 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | NATSUME ONO | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 320 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 01/19/2010 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 01/10/2010 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
Complex, powerful, and emotionally wrenching, Not Simple is a novel told in visual form by one of the most acclaimed creators at work today. Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, travels from Australia to England to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian’s experiences in a novel: Not Simple. A story within a story, a book within a book - a tale about the search for family and for an emotional home, Not Simple is a very intriguing read and a special book at heart. I don’t know about most people, but I’ve always enjoyed “single shot” manga and comics. This is when the entire story is captured in one book, with no need to collect further volumes. This usually means the story and plot are shorter due to the subsequently smaller space for the story to take place, but that never has to be a negative thing. Not Simple captures the right feel and the right kind of story to be successful as a short story. You as the reader are dropped into a situation with many connected characters, are able to experience it, and then it comes to a close without ever going on and on pointlessly. A single shot book like Not Simple allows for a good story with no filler – there’s nothing to push or to hide here, and it’s much less commercial than 30 volume manga series that have to come up with something at least somewhat new each time to push their wares. To simplify it, Not Simple is special because it feels like a real work of art – something that has a lot to do with the format it has been created in. It never tries to spoon feed you or draw you along on a long bumbling tale of semi-importance – it says just enough to get its point across, and most mature readers will appreciate that hugely. On the less intangible side of things, the book is also very striking because of its unique art. It is reminiscent of what a lot of people would call “independent comics” to a certain extent, although it’s hard to really classify anything with just that label. It’s got that cool black and white look, and deals with everyday life instead of super-heroes or some other thing of the fantastic. There’s a great world of comics (and some manga) that deal with this sort of subject matter, and Not Simple might be just the doorway you need to introduce you to the goodness of this kind of art and story. Anyhow, the art style: The visuals are somewhat simple, but purposeful and interesting. People get obsessed with highly detailed art, and often fail to see that some simple lines without too much complexity can show just as much emotion, if not more due to the uniqueness of the art. I like that it’s really “sketchy” and imperfect – it has this cool visual sense to it that says “I care, but I’m not perfect and so there – take it or leave it.” These sorts of things are hard to explain in words, but just know that the visuals are very cool, and well worth checking out because they are so different from most manga. It won’t appeal to everyone, but many people find something (or many things!) they love about this book. Well then, how about a bit about the author/artist? Natsume Ono made her professional debut in 2003 with the web comic La Quinta Camera. Her next works, Not Simple and Ristorante Paradiso, met with both critical and popular acclaim. Her current series House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou) is running in IKKI magazine, and Gente (a continuation of Ristorante Paradiso) appears in Erotics F magazine. She also creates doujinshi (independent comics) under the circle name basso. Her website, settantanove orsi, is at http://79orsi.web.fc2.com.
IN SUMMARY:
Not Simple is a unique book, and a unique reading experience. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air, and has a certain “cool factor” that is so elusive that it’s hard to put your finger on it. Intriguing visuals and a mature story that will surely impress many readers young and old. |
