Recruiting
Natural and delicious. 100% natural milk. I don’t think much difficulty would be had finding drinkers for this; on the contrary, finding a supply of milk may be the problem. From the cover of a Hakurei Reimu Touhou doujinshi, by Amaranth. Would make a rather tempting carton design…
Recent findings indicate that at current rates of growth, Touhou related doujin circles could within several years cause Comiket to be rebranded Touhouket, and force the event to move to an even larger venue than the Big Sight; that is, if Reitaisai doesn’t overshadow or absorb the event entirely.
The data is unambiguous:
The level of anticipation and furious interest centred on 鳴子ハナハル / Naruko Hanaharu’s (also Naruco Hanaharu – and he is assuredly a man despite the -ko) latest adult manga, 少女マテリアル / Shoujo Material, has perhaps been unprecedented; it is a little hard to fathom how such attention has come to focus on a mangaka whose works had previously been relatively restricted in availability, however high quality they were.
An artist whose works exhibit truly striking quality is Tony (also known by the name Taka Tony, his real name 田中貴之 / Takayuki Tanaka, his company RPM KK and his circle T2 Art Works); his works have come to be quite famous, and for good reason, as they are first rate, as you can see below.
Another mangaka of whom I have been a fan for many years now is 米倉けんご/Yonekura Kengo, whose magnum opus is indisputably Pink Sniper. Coupling great art with a story to match is a difficult feat, but in Pink Sniper I think this is accomplished admirably.
The “grey zone” into which dojinshi fall may soon disappear, which full legal recognition of the right to fair use, if a new government initiative to reform copyright law reaches fruition. The reform is still under formation, but could very well see the light of day.
The otaku scene in China seems to be developing well, and, notably, is gradually abandoning the shameless commercial piracy which unfortunately has come to associated with China. Here we have some fine examples of Chinese made dojinshi (see below for images and translation), which exhibit some evident talent and are not just mere knockoffs.
Perhaps as a natural consequence of steady Chinese development, the otaku scene there appears to be thriving, and not just in an atmosphere of disregard for intellectual property; I am reminded of my earlier article on the figure and otaku scene in China, where we hear that otaku are not subject to opprobrium there, even as they are in Japan, and that they are capable of rejecting commercial piracy.
One of the more interesting mangaka to appear on the scene in recent years is 甚六/Jingrock (jinroku); his works are understandably popular, dealing as they do with such familiarly appealing themes as sex crazed high schoolers. In the hands of a less talented artist this might lead to run of the mill eromanga, but Jingrock manages a distinctive style with some distinctive elements, as well as amusing stories.
One of premier and most prolific mangaka dealing with futanari and the related themes of gender warping is ひねもすのたり / Hinemosunotari (also rendered as 終日庵), and he probably comes at or near the top of this particular sexual niche. Whether the genre appeals or not, it is not difficult to see why he has attained such popularity with his works, uniformly of a high standard and tightly focused on the prospect of hermaphroditic adventures as they are.
Okama is an artist who combines artistic talent with an evident flair for design; his portfolio as a designer in the world of anime now dwarfs his original works, though in my opinion they do not fully approach what he accomplished with the likes of Hanafuda, though this is perhaps unfairly applying my own taste – he is not really a pure mangaka, more of an artist, and he certainly is not restricted to the erotic themes I am focused on here.
A mangaka who has certainly succeeded in making an impression since his debut some years ago is 如月群真 / Kisaragi Gunma (or “gumma”), and anyone who sees his superb art will doubtless want to see more. Whilst the strength of his art is undeniable, it must however be said that his mastery is incomplete, as in terms of story and themes covered he shows some limitations. This is not to deny that he deserves recognition as a first rank ero-mangaka, as you can judge for yourself by reading on.
