From the same author of the now famous work Dose Mansionrecipient of the Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2011, yet another masterpiece by Hisae Iwaokatitled Aomanju. The forest of spiritsreleased in Italy last November 11 for the series Aiken Of BAO Publishing. We have read and reviewed the first volume for you and, below, you will find our impressions.
Let’s start first from the plot: in the forest of Hoshigahara there is a small house inhabited by somewhat bizarre characters, who are in reality all spirits capable of opening our eyes to the many aspects of human existence. In fact, it is enough to meet them, observe and listen to them, to understand that everything around us has a soul. This is the common thread that binds Soichi, Mughi, Citrine, Sapienza and all the other characters in this story.
- Original title: Hoshi ga Hara Aa Manjuu no Mori
- Italian title: Aomanjū – The forest of spirits
- Japanese release: 2008
- Italian release: November 11, 2022
- Number of Volumes: 5 (in progress)
- Publishing house: BAO Publishing
- Type: Fantasy, sentimental
- Drawings: Hisae Iwaoka
- History: Hisae Iwaoka
- Format: 12.6 x 18, paperback, dust jacket
- Number of pages: 208
We have reviewed Aomanjū – The forest of spirits through the press volume provided to us by BAO Publishing.
Spirits are all around us
The characters we meet while reading this first volume are numerous and, save for the main protagonist and a few other human figures, they are almost all spirits: first we have Soichi, the owner of the small house-inn in the middle of the forest, a welcoming, thoughtful and kind boy who hosts anyone in his small home. Then there is her trusted friend Mughispirit of a now suppressed lily of the valley plant, now in the guise of a very sweet little girl with long and voluminous hair; Citrinethe rooster who was so named because at the time of his birth he was all yellow, and then again Wisdom, the spirit of the Encyclopedia who knows many things. Among the secondary characters we find the Frogthe Windthe Doors (middle-aged twin men dressed to the nines), and more. In general we can state that even the characters who play a marginal role are perfectly characterized from every point of view.
A dreamlike journey to discover oneself and the other
The selling point of this josei lies in knowing how to develop the plot around the theme of travel and ofexplorationintended both in a concrete sense and in a figurative sense: the reader, in fact, leafing through the pages of this manga, will be led to immerse himself totally in the story and will be enraptured by enchanted and fascinating places, which he will discover gradually, immersing himself in feet. It is therefore a dreamlike journey to discover oneself and the other, which can also symbolize growth and the acquisition of greater awareness: the characters show their insecurities, their fears, but slowly they also manage to overcome and accept them. Once again Hisae Iwaoka surprises us with her delicacy, with which she addresses issues of psychoanalysis magically making them within everyone’s reach; noteworthy is the creation of a “parallel world” populated by subjects, natural elements and objects which, if apparently the most common and banal, turn out to be animated and personified each by a different spirit and with precise characteristics.
Simplicity and sophistication
From a technical point of view we can admire a clean and precise stroke of the illustrations, which compose extremely refined tableswhich leave the audience speechless: simple but decisive lines give life to rounded and harmonic figures. Unlike the previous works, in which the manga artist had concentrated mostly on the creation of detailed architectures, with this new work Iwaoka wanted to launch herself a challenge which, despite some small difficulties, saw her as the winner: illustrating a forest composed of natural elements such as plants, flowers, leaves, branches, all in the smallest details and rendered from various perspectives, including the one from top to bottom, which we now know to be a peculiar characteristic of the author.
In terms of quality-price we can say that € 8.90 is perhaps a little too much for each volume of the five that make up the series; on the other hand though, what we are faced with is certainly a quality product both for the thickness of the paper with which it was made, and for the beauty of the illustrations (including those on the cover) and the exciting messages it intends to convey, therefore the money used to purchase the complete work would still be well spent.
Who do we recommend Aomanjū – The Forest of Spirits to?
If you love stories that always contain a pinch of magic, if you like nature and if you also believe that everything, even the simplest and most unexpected, has a soul, then you can’t help but read “Aomanjū – The forest of spirits”. The first volume examined here presents us with what will be a sweet, exciting and thought-provoking series, with teachings veiled on every page. A masterpiece of psychological introspection with breathtaking illustrations, absolutely not to be missed if you are a fan of Hisae Iwaoka, but also if you don’t know this mangaka yet and want to approach its contents for the first time.
There is a house-inn, in the middle of the forest, and an affable and kind boy will welcome you if you pass by. Except that the house is invisible to the eye of ordinary people, and its guests are all, in one way or another, spirits. And what is that boy looking for, willing to – indeed, eager to – help anyone who meets him? Iwaoka Hisae tells a story a few steps removed from modern metropolitan everyday life, but imbued with poetry and tenderness, but also with depth of analysis of the soul. If the chicken who regrets being grown up, because he believes that if he stayed a chick he wouldn’t have been abandoned by his human hes won’t move you, well, you’re stronger than us.
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- Immediate and delicate style
- Simple yet detailed illustrations
- Topics of psychoanalysis within everyone’s reach
Aomanjū – The forest of spirits
The principle of a series to collect
Always compared to those of AA Milne (creator of Winnie The Pooh), Hisae Iwaoka’s works are characterized by an unmistakably tender and immediate style, where simplicity and at the same time attention to detail merge into one, giving life to illustrations and narratives that paint a daily life imbued with dreaminess and magic. The same is true for this last work by the author: Aomanjū – The forest of spirits is a real hymn to Japanese folklore, a sort of modern fairy tale in which realistic and fantastic elements complement each other. A first volume destined to be the forerunner of a series to collect, both from an aesthetic point of view and from that of content.
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