIZ Signature Imprint Manga Movable Feast. More wonderful articles covering the vast titles under the imprint can be found at the page linked above.
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Idols, Hostesses, Animal Manga, And More - Fun Links To Read
And we’re back with another variety of articles to read!
Japan Times does not like the front-page attention that AKB48 is getting - Good grief, how much attention is AKB48 really getting? Weren’t those candy-sharing commercials and an upcoming Wii game featuring the girls enough? Then again, idols are very important in Japan and it’s pretty unfortunate that they are forced to uphold a “clean” image to maintain that importance, don’t you think?.
Look, a hostess video game for kids is on the Nintendo 3DS! - Level-5, makers of Professor Layton and White Knight Chronicles, released a new portable game called Girls’ RPG: Cinderrelife where you play as girls trying to be hostesses. What would be hilarious and sad is if all the young girls start having this fantasy of being hostesses from this game. However, low sales seem to indicate that this will not happen. Only in Japan, folks.
Manga Xanadu celebrates Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month - Lori Henderson spotlights a few manga titles that focus on animal cruelty. As Lori says, pets deserve the same love and respect from their owners and people.
Japan’s population hits biggest drop since 1950 - I think most of us knew this was going to happen, given the state Japan’s in these days. Many things in Japan (like manga sales) are going down. How can we encourage Japan to REALLY step up for the people?
New Ways To Happiness With Strengths - Because I want each and every one of you to find ways to be happy in life.
Finally, now that Bakuman’s over, what do you think the next title from Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata will be about?
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The Japanese Sneezing Superstition - A Superstition That Provides Benefits?
Who here believes in the power of superstitions? Here’s something that will get your mystical juices flowing. An interesting article about superstitions popped up in the New York Times. The article, entitled “In Defense of Superstition”, discussed how having superstitions can be beneficial to gain some sense of meaning in one’s life. They also give someone a big sense of self-confidence in doing certain tasks. One superstition came to my mind and one that is very relevant in anime and manga: sneezing.
In Asian culture, it is widely believed that someone who sneezes out of the blue is being talked about by other people not near them. If you sneeze once, someone is definitely saying something about you. If you sneeze twice, bad things are said about you. This superstition about sneezing has become a huge joke in anime and manga, where several characters talk about one character in one panel and then the next panel features the person being talked about sneezing (with some witty remarks and/or confusion). Sneezing blew its way through notable series such as Dragon Ball, Maison Ikkoku, InuYasha, Rurouni Kenshin, and Ranma 1/2.
Perhaps this superstition is helpful for others in terms of giving confidence that things are going to be just fine for them or an incentive to be more careful. Let’s say someone sneezes and he/she really believes that someone must be gossiping about them all of a sudden. That person can say to themselves, “Hmmm, maybe I should change my tune a bit.” or “Yes, someone’s talking about me! I feel important to someone!” That could give some meaning and motivation to alter their behaviors more positively. Of course, this can all backfire in a hurry, depending on the personality of the person sneezing. It is heavily argued that those who believe in superstitions tend to have a lack of control in their lives.
A great example of a “sneezing superstition” moment in anime/manga that stood out was in Rurouni Kenshin Volume 7, when the Kenshin-gumi spoke harshly about Saito Hajime. While at a soba stand, Saito sneezed repeatedly and even made a remark about how sudden sneezing is a result of ill will. He even goes on to say that it’s great that the Shinsengumi (his old troop) are still hated in the Meiji Era. You have to wonder if Saito’s comments were just a reassuring way of giving him more confidence to go and cause more mayhem since he doesn’t care what people think of him. The Wolf of Mibu’s mind is always a mysterious one, isn’t it?
So, what other Japanese superstitions do you think give people a sense of confidence? Feel free to share some crazy thoughts and let us have the wonderful moment of freaking out together.
Hope you didn’t just sneeze while reading this entry. :]
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What Character(s) Inspire You?
As much as I like to talk about the character(s) that inspire me (i.e. Vegeta), I want to know which anime/manga characters inspire you guys as a whole.
