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Cigarette Girl by Masahiko Matsumoto, Spencer Fancutt, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Sean Michael Wilson
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'Cigarette Girl' by Masahiko Matsumoto is a collection of manga from the 1970s. These stories come from the alternative comics movement known as "gekiga."
There are 11 stories collected here and they are about normal people and lives that don't feel fulfilled. One story follows an older lady as she tries to make her way as a condom salesperson. She ends up not being very good at sales, but pretty good at getting entangled in people's lives. In another story, a man buys cigarettes, not because he smokes, but because he secretly likes the woman who sells them.
Alternative and mature should be described more as indie film. The stories tell quiet stories of people interacting in each others lives and the solitude and isolation that can be