Aion
Time-Traveller
Hypothetically speaking, if you were in bed with Iori and she asked you this, what would you say? (You're gay if you say you wouldn't lie, btw.)
Before I received my latest credit card statement (which informed me that *someone* had managed to spend £135 with it on PayPal...), I paid something close to £70 on all 15 volumes of I''s. I was on something of a high after being surprised by its excellently executed six episode OVA (I''s Pure), and discovering that the series had been licensed and fully released by Viz was like getting an early, non-cheap Christmas present. And the fact that all 15 volumes were/are selling for between £4.20-£4.90 each made me think of it as fate leading me to buy the series... well, that's how I tried to justify spending so much, anyway!
I did hesitate a little before buying though, I must confess. Y'see, what happened was this: right when I was on the verge of clicking 'confirm order', it came to my attention that Viz had, rather oddly, decided to censor an ecchi manga in order to avoid upsetting all the teenage boys who are disgusted by female nipples. Obviously, in the end I did order the series anyway, my main reasoning for ordering being that reading books on my bed is far more enjoyable than reading 100's of pages on my PC screen, but the lengthy threads on the subject scattered across the internet did make me think twice.
After reading the entire series, I think Viz were idiotic to do such a thing to an ecchi manga... but I also think that the fan reaction on the net was over the top. Despite having a fair few panty-shots and some nipples on show, there really wasn't THAT much to edit out; only the trip in volume eight having a lot of 'service' all at once. When I checked out some unedited scans, I was actually surprised to see that Katsura hadn't drawn nipples poking through swimsuits, and that he'd actually used steam to censor some parts himself. What made Viz's decision even more silly was the fact that, around halfway through, they left Itsuki's naked bodysuit (nipples and all) in uncensored - presumably because it wasn't her real body. And the decision to censor the manga was made to look even more dumb towards the end when, with most of the best stuff censored, they decided to release the final five volumes in their completely uncensored glory - sealed in plastic. Why on earth didn't they just do that to start with? Seriously, sometimes people just bring trouble onto themselves, and Viz most certainly did so by giving the nipple-loving fanbase of I''s every excuse to remain as cheapskates. They upset people and lost money, but they gained nothing good to compensate for their losses - not good business.
The same expression was worn by many young men when they learned of Viz's ingenious plans to protect them from the threat of nipples.
Before moving on, whilst on the topic of artwork, I'd like to point out that Katsura's character artwork is both pleasing (for my penis) and extremely detailed. The amount of white backgrounds did leave me feeling a little disappointed, but the attention he paid to his characters didn't. When I was reading Love Roma the other day, I noticed that its mangaka could only handle extreme emotions; using 'reverse triangle mouths', deformed faces and the like frequently. It also troubled me how the characters' eyes never seemed to be looking at each other. In comparison, Katsura's work is on another level, and I think what impressed me the most was how he handled the 'in-between' emotions expressed through facial expressions. He was always able to have his characters displaying their emotions through their faces, rather than needing to rely on dialogue, and that says a lot good about his skills as an artist. And, of course, it almost goes without saying that he's a master at drawing young females in panties... though I'm not sure if I should highlight that as a serious plus point?
Now, moving away from censorship and panties, as I've pointed out already, I started the I''s manga because of I''s Pure. Before reading the manga, I assumed that Pure would turn out to be a largely faithful adaptation, despite its short length; my thinking being that only the 'filler'' content that often gets inserted into romantic comedies and never leads to anything got cut. I also believed that the last episode, with its one-year timeskip, rushed through the manga content a little... though it didn't bother me greatly when I watched it.
I was right with both my assumptions: nearly all of the manga content that didn't get included wasn't necessary for the story to work, and the last episode crammed in a lot of volumes. In terms of pacing, Pure has the manga beaten, but SOME of the content cut did take away from the overall quality, and lead to some frustration (for me, anyway) at the end.
FYI, this is how I look when I find out that (yet again) I'm right; minus the cuteness.
The problem with what was cut is, quite simply, that EVERY scene showing Ichi and Iori getting close got removed when the manga was adapted.
Hiding together together in bed, dangerously close to each other, in an attempt to avoid being discovered by a teacher whilst on a school trip? Gone.
Forced into bed together because of a game, with Iori ending up KIND OF kissing Ichi? Gone.
Ichi trying to kiss Iori and getting slapped? Gone.
Ichi pushing Iori down on his bed and coming close to having sex with her on Christmas Eve? Half-gone; only Ichi's pre-bed fantasy getting shown as part of an extra.
Ichi and Iori first getting in the shower together, then getting in bed together and (FINALLY!) kissing - the two coming the closest they got to having sex? Gone.
Iori kissing Ichi in his apartment? Gone.
...So, yeah, basically EVERYTHING showing physical contact between the two got removed, and that took away from the OVA. It was frustrating to sit through 15 volumes of Ichi and Iori doing very little, before the series ended with the two just holding hands, so the anime version would've been very painful to endure had it not been so short. At the very least, the anime studio should've ended it with the two kissing, rather than having them shake hands... even in the manga they held hands like lovers!
To be fair to those behind Pure, it has to be said that the vast majority of what was cut was meaningless; being very fun to read but no more. For example, the part where Ichi and Iori are forced play a game by their classmates, with Iori ending up KIND OF kissing Ichi, never lead to anything - it never getting mentioned later on. The vast majority of other cut content can also be described as pointless, the worst offender probably being the first school trip, which involved Ichi trying to confess his love and Iori covering her ears because she thought he was trying to tell her a ghost story to scare her. (Females...)
I imagine I often looked like this when reading, out of frustration at everything going around in one big circle. Damn I''s for being so addictive...
