The wheel has spun once again... today, we're talking about Tokyo Babylon, a shoujo (our first shoujo!!!) series by mangaka quartet, CLAMP.
This is also my first CLAMP manga altogether. Before reading this title, I had no idea CLAMP was a group of four manga artists, my assumption was that it was something more corporate. Every day you live, you learn, eh?
It's also published by Tokyopop, which is mostly defunct in the US, and god almighty does it show its age. The source material was created in 1990, but this volume was published in 2004, and that truly was an era when anime and manga in the west was just beginning to take form. There is a huge translation note right in the front of the book, the first page. Was this common for Tokyopop manga? I got into manga round 2013, so I just don't know, but I've seen and owned enough to know that the way they marketed their books was always over the top. with phrases like "100% AUTHENTIC MANGA!!!" stamped on the back, calling everything an "immaculately chosen masterpiece," and what have you. This is also emblematic of its time. Strange to see how far we've come, most manga don't even have the "this book reads right to left" label on it anymore, cause all of you should fucking know better by now*.
Let's actually talk about the manga, though. What is Tokyo Babylon about?
Well, it's a supernatural... uh, action? series that follows Subaru Sumeragi, an onmyoji that's also head of his clan. In this first volume, he's accompanied by his sister Hokuto, and an attendant, Seishirou, heir to another family and a supposed veterinarian.
To give you a hint as to what's to come, I had to Google all of that. Even though I have this picture:
Ah yes, off to a great start.
My problems with this volume arise within the first few pages. I hate to be that guy (no I don't), I'm sorry to say (no I'm not), but I am not a fan of the art style. Ah, that has nothing to do with it being shoujo, dear audience, please believe me. While demographics are very much a thing I find myself falling victim to, (like most guys in the manga community I gravitate toward shonen and seinen manga), I've seen many a shoujo with great art styles (My Love Story, Yona of the Dawn, Maid Sama, Snow White With the Red Hair, just to name a few) and even more that have premises that interest me. Me disliking the way Tokyo Babylon looks has everything to do with being CLAMP.
CLAMP's way of doing things, visually, is almost the exact opposite of what appeals to me. Less so than looking "feminine," as I guess you could say (maybe?) I moreso just think the art is really dated. Which is fine, it's from its time, and it's CLAMP, but it just generally doesn't do it for me. A lot of the pages seem to be full of empty space, the angles with which faces are drawn (sometimes) are a bit on the wonky side, and in general characters just look strangely thin. If you're into that sorta thing, that's totally alright. The scratchy linework of series like Chainsaw Man, and the decidedly amateurism of a series like Mob Psycho 100, are things I recognize as not having wide appeal, and even being flawed, but are still what appeals to me. Can't help taste.
And then we have to story.
We can boil Tokyo Babylon's first volume down to a single, two part premise:
1. - Subaru and co. hear of a supernatural phenomenon.
2. - They go and get rid of it.
It's a simple setup, and not super compelling. These issues compound a little, because we're left with an uninteresting story that's presented in an uninteresting way. BUT
BUT BUT BUT--
There IS something special here.
While initially brushed off, Hokuto's perspective on ethical consumption melds with another trait of Tokyo Babylon -- every unhappy spirit Subaru goes to exorcise in a woman who has been manipulated or used by the inherent, systemic trappings of society.
Ooh, now we have something interesting.
This undercurrent of recognizing inherent societal flaws, especially regarding misogyny and capitalism, is grounds for telling an amazing story that speaks to the human condition, premise be damned. If we can get an episodic narrative that deals with these things each time, and builds some form of bigger picture on victimhood, the evils of civilization, and either a commentary on all of this or maybe some form of cure, then that would be compelling to me!
Unfortunately, I have serious doubts as to whether these ideas are important to the story, or are just set-dressing. It is called "Tokyo Babylon," and has several references to the actual city of Babylon -- destroyed, famously, by human ego (or one of God's many Biblical hissy fits, whatever you prefer), so I think it MIGHT go down this route, but because these things get brushed off so quickly in the first volume, I have reservations.
Another thing I have reservations about is a running gag in the manga about Seishirou being in love with Subaru.
At first, when this possible gay romance was brought up, I was like, "Oh, cool." But then I learned that Hokuto, who is sixteen, is the older sister of Subaru. And Seishirou is explicitly stated to be twenty five.
Oh...
Now, listen. I think this topic is worthy of its own post, but I'll talk a little bit about it here, because it's relevant: I think taking moral issue with something found in fiction is, at best, an exercise in futility. Having sensitivities toward certain topics from lived experiences is not something I mean to disregard, and if that winds up being a turn off for a reader, then that is entirely within their right. However, simply taking moral issue with something depicted in a story because it's "wrong" is not a meaningful way of interacting with media, because depiction is not endorsement. Does every writer who has murder in their story condone murder? Of course not, that would be asinine. Murder, instead, is a tool to demonstrate something contextually within the story. We must instead look at why there is murder, and only from there can we make a sound judgement as to whether it should be depicted or not.
While this is just my opinion, I really believe this logic to be infallible, because traits and tropes are chosen in writing for specific reasons that relate to artistic integrity, whether they be bad or good. In my opinion, all circumstances and scenarios deserve to be represented in our art. It is antithetical to the concept of reading to put my foot down about some things but not others -- from a moral standpoint -- because morals and ethics are fluid. They change. Stories from various time periods reflect the sensibilities of that time, and such traits are different to every person and every culture. When I criticize something, I never approach it from the angle that the thing I'm criticizing is a harmful depiction, because I think we need to understand the nuances of the relationship between fiction and reality.
That being said, let's get back to Tokyo Babylon, and see what's going on with Seishirou.
It is a running gag, on Hokuto's end, that he and Subaru are going to get married, or are lovers.
Seishirou agrees with this, and has professed his love for Subaru repeatedly.
Subaru is visually discomforted by these "jokes," as he calls them, every single time, without fail.
So far, no serious discussions or story beats have had to do with Seishirou's pedophilia.
But who am I to suggest this won't happen? It's possible Subaru is older than he looks, and Hokuto is actually younger than him. It's not like I've read more than one volume, after all, and if we go back to my rant about depiction not being endorsement and how standards are different in cultures, I've found the minors and adults topic somewhat frequently in anime and manga, which leads me to believe that Japan has more tolerance for depicting these things than we do in the West. While I don't think this excuses them from criticism, I can't comment on it without my biased perspective as a foreigner.*
All of which is to say, it still rubbed me the wrong way. It's just weird, you know? There's also something toward the end of the volume that can be construed as homophobic, which I also don't like so much, but again, refer to the argument about time periods and cultures having different standards.
This is quite a lot to say about a rather underground title from like thirty years ago, isn't it? And here's another shocker:
I'd read more.
Yeah, who's to say these little traits of the story won't become something more interesting? I can be pretty harsh with manga, as it's a large investment of time and money, but I think it has setup enough to go somewhere. It's floppy and awkward in execution, but... eh, what isn't these days?
Wow, that was pretty philosophical. Crazy how I launched into such a deep discussion about something so minute. Thank you, Tokyo Babylon, for becoming a mass murderer for our sake. I promise I won't let this terrible mistake you're making be in vain.
Yeah I've had enough of this, peace out.
- Austin
* Do not misunderstand me, I am not gatekeeping, this is a joke.
* Do not misunderstand me. I do not condone pedophilia.
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