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Reviewed by Robert Murray Versus just goes to show that Japanese artists can truly take any subject known to man and create a manga title. The positive side of this flexibility is the many genres that manga can cover and, consequently, the many diverse fans these comics attract. The negative aspect is the occasional appearance of a manga title that just doesn’t work due to weakness with the original concept. Versus is a series that is effectively entertaining (and very nicely illustrated) but relegated to bad soap opera status due to its setting, which is the competitive world of a musical academy. The story revolves around Saioin Reiji, the top violin talent at the Hakuto Gakuen school, and his teacher Hane Mitsuko, a strong woman who used to be a violin prodigy as well. In the last volume, we saw Reiji as a troubled young man due to his single-minded approach to his music and the abuses he experienced as a child. Mitsuko made strives to control that inner fury, but the bottom line was Reiji has to win the national music contest in order to remain at the school. To make this task even more difficult is the absence of his sister, Miruka, who is now in New York because of the abuses of their father. This is how we start Volume 2, with Reiji’s reluctance to play due to the many emotional downs recently. Yes, this plot does sound vaguely familiar either to soap opera fans in the U.S. or bishounen manga fans anywhere, and I think the main downfall of Versus is the amount of cliches presented within. It’s Days of Our Lives and Neon Genesis Evangelion with a violin (and without an EVA unit). Don’t get me wrong: there are many things done well in Volume 2, some of which deviated from my initial expectations. The kidnapping scene from Opus 6 was a finely designed suspenseful chapter that I really didn’t see coming because of the lack of attention on Reiji’s replacement, Sakurada. The tension was already building as the Japan Nationals were about to begin and Reiji was working very hard to perfect his playing for the competition. By the way, why is there so much perspiration for these violinists as they practice? Sorry about the digression! Anyway, I knew that Reiji’s road to the championship wouldn’t be an easy one, and I knew there was the high likelihood that he would fail in his attempt once again, but I really didn’t think a kidnapping was in the offing. As he walks out of his hotel room, a hand with a chloroform handkerchief grabs hold of his face and we watch Reiji as he’s transported to La-La Land (Keiko Yamada has a great panel to illustrate his unconsciousness.). I was immediately thinking, “Who would do this?” Of course, Yamada doesn’t wait long to announce that it was Sakurada, but during those tense five pages I didn’t know what was going to become of Reiji and his future at Hakuto Gakuen. Despite the focus on Reiji, as always, this scene really belonged to Mitsuko, who presents herself as a strong female character and the correct role model for Reiji. First, she argues with the schoolmaster that Reiji will arrive in time for his recital, when she is obviously wondering herself if he has succumbed to his own demons and run away. Then, she races to search for Reiji, only to find Sakurada discussing the kidnapping on a cell phone. She slaps the phone out of Sakurada’s hand, brings it to her ear, and listens to find out where her student is. There’s a great panel here displaying Mitsuko’s strength, as she stands above the seated Sakurada with one stiletto-heeled foot placed on the chair near his crotch. Nice! After discovering Reiji’s location, she races after the kidnappers’ car and rams it off the road. Screaming “Give me back my student,” she manages to rescue Reiji without any further violence. Finally, the ending of this opus was a shocker initially, which I won’t spoil for Versus readers, but effectively wrapped up the chapter and motivates Reiji to race to the competition immediately and win it for Mitsuko as well as himself. Exciting stuff for a musical manga! However, despite the excitement of Opus 6, the rest of Versus Volume 2 is pretty cut-and-dry daytime drama entertainment, with many of the cliches intact. When I say pretty, I do mean pretty, as all of the characters are beautiful people with big eyes and lots of hair. Why aren’t there ugly or plain-looking people in soap operas? Also, every opus ends not with a standard cliff-hanger, but with a wink and a nod for the next chapter. This fits with a lot of manga titles, and must be indicative of the style of cliff-hanger most Japanese readers are used to. No chapter is abruptly ended, but rather a shock is given with a few pages left, then there is a hopeful exclamation given by one of the characters. Here are some examples: “I want to be able to play again!” “I can’t give up!” “Whoever he is, I’ll take him down!” Yes, a clumsy way to lead into the next installment, and part of the reason why this manga doesn’t really do it for me. Technically, this is a very sound title, with fine art, great panel construction, and some compelling moments of character exploration (I loved the symbolic sequence of panels as Reiji and Aoi first play together.). But, as a whole, there is too much in Versus that I have seen elsewhere done better, without a lot of the telegraphing that Yamada favors. Throughout the series so far, we have had rivals for Reiji (Nachi and, in this volume, Aoi) that are stereotypical ploys for the main character, as they are different in personality but have that aspect friendships are created from. It’s obvious where these relationships are going, so it makes for a tired read when these relationships are explored. Also, and this is a very personal complaint, there are way too many action lines during this volume, which should be uncharacteristic for a manga about violin players. Cripes, I’ve seen less action lines in a fighting manga than this! Do I recommend this volume. Yes, if you’re interested in a lightweight dramatic manga with some occasional moments of suspense and tension. Something for the beach, perhaps? If you’re looking for something innovative and original, though, I would look elsewhere. Still, this is a very pretty presentation for guys and girls, so at least flip through it the next time you’re browsing at Borders. Comment on this review of Versus v2 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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