Guyabano Holiday

by panpanya

A trip to Tokyo's Asian market district, Ameyokocho, leads the protrag on a trip to hunt down the mysterious guyabano fruit! Little does the protrag and their crew know that their curiosity will take them on a wild and mouth-watering trip to the Philippines!

Genres: Manga, Comics, Slice Of Life, Short Stories, Comedy, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

193 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2019

About the author

Panpanya (Japanese: パンパンヤ) is a Japanese manga author. Their real name, age and gender are unknown to the general public.
Panpanya's books are collections of short stories, usually first published in the 'josei' (woman) magazine Rakuen. The stories mix slice-of-life and surrealism and are independent from one another, albeit sharing a roster of recurrent characters. The nameless protagonist, generally seen as a cartoon alter-ego of the author, is a girl of undefined age, sometimes portrayed as a schooler, sometimes as an adult.
Panpanya emerged from the indie doujinshi (amateur) manga scene around 2010. Their professional career started in 2013 with the book Ashizuri Suizokukan (Ashizuri Aquarium). The following book An Invitation from a Crab (2014) received international praises and was translated into English and Italian. All of their subsequent works have appeared in Italian, and some of them in English and French.

Reviews

[Gabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Panpanya's writing reminds me of early era twitter when people would just write about the simple mundanities of their day. Though in this case they blend their recollections with just a slight twinge of surrealism that's uniquely refreshing without feeling forced. The surreal blends into the mundane so well and that's only further accentuated by their art which blends detailed backgrounds with childishly charming characters.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially love the panels that are just photographs with Panpanya’s art drawn over them combining their cartoony sketchy style with these real life images is something I find very visually arresting.

[Ludwig Aczel · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10
My second book by Panpanya. The first one was this. Five more books to go, as of time of writing. I bought them all, and I will read them all. Because Panpanya is my jam.
As usual, we follow the nameless bobbed hair girl (Panpanya themselves?) while she wanders around and does her thing. Looking at stuff, touching stuff, thinking about stuff. The experiences portrayed are highly mundane, apparently inconsequential. But that's where the zen allure of this comics lies: Panpanya tries to teach us how consequential the small things of life can be. Or at least, the author shows that they are for them. At the same time, the world in which the bobbed hair girl has her little adventures takes on surreal features. But even the surrealism in Panpanya has a gentle, soft fabric. It is not violently comical or totally absurdist. It serves the purpose of stitching together these little heartwarming tales.
This collection contains a lot of very short stories, as short as one or two pages. But also a long report of a trip to the Philippines. I am sure that the author actually did the trip in their real life. But in the comic the travel is phrased as a quest for a rarely exported local fruit. One which had caught the bobbed hair girl's imagination after a brief but quite satisfying consumption of a juice. Yeah, if this description sounds nuts to you, then please stay away from this cartoonist, word of advice.
A couple of the short stories play with the perception of space and time. A game for which there is no better medium than the language of comics. Now, to be clear, Panpanya is not Mazzuchelli or Ware. They are not trying to leave a mark in the annals of the art form. You can see that the author is just trying to get stories out for the women magazine they work for, and make a living with that. But the honesty and the level of craftsmanship in their work is great.
The art is obviously the selling point of Panpanya. No screen-tone shortcuts, Panpanya takes the time (is given the time by the editor?) to showcase a refined cross-hatching, which is very much the trademark of their manga. Every panel is just pleasant to watch and focus on.
Nothing revolutionary, just comics done with grace. We need more Panpanya in this world.

[Guyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first thing that attracts me to Panpanya's work is of course, the art, which is excellent and often very clever, using different mediums (sometimes even within a single panel) to convey a specific emotional effect that penwork alone just wouldn't do.

But that is the hook. It'd be fine enough as a demonstration of talent, but what truly resonates with me is simply the mind of the artist revealed through the stories; what they turn their gaze at, what they journal about. There are some books in the world that have a message about "enjoying the simple things" or "being thankful for life". Some of them are very didactic. The works of Panpanya are not. The stories are simple, thoughtful, and well observed, but by seeing the world through Panpanya's eyes, you get not a lesson, but rather a living, breathing example of thankfulness, one that is as much grateful for the canned tuna in your cupboard as a delicious exotic fruit. At other times, they are an exploration of memory, the details one is assured of, and the others that have gone a bit murky- and this is conveyed faithfully through the visuals as well. Whatever the story, with Panpanya, the old and familiar are seen again for the strange and wonderful things that they are.

