A Drifting Life is a graphic novel memoir by acclaimed mangaka Yoshihiro Tatsumi. It is written similar to the traditional style of Japanese "I-novels," in which an author writes an autobiography in which the main character has a fictional name, providing a strange sense of distance between the author and himself. It recounts the story of Katsumi Hiroshi (Tatsumi-sensei's fictional name) and his love affair with manga, from being an ardent fan of Osamu Tezuka's works, to drawing four-panel gag manga himself, through his long and varied early work career, until he eventually embraces the style he helped pioneer: gekiga ("dramatic pictures").
This is a hefty tome (even longer than the latest hefty tome I reviewed, Osamu Tezuka's Ode to Kirihito), at well over 800 pages. The read goes pretty fast though: a lot of it does feel like an autobiography put into manga (or gekiga) form. The text is saturated with names of magazines, manga, publishers, artists, and other such things. This can make the reading dry and monotonous at times, as Tatsumi-sensei does not spend too much time delving into the reasons behind why he writes manga. Much of the story is strictly who he worked for, how he ended up working for that company, some notable works published by that company, and how he stopped working for the company. Of course, this all takes place in a long narrative, stretching for over a decade, starting at the end of WWII. It also surveys the development of the gekiga form that Tatsumi-sensei is famous for helping to create and popularize.
The art overall isn't bad; it doesn't stun me like Ode to Kirihito's did, but he didn't feel unrealistic and too rounded like Metropolis's. It fit the tone of realism without being too dark and gritty (even though I like dark and gritty). The pacing was pretty packed with all the names and dates and information, but it didn't feel too cramped or rushed (although the volume has a sizable appendix with even more information).
Overall, I wasn't too big a fan of it. I'm not a big autobiography reader, but I found a lot of people recommending this, so I decided to check it out. Basically, it is a straight story of Tatsumi-sensei's work, almost like a narrative resume, although that sounds kind of harsh. The narrative flows together nicely, even if I would lose track of who's who amidst the constant barrage of names. I was saddened by the lack of psychological insight or real character drama; there were some family conflicts and conflicts about ideology, but overall most of the tension was involving money and work. What I liked most about the work was that Tatsumi-sensei including historical events in his account as well. I could somewhat trace the development of postwar Japan as I read this book, and the inclusion of many events important the Japanese people and of many popular films and manga works was really intriguing to me. I also felt these were the times when Tatsumi-sensei's artistic abilities came into full view. My absolute favorite was when he incorporated Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai); I've just recently seen that film, and when Tatsumi-sensei drew some of the scenes and characters from it, they looked almost identical to it (for instance, the depictions of Takashi Shimura and Seiji Miyaguchi). I also enjoyed the appearance of Osamu Tezuka in this work (since Tatsumi-sensei gained some early tutorship from him).
In conclusion, I'd have to say that I give Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life a 7/10. While I found the historical content very interesting and well-drawn, the story as a whole wasn't as intriguing to me, often for its lack of emotional and psychological aspects. If you are interested in the evolution of the gekiga style, or if you want to see the slow rise to fame of a mangaka, you should probably read this. If you're not extremely interested in those topics, I'd say this isn't a bad read, but it's not one I'd unconditionally recommend.
Thanks for reading. God Bless, and peace.
Nota Bene: All images are from Google Image Search.
"I will continue to love you for the rest of my life...forever and ever..."
Shima Katuski is a very minor character (in terms of screen time) in Clannad; he only appears in Episodes 5 and 6 of After Story. His story is inseparably wound within Misae's arc.
Personality
Shima is a typically shy young boy who is also determined to fulfill his duties. When he is given a task, he strives to finish it, even if it means physical harm to him. He can be a bit clumsy with words at times, but at heart he is a good kid, trying to as be kind and truthful to everyone as possible. There's also a bit of the romantic idealist hiding in him too.
Story
As I mentioned in my introduction, Shima's story is seen in the context of Misae's arc; the two are inseparable. One day, when Misae is in high school, Shima appears abruptly and tells her he is there to grant a wish for her. After she takes out her frustration on him distracting her from her crush, she listens to what he has to say. Some time before, he had been in the hospital, and Misae was at the same hospital visiting a relative. When she saw him there, looking dejected, even though she didn't know him, she cheered him up and offered him encouragement. He's kept that gift of hers with him all the years since then, and now he has come to repay it. Misae doesn't remember what she did, so she tries to blow off his offer of a wish, but Shima is persistent.
As Shima is always hanging around school, waiting for Misae to tell him her wish, people start to notice him and his hanging out with Misae. One of these people is Misae's crush, Igarashi. He tells Shima that he already has a girlfriend, and he knows Misae likes him; he asks Shima to break the news to her. Unfortunately, Shima has grown to like Misae, so he tries to tell her the truth hypothetically: what if there's a girl you like who likes someone else, but the guy she likes has a girlfriend, and you have to tell her the truth? Misae says that the guy should take advantage of her distress and comfort her. Shima objects that he can't do that, and Misae (after seeing Igarashi with his girlfriend walking by) finally realizes who he is talking about.
