Blue Spring

    (Viz, 2004)
™ and © 1993 Taiyo Matsumoto
Reads right to left; b&w.

Taiyo Matsumoto (Black & White, No. 5) wrote this seven–part collection as a sort of love letter to the friends and experiences he had growing up in Tokyo. While lingering on the cusp of adulthood, a group of brooding adolescents express their revulsion for the society that produced them; the stories take place in the bathrooms and halls of the local high school, the alleys and storefronts of the city. The dissipated youth seek stimulation of any kind, whether it be joining the yakuza, playing a deadly game on the school roof or simply playing a months–long game of mahjong. The book finishes up with “This Is Bad,” an aggressively downbeat tale where one boy’s view of the perfect dinner date is rode roughshod by reality. Matsumonto’s art differs from the classic “BESM” (Big Eyes, Small Mouth) found in much manga. Features are distorted and perspective lines are skewed, however, reflecting the chaotic world it portrays.

— Joe Trela
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