Public Radio International recently interviewed legendary artist Shigeru Mizuki about Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, his semi-autobiographical manga set during World War II. First published in 1973, the book offers a soldier’s eye view of trench warfare, showing readers just how terrifying and tedious it was to serve in the Pacific Theater. As scholar Frederick Schodt notes, the timing of Noble Deaths was significant. Mizuki “had this built up anger about what he’d experienced in World War II, and he had this drive to sort of tell people about it,” Schodt notes. “But it was also occurring at a time when there was a great political convulsion in Japan. Just a few years before he brought out the book, the streets were convulsed with riots, universities were shut, and there was a profound anti-war movement in Japan – anti-Vietnam war, and also by extension, anti-all war.” You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking here.
Anime | Now streaming on Netflix: Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. [VIZ Media]
Manga | The ladies of Green Tea Graffiti sit down with Junko Mizuno to discuss her “dark kawaii” style. [Green Tea Graffiti]
Manga | The proprietor of Manga no Koten digs up vintage cover art for Princess Knight. [Manga no Koten]
Manga | Deb Aoki pronounces Wandering Son “worth a read, and worth sharing.” [About Manga]
Manga | Curious about Vertical’s forthcoming edition of No Longer Human? Serdar Yegulalp compares Usumaru Furuya’s manga with the original novel. [Genji Press]
Manga | Remember Secret Comics Japan? So does Ryan Sands, and he’s waxing nostalgic about his favorite stories in this ground-breaking alt-manga anthology. [Same Hat!]
[...] in World War II that was recently published here by Drawn + Quarterly. [PRI's The World, via The Manga Critic] Hark! A [...]