Misae walks away from this encounter, and it seems that her and Shima's relationship is on rocky ground. Thankfully, it doesn't stay this way forever. The two start to hang out more, and even fall in love (slowly). During this time, Shima learns that Misae is the student council president, and he wants to see her in action, but he's not a student at the school. So two of Misae's friends dress him up as a girl and sneak him into the building, where (after running into younger versions of Yuusuke and Kouko) he gets to see Misae, and he confesses he will stay by her side forever. Of course, since he's dressed as a girl, the moment just seems strange to her.
After this strange episode, Misae's friends convince Shima to take them to his house, because they're interested in seeing it. When they get there, his mother says that Shima has been dead for a while now. Then the boy we know as Shima tells the truth: he is not Shima Katsuki. Instead, he is a cat whom the dying Shima send to fulfill Misae's wish, in gratitude for all she had done for him in the hospital.
Shima (more precisely, the cat we know as Shima) doesn't tell Misae this, though, and the two continue to grow closer. At the autumn festival, Misae finally requests her wish: that he love her forever and ever. He agrees. Then, as Misae goes to get drinks for them, Shima walks away and disappears, and Misae is left distraught.
The tale doesn't end there, though. The story jumps forward to Misae first becoming the dorm mother at the high school, and her trusty cat, Nanashi ("no name"; also called Nana-kun), is at her side. A series of scenes appears, in which she says she hasn't dated anyone, but that she's not holding out for Shima (she doesn't admit it, at least). And at one point, she stares at Nana-kun, pondering, and then rebukes herself for believing in something out of a fairytale.
Then Tomoya wakes up. This entire story was revealed to Tomoya in a dream he had when he fell asleep at Misae's apartment, with Nana-kun in his lap. Nana-kun asks him to tell Misae these things.
When everyone is at the autumn festival again, Nana-kun comes racing out of nowhere, and Misea follows him. While she's trying to get him out of a bush, Tomoya reveals the truth: Shima has always been by her side; he's fulfilled her wish. He's returned to his real form: that of a cat. She accepts this and says she'll "go on a date with a cat."
As the episode ends, we see a little into Shima's mind: he says goodbye to his master, the real Shima, saying he has fulfilled his dying request, and now he has a new master.
And of course, now that we know Shima's really Nana-kun, we can see that he's been present throughout the series. His final appearance is (where else?) by Misae's side.
Effect on Main Plot
Like I said in my post on Misae, this story doesn't really have a direct influence on the plot. Tomoya calls it "a wonderful love story," and it has some aspects of great love, but it doesn't really play a direct part in Tomoya and Nagisa's relationship. The one thing is the fact that the lights are mentioned here (explained slightly more in the next section), and those lights are crucial for the ending.
Themes
I talked about some of themes of this story already in Misae's post. Now that we've looked at Shima and Nana-kun being one and the same, we can see a couple more. First is (what else?) family. We don't see any biological family for Misae; during one short scene, I think she talks to her mother on the phone, but that's about it. Instead, Shima is her family. He lives with her, and he has dedicated himself to being by her side forever. Shouldn't all family be that dedicated?
Another theme is the supernatural. There is no logical explanation why a cat could become a boy for a short time and then become a cat again. For that matter, how can a cat be rational and have the ability to think, speak, and love? This story just cannot be explained using science and the natural world: there has to be the effect of the supernatural. It's a very explicit effect here, and I think this use of the supernatural is one of the reasons Liam Francis Traveller calls this show "a modern-day fairytale." Like the other supernatural moments, it's preparing us for the ending. Plus we see, again, the theory of the lights in this arc; when Nana-kun is first talking to Tomoya, he tells him about the light in a pouch that can grant a wish.
Reflection
Shima and Misae's story is probably one of the most touching in the entire show. If you're a hopeless romantic like me, you can't help but be moved by this display of commitment and love bypassing time (and even logical reality). I've heard many people say that this arc is their favorite moment in the show, and I think that's mainly because of Shima. I think he is the truly touching one; obviously, you couldn't have the arc without Misae, but it's really Shima's actions and bring home the romance. I especially love the commitment present in this story (which I think this song exemplifies well); true love must of necessity involve commitment. That's a crucial aspect that I think many people can forget about. This just shows one of the reasons I love Clannad: it shows true love, including the aspects many people leave out. One of these is commitment, so I am just ecstatic that we see that here.
