Rote Blüten

by Yoshiharu Tsuge, John Schmitt-Weigand (Translator)

„Rote Blüten“ enthält zwanzig Geschichten, die zwischen 1966 und 1973 in der Zeitschrift „Garo“ veröffentlicht wurden, in der Yoshiharu Tsuge eine neue Art des Erzählens geschaffen Mit seiner unvergleichlichen Stimme, die Selbstbeobachtung, Poesie und Mysterium vereint, gelangt er zu unerreichter Meisterschaft in der Sprache der Comics. In seinen Geschichten, die von skurrilen Figuren, Außenseitern, sprechenden Salamandern, Vagabunden oder stummen Familien bevölkert werden, erzeugt Yoshiharu Tsuge eine einzigartige Atmosphäre.

Genres: Manga, Comics

397 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Influenced by the adventure comics of Osamu Tezuka and the gritty mystery manga of Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Masahiko Matsumoto, Yoshiharu Tsuge began making his own comics in the mid-1950s. He was also briefly recruited to assist Shigeru Mizuki during his explosion of popularity in the 1960s. In 1968, Tsuge published the groundbreaking, surrealistic story "Nejishiki" in the legendary alternative manga magazine Garo. This story established Tsuge as not only an influential manga-ka but also a major figure within Japan's counter-culture and art world at large. He is considered the originator and greatest practitioner of the semi-autobiographical "I-novel" genre of making comics. In 2005, Tsuge was nominated for the Best Album Award at Angoulême International, and in 2017 a survey of his work, A World Of Dreams And Travel, won the Japan Cartoonists Association Grand Award.

Reviews

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Als Meister der zynischen Erzählung behandelt Tsuge Themen der Einsamkeit, Sinnlosigkeit, Sexualität, Ausweglosigkeit und dem Tod. Er verzichtet dabei oft auf eine geradlinige Zielverfolgung innerhalb der Geschichten, was seinen Werken einen sehr nahbaren, wenn auch düsteren, Charakter verleiht.

[Mars Dorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird black and white short story collection of a mangaka that I knew very little about.

The stories of "Rote Blüten" are disturbing, weird, dingy, and surreal while protagonists behave passively, as if they've relented to their fate. This book is full of strange neighbors, stranger places, little clashes with nature and different aspects of Japanese culture.

So if you need upbeat and entertaining comfort food, this is not the manga you're looking for.

But if you're open for surreal and unorthodox storytelling with quirky characters, give this one
a chance.

After all, Yoshiharu Tsuge is a national treasure in Japan.