ARAKAWA HIROMU’S RURAL PROPAGANDA MANGA

TONY T. - Managing Editor, 3rd Year, Economics and Data Science

"It is admittedly a bit heavy handed with the condescension towards cities (whether or not that’s right I don’t know)"

I respect Fullmetal Alchemist for what it is, but ultimately, I’ve never really been able to see it as the seminal classic masterpiece that others believe it to be. It avoids many pitfalls that other battle shounen series have succumbed to, yet in doing so, it also lacks many of the strengths that many battle manga/anime possess. Fundamentally, I believe it has succeeded so much due to its appeal as a crossover hit; while many people may not enjoy, say, the over-the-top physical contests in Dragon Ball, the fights in Fullmetal Alchemist are somewhat more tactical in terms of its power system. I personally find power systems as a concept to generally be annoying as they detract from the actual storytelling in these series, but Fullmetal Alchemist generally succeeds at not making itself too reliant on those aspects. Its setting is somewhat interesting with its background of Europe and a vague steampunk feel. Even so, it kind of pales in comparison to the truly wacky and strange worlds that most series in the general subgenre possess. Beyond that, I find the emotional narrative of the series to be rather overplayed. I can see that many people respond to the cathartic payoffs of various character arcs, yet I can’t get over the extreme contrast from overwrought melodrama to goofy gag humor that the series possesses because it neither makes an attempt to transition smoothly, nor does it play up that fact for its own sake.

With that said, I particularly admire the author of Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa Hiromu, for her evident talents in drawing manga. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of either Fullmetal Alchemist or Arakawa’s adaptation of Arslan Senki, with the latter being a somewhat boring series that lacks the political intrigue of something like Legend of the Galactic Heroes. In spite of this, I find that her works generally contain a unique feel that is unmatched in the medium. While I complain about the melodrama in Fullmetal Alchemist, I actually find little wrong with Arakawa’s writing of emotional scenes – I just wish they were better integrated into her stories. Where Fullmetal Alchemist succeeded as a crossover hit, I find that the elements within it that are not typically associated with battle shounen are aspects that are the backbone of her other manga, Gin no Saji.

I don’t like to rely on short memetic comparisons, but for anyone who doesn’t know what Gin no Saji is, I think it could be reductively described as a far less perverted Shokugeki no Soma with a stronger narrative that sticks the landing. The narrative of Gin no Saji, that of a studious city boy escaping to a countryside agriculture school and being hopelessly outmatched by his new classmates, is in many ways analogous to a fighting or sports series. Particularly, the series makes an effort to emphasize the protagonist’s character arc growing from a fish out of water to a well integrated member of the cast. Though Gin no Saji is something of a comedic slice of life story, its coming of age dynamics are fairly well developed as well, with characters considering and struggling to come to terms with their place in the world. Many anime and manga deal with this dynamic, but almost always within the realm of academic development, likely a product of Japan’s work culture. For that matter, as a student of UC Berkeley, I am certainly biased to consider coming of age as a mostly scholastic endeavor. Hence, Gin no Saji’s portrayal of an alternative path, not to mention its willingness to show failure, is fairly powerful. I found an arc where a character drops out of their school to support his family to be especially meaningful, not to mention realistic. Gin no Saji’s overall story is powerful in part due to the focus on these realistic dynamics; while I often find overemphasis of this aspect in media analysis to be missing the point, the series is authentic in a manner which doesn’t detract from, but in fact supports the overall narrative.

Gin no Saji is a series I regard highly enough to where I actually enjoyed its animated adaptation. This may not sound that absurd, but the anime was handled by A1 Pictures, a studio that has released a grand total of two shows that I’ve ever enjoyed (the other being So Ra No Wo To). However, I strongly believe that the manga is superior due to inherently being more consistent, while also having an actual conclusion. While I may not enjoy Fullmetal Alchemist, Gin no Saji is an overall testament to Arakawa Hiromu’s strengths as a mangaka as it embodies the best parts of her works and works well as a solid story.