Do you have an essay you wish to share to readers about a character that makes you feel awesome? I would like to post some of your stories on this very site.
If interested, you can contact me at tonyyao82(at)gmail(dot)com.
Of course, you can always comment below. I love to hear who drives your will to succeed even higher.
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HOT! BLOODED! - The Rock Lee Story (Naruto)
“I want to show I can be a splendid ninja even if I don’t have ninjutsu or genjutsu. I want to prove it to the whole world!”
For those who believe that they have do not have the talents to achieve certain types of success, let me tell you an insightful tale. A tale where one enthusiastic young man must conquer multiple odds to reach his goal. It was a goal which required certain talents the young man did not possess. Despite his lack of talent, the young man presses on with nothing but unbridled enthusiasm and a passion to crush it. This is story of Naruto’s Rock Lee, a ninja who relies on his strong spirit to fight and more importantly, a stern reminder about keeping your passion going even through tough times.
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Exploring Manga, Vocaloid is ALIVE!, Happy Tearjerkers, And More - Fun Links To Read
Here are some fun links to read for the weekend.
“What’s up with manga? A comics fan’s deep dive” - As someone who grew up reading American comics first, I found this article to be enlightening. Much like Christian, I learned a lot about what makes Japanese manga more unique than comics in the West. There is also a good point brought up about how manga remains popular in a society that’s very strict. The end question in the article is extremely important. Certain manga titles may not always appeal to someone who reads comics.
Is Hatsune Miku more ‘authentic’ than Lana Del Ray? - Umm, yeah. She is. I don’t know too much about Lana Del Ray, but I heard she was considered to be one of the worst musical guests to perform on Saturday Night Live. The lesson is that if you really want to be successful, you have to create an emotional bond with your audience members.
How Tearjerkers Make People Happier - While the article talks about tragedy movies, I think the same can be applied for anime and manga as well. There were many flashback scenes for certain characters that have moved me. Any tragic moments in manga that may have moved you positively?
Whose Digital Manga is it Anyway? Publishers vs. Scanlations - And the battle goes on and on…Is it really scanlators’ fault that the digital publishing push was delayed until now? I hate to say this, but piracy isn’t ever going to fully go away. The least people can do is limit it to a huge degree. Also, what about series that may never get licensed, but are scanlated? As another writer indicates, some scanlations happen when a manga series is not licensed in a certain country and/or if a manga series ends its run prematurely (i.e. VIZ Media ending Gintama). Things look to be really tense going forward for the manga industry….
Finally, check out Google Maps 8-Bit. So worth it!
Have a fun weekend!
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Breaking Down Character Armor (Erza Scarlet - FAIRY TAIL)
This entry is a fan request from an earlier entry on what characters I should cover next.
“If I don’t wear my armor, I won’t feel secure.”
In life, things aren’t always certain. Many obstacles are thrown our way, sometimes without warning. We often put up a barrier to protect ourselves from all kinds of harm. In Hiro Mashima’s FAIRY TAIL, there is one character who embraces protection both physically and mentally. The lovely and extremely popular Erza Scarlet is a character who specializes in wearing different types of armor to defeat her enemies. Her dependence on armor reflects how people put up “character armor” to fight against perceived threats and slowly harm themselves in the process.
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Anime Series Over, Y U NO MOVE OVER TO MANGA?
Why it took the last episode of the Gintama anime to finally make me think about this is amazing. After watching it, I started thinking about anime series based on ongoing manga series that end before the manga stopped serializing. There’s a great deal of series that follow this path besides Gintama. There’s BLEACH, Blue Exorcist, Beezlebub, Black Butler, Claymore, and a slew of others. I often why sometimes anime watchers don’t bother to read the manga for the continuation of any manga-based anime series they actually like. Is there something about reading manga that doesn’t seem worthwhile when compared to watching anime?
Former Tokyopop editor Daniella Orihuela-Gruber even asked “Why Not Manga?”. Reading some of the comments posted on her article suggest that fans find anime to be more immersive, animation is more marketable than comics, certain types of scenes done in anime are more appealing, watching a series requires little attention, and/or people generally just don’t like to read or never were interested in comics in the first place. It sure is rough out there in the West for manga, isn’t it?