Shima's is a story that can kind of throw you for a loop. I've heard a lot of people describe Clannad as "the most realistic romantic drama I've ever seen." In the end, though it contains many realistic parts, it's not entirely realistic (or, at the least, not entirely rational). This arc is one of those moments that shows that this series is not a story that could easily happen in real life. This story involves the supernatural. Whether it's plausible to actually happen is debatable, based on your views, but one thing is for certain: there's something going on here outside of the natural realm of reason and logic.
Overall, though, I've truly come to love Shima's arc and the commitment and love shown in: it's truly beautiful.
Thanks for reading. God Bless, and peace.
Nota Bene: All clips (except the link in the reflection, which I highly recommend watching) are from the Clannad Central YouTube channel run by the Clannad (クラナド/Kuranado) fan page on Facebook. All character themes and other music from the show can also be found on said fan page, in the music player. My gratitude to them and all the work they do.
"Please...love me forever. Please love me forever and ever. That is my wish."
Sagara Misae is a, for the most part, very minor character in Clannad. She appears periodically throughout the first season, and then her real appearance is in Episodes 5 and 6 of After Story. After that, she may appear once or twice before the final montage.
Personality
Misae is the dorm mother for Sunohara's school dorm. While it's obvious that she cares for the students under her care, hers is a tough love: if they're too rowdy, they get beat down, either with a broom, or with her martial arts skills. When she's not being violent, though, she's also open and friendly, and she's fond of giving advice. She's also particularly defensive of her cat. Her backstory helps clarify a few more parts of her personality, most importantly that she cares for people. Even if people annoy the hell out of her, she still cares for them and worries about them. Plus she's desirous of having someone to care for her as well, someone who will love her forever. Like I said, this later part of her is really not seen explicitly until her backstory; her earlier personality (at least the tough love part) can be seen in her first appearance (also Sunohara's first appearance):
Story
As mentioned above, Misae is first seen as the dorm mother of Sunohara's dorm. Whenever a guy (often Sunohara) is too rowdy (or threatens her cat), she'll easily beat them down. Besides this occasional moments of violence, she's very much in the background. She (along with her cat) goes to Kouko's wedding, and she (along with her cat) attends Kotomi's violin recital, for all the good that does them. At this recital, we learn a bit about Misae's background: she was previously a student at this high school (back in the day), and she was student council president (or chairman, depending on your translation). She was legendary for being the first female president and for creating the "All-School Perfect Attendance Week" (some of that might not be revealed until After Story).
Besides these events, Misae doesn't really do much until her After Story episodes. I mean, she helps out at the baseball game, like almost every other character, but besides that, her true story is Episodes 5 and 6.
Nagisa and Tomoya go to bring food to Sunohara (who, as we learned on his fake date with Sanae, has horrible eating habits) and run into Misae spinning him in a circle for threatening to eat her cat. As she helps him heal from the wounds she inflicted, she informs us of her cat's name: Nanashi (Japanese for "no name"), shortened to Nana-kun. Then Tomoyo appears to ask for help about becoming student council president, specifically on how to attain the famed "All-School Perfect Attendance Week." Then a member of the rugby club appears to ask advice (Misae turns out to be a great dispenser of advice, it seems) about dating. As the night winds down, everyone begins to leave, but Misae holds back Nagisa and Tomoya to discuss their relationship. Apparently she is not out of advice for the night.
She recommends they go on real dates (hey, sounds like Mei!), and then she and Nagisa begin to talk about how the school was back in her day. Tomoya begins to grow groggy during this discussion, and suddenly her cat begins to speak to him telepathically about a charm containing a light that grants a wish...and then we enter a flashback.
This flashback explains Misae's story, one of the truly touching minor arcs. She has a crush on a boy named Igarashi, and she often waits by the entrance of school to meet him and talk to him. One day she succeeds in talking to him, only to be interrupted by the appearance of a strange boy next to her. After beating him down for ruining her chance, she listens to what he has to say:
Some time before, Misae's mother was in the hospital, and she would often come visit her. While she was visiting, Misae saw this young boy there who looked down because of his illness. She encouraged him to cheer up and persevere. Though Misae does not remember this moment, the boy was inspired by it, and it helped him grow strong and recover. Now he wants to repay Misae's kindness; unfortunately, she doesn't want any payment. This boy, whose name is Shima Katsuki, won't give up, though (he's never gonna give her up until she accepts a repayment). He continues to hang around at school, begging her for a wish, which she won't tell him; in the meantime, he is jeopardizing her chances with Igarashi. Sadly, though, it turns out she never had a chance anyway: Igarashi already has a girlfriend, and, seeing Shima around Misae often, he has him break the news to her.
This is rough for Shima, though, because he has been getting attached to Misae through all the time they've spent together (not usually of her own free will). So when he tells her about Igarashi, he proposes it as a hypothetical situation, to which she advises him to somewhat take advantage of the situation to make the girl fall for him. Following this advice, and his out-spoken cry that he can't do that because he cares for the girl too much, she realizes who he'd been talking about the entire time.
