February is the month of love. But it isn't the only month for love. Love is for all seasons. I'm not a romanticist but who hasn't dreamed of a "summer love"? A season meant for fun is also a season for two summer singles to have that fateful encounter with one another.
Mitsuru Adachi, many of you might not know him, is one of the most respected manga artist in the industry. Before thinking "Ahh... another manga/anime/cartoon related topic, I'd rather not read it", Adachi has been described as "a genius in portraying everyday life" and "the greatest pure storyteller"(as stated in Wikipedia). In my honest opinion, the description describes him very well. Focusing on the stories, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Horror, Romance and other genres are very common out there. And most of them are interesting in their own. But to portray everyday life and be able to absorb the readers into the story, that sometimes gives you a nostalgic feeling, is no easy task.
Although his works revolve around manga/anime/cartoon, a handful of his works were made into anime and the popular ones into Live Action drama adaptations. And its not just 1 or 2... uhhh.. actually I couldn't find any solid source for solid proof on which of his works have drama adaptations but as far as I know, there are 3. "Whats so good about his works" you say?? Nothing special. Stories about everyday life, about how the characters improve or change for better or worse, how love inspired them to achieve their goals. Pretty normal and boring, right?
Story-wise, his work focuses on character development in society. A simple spice of life and sports story that makes you feel relaxed. His works are those types wherein you can predict the conclusion. But a wise man once said "It is the journey that makes it worthwhile, not the destination". Plot twists and how the character reached that conclusion makes the stories interesting and worthwhile. There is no waste of characters. They are thrown in and taken out just when they are needed. Character development is a huge aspect of his stories. The protagonist changes throughout the story, his internal struggles which he overcomes, and everything else that a normal youth must go through.
To spice up his stories, gags and jokes are thrown into the story. Although the gags are not those types that make you laugh so much, it never fails to give a smile to your face. It isn't forced or made for the sake of making gags.
You might ask whats the relation of the title of this article to love and summer. Majority of Adachi's work has romance in it. Whether the story focuses on the romance or not is up to the reader but it is definitely there. It hugely affects the story but is never made the only focus of the story. What makes his "romance" good is the purity of it. None of those harem types. The protagonist focuses on one girls or ends up with only one girl. He adds a "third" party to add spice to the romance. If everything went well, and there are no rivals in love then the story would be less interesting. When you think of summer, you always think of youth or the peak of a high school kid's youth. Adachi properly portrays the story of a high schoolers' peak of his/her youth. The love, excitement, suspense, romance and adventure through the touch of sports.
Artistically, others would not take a liking to his art style since it looks rather old fashioned( well... he is an old mangaka). But in my honest opinion, I would consider his style better than majority of the styles nowadays. His style gives you an impression that the characters are "human" or more "human". And the vast character designs give off a different feel for each character. For example, the classmate of the protagonist doesn't consist of slim, tall, malnourished(joke^_^), handsome or pretty characters. Each person stands out by height, body size, hair style and etc. Well... much can't be said about the characters faces but their faces are different enough. The physique of the characters are much more detailed and is designed to be more realistic.
Simplistic art style, simple stories, simple people portrayed in a way that readers can relate and enjoy. Everyday persons which doesn't have superhuman powers to make them stand out yet they are able to. An example that stories doesn't have to have monsters, super powers, zombies, robots, ninjas, samurais and aliens just to be interesting. Normal everyday lives can still be interesting. The stories are better off enjoyed when you view them firsthand. Each person has different tastes. If you have the time, read the manga which has the whole story and lotsa contents that is sure to entertain you. If you prefer watching it then there is the animation version. If your the type who doesn't like anime/manga then there is always the live action version with hands down attractive heroines.
To spice up his stories, gags and jokes are thrown into the story. Although the gags are not those types that make you laugh so much, it never fails to give a smile to your face. It isn't forced or made for the sake of making gags.
You might ask whats the relation of the title of this article to love and summer. Majority of Adachi's work has romance in it. Whether the story focuses on the romance or not is up to the reader but it is definitely there. It hugely affects the story but is never made the only focus of the story. What makes his "romance" good is the purity of it. None of those harem types. The protagonist focuses on one girls or ends up with only one girl. He adds a "third" party to add spice to the romance. If everything went well, and there are no rivals in love then the story would be less interesting. When you think of summer, you always think of youth or the peak of a high school kid's youth. Adachi properly portrays the story of a high schoolers' peak of his/her youth. The love, excitement, suspense, romance and adventure through the touch of sports.
Artistically, others would not take a liking to his art style since it looks rather old fashioned( well... he is an old mangaka). But in my honest opinion, I would consider his style better than majority of the styles nowadays. His style gives you an impression that the characters are "human" or more "human". And the vast character designs give off a different feel for each character. For example, the classmate of the protagonist doesn't consist of slim, tall, malnourished(joke^_^), handsome or pretty characters. Each person stands out by height, body size, hair style and etc. Well... much can't be said about the characters faces but their faces are different enough. The physique of the characters are much more detailed and is designed to be more realistic.
Simplistic art style, simple stories, simple people portrayed in a way that readers can relate and enjoy. Everyday persons which doesn't have superhuman powers to make them stand out yet they are able to. An example that stories doesn't have to have monsters, super powers, zombies, robots, ninjas, samurais and aliens just to be interesting. Normal everyday lives can still be interesting. The stories are better off enjoyed when you view them firsthand. Each person has different tastes. If you have the time, read the manga which has the whole story and lotsa contents that is sure to entertain you. If you prefer watching it then there is the animation version. If your the type who doesn't like anime/manga then there is always the live action version with hands down attractive heroines.
I love anime's! oh my..update!!!
TumugonBurahin