I wonder about those who do read manga after watching anime series. How many of you are out there? I find myself to be one of the minority that does this. When I was in my early 20s’, there were two series that made me believe that manga was more awesome than anime: Rurouni Kenshin and Great Teacher Onizuka. I heavily watched both anime series and I later found out about the manga series they were based on. When I found out Kenshin ended in filler hell, I began to explore manga summaries on fansites of the later volumes that were never animated. The same was also said for Onizuka’s grand tales.
There were a couple of characters that I heavily enjoyed: Saito Hajime from RK and Urumi Kanzaki from GTO. I grew attached to their anime incarnations over time and eventually learned of their happenings in the non-animated manga volumes of their respective series (Volume 17 of GTO had a BIG revelation about Urumi, which got me emotional). I truly believe in the idea of the manga being the “true story”. Perhaps that’s why I read the manga of series that are animated. Why would I watch anime when I know that it’s not going to capture all the moments of the manga (for the most part)? This belief started after I bought all the volumes of RK and GTO.
Am I saying that anime fans who love manga series that are animated aren’t “true fans” of the series because they are not reading the manga? To me, they are still fans of those series. I do admit that reading a volume of manga does require a bit more attention than watching an anime episode and things can look messy. However, fans are missing out on certain details that never get explained (or changed heavily) and/or interesting characters that never get introduced in the anime storyline.
A good example of this is in Blue Exorcist where the anime ends around the end of Volume 4 of the manga. Volume 5 and onward is where you learn more about the possible origin of the Koma Sword, the pasts of the Kyoto-raised students (Ryuji “Bon” Suguro, Renzo Shima, and Miwa Konekomaru), and some pretty cool new characters that have an impact in the story. If certain, passionate fans wonder more about the Blue Exorcist universe, I’m sure they would like to know more about further developments if manga readers decide to tell them about it.
Though honestly, I think that one needs to have some experience reading comics as a kid growing up if you want that person to consider exploring manga. Should we be asking how can manga be made appealing to an anime-watching audience in the Western side of the globe? What would be nice is when certain anime series end, there would be a PV teaser to read the manga/visual novel/light novel of the respective series it’s based on. It’s also up to us as manga readers to try and provide some incentives to our anime-watching-only friends.
Reading manga is just as enticing as watching anime. Why wouldn’t you want the best of both worlds? I guess books really are complicated for some people….
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Princess Sapphire And The Power of Blue (Princess Knight)
If there’s one color that seems to be a constant favorite, most people will tell you the blue is the color that rules them all. Blue is loved by many people of both genders. Case in point: we have a manga heroine that radiates the aspects of what makes blue a popular color. Princess Sapphire, the lead heroine of Osamu Tezuka’s Princess Knight, appears to be a character that could suggest Tezuka has some deep fascination of the naturalness of blue.
First off, let’s explore the origin of Princess Sapphire. Sapphire was a girl who was given a “blue boy’s heart”, when she was supposed to receive only a “pink girl’s heart”. She ends up with both hearts and lives her life under the guise of a prince to inherit the throne of her kingdom. An angel named Tink is responsible for the blue heart transplant and is sent down by God to correct his mistake. Sapphire, however, refuses to give up her blue heart to Tink, while she struggles with love and a variety of persistent threats upon her visage.
What emotional aspects does blue represent? Blue is usually associated with calmness and focus for the most part. Of course, blue can also represent depression and being sad. When you look at the character of Sapphire, you see that she is strong, independent, courageous, determined, and calm. Despite her strengths, Sapphire has shown feelings of sadness and loneliness, as she struggles to be with Prince Franz Charming and to attend social gatherings as a “proper woman” (i.e. wearing a lovely dress). Sounds “blue” enough for you?
Another important note to point out is that the shades of blue have significant impact in people’s moods. Dark blue is considered a shade that represents power and integrity. Light blue is considered to be soft and understanding. You can say that dark blue is a lot more masculine than light blue. Sapphire appears to be an even mix of both shades, as she is an individual who demands respect, but also show compassion at the same time. There’s also the fact that Sapphire’s name herself is a shade of blue that happens to have characteristics that describe her perfectly.