That incident obviously causes some tension in their friendship, so Misae's friends, Saki and Yuki, try to offer Shima advice on how to cheer her up. Like Mei's dating advice to Nagisa, it doesn't directly work, but it achieves the desired effect, somewhat. Misae accepts the fact that Shima likes her, and it seems she starts growing closer to him. He learns that she's student council president, and he wants to see her in action, so Misae's friends dress him up like a girl to sneak him into school. When the two go to a festival, Misae admits that she saw through his disguise, and she knows her friends put him up to it. At the festival, it's very obvious that the two, formerly almost complete strangers, have now grown close.
As the festival draws to a close, Misae stops Shima and finally tells him her wish: that he love her forever and ever. He cries elated tears of joy, and then Misae runs to get something to drink for the two...but when she returns, she sees Shima disappear into the crowd, after mouthing some last words to her: he will love her forever.
The story then jumps forward abruptly. We see Misae moving into the dorm and becoming dorm mother, along with her trust cat companion. On the phone, she tells someone (her mother, possibly?) that she is not dating anyone, and she claims she's not still holding out for Shima. Then she talks a bit with the cat: she's surprised he likes being with her, considering she doesn't like cats. She has a undescribed strange thought about her cat, and she ridicules the idea of a fairytale being real. Then the story fades away...
Tomoya wakes up, and later on the main group of friends attend a festival (the same Misae and Shima went to), and Nana-kun runs up to Nagisa and Tomoya, with Misae chasing close behind. As she struggles to get a grip on her cat, Tomoya confesses to the dream he had, in which her cat talked to him, asking him to tell her how he had wanted to go to the festival with her, and how he would stay by her side forever, as she wished, and that he wants her to be happy. Misae and Nana-kun then walk happily off into the festival.
After this story ends, Misae isn't really seen until the ending montage, and then she appears no different than usual: she and her cat are just standing in front of the dorm, staring into the sky.
(Now, you may think I'm missing some big parts of Misae's story: what the hell is with her cat? Well, I'm writing this post strictly about Misae's part of the story, what she concretely knows and experiences. In my post on Shima, I'll fill in the gaps here.)
Effect on Main Plot
Misae's arc is another one that doesn't seem to do too much to affect Nagisa and Tomoya's relationship. Of course, she offers some dating advice, but there's not too much beyond that. Hers is really more of a story that's important thematically rather than plotwise.
On a less direct note, her relationship with Shima has some good pointers for Nagisa and Tomoya's relationship. Tomoya recognizes its value: after all, he calls it "a wonderful love story." It's a story of perseverance, enduring love, and commitment, definitely some aspects that are important for all good loving relationships. I think this story is a bit inspirational, at the least for Tomoya. And, as a sidenote, the lake and fountain that Shima and Misae often talk in front of is the same one that Nagisa and Tomoya talk in front of when they're hanging out with Fuko on the night before her sister's wedding.
Themes
The past affecting the present is a very forthright theme in Misae's story. Misae's actions in the past are what drive Shima to find her and offer her a wish, and that drive is what leads to their relationship blossoming. The love she found with Shima also still affects her in the present day; just look at her scene in the festival at the end of her story. Overall, the actions of both Misae and Shima influence the two of them to this day (in show time).
Perseverance is present in Misae's tale, both the "never give up" perseverance, and the "find new happy and fun things" perseverance. Shima won't take a throw-away answer on his offer of a wish for Misae, and she learns to grow close with him, even when her crush on Igarashi falls through. Plus Misae's message to Shima when he was in the hospital is a message of perseverance: even if you're ill and suffering, keep fighting, and don't give up.
The importance of commitment is made very explicit here as well. Misae's wish ends up being for Shima to be committed to her forever, and he accepts that commitment (since he makes the commitment, I'll explain more in his post).
There's also some supernaturality involved; again, to be explained deeper in Shima's post.
Reflection
Misae's story is an interesting one. Like Sunohara's, it's one I didn't really get the point of the first time I watched. I thought, "Oh, that's a touching tale, but why is it stalling Nagisa and Tomoya's relationship?" And now, I see its power. Many people I talk to count it as one of the most touching parts of the entire series, especially Shima. I guess, when you really think about it, Shima is the truly touching one, not Misae; that doesn't mean she's useless and bland, though.
I just really don't have much to say about Misae. She's a good, wise character specializing in sound advice and tough love, with a touching backstory. Not much else for me to say. Sorry for the real lack of a reflection.
Thanks for reading. God Bless, and peace.
Nota Bene: All clips are from the Clannad Central YouTube channel run by the Clannad (クラナド/Kuranado) fan page on Facebook. All character themes and other music from the show can also be found on said fan page, in the music player. My gratitude to them and all the work they do.
