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 Today, I introduce two of my favorite comic artists who are very famous since 80s'. One is Kaoru Shintani and the other is his wife Kayono Saeki. Both of them are very prominent comic artists but in this "Quo Vadis" Shintani writes the story, Kayono takes charge of drawing pictures. The publisher says that this is a dreamy collaboration, which is true I think.
Shintani created many interesting stories in the past. I know most of them and always admiring his knowledge over many different fields. I think he is one of the most diligent and hardworking person in the Japanese comic world.
Take "Area 88" for instance. The background of this story is the warfare in the Middle East. A Japanese boy named Shin was caught up in the war as a fighter pilot because of a betrayal of his best friend. No one can write a story like this without a broad knowledge about the international situation. That is also expressed in "Desert Rose". The heroine is a beautiful woman named Mariko Rosebank who lost her little boy when an airport was bombed by terrorists. An ordinary housewife became a woman fighter against terrorists for revenge.
The two stories are very brave but Shintani made his debut as a comic artist in the world of girls' comics first. In those days, not only girls but also boys are enthusiastic about girls' comics because, as I said before, the girls' comics are highly refined and intelligent than comics in other categories. So girls' comics were no longer only for girls and gradually the limit was removed then. The works like "Area 88" or "Desert Rose" were born in this situation. Those themes and stories are fundamentally for boys but girls like me also love them. Shintani's works contain many elements which are attractive for both boys and girls.
And his thoughts reached "Quo Vadis" now.
Before I write about the story itself, I want to introduce Kayono Saeki, too. See the pictures on the title. Those are undoubtedly and unarguably beautiful, aren't they? The little girl in the picture is Freyja who is the heroine of this story. She is also called "professor". Why? I'll tell about it later. Anyway this is the typical Kayono Saeki type of beautiful girl. No one can create this kind of divine character except for her.
One of my favorite works by Kayono is "Akihi". Akihi is the name of the heroine who is still 17 years old but a prominent art dealer. She's been searching for a painting which painted by her father long ago. Her mother went away for her former lover when she was a child and her father already died. So the picture in which Akihe was painted is the only relic and memory of her happy days with her father.
The story is emotional but even in this kind of work her husband's broad knowledge is alive which makes the story more complicated and interesting. I think all the pieces which they create are their collaboration in a sense. There is no other example like this as long as I know.
Well, now I talk about the outline of the story "Quo Vadis".
Odin who is a handsome antiques dealer looks around 30 years old but he lives over 8000 years in reality. He's been searching for his colleagues who jumped into the past with him from the future for so many years.
In the world which he was born, all the things reached a limit. The human being itself reached the limit as a race and the world is almost coming to an end. People look like leading a happy life but without love. The totally controlled world is there. The result of repeated gene control bore people like Odin who cannot die and live almost forever.
Professor Freyja was one of the people who were worry about and afraid of the cul-de-sac situation. So she plotted a plan to find the divergent point in history. Finding out the point and amend or correct it is the only way to change the situation they're in. So she and her followers including Odin needed to jump into the past. But the accident happened then and they were separated in the sea of history.
After 8000 years of woe, Odin found Freyja at last. She was a grownup woman when they parted but after so many years, for what reason, she became a little girl. Still Freyja is Freyja, intelligent and brisk but her appearance is so lovely that she looks like a tomboy now. Her beauty and loveliness is one of the big charms in this work.
They began to search for other members who time-jumped with them but it was nearly an impossible work. Moreover the days Odin lived in the past made the situation very complicated. Because one of his colleagues named Joshua who died 2000 years ago left a big problem.
Sorry but I think you should find out what is the problem in the book and whether they can accomplish their purpose or not is still unclear. Because the story is on the way now.
Anyway, the stories which Shintani and Kayono create are always very entertaining. Try not only Quo Vadis but also the other works if you have a chance.
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books/comics
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