Week 1 - Showa 1953-1989

Reading Shigeru Mizuki's manga felt like watching snippets of Japanese history flash before my eyes. It was one event after another, and it's interesting how the manga bounces back and forth between the situations in Japan and the struggling lifestyle that Mizuki faced when trying to make it as a starving manga artist in that time period. This contrast in his stories was even shown through the illustrations, where they alternate between realistic photographs or drawings and the stylized characters depicted around them.

Seeing Mizuki's goofy looking character talk about the numerous events occurring in Japanese politics during the Showa era gave off a feeling similar to the comic Maus. Both works follow the format of a historical comic featuring stylized characters, despite being by creators of completely different backgrounds. I personally find reading history in such a format more engaging, especially if the comics are illustrated by those who have witnessed these events through their own eyes. Sometimes the visuals helped me better envision what these times were like.

Reading this manga gave amazing insight on the manga industry and economical situations in the Showa era, and seeing Mizuki live through all of it made me admire him a lot. It almost felt like he was one of my grandparents telling me stories of their youth.