Don't get me wrong when I say this because I AM a fan of the tension Katsura inserted throughout the whole of I''s - me never, ever being bored by the story - but it was clear at times that he had the characters do illogical things in order for the main two not to speak to each other for a lengthy period of time; extending the story by doing so. The supporting characters would then come in, offering advice and whatnot, and the story would grind to a halt. This happened time and time again and, if not for my love of this type of series, it probably would've driven me crazy.
There are a few good examples of this, the first being when Iori slapped Ichi after he tried to kiss her. She'd previously KIND OF kissed him, had been happy to get into bed with him, clearly liked him AND had even asked for him to express his feelings JUST BEFORE he tried to kiss her... and yet, when he did go in for the kiss, she slapped him and then gave him the silent treatment. Due to the story being told from only Ichi's perspective, her reasoning was never explained, and the two simply didn't speak to each other until their classmates went on a trip - the issue never being mentioned. If Iori had known that Ichi had received a video from Itsuki and was attempting to kiss her in order to to avoid re-entering into a love triangle, it would've made sense, but she didn't know.
Iori may be using the expression, but it should be used on her... Stupid women/girls/females!
A little later on in the story, during the Christmas Eve section, there's another good example of Katsura making Iori do something illogical in order for the story to drag-on further. With the two on Ichi's bed - after Iori had Ichi turn the lights off - she started to say something to Ichi when he went for her (uncovered) boobs, which made him a little uncertain about if she wanted to continue. They then stopped, Iori going silent when Ichi asked about if they were a couple. After that, even though Ichi had clearly told Iori to call him, she didn't for a month - her excuse being that she thought he'd blew her off! I mean, I could've understood where she was supposed to be coming from if she hadn't A) made Ichi stop touching her boobs, B) not answered Ichi's question about them being a couple and C) hadn't been told by Ichi to call him. I know nothing ever really happens in romantic comedies like this until the business end of the proceedings but, seriously, Katsura should've done a better job of hiding the fact he didn't want anything meaningful to happen before a lot of chapters had been released.
Linking into the above, the biggest weakness of I''s - besides how much of the content could be removed without it doing much damage - is Iori's actions, and her reasons for liking Ichi. There was never really a proper connection between the two; Iori simply remaining as Ichi's 'dream girl' throughout. She even pointed out that she couldn't talk to him about her problems at work because he didn't understand her. I was able to relate to and understand Ichi's character, even forgiving him for kissing/groping Izumi (Itsuki's clone; needlessly chucked in to further extend the chapter count after Itsuki went bye-bye early) due to the circumstances surrounding his mistakes always getting fully explored, but Iori always remained distant. Towards the end of the story, when she wasn't supposed to have no time for Ichi due to work, she's shown going to the apartment of another guy, and that left her looking like a bitch/slut - in spite of Ichi's antics - due to the logic behind her actions never getting explained. In short, I found her cute (there should've been more of her jealous side shown!) and could fully understand why Ichi wanted her, but I was never able to fully understand her character because of the presentation of the story.
It's ok, Ichi - I forgive you. Being a male, you're allowed to snog/grope other women whilst dating. However, that cheating bitch Iori... GRRRRRR.
...I've been a bit negative, haven't I? Well, my thoughts about the execution of the manga aren't all negative. In fact, even though the ending of I''s was weak, the run-up to the ending actually made me think of the manga as being equal to its anime adaptation; if not better. Where as the anime packed ALL of the story relating to Ichi and Iori trying to have a relationship whilst Iori got pulled towards being an idol/actress into the last episode, the manga spent something like five volumes showing how much strain her work was putting on herself and her relationship with Ichi. She had no time for Ichi, and the two were forced to keep their relationship a secret in order for her popularity not to take a dent due to her having a boyfriend, and that left Ichi feeling both isolated and inferior. I blazed through the final stretch; me feeling bad for the pair of them but unable to put the books down in order to see what happened next. In the case of the anime there wasn't much time for me to feel much of anything about the situation, but when reading the manga it moved me when, out of anger at Iori going with him to see a four hour movie connected to her work (on a very rare date) and her being overly-friendly with an actor, he shouted at her about being unable to handle it; leaving her behind.
With how crazy the Japanese seem to go over their idols, it must be hell for a normal guy to date one! I'm still at a loss as to why Iori didn't just declare herself to be taken and get on with her career, but I guess being an up and coming actress in Japan is different? It must be linked in to how the crazy otaku guys want their favourite female characters to remain as virgins forever...
This doesn't happen in real life. Why, you ask? Don't ask me - ask God. He created women; not me.
Anyway: I think I'm pretty much done. As ever, I have moaned a bit but, by and large, I''s only suffers from the flaws other similar romantic comedies suffer from. It's just that Katsura failed to explore Iori's character to the max when he had the chances to do so, and that prevented the main relationship from coming across as 'real', it also resulting in her decisions often making little to no sense. But, really, had the two slept together; cementing their relationship, I probably wouldn't care a great deal. I've gone on record to say that Maison Ikkoku could've had around a third of its chapter count removed without issue, and I still rated that 9/10! I tend to be very forgiving with regards to pacing issues and 'filler' when it comes to this genre, and you have to be that way to get decent enjoyment out of the titles. The series ending after 143 chapters, with the main two simply walking down a street, hand-in-hand, left me feeling a little unsatisfied, and it could've been avoided if Katsura had put in a little more effort - that's what annoys me the most about I''s. Even with all of its issues, I might've given 9/10 if it'd ended more tidily...
Next up, I think Video Girl Ai will be getting a looksee. I'm starting to like this Katsura fella!
