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Reviewed by Jason Brice To use a well-worn turn of phrase, Tokyo Tribes is a far “grittier” book than I expected… oh, yeah, it’s about four warring gangs in crime-ridden Tokyo (natch), but the cheerful “pals-taking-a-ride-while-sucking down-slurpees” cover belies that. Flip over to the back cover and the front cover is placed into context, with a spot illos of a grossly fat crime lord cupping the Tokyo skyline in his hands, a machine gun wielding camo gear guy, a monster truck, and a damsel in distress. Add in some buddy humor hijinx, an old feud fueled by jealousy and love gone wrong, some fairly hard-core sleaze, and “flava” with hip-hop and pop-cult references. Stir. Bake for 194 pages. Serve. We’re promised that, “Tokyo Tribes is a new kind of manga, one that has Japanese edge and hip-hop charm. It’s not like anything you’ve ever seen.” Yep, in places it’s stomach churning enough to be considered edgy, but I was a little frustrated by the CENSORED tags on the art. If you want to gross me out, don’t pussy around and only show me 99% of the art. I’m not sure that the hip-hop elements are entirely charming, but they do seem genuine enough, crafted with care and attention so as not to seem shoehorned in to appeal to “the kids.” As for its originality… it’s original in the same way a turkey, jalapeno, and mayonnaise sandwich would be… you’ve seen all the elements before, but not assembled in the one lunchbox. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy Tokyo Tribes v1, I did, but it’s just that the story elements are so schizophrenically thrown together that as a reader you need to take some time to get accustomed to the recombinant nature of the book. Manga-ka Santa Inoue amusingly acknowledges his filmic influences in chapter title pages, and does very well to include lots of entertaining details in the art, filling out the material culture milieu of the characters. Overall the art rates just above “solid”, adequately serving the setting and plot. The standout aspect of Tokyo Tribes is the translation and adaptation for the western audience. The team of Santa Inoue (creator), Alexis Kirsh (translator), and David Walker (adaptation) has an excellent collective ear for dialogue; where the book could have truly come unstuck, it really shines. The characters, through their dialogue, power this book, and are compelling enough for me to come back for further installments. Comment on this review of Tokyo Tribes v1 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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