I’m very curious about whether Tezuka used the psychology of the color blue when writing Princess Knight. Was he trying to point out that we all need a hint of blue in our lives to be stable? With regards to Sapphire, was Tezuka trying to inspire women using the traits of blue? The pink (a color that is considered to be the stereotypical favorite color associated with women) heart that Sapphire has was heavily targeted by an evil witch named Madame Hell. She desired it for the purpose of making her daughter, Hecate, popular. However, Hecate doesn’t show any interest in having the pink heart and was willing to give it back to Sapphire at one point. It seems as if Tezuka is trying to say that women should associate themselves with and/or appreciate colors that have better traits. If you’ve read Princess Knight, do you think Tezuka may have thought about the impact of color for the story?
In today’s world, blue still remains a constant and important color in life. Look how many logos of important companies are blue. Our skies and seas are blue. Blue is a color that will always finds a place in people’s hearts.
May blue be the color to continue enhancing our minds and bodies as it has Sapphire’s.
For more commentary on Princess Knight, you can check out Manga Bookshelf’s Off the Shelf column on the title.
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The Young Adult’s Fight For Purpose (Solanin)
“I wondered if the Demon that whispered “Why not be free?” was Freedom itself.” ― Inio Asano, Solanin
In life, there are instances where the transition from being a teenager to an adult can be a harsh one. Many responsibilities have to be instilled into one’s mindset while whatever dreams they may have are left to fade. What happens when people desire to break free from the constraints of growing up? Inio Asano’s critically-acclaimed Solanin takes a look at the idea of adulthood and what it means to young people who are trying to find their way. It also addresses a serious issue on how to guide young adults to have successful lives on their terms.
Solanin revolves around a young girl named Meiko Inoue, her boyfriend, Taneda Shigeo, and their group of friends. Meiko works as an office lady while trying to find her purpose in life after graduating from college. She lives together with Taneda, who is a part-time freelance artist and also trying to find his calling. Taneda, who is part of a band with his friends from his college days, decides to get his band out to the public in hopes of making it big. Meiko subsequently quits her job to support Taneda, but ends up being lazy as she isn’t sure what to do with her newfound freedom. The story goes through some interesting and shocking turns, but in the end, Meiko becomes certain of how she wants to live her life through music. Despite Solanin running only 2 volumes in Japan, the manga was nominated for a Eisner Award in 2009 and a Harvey Award in the same year. Solanin also went on to become a live-action movie in 2010.
Given that life expectancy has increased, how can we truly define “adulthood” these days? How long does adolescence last now? Though the bigger issue at hand is the fact that there aren’t too many initiatives involved to help youths that face conflicted thoughts about life. In Solanin, you see that the characters are bordering the thresholds of adulthood. You can argue they are “in-between” adolescence and adulthood, like how most young adults feel in reality. I wonder if older adults are to be entirely blamed for slowly killing young people’s sense of purpose. Their set institutions, standards, and policies do not seem to promote a healthy well-being in the minds of young people. Governments may be enforcing rules hindering youth for the purpose of fueling their own egos. Older adults can develop a high level of selfishness when given great power. This leads to an idea that there is possibly a sense of ageism against youth.
Reading Solanin can make you think about what can compassionate folks do for those on the cusp of adulthood. How do we meet their needs and give them purpose? Not all young people are lackadaisical about life and those that are may realize the error of their ways. Some keys, as evidenced in Solanin, are to help find their passions and find out what makes them feel good.
Solanin has made me think about my depression period. During that time, I had so much freedom, but no purpose. I managed to find my purpose with the help of my friends. With the world becoming more increasingly complicated for young people to grow up in, I do worry that they will continue to be held down to a huge degree. Though as Solanin has reminded me, even the slightest amount of support from someone can give you purpose.
Despite the title being published in 2005, Solanin is still very relevant today. This manga is for all the dreamers out there. Don’t just dream, fight and keep fighting for your dreams.
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