Chiaki Ogata, shortstop for the Tokyo Elephants baseball team and a strong contender for the batter's trophy, has his nose a little out of joint. The team's new pitcher, Eiji Uno, who will probably make Rookie of the Year, is friendly, outgoing, and easy to get along with -- for everyone but Ogata. Ogata's getting self-conscious about it -- after all, they're teammates and they should try to get along, right? He finally confronts Uno one evening and discovers the horrible truth: Uno's been avoiding him because he's in love with him and is too embarrassed to get close. Ogata is nonplussed and immediately distances himself -- and then realizes that the idea makes him happy.
The comedy here is on the same general order as Alley of First Love, a matter of crossed signals and missed opportunities in a constantly shifting landscape: first Ogata and then Uno will abruptly change his behavior, so everyone's at sea. And there are enough complications to keep things lively.
Mamahara's drawing is wonderful. I've said this before, but think Alberto Giacometti does manga: Mamahara's style incorporates those kinds of elongated figures, in her case angular, almost blocky, with huge hands and feet (and why is that so sexy? I don't know, but it is). It's definitely a cartoony style, but she never falls into chibi frames, which is a blessing: she doesn't need to -- and the drawing still supports the comic aspects, as well as the more serious moments. And there are some frames that are simply beautiful in their own right.
From BLU.
No comments:
Post a Comment