BUTTERFLY (VOLUME 1)
June 24th 2011 00:35
Category: Manga
Story & Art by: Yu Aikawa
Translation & English Adaptation: Stephen Paul
Retouch & Lettering: Star Print Brokers
Production Artist: Star Print Brokers
Graphic Designer: Sirena Ung
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
Cost: AU$14.95/US$10.99
Apparently as of May this year, Tokyopop US, the publisher of this English version of Butterfly has gone belly up and as far as I can tell it’s uncertain what is going to happen to the titles it currently had the license to publish as well its own in house titles. Just goes to show that even the world of manga publishing is not adverse from the travails that are plaguing the economy, it also illustrates my bad sense of timing as it’s possible that this may be the only volume of this work I’ll be able to own and hold in my hands. Always a shame and tragedy when a series can no longer continue and you’ve only just started getting into it. Still on a lighter note the series is still being run online at http://www.mangareader.net/ and I suspect that a great many Tokyopop English titles will be able to be read in that venue and other sites.
Ginji’s meeting with Nachi though is not the first time they’ve met. The two had known each other previously as the both lived in the same neighbourhood and went to the same junior school. Over time as they both got older they drifted apart and when they meet again Ginji is unaware that he’d previously known Nachi. And the recollection of this event only comes after an unfortunate incident in a haunted house feature at a local amusement park. Confronted by a park employee as some kind of monster who says I will curse you to death Ginji loses his rag and punches out the guy. Not the best thing to do when trying to impress a girl…but Ginji has problems with these kinds of words, it seems that an evil spirit cursed his brother and he has something of a complex about those kinds of remarks. And the park isn’t too pleased that one of their employees was beaten up by a high school kid…
So now Ginji finds himself confronted with a situation where he has to pay the park money or they’ll go to the police and cause him some serious grief. Enter Ageha, a young ‘girl’ who feels that Ginji is just the right person for her private enterprise. Initially Ginji has the completely wrong idea about what Ageha is on about which provides some interesting reading but it turns out that this strange bespectacled young girl is involved in something that Ginji doesn’t want a bar of. She is a professional ghost buster, someone who has her own business card and is actually listed as being able to solve problems of a paranormal nature. The interesting thing is that the paranormal aspect isn’t quite what you’d expect and the ghosts are not the kind of rattling chains and moaning entities either.
And to top things off there is Ageha…is this mysterious individual really a girl or a guy who enjoys dressing up as a girl? The revelation that Ageha might be a guy is revealed when Ginji’s good friend Hatakeyama’s girlfriend points out that Ageha is a guy…but is she right? No doubt it’s all part of the overarching storyline, in manga nothing is left to chance or whimsy there is usually a rationale for it all being the way it is. One of the many things that differentiates this medium from western graphic novels and comics. When the dust and ectoplasm finally settled and I’d finished reading this first volume I have to admit it was an enjoyable read, definitely something different in regards to the whole supernatural/horror genre in some ways a little bit old school and in other ways something very unique. Definitely worth getting your hands on if this is your kind of thing…although with the demise of Tokyopop US you’ll possibly have better luck with reading it online. Either way worthwhile checking out…
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