AIR GEAR is King!

[Pikachu]

King of the manga that is. ;)

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/61GfubWIeTL._SS500_.jpg

I must say that the art in Air Gear (http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A8%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AE%E3%82%A2-17-%E5%A4%A7%E6%9A%AE-%E7%B6%AD%E4%BA%BA/dp/4063638162) is getting tighter and tighter. Oh Great! consecutively puts more into one volume of this book than most artists do in an entire life time of drawing. In all my years of reading and studying the Japanese art form this artist and his team continually surprise me with the quality work and stunning design of the art.

'Air Gear' volume 17, which came out two weeks ago Japan side, has some of the best art I've ever seen in a manga. Ogure Ito's team does some of the best (if not the best) 'toning & shading' work in the industry. The perspective is always dead on, and the characters are crisp, clean, and have very aesthetic appeal in terms of design sense. Plus he draws some of the hottest anime/manga babes in the history of hot anime/manga babes. Ringo with her warm personality, competitive attitude, and very cute, intelligent, and always stylin' eye-glasses is like an imminent 'bloody nose' for comic book nerds everywhere. The heavy handed SF setting is interesting considering that it's almost a character itself within the story. I wish I could scan some of the pages for you all to see, but I love my copy too much to mutilate it... so you'll just have to take my word for it, or pick up a copy when you can.

Just amazing. :D

Pika!

[K.O.V.G]

Your telling me Air Gear is the Sh**t Oh Great art is some of the best but sadly overlooked I love all the stuff he does his art is top of the line and so is his story telling.

[jboncha]

Air Gear is mosy definitely my favorite manga.
I'll have to agree that Oh! Great's artwork is amazing.
I think he may be one of the best artists out there in both manga and western comics.
Here's a few samples of his work:
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/4834/airgear0101006007editau7.jpg
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/3581/airgearringoonarailbj5.jpg
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3293/airgearakitoagito1stapptg7.png
http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/8944/airgearvol16p180editlf9.png
I like that last one a lot.

BTW, Air Gear Vol 4 gets released in the USA tomorrow: May 1, 2007


J B

[The Xenos]

I picked up vol 3, as my shop had missed the first two... but I stoped getting any more once I heard that Del Ray had censored a panel or two in one of its volumes. Has anyone else heard about this? Has this rumor been confirmed? I was happy to hear this would come out uncut after the Tenjo Tenge fiasco, but then I heard otherwise and was quite upset.

[Lord Darkwolf]

I picked up vol 3, as my shop had missed the first two... but I stoped getting any more once I heard that Del Ray had censored a panel or two in one of its volumes. Has anyone else heard about this? Has this rumor been confirmed? I was happy to hear this would come out uncut after the Tenjo Tenge fiasco, but then I heard otherwise and was quite upset.


A translator changed some dialog that implied rape in vol. 1 The head of Del Rey found out and promised to change it back in future releases.... otherwise AG is uncensored . Del Rey doesn't play that game .

[jboncha]

The only visual censoring that I know of is the cover of Vol 2.
It was this in Japan:
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/9785/airgearvol2bm2.jpg

And is this in the USA:
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5310/airgearvol2uscoveroz7.jpg


J B

[Smokeyjay]

I love his art and his sense of fashion style.

But I can't stand any of his stories. And I've browsed through a lot of his stories.

[Generic Eric]

That is some awesome artwork. But the face on alot of the characters kills it for me. Everything else is hyper detailed and the faces are all simple cartoons.

[Inkthinker]

I LOOOOVE AIR GEAR.

Seriously, it's the tits. It's even better than Tengho Tenge in action sometimes, and thankfully Del Rey has been pretty damn respectful of the interior art, cover snafus notwithstanding.

Definitely the Oh! Great title to back, it's a great example of why he's one of the best: some of the hottest babes and the most intense action in manga.

[The Xenos]

Ah. Thanks. I'll try to hunter down the newer unchanged version. You know, for free speech, not just for panty shots.

[chojinlocke]

On the plus side, they included the uncut cover (chaps instead of pants) in the inside of the book. On the minus side, it is in black and white...
I've been digging Air Gear a lot as well. I never thought I would think inline skating would be so cool. BTW, how is the anime version? Worth checking out? I have a backlog of titles so I am being more picky lately.

[Pikachu]

The Anime is top notch. Just like "Black Lagoon" they animate approx. 6 episodes a year. This way the quality of each episode is near OVA and they can keep the budget cost down. Everything from the manga is in the anime thus far.

