Holiday Reviews: KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF EIZOUKEN!

We've spent most of this month honoring some of the best (and worst) art that manga in 2020 had to offer.  It's only fitting then that we look at a manga that's all about making art - animation, in this case.

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF EIZOUKEN! (Eizouken ni wa Te o Dasu na!), by Sumito Oowara.  First published in 2016 and first published in North America in 2020.

PLOT:

Ever since she was little, Asakusa has been fascinated by animation and exploration, filling up sketchbooks full of wild landscapes and mechanical ideas.  One day, she and her money-best friend Kanamori get swept up in a chase with Mizusaki, a rich girl with a keen eye for drawing people and motion.  Together they decide that they should found a club to make their own anime, but it's going to take a lot more than talent to make their dream come true.

STORY:

It's always hard to read a manga after you've seen the anime adapted from it because it's hard to not compare the two constantly.  It's even harder when said series aired less than a year ago to unanimous critical acclaim and was frankly the best anime of 2020.  Nonetheless, I will strive to explain not what is and isn't different between the two, but how the manga gave the show an incredibly sturdy foundation to build upon.

These sorts of "let's build a club with the Power of Friendship!" stories are a dime a dozen, but Eizouken distinguishes itself right from the start with a cast of genuine characters instead of otaku fetish archetypes.  The main trio have their charm points and skills, but also their faults, be it Asakusa's easily distracted imagination, Mizusaki's obliviousness to her wealth and timelines, or Kanamori's mercenary tendencies.  Despite that, they mesh together in ways that aren't just interesting to watch, but demonstrate why they would be friends in the first place, much less team up to make animation.

It's not just a cut-and-dry process of them establishing the club, though.  There are many points where Asakusa's drawings and idea process send the three on wild trips into her imagination.  There's also just smaller, more everyday bits of nonsense as they explore the city and school grounds.  Their world feels alive and bustling in a way that most manga don't.  The only problem I could find was that Oowara is clearly not good at endings.  Chapters don't so much wrap up and lead into the next so much as they just...stop.  Still, you can see how much love he has for the subject and his characters.  It's easy to see why Masaaki Yuasa would have been drawn to this, and how little he and the folks at Science Saru had to refine it to turn it into something incredible.

ART:

Oowara's art is looser than you typically see in manga.  The characters are flatly lit and drawn with an almost geometric sort of simplicity.  He still gets a lot of expression out of them, letting their faces squash and grimace in wonderful ways.  In comparison, the backgrounds around them are more fleshed-out.  The girls live in a city that's almost stacked on top of itself, riddled with makeshift balconies, walkways, and hidden areas.  Yet it's also build around numerous canals and bits of green space that keep it from feeling sterile or junky.

Like music, the beauty of animation is something that's hard to convey in still images alone.  Oowara certainly tries their best through the use of montage and layout, interspersed with two-page spreads of Asakusa explaining her many imaginary inventions in detail.  I don't know if it's entirely effective, but it's not for want of trying.   I also love how much Oowara often makes the speech bubbles an interactive part of the scenery.  Instead of simply being pasted to the front of the panel, they drift and move alongside the Eizouken girls in larger or more crowded scenes.  It's a unique touch and one that never stopped delighting me. 

PRESENTATION:

I have to shout out to Carl Horn's translation.  Not only is it a smooth and fun read, he manages to slip in more than a few pop culture references.  I spotted quotes from both Blazing Saddles and The Simpsons in there, and I'm sure if I looked again I might find more. 

As typical for a Dark Horse released he worked on, there's a supplemental essay from Carl Horn as well.  In it he points out everything from resemblances to the making-of-Gainax drama Blue Blazes to hidden references in the background to some of the wordplay he had to work around.  As I noted on Twitter a while back, he also dedicates the volume to the late Zac Bertschy, who adored the anime version.  I can't find the specific tweet, but I do recall him saying when it was licensed that he hoped that everyone who loved the show would remember to pick up the manga when it came out.  In my own small way, I hope this review helps to make that happen.

RATING:

While I do feel that the anime version is the superior take, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is still a darn good manga.  It's got loads of personality, a quirky look that's all its own, and a sincere love for the art of animation that emanates from every page.

This series is published by Dark Horse Comics.  This series is ongoing in Japan with 5 volumes available.  1 volume has been published and is currently in print.

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