SUNNY by Taiyo Matsumoto
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2020 10:59 -0700
Sort of a Book Review.
Even though it's not Usagi or Samurai related, I'd like to share this manga series with the Dojo.
I recently finished reading it, but will take the easy way out for most of this review... ☺
SUNNY by Taiyo Matsumoto
Published by VIZ Media
Sunny is a Japanese manga that has been translated into English by VIZ Media. There are 6 volumes.
I first found out about Sunny a number of years ago from a Japanese car group I belong to. The reason is that Sunny is a Nissan car, but the Sunny books aren't really about cars - the books are about people...
What I enjoyed most about this manga is that it isn't your typical comic book story. No superheroes. No saving the world from the apocalypse. No deranged emperors trying to rule the universe. Just a bunch of kids living life.
The kids all live in a foster home called STAR KIDS. The title SUNNY is in reference to an old beat up car that the kids play and hang out in. The art is loose and reflects the crazy yet touching lives of these kids.
I'll admit that the art took me a while to get used to, but it eventually grew on me. And at first, I also found the kids to be annoying, but the more time I spent with them, the more I came to understand them, and I even got to like them. I will even admit, that by the time I read the last chapter in the last volume, I was actually a little teary eyed.
The stories are set sometime in the late 1970's, but they could just as well be from today.
This is a different kind of comic book, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for something different to read.
For a full detailed review, check out this report on Japan Times, which not only tells us about Sunny, but also about Taiyo Matsumoto. I found the article very informative and helped me understand more about the artist and his journey with this manga.
Japan Times article
From Wikipedia:
From VIZ Media:
20200425_161144 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Front covers
20200425_161218 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Back covers
20200425_161246 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Two page spread from each book. Reading is Japanese style, from right to left...
Book 1
20200425_161411 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 2
20200425_161952 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 3
20200425_162222 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 4
20200425_162303 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 5
20200425_162430 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 6
20200425_162526_001 by toyotageek, on Flickr
20200425_161100 by toyotageek, on Flickr
I think all of the volumes are still available, although they may be a little hard to find. The books are hardcover, so tend to be a little pricey... I think around $23 each.
Even though it's not Usagi or Samurai related, I'd like to share this manga series with the Dojo.
I recently finished reading it, but will take the easy way out for most of this review... ☺
SUNNY by Taiyo Matsumoto
Published by VIZ Media
Sunny is a Japanese manga that has been translated into English by VIZ Media. There are 6 volumes.
I first found out about Sunny a number of years ago from a Japanese car group I belong to. The reason is that Sunny is a Nissan car, but the Sunny books aren't really about cars - the books are about people...
What I enjoyed most about this manga is that it isn't your typical comic book story. No superheroes. No saving the world from the apocalypse. No deranged emperors trying to rule the universe. Just a bunch of kids living life.
The kids all live in a foster home called STAR KIDS. The title SUNNY is in reference to an old beat up car that the kids play and hang out in. The art is loose and reflects the crazy yet touching lives of these kids.
I'll admit that the art took me a while to get used to, but it eventually grew on me. And at first, I also found the kids to be annoying, but the more time I spent with them, the more I came to understand them, and I even got to like them. I will even admit, that by the time I read the last chapter in the last volume, I was actually a little teary eyed.
The stories are set sometime in the late 1970's, but they could just as well be from today.
This is a different kind of comic book, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for something different to read.
For a full detailed review, check out this report on Japan Times, which not only tells us about Sunny, but also about Taiyo Matsumoto. I found the article very informative and helped me understand more about the artist and his journey with this manga.
Japan Times article
From Wikipedia:
"Sunny is a Japanese slice-of-life seinen manga series created by Taiyō Matsumoto. It was serialized in Monthly Ikki by Shogakukan from December 2010 until Ikki suspended its publication in September 2014, and the manga was later transferred to Monthly Big Comic Spirits in January 2015. Sunny ended in July 2015.
Sunny is the story about the foster children of the Star Kids home, a combination group home/orphanage facility. They struggle with both the everyday issues of growing up and those specific of being abandoned or orphaned children. Their only way out from their situation is the Sunny, a dilapidated old car in the front lawn of the home. The Sunny is used by the children to go magically wherever they want, travel the world, go into space, or just find a refuge from the troubles of reality."
From VIZ Media:
What is Sunny? Sunny is a car. Sunny is a car you take on a drive with your mind. It takes you to the place of your dreams. Sunny is the story of beating the odds, in the ways that count. It’s the brand-new masterwork from Eisner Award-winner Taiyo Matsumoto, one of Japan’s most innovative and acclaimed manga artists. Translated by Tekkonkinkreet film director Michael Arias!"
"The second installment of this poignant series focused on the young lives of a group of foster children delves into the deep sadness and bright joys of their fears and dreams. Publishers Weekly writes, "Matsumoto deftly weaves a sense of longing and sadness into even the most chaotic scenes, and readers are drawn into the lives of children struggling to be themselves in a world that doesn’t want them."
20200425_161144 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Front covers
20200425_161218 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Back covers
20200425_161246 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Two page spread from each book. Reading is Japanese style, from right to left...
Book 1
20200425_161411 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 2
20200425_161952 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 3
20200425_162222 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 4
20200425_162303 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 5
20200425_162430 by toyotageek, on Flickr
Book 6
20200425_162526_001 by toyotageek, on Flickr
20200425_161100 by toyotageek, on Flickr
I think all of the volumes are still available, although they may be a little hard to find. The books are hardcover, so tend to be a little pricey... I think around $23 each.