This is a oneshot by Anzai Mizumaru which was in Garo in 1975. If I could describe it in a few words, I’d say “poetic”, “lonely”, and “deliberate”. There’s a touch of the sadness that comes at the end of summer, the transition into cold and quiet. It feels heavy with undertones. Every word seems deliberate and filled with meaning, which is why I tried hard to make the translation do it justice. I hope I did okay.
Comments are appreciated if you have a suggestion or something else to say!
(Thanks to bakeneko for the french translation.)
7 Comments
January 12, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Ah, so he let you translate it then? I downloaded the French version, could only understand a tiny bit out of the French I know, but I liked the artwork, very similar to Seiichi Hayashi’s RED COLORED ELEGY. I done a quick search on the mangaka, not much info, but apparently he illustrated a few of Haruki Murukami’s novels…
Also, I think you might like this, its another surreal story from a 1967 issue of Garo;
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/10/vintage-avant-garde-manga-by-maki-sasaki/
Thanks for this, btw! Oh, one last thing, are you familiar with the blog SAME HAT?
January 13, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Yep, he did.
I hope you enjoyed it ^^
No I couldn’t find much info on the mangaka either.
It’s a pity because this is good work; I’d like to see more.
Thanks for the link; that was really cool!
I’m always eager to see work that was in Garo, and I’d never seen that before. :)
And yes, I’m familiar with Same Hat; great scanlations. They really fueled my love for Suehiro Maruo.
Thanks for reading, and cheers!
January 16, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I thought the art on both were very beautiful, but I’m not really sure I understood either one. I always feel like these types of pieces are trying to say something so meaningful (both the download and the link above) and I never feel like I can see the meaning. It’s a bit unsettling at times.
January 17, 2009 at 7:06 pm
I was great, but I didn’t quite quite grasp the message either. Anyone willing to explain.
January 18, 2009 at 12:29 am
@Wolfan & flawful- I worked with this oneshot for a while (it takes me a looong time to translate) and so I thought about it a lot.
I don’t think it’s one of those stories where the message or moral is set, but rather “take what you can from it, and what it is for you”.
Hm, I’ll quote an msn convo that I had with someone about it, because what I said quickly then is better than something long-winded I could come up with now:
17:52:41 v_wilde: I don’t really get it either, there are a lot of undertones, and memories
17:53:17 v_wilde: I think the point is that nothing is how it seems, and everything is influences by what happened to it, and people’s memories, even if you can’t see it on the surface
For example, the piano is just a piano, but when you hear hints in the dialogue that suggest what happened to it, and people’s feelings toward it, you see how the narrator references it, and how a little toy affects him.
I think the passage of time is also important to the story, recalling the past, and in the end taking the train, and moving on to the future carrying his memories with him.
Or maybe it’s all a dream. I don’t know XD
What I liked about it overall is the feeling it gave me, and it’s different for everyone when they read a story, so I hope you liked it.
Thanks for reading :)
January 22, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Hey, really enjoyed this piece, thanks for putting it up! Still not read Red Colored Elegy yet but I can see why people would compare the two. I’ve put up some thoughts on my blog if you’re interested?
Have you any plans to scanlate any more material similar to this?
January 26, 2009 at 12:23 am
Thank you for reading; I’m glad you liked it.
I haven’t read Red Colored Elegy yet either, though I’d like to, so I also can’t compare.
I read the post in your blog, it’s nice. You put together your thoughts better than I could have; I tend to drone on XD
I agree with you on the careful placement of things, and how there’s no excess. I think a story like this had a lot of thought put into it before hand.
Yes, I hope we can scanlate more like this, and I do plan on it. I really enjoy it, and it is good to get more attention to little-known artists who deserve it.