The Eastern Edge

Remember these guys from 20th Century Boys?

Yup, it's the comic creator duo Ujiko-Ujio.
If you are just discovering 20th Century Boys or reading the English edition, you won't meet them for a little while yet, but you likely won't forget this geeky twosome once you do.

The comic you see them presenting confidently to Yukiji in the above panel just appeared in Big Comic Spirits this week, and it's credited to Ujiko-Ujio (who actually drew it is a mystery, but whoever it is they did a great job.)

If you look closely at the whole scene from the comic (20th Century Boys, volume 5, pages 206 & 207), Ujiko-Ujio's "Aozora Chu‐Ihou" really is the comic the ridiculously nerdy, yet deadly serious creative team were working on in their studio when Kanna and Yukiji drop by.
Kanna's scorn and Yukiji's reaction are completely warrented because the comic is pure cheese!

But this isn't old cheddar or any form of gourmet cheese. This is cheese of the squeezable tube variety.

It is exactly what you'd expect from a romantic comedy by two beret-wearing nerds who live together and whose closest brushes with intimacy are when they brush by each other moving around their shoebox apartment.

That's what makes it fun, though, because it pokes fun at many of the geeky staples that are the foundation of otaku culture.
You have all the requisite elements, beginning with an innocent looking, yet incredibly well built airhead who has a knack for accidentally flashing the panties right on queue. She rocks the world of a well-meaning loser who fumbles through one ridiculously stupid situation to another in his clumsy pursuit of said bimbo. However, while the girl is naive and completely oblivious to their own sexuality, the boy is always acutely aware of it but has Chris Farley slapstick charm combined with the sexual maturity of Beavis and Butthead (much like the actual guys who read this drivel).
I think you get the idea.

Basically, if you've seen any of the vast supply of Japanese 'school days romantic comedies', then you know what to expect. Except this one is fun because it knows how silly it is and it throws it at you like a pie to the face.

Yukiji, of course, throws the pie right back at the creators with her scathing assessment of their work when she meets Ujiko-Ujio.

While the comic was a fun read, it is also a blatant ad for part two of the 20th Century Boys movie and comes along with an interview with the actor who plays Kakuta, the other manga artist from the 20th Century Boys 2014 story arch who got thrown in Umihotaru prison for drawing comics because they are banned by "tomodachi". If Ujiko-Ujio were the standard, I'd ban comics too, but that's another topic.
At the end there is also a call for letters from readers who want to see more Ujiko-Ujio, despite Yukiji and Kanna's harsh appraisal. Personally, I'd rather see Kakuta's manga, but if enough readers respond I’m sure we haven’t seen the last comic au gratin from Ujiko-Ujio.

This comic one shot event has been widely reported in manga fan circles and I'm sure the scanlators have it up by now, or will soon. Don't expect any insight into 20th Century Boys, though, because there is none to be found. This comic is just a fun parody, but definitely worth a look for fans.

On a side note, while flipping through the rest of Big Comics Spirits, a comic called "Alice from a far away star" by Toru Fujizawa stopped me from skimming right through the rest of the magazine. The art is what caught my eye because, while typical in style, it is very well done. He’s the man behind of Great Teacher Onizuka so I figure it’s worth a read. If it’s good (which, of course, means “if I like it”) I’ll give it a write up here.

That’s about it until at least tomorrow when, if all goes according to schedule, both Vagabond and Billy Bat are supposed to be in Weekly Morning at the same time.

I swear I saw a pig fly by my window this morning, too, so I have high hopes!