[Sofia Sita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Di tutti e 5 i volumi pubblicati è quello che mi è piaciuto meno purtroppo! Le caratteristiche tipiche sono mantenute: l'atmosfera surreale e ironica, la comicità spesso velata di tenerezza, lo stile di disegno iper-realistico dei paesaggi che contrasta con lo stile semplice e "chibi" dei personaggi... sono tutti elementi molto personali che ho amato! Purtroppo però questo volume mi sembra più pensato per un pubblico giapponese, tanti dettagli sfuggono e si perdono, o comunque non saltano all'occhio come (immagino) fossero le intenzioni dell'autor*, proprio per limiti linguistici e diversità culturali. In ogni caso sono contenta di averlo letto e penso che Star Comics abbia avuto un'ottima idea a portare in Italia le opere di panpanya.

[Johan (ヨハン) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an excellent set of stories. Very imaginative stories that will peak your interest. All of the stories don’t deal with travelling but they do spring up some interesting ideas.
The one major travel story is a pursuit of the tasty Guyabano fruit. There are a few connected side stories as well. These stories are intriguing and very grounded. Worth reading multiple times just to enjoy a little travel log in a manga format.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga was a real trip into the manga-ka's psyche. We view the world how they view the world, with all the little details and absurdities that their mind seems to fixate on. Some chapters where very dream like and others felt like stilted diary entries – with the metatextual element of one chapter being about writing a surreal diary entry.

I feel that this is gem in the rough. It's not perfect, but you will see your world refracted beautifully though this text.

[Jenny (LobsterGal) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a wait. I was starting to think this was never going to come out. This book did not disappoint. I think that my favorite story was about the sweet potatoes. But just getting to step back into panpanya's writing was a breath of fresh air. I am working on bullying everyone I can to read their books.

[Anson · Rating 4 out of 5]

More panpanya is always a good thing. Compared to Imitation of a Crab, Guyabano Holiday is more autobiographical. The surrealist magic that I loved from the previous novels has been toned down, which I wish didn't happen. Although, the degree of insight we get into panpanya's more grounded thoughts here is valuable.

[Zach Mendelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

man, what an artist. didn't have the same energy as "an invitation from a crab," but there was something softer and more contemplative about this one that made me enjoy it for different reasons.

it really bothers me that we only have TWO of these published in english while italy sits on a veritable trove of complete works... what's wrong with my country...

[Bianca Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read for when you don’t really want a story line that you have to remember when you put it down. charming short stories about the mundane happenings of life accompanied by detailed yet easy on the eye drawings overlayed onto photographs at time—adding a contrast that pulls you deeper into the tale.

[crowsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing after the first one being so weird and charming as this is more like off kilter diary comics than short surrealist stories. Then again, I haven't read the first one in a while... Art is still great no matter the subject matter and always charming nonetheless.

[cafaco]

a bit less surreal and a bit more slice-of-life compared to panpanya’s An Invitation From a Crab, but this collection is still delightful and has the same inventive, bold use of backgrounds, paneling, and storytelling that makes panpanya one of my new favorite manga artists.

[Jean Munson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading the story about her traveling to the Philippines. It is formatted like an anthology of her shorts. Some story lines have good punchlines and some had me feeling confused.

Overall I liked this book.

[ia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss home :( Also note to self to try dried guyabano when I get home.

[sachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love panpanya so im biased

[James Quadros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Panpanya presents a worldview that is as charming as it is enviable. Maybe not as sweet as going on a vacation to find esoteric fruits, but maybe the next best thing.

[Ilmaji · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo stile è molto particolare: contrasto tra lo sfondo e i personaggi. Alcune scene divertenti, mentre altre un po' più lente e noiose. Peccato.

[Dao Chau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome art style and entertaining stories. Not normally a fan of anthologies, but this one was just so fun to read.

[Marcus Skog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another banger, really works in the short story format!

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A series of short comical diary stories revolving around a young woman finding enjoyment in various peculiarities, mundanities, and daydreams about her life in Japan. The title story revolves around her vacation to Thailand in search of a fruit whose juice she became obsessed with and can no longer find at the corner stores around her home.

This is most certainly not my kind of manga, being neither a big fan of short story collections nor slice of life, but having always heard good things about panpanya I figured I'd check it out. It's certainly charming and the main character's anecdotal observations did manage to yield some enjoyment but nothing managed to make a significant impression. The art, while it has some detailed backgrounds and diagrams, was unexceptional especially in the minimal character designs and foregrounds.

[Camille Viollet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice easy read, cool drawings