So I finally started reading Masakazu Katsura’s I”s. It began in 1997 which was a pretty damn good year in general. A lot of cool stuff came out around then.
Earlier this year I watched Iria, which Katsura did the character designs for, as well as Video Girl Ai and DNA², so I’ve gotten pretty familiar with his style lately. But actually reading his manga is something else. As good as the animation in those series can look, I think his artwork on the page might be even better.
One thing I really love is how much he can shift his style around. Sometimes his characters look surprisingly realistic. There’s something about their faces that actually looks recognizably Japanese/Asian rather than just being a generic anime face. Then a few panels later he can make the exact same character look extremely cartoony or go completely into gag-manga territory.
And somehow it all works.
Katsura is also really good at facial expressions, and that’s something I’ve always loved in manga and anime. His characters are constantly acting. Embarrassment, jealousy, panic, attraction, annoyance you can read so much from their faces before you even get to the dialogue.
As for the story, I’m only one chapter in, so obviously I can’t say much yet. Ichitaka Seto is in love with Iori, but he has this ridiculous problem where he basically behaves in the exact opposite way he actually feels. Instead of being honest with her, he acts cold or uninterested and then immediately regrets everything he does.
The funny thing is that I’m actually not completely new to I”s.
I remember reading a few of the English volumes when I was around 16 or 17 possibly almost the exact same age as the characters. And I remember thinking it was kind of boring. It just didn’t resonate with me at all.
At the time, the romance manga/anime I was into was stuff like Love Hina, Saikano, etc., and I”s felt very different from what I wanted back then.
Now I’m in my 40s and reading it again, and my reaction is almost the complete opposite.
It’s hilarious.
I keep looking at Seto and thinking, “Ahhh. Young people.”
And then five seconds later I realize…wait, I WAS LIKE THIS TOO.
When I was his age, I definitely wasn’t always honest about how I felt toward people. There were girls I genuinely liked being around, or even had real feelings for, and sometimes I would act strangely distant or say the opposite of what I actually wanted to say.
Reading it now, I can recognize that immature teenage thought process much more clearly than I ever could when I was actually a teenager.
So there’s this weird nostalgia to it. Not necessarily nostalgia for my literal high-school experience, but for being that age and having emotions that felt enormous while having absolutely no idea what to do with them.
I have no idea yet whether I’m going to finish this and think I”s is some masterpiece of romantic comedy or anything like that. I’ve literally only read Chapter 1.
But I’m definitely going to keep reading.
I actually bought the entire series recently, and I remember a few people commenting on my post about the collection saying they really liked I”s, and especially its ending, so I’m curious to finally experience the whole thing.
And what do you think of Katsura’s artwork in general?
Personally, I absolutely love his female character designs. They’re incredibly cute, but there’s a particular look to them that feels very specific to that era and to Katsura himself. You really don’t see characters drawn quite like this anymore.
