Banana Bread Pudding by Yumiko Ooshima

I was feeling in the mood for something more retro so I read two manga from the 70's this week. Both of them are rather strange, too, but I never mind a little weird ( Boku wa Mondai Arimasen and Henshin no News are still in a class by themselves, though). I also managed to read and type up this review on my computer instead of my phone, a much less aggravating experience. Only time will tell if I'll be able to do this next week, too, I sure hope so reading on my phone is a strain on my eyes.



Banana Bread Pudding by Yumiko Ooshima

Art and story (c) Yumiko Ooshima

Genre: Shojo
Length: One Volume- 5 Chapters



           The art is almost haphazard at times yet also flowing and ethereal. The eyes are a prime example of this, they are scribbled in and relatively small but they do add a lot of emotion to the face as well as character. The clothes are well fit to the frames, and can be interesting to look at at time although, mostly, they tend to blend in. The hair on the other hand, is often very striking, either because its flowing every where or because it's stark black and attracts the attention. There's also this old school quirk where people's hair sticks out in curls and tufts to show how harried they are, its actually really over used in this particular manga, that adds to the messiness of the art as well as expression. The flowing hair reminds me a bit of Miriam, but the art over all is less polished than it. Making Banana Bread Pudding a little hard on the eyes from time to time as well as being distracting, but its more of a style aesthetic than actually looking unprofessional.

           I'm going to copy and paste the description from my go-to manga information site, Baka-Updates Manga, for this post. Whoever wrote it deserves a medal because it is quite compelling:
           Now that Ira's older sister is getting married, who will take her to the bathroom after

10 p.m. and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" outside the bathroom door in order to protect her from the beautiful, androgynous, child-eating clown? Will marrying a closeted gay man help?

           I don't know about you, but I had no idea what the heck the description was saying but I was very interested in finding out. I mean, that last line just came out of left field. “Will marrying a closeted gay man help?” Will it??? You can probably guess the answer, but its more complicated than just a 'no.' Ira isn't just some little sister who is worried about losing her older sibling, no, Ira is a high school aged girl with a problem much deeper than just simple anxiety. The aforementioned “clown” is really a manifestation of her problems; a dream that she thinks is real. Ira realizes she acts different from others, in fact she seems very childish for her age, but when she sees that it is creating a problem she wants to try and fix it. Albeit, in a very strange and warped way. That’s where the gay man comes into play, as she says that's exactly the type of person she wants to help, to let them be normal by pretending she is their wife so they can gain courage in coming out. If you aren't lost yet, it gets more complex when a gay lover comes into the picture as well as his abusive, older boyfriend, and the fact that Ira's best friend is in love with the lover and pretends to be her brother to further the relationship. Yeah, I think that’s all, oh wait, no that’s just the beginning. I don't want to give away all the details, but for there being only a handful of characters it gets deep fast. Ira's apparent mental illness and her spiral into a psychotic break is compelling, but the thought put into other people's actions are less detailed. There is far too much simple 'okay, I'll do this even though someone just randomly asked me to' from nearly all the characters. The ending is also less than stellar. The emotions are there, but you are given hardly any closure and that stings a bit after all you've been through. Over all though its an interesting look at a person mid-breakdown, but it is far from perfect. Besides the instantaneous responses of the characters that negates the feelings they bring up and talk about, it veers off from time to time to the abstract instead of staying on topic. It does draw you through the narrative, but the plot isn't really coherent at times. There is nothing wrong with side stories and background drama, but the intense scrutiny of some of the side scenes distracted from Ira's problems and what she is going through. In the end Ira's madness is the center of the story, after all and she gets forgotten a little too easily.


3/5 I'd've liked to give it higher but it has serious faults. 

No thanks, you're creepin' me out.

On to the extra one-shot:

Feminine no San Shimai by Izumi Yoko

Art and story (c) Izumi Yoki

Genre: Shojo

Length: One Chapter – 16 Pages


           The art is simply gorgeous, the palette is vibrant and a good example of its time's decadence, which is classic 70's and 80's style artwork. Its like spoiling your eyes, its so pretty. Even if you don't like the androgynous, slightly odd style of this time period, its still worth a look for the color alone. Pastels and jewel tones all flowing in watercolors; I obviously just can't stop talking about it! Past the color, though, the art is also excellent, though, as I said, heavily stylized. The faces have severely angled profiles, and everyone has large, droopy eyes filled with liquid color, and rosy lips. Its almost art nouveau, especially in the angled hair and the frilly clothes. Its a feast for the eyes, and I loved it just for that alone.

I've made the pictures extra big but you can click them for an even better look!

           The three Feminine sisters only know how to dance and sing and have fun all day. When the young and handsome Anti comes, though, he scolds them because when winter comes they will have nothing to show for it and will starve. The sisters do not listen to Anti, and instead continue their frolic through all the seasons. Will Anti be proven right?
           This one-shot is based on the story of the ant and the grasshopper, but with a twist. It is actually read left to right, though I don't know if that was the author's idea or the scans were already like that, but it tripped me up a little bit, actually, that happens no matter what kind of comic I read since I'm so used to reading manga. I found the fable enjoyable, but the art really is the star of this story. It almost doesn't even matter if you read it, you could just skim the pages and enjoy yourself just as much. There's not much I can say that the art itself doesn't say, and I already gushed about that at the beginning of this review. What I'm writing right now is just so there's something on the page besides just pictures, and I can pretend I actually told you about it.



5/5 Just for the art and nothing else, but the story is just as good.