Avail Yourself The Journey Of Shuna Scripted By Hayao Miyazaki Distributed In Hardcover
Jorney se publicó unos años antes de la fundación del famoso estudio Ghibli,
Al principio me acerqué a este manga más bien como curiosidad por la carrera de Miyazaki que por la obra en sí, Lo cual me dio en las narices cuando me encontré con una historia fascinante,
A modo de cuento ilustrado con pocos bocadillos y grandes viñetas, Shuna's Journey nos cuenta el viaje de Shuna, un príncipe en busca de tierras más prósperas para su pueblo, en su periplo vivirá toda clase de aventuras que, aunque partan de una premisa típica, nos llevará a un mundo fantástico y lleno de ideas fascinantes.
En este manga podemos ver muchas de las ideas que más tarde se desarrollarían en La Princesa Mononoke, siendo Shuna una especie de mezcla de Ashitaka con la propia Mononoke.
A
ratos también recuerda a Nausicaa del Valle del Viento e incluso al cuarteto de Terramar,
Una maravilla de obra con unas acuarelas increíbles a la que espero volver muchas veces, Quizás la edición sea un poco cara, ya que es un tomo pequeño, pero es de buena calidad, con tapa dura y papel grueso, In the pantheon of Miyazaki fans you have to rate yourself on a kind of scale, There are, after all, folks out there that make veritable pilgrimages to places like the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka in suburban Tokyo or the café Kodama in Nagoya, Japan, Then there are folks whove never even seen a Miyazaki film and cant figure out what the fuss is all about, Myself I fall fairly squarely in the middle, My first Miyazaki was Howls Moving Castle and mostly that was just because it was based on a Diana Wynne Jones book I liked, In time, however, Id see other movies like Kikis Delivery Service, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and my personal favorite which Ive seen several times “Castle in the Sky”.
So Im in a fairly interesting position to read and gauge a graphic novel of his which has been overwhelmingly successful in other countries for years but is only just reaching the States now.
Shunas Journey, as is explained by translator Alex Dudok de Wit, precedes much of what we now consider to be Miyazakis seminal work, Loosely based on a Tibetan folktale, the book was originally published in, two years before the launch of Studio Ghibli, Reading it now, its this epic, ancient, futuristic, sprawling storyline full of gods and slaves and ancient decaying civilizations, Remarkably it acts as a kind of Intro to Miyazaki in and of itself, The real question that remains, however, is how well it compares to the comics of today, Does it have what it takes to be a graphic novel for kids in thest century
“These things may have happened long ago they may be still to come.
No one really knows anymore, ” In this tale a small kingdom exists in an ancient valley, just scraping by, Theres hardly enough food to feed anyone, Here a prince by the name of Shuna lives, and one day, after rescuing a stranger, he learns of a grain that would feed his people indefinitely, The old stranger never found the food, but Shuna is invigorated by the quest, Against the advice of the elders he sets off to see the world and find the grain, Along the way he encounters slavers, a strange moon that travels across the sky at great speeds, kindness, cruelty, and at last a strange land where attaining knowledge means losing everything you have.
Epic. Definition: extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope, Miyazaki has never been a man afraid of the big picture, Indeed, his films have a tendency to go big or go home, And clearly, after reading Shunas Journey this was always the case, I love a childrens book that makes big swings and it doesnt get biggier or swinginger than this! First and foremost, theres the story itself, In his Afterword, Miyazaki explains that the Tibetan folktale he based his story upon may have connections to reality, After all, the tale is all about bringing a cereal back to your country, Miyazaki notes that barley is a staple in Tibet but originated in West Asia, From such simple beginnings, though, he crafts an otherworldly reality thats just as likely to yield wonders as horrors, Late in the book it starts to resemble nothing so much as Jordan Peeles film Nope, albeit with more jolly green giants getting eaten alive by critters.
Then there is the art, which Miyazaki painted himself, They look like watercolors and he just seems to be having such fun with this world, Ancient crumbling statues are the name of the game, but hes just as adept at nature and architectural details as well, A second read and I picked up on details I might have missed the first time around, There are quite a few layers to the whole enterprise,
The world constructed here is strange and adding to that strangeness is the fact that Shuna goes on an unusual heros journey, To be perfectly frank, Im not used to stories where you follow one character forpages and then the focus switches to someone else for the remaining, The choice made here is to render Shuna utterly helpless for the final act of the storyline, Because he did an act of kindness early on, he is saved by those saved by him, Early in the story Shuna saves a girl named Thea and her younger sister from the manhunters, Later, when he has stolen some of the golden grain, his memory, speech, everything really is taken from him and its Thea that has to care for him until he is better.
Thea is, herself, a strong character who can take care of herself and her sister very well once theyre on their own, As such, you dont mind the shift to her perspective when it happens, Its unusual but not unheard of and fits the folktale feel of the endeavor,
Cultural appropriation is something we Americans understand in a fairly limited sense, We get it if were already pretty well and truly familiar with the cultures doing the appropriation, When we arent, we get a touch confused, Shunas Journey is a rather good example of this, Reading this as a Yank it hadnt really occurred to me that a Japanese creator taking a Tibetan folktale could be read as appropriation, Certainly this is, as the very first line of the book says, a story that could either be the past or the future, depending on how you prefer to see it.
There are also elements of Tibetan culture, but it didnt feel at any point that the creator was doing much more than taking the place more than a jumping off point for his own very different vision.
Still, its something to take into account, even as you read,
In his note at the end of the book, translator Alex Dudok de Wit says of Miyazakis book that, “it is unique in his career: He has never produced another standalone emonogatari book.
Nor, I think, has he ever told a story as beguilingly strange as this one, ” The words “beguilingly strange” are absolutely perfect, Theres hardly any other way to describe this book, It reads like a manga, from right to left, but as de Wit points out it prefers captions to speech balloons, He calls it an “illustrated story”, though I think “graphic novel” is probably the most accurate description at this time, Whatever you want to call it, theres a feel you get after reading this book that is entirely its own, Eerie and unnerving, yet at the same time filled with beautiful and even calming moments, this is a book to entice those that have never seen a Miyazaki film and to enthrall those already under his spell.
Ill say it again. “Beguilingly strange”. i LOVE sitelinkHayao Miyazaki
miyazaki is an immediate buy for me, beloved since i was a child, simply put, i love his creations, his storytelling is simple, yet emotionally complex, his artwork and animation is always astounding to the eye, his films have excellent scores, with tunes im quick to purchase and set as my ringtone: when someone calls, i feel an immediate surge of happiness as i recall sophie and howl walking on air, or kiki clumsily flying on her broom, satsuki and mei waiting at the catbus stop, and so many other countless movie memories.
the cover art is exquisite! as many have pointed out, especially miyazaki fans, sitelinkNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and sitelinkPrincess Mononoke first came to mind.
there is simplicity in narrative that isnt quite simplistic, when reading, there is ease of information, kind of like being led by a hand in the direction miyazaki wants you to follow, this reminds me of how a lot of picture books are stylized for children, yet, the concept is adult, the emotions are adult. the journey starts simple and wildly changes in ways you dont imagine, sitelinkSpirited Away shares this,
i go into every miyazaki creation, not knowing what to expect other than an amazing journey and incredible comfort, .