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![zetsubou sensei youll be laughing 7 years from now zetsubou sensei youll be laughing 7 years from now](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wW07E7U1gFg/U1ouC5uV6rI/AAAAAAAAB-w/XqXr5aaX93c/s1600/Sayonara.Zetsubou.Sensei.full.84209.jpg)
“The tower that rises above Genuflect Desert is called, “I Give Up Tower.” There’s a staircase inside the tower, but the stairs suddenly end halfway up…” - Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Volume 7 Whispering behind a hand, eyes darting, he decadently describes a rolling landscape of torturous self-hatred, dotted with black pits of despair and rusted, jagged monuments of narcissism. Every week I harbor regrets.” -Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Volume 4 “I’m sorry that garbage is producing garbage. He flays himself indulgently for a hedonistic, back-alley circle of spectators. I’d say the same thing about this manga.” -Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Volume 5Īnyone familiar with Kumeta Kouji’s work recognizes his talent for self-flatulation. “People start to get old the moment they are born.But transcending my narcissism, Shoujo Nemu is excruciatingly beautiful, and affects my life and work in tangible ways. I don’t act without acting I’m not psychologically independent. And even if the question is what’s important, it’s frustrating and painful to chase that invisible, formless answer forever, because I’m not like Nemu. Everything is within, Seek nothing outside of yourself.” And within Nemu and Goro, I search for myself. I hear Miyamoto Musashi’s words echo through Nemu and Goro, telling me that, “Everything exists. I certainly subscribe to that view and practice that narcissism actively in viewing Shoujo Nemu as a zen parable. Miyazaki said that attraction to the hero of a story is a form of narcissism on the part of the consumer, that the attraction is a surrogate emotion for something they are missing in themselves. In a threshold moment of the story, Goro asks Nemu, “Why do you want to be a mangaka?” Nemu can’t answer and Goro doesn’t wait for an answer before leaving the cafe. I feel as though Goro realizes consciously, while Nemu knows unconsciously, that a person can’t be a part of any group and truly be free, which would mean never finding the truth they actively or incidentally search for through their work. They treat large things with little importance and save greater scrutiny for their work, which is a reflection themselves. Goro’s struggle is more dynamic and destructive, but they both live life on another level from those around them. Neither of them has a place or person in the world to beg real comfort from. Nemu and Goro are idols to me, representing true indefinable individuality. Nemu’s pure dedication for her work and psychological independence might represent an ideal for the artistic mentality, while Goro’s agitated struggle to live by his principles causes friction with the rest of the world, grinding him down between his self-doubt and the judgment of others, and could be an insight into Kizaki’s own flinch back from society. If Nemu is an avatar for Kizaki, then Goro is the other side of the same coin. Mayflies die only a day after they shed their skin, just after reaching the fully-formed height of their powers. They were each an, “Usubakagero,” which means mayfly and was Kizaki’s first pen name.
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Every person is and always will be incomplete, but the end of Kizaki and Kondo’s respective journeys is especially discouraging. Both Kizaki and Kondo’s works are softly penetrating, ephemeral, and mysteriously nostalgic. And I treasure Shoujo Nemu in the same emotional drawer as Kondo’s last work, Whisper of the Heart, which also featured an uncommon young girl’s artistic journey, inspired by her relationship with an uncompromising artist. Kizaki’s story reminds me of Yoshifumi Kondo, the lost heir to Studio Ghibli, and another singular, sensitive voice who made me miss things I never knew of before suddenly leaving the world. Nemu’s story ends with the first steps of her Hero’s Journey she’s just entered a larger world while descending deeper into the heart of her true motivations… You’re left with a feeling of anticipation, a yearning feeling that swells up through ten chapters and then dissipates in open air. One volume is all you get, all you’ll ever get. The manga ends with the death of the artist maybe before that, judging by Kizaki’s history. Shoujo Nemu makes you feel nostalgic for a world you’ve never been a part of which seems to symptomatic of art containing strong, pure emotions. His character designs are charming and effective and I’m especially fond of the way he draws clothing, with seams and structure, every piece seeming to be made of thick, natural cloth. His paneling and close-ups give weight to unspoken words. In drawing Shoujo Nemu, Horisuke Kizaki seems to have used a ruler as little as possible, adding texture by hand and giving the art a familiar warmth, like something hand-woven and worn out.