I'm just in awe of the amount of various textures Ogure manages to put into his manga.

This is where I believe the majority of the manga edges out the competition. Depth & texture coincide to create and lend an amazing realism to the art. Even if the characters are 'cartoonish' looking the shading and toning enhance everything to make the character's world pop out. The idea isn't to make everything uber real, it is to make your characters seem like their world is tangible and believable. And I think Oh Great! paints a pretty detailed and convincing world.

American comics art is almost always colored, and often times coloring flattens out the images original texture and depth. Only top notch colorists can enhance already stunning art, but most the time they distract from really excellent art. I always thought Joe Mad's stuff should have been published black and white only. Leinil Yu is another American artist who adds an amazing amount of detail and texture into his black and white drawings, and Jim Lee is yet another. To think that without the recent improvements in computer coloring their art would still be suffering from being 'washed out' by the color. But even with the improvements you can't help but feel that the real good stuff has either been watermarked or a painted over.

And both styles, color or not, are fine; but my concern is how much detail, depth and texture, must you sacrifice for a bit of color? Or visa versa?

This is why manga has always fascinated me in terms of its visceral appeal. You open up a manga and you instantly feel that this style is in someway different from anything you've ever seen, although its employing the same age old methods and techniques. At first people attribute this feeling to the 'bubble eyes' and 'dynamic' angles... but these are only the dressing. The real feeling comes from the nitty gritty of the art... quite literally. Because you can be stringently detailed to the points of total realism, i.e. Vagabond, or you can be simply plain, i.e. Naruto. But in both situations the worlds are believable because the worlds have an abundance of originality, detail, texture, and a richness of depth through lighting and perspective which really enhances the art.

The backgrounds of the really engaging manga are always as realistic and important as the rest of the characters. The backgrounds and textures within them are as important and vital to the plot as any other element. And I guarantee you that the amount of textures being used in manga far outweigh the amount being utilized in other forms of the medium. This deep aesthetic quality to manga gives it a very visceral aspect and makes it all the more emotionally engaging (or visually addictive).

'Air Gear' for me, is definitely at the top of this list of engaging comics. Partly because of its originality and design, but mostly because this world comes off so real in terms of its 'seeming' tangibility. And then the cartoons interact and engage this world... and it seems like that's really how it would be. Whereas color, although pretty, often times looses the exemplar attachment one can get through the edged depth and tones of the world by over saturating it (or watering it down) with sometimes plasticy or artificial neon hues.

But in the end it comes down to personal preference. I'm only pointing out one of the stylistic reasons manga has such a high aesthetic appeal for readers, whether they know it or not.

Pika! :cool:

[Generic Eric]

This is where I believe the majority of the manga edges out the competition. Depth & texture coincide to create and lend an amazing realism to the art. Even if the characters are 'cartoonish' looking the shading and toning enhance everything to make the character's world pop out. The idea isn't to make everything uber real, it is to make your characters seem like their world is tangible and believable. And I think Oh Great! paints a pretty detailed and convincing world.

When everything but the face is uber real it makes it distracting to me.

American comics art is almost always colored, and often times coloring flattens out the images original texture and depth. Only top notch colorists can enhance already stunning art, but most the time they distract from really excellent art. I always thought Joe Mad's stuff should have been published black and white only. Leinil Yu is another American artist who adds an amazing amount of detail and texture into his black and white drawings, and Jim Lee is yet another. To think that without the recent improvements in computer coloring their art would still be suffering from being 'washed out' by the color. But even with the improvements you can't help but feel that the real good stuff has either been watermarked or a painted over.

The best colored comics seem to come from cartoonist's who color themselves. They tend to be all around artists who understand color theiry. Brian talbot, robert Crumb, Ashley Wood, Ben templesnith, Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, Ted Nurema, Bill Sienkiewitz among other have a good handle on this skill.

[Inkthinker]

I don't think his bodies are particularly realistic either... all his women are cartoonishly sexy, for a start.

I picked up vol. 04 today. It contains a good bit more character development than we'd seen up to now, as Ikki and his crew take a bit of a break after Ikki's first Parts War batte against Buccha. The second half introduces "Fang King" Agito/Akito, though, and the fight between Agito and the five-man Bulls takes the action to a new level.

[The Xenos]

Sidenote, I actually bought OhGreat's Naked Star at a convention. It's more risque. Heck, it is pretty much hentai. I downloaded it (untranslated in Japanese), so I figured I'd buy it that I saw it. Lord knows it likley had a huge mark up, but it wasn't like I was going to Japan. Well, now I am actually going, but back then I didn't think I would. Eh. It helps support local Amerian companies importing stuff I guess.

