02/04/10
I'm going to Billyland!
Right off the bat (ehem), I must admit that I have no clue what's going on with Billy Bat anymore. I tried following it, and even aspired to providing commentary and historical context on this blog, but the story is going off in more directions than pedestrians crossing the Shibuya scramble, and I just don't have the patience for Urasawa's notoriously irregular schedule. As a serial, Billy Bat is a disaster so far. In fact, I'm beginning to worry that the way Urasawa stumbled across the finish line with 20th Century Boys has carried over into Billy Bat. I hope I'm wrong but I'm worried.
However, whether Urasawa's grand plan will begin to reveal itself and make me ashamed for ever doubting him, or if I'm in for the biggest let down since Jodie Foster's father was at the end of the wormhole in Contact, remains to be seen. I still hold out hope and will see how it goes as the tankobon come out.
Even though I've long since abandoned the serial, every so often Billy Bat appears with Vagabond in Morning and I have a quick look at what's going on. Well, today is Thursday and there is a Vagabond episode this week, so that means I bought Weekly Morning. This week's issue has the latest Billy Bat, which, of course, I didn't read because the episodes on their own now make about as much sense as a Japanese government policy speech. But skimming through it was worthwhile because of this gem on the last page;
Genius!
However good or bad Billy Bat ends up becoming, there's no doubt that Urasawa will still have his moments!
4 comments
On the other hand Billy Bat seems to be... lacking the spirit present in either of those (or even Monster). It's a very detached, objective series so far. The focus seems to be primarily on the mystery, which isn't a problem for me because it's really intriguing, but the larger scope he's aiming for seems to have lost the subjective, emotional angle coming from the characters which have always been one of Urasawa's strong points.
Or perhaps he's just exhausted after 20 years of writing good to exceptional work often simultaneously.
great last page though xD
I think you're right on with that assessment!
I still find Billy Bat very interesting, but I'm having trouble caring so far.
But it's only just begun so we'll have to see how it goes.
Santi,
Yup, I'm hoping that we will eventually see some Urasawa magic too!
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