Damn. I just thought about how much cheaper the doujinshi.. and hentai doujinshi.. is gonna be in Japan. Um.. not that I'm going to be looking for stuff there. Yeah.

[Inkthinker]

The further you go back with O!G work, the more pornographic it becomes. Eventually you get back to his very early work in things like Silky Whip, where it seems the man was literally trying to take on every taboo he could think of (bestiality, incest, rape, adultery, etc). Tenjho Tenge has some sex to it, not surprisingly given that it's a seinin ecchi title. Air Gear is actually his tamest title so far.

Speaking of TJTG, does anyone else (who's seen the most recent volumes) think that he's largely given that title over to his assistants and "ghost artists"?

[Silver Knight]

THx checked it out and was 0 percent sure I was going to look into it, but now im 200% sure!

[Pikachu]

Originally Posted by Inkthinker
Speaking of TJTG, does anyone else (who's seen the most recent volumes) think that he's largely given that title over to his assistants and "ghost artists"?

Ogure's team currently consists of ten assistants.

They are: Takei Kokoro, Tashi Masayoshi, Aoki Yu, Fjita Tsuyoshi, Yamamoto Keisuke, Takakishi Akira, Matsuo Aisuke, Mamura Susumu, and his two gophers and photog aids Shinohara Motoko, and Onishi Takashi.

If Ogure is like any other manga-ka he still handles the bulk of the drawing chores. Mainly he sketches in the page layouts and roughs in the characters. All the design work is his, and he will most likely (if from what I've seen common practice among Japanese manga-ka) finishes entire pages after he completes the roughing in stages. Thus a portion of his team will be devoted to 'Tenjou Tenge' and the other portion to 'Air Gear'. Which ever book has priority duties will shift.

Although Oh!Great's team is quite large. Inoue Takehiko (Vagabond, Slam Dunk, Real) only uses seven assistants for 2 ongoing books.

My guess on Ogure's set up is that at least five or six make up any given team. You always need an inker, a background finish artist, a toner/shader, a lettering assistant, a photo reference assistant, and an inbetweener. This is the most common set up I've seen among other manga-ka in Japan.

Although it would appear that Oh!Great has handed over his page layout duties to his assistants on 'Tenjou', but that's just a hunch. He might be making it sporadic on purpose considering the current story-line which is jumping between ancient past and contemporary present. But I really can't say for certain. Recent 'Tenjou' has had some of the best splash pages and double page spreads I've ever seen, so his presence is definitely still there. :o

Pika!

[The Xenos]

Holy crap. How do you know these things? Hell, I don't even know that much about American comics. Ha. I think Pika here can astral project into Japan or something.

Anyway, I just remembered that I bought some US editions of Silky Whip from the eros comix prints.

[Pikachu]

Originally Posted by The Xenos
I think Pika here can astral project into Japan or something.

I work and live in Japan. Click on my blog link to learn more.

Other than that I'm just a huge manga nerd. But I prefer to read most of it in the original Japanese... as I sort of picked up the language from... uh, well living and working in Japan. But prior to that I studied Japanese and Japanese culture.

Pika! :D

[jboncha]

I'd love to see Oh! Great do some work on some DC or Marvel superheroes.
I dont think there have been too many big name manga artists that had done that kind of thing.
The only ones I can think of are Tsutomu Nihei's work on Wolverine & Kia Asamiya's work on Batman (in b&w :D) & the X-men.



J B

[The Xenos]

Ah. For some reason I thought you had moved back. Nevermind. Still, I'm here in American and sometimes it seems I don't know as much about how US comics work. Anyway, it's nice to have someone know about how manga is made, unlike the all too many fans who just see it in collected format on US bookshelves or uploaded to scanlation sites (or worse, general download sites).

I belive Asamiya's Batman book was an actual manga published in Japan, liscnenced by DC, and later brought to the US by DC. Though his work on X-men was done directly for Marvel. Same with Nihei's Snikt! (which you can tell I enjoyed from my icon, like your Biomega one). Also, I think the arist on Slayers did a book for Marvel recently.

As for Oh!Great, I guess it all depends on what his intrests are and what his workload is.

[jboncha]

Some Agito/SHARK action:
http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/7867/airgear04136137wh9.png

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/6359/airgear04144145rh9.png


Agito = Bad Ass
Akito = Fairy boy butt pirate


J B

[Inkthinker]

As long as we're showing off, here's a page from Vol. 02 (in stores now!) that I used during a discussion on comics design as an example of an excellent layout... (note that I flipped it because I was showing it to people largely used to reading left-right):

http://inkthinker.cryhavok.org/AG/AirGearv02079_PJsample.jpg

Check out the way he leads your eye to follow the line of action that's described by Simca. And see how the arc that's described by her swallow reinforces the motion? Effin' brilliant.

That's the kind of mastery that goes much deeper than just being able to draw pretty girls.

[jboncha]

Here's something that people asked on another board I go to.
What series do you like better...Air Gear or Tenjho Tenge?
I think I like Air Gear better.
I like Air Gear's art and story more than Ten Ten's.


J B

[Inkthinker]

I liked early TJTG more, but as the two series begin to match up in volume length I believe I've switched to liking Air Gear the most... not in the least because (as I mentioned before), I think O!G is putting more into Air Gear than he is into Tenjho Tenge.

I don't buy TJTG from CMX because they've taken the position that drawings of breasts are naughty, but drawings of children being mutilated is okay. When and if the series is reprinted uncut, then I'll buy it, but until then I'll stick to Air Gear

[Pikachu]

Even with having access to the 'uncut' Japanese version of TJTG... I still prefer Air Gear. There is just more to it. More action, more characters, more story, more art, and more style. Also TJTGs heavy (and often pornographic) themes tend to weigh the tone of the series down and limits its overall readability. I love the art, but there's only so much 'graphic' and 'grotesque' I'm willing to put up with every month. Sometimes is just nice to have something fresh, crisp, clean and fun, but still contains all the tantalizing perks which a manga addict like me craves. Air Gear is just such a hip new title with exactly what everyone is looking for -even the publishers- so it is no wonder Oh!Great dedicated himself to a title which grants him wider readability and greater (potential) sales/marketing.

I think what Ink said is true... Oh!Great is just putting more into Air Gear at the moment. I think thats because he's making more money from it's 'broader appeal' including the Anime tie in and marketing of other products, something which downright failed with TJTG. And since this is where the money is, that's what he'll be doing for the near future -more Air Gear. And I have no complaints. ;)

Pika!

[Nik Hasta]

Personally I prefer Tenjou Tenge but I just wish O!G would write more of it. 103 came out ages ago and we've heard nothing since.

I still enjoy Air Gear hugely, especially as I skate a bit myself, and Buccha and Kazu are awesome but I'm more engrossed in TJTG's storyline I think.

Also; Aeon Clock or Iron Clock, the transaltion switched halfway through the series and I don't know which I prefer.

[The Xenos]

I came back from a trip to Japan. I bought a couple volumes of Tenjou Tenge. I would have bought more, but manga is heavy to pack. I also bought some hentai takubon / collections by Oh! Great. They were Junk Story and Five 5. I already had bought Naked Star at a con. It was much much cheaper in Japan of course.

[Silver Knight]

Ive watched Air Gear and Wow let me tell ya, everything fits so nice and neat, the adult nature of the work just seems to blend with it. The begening and ending credits are awsome, especially the ending cause it seems like a omage to FLCL. Theirs just one tiny problem. Every episode ends in a cliffhanger, sure thats a great way to keep people watching, but dang, on DVD you almost and do skip the awsome credits just to see what happens, not to mention Im left hanging untill I can buy the next volume, geesh im only one guy I dont have the stamina for this. lol

[K.O.V.G]

Just read the lastest chp of Air Gear it's about to get really good now

[The Xenos]

A friend of mine, while we were on vacation in Japan, got this neat gashapon figure. I wish I had read Air Gear so I could have noticed it.

http://sappy-rx-78-2.cocolog-nifty.com/sappy/images/airgear007.jpg

I know he also bought a Tenjo Tenge set at a local anime store. It's the line with the springs that allow for boob jiggleage.

[K.O.V.G]

150 is out

[K.O.V.G]

151 is out .

[Inkthinker]

Man, I loves me some gashopon.

These last few chapters have been pretty intense. With Ikki facing Sleeping Forest in the Trophaeum, I wonder if we're not building up to the finale.

I used to be all about Ikki + Ringo, but you know... now I'm not so sure. His tuner is honey, and Ringo... well, Crazy Apple is a bit of a bitch.

That new guy who stole the Regalia... that's about the coolest O!G design I've seen in a long, long time.

[K.O.V.G]

152 is out looks like we are about to learn the past of kilik and sora as well as others.

[K.O.V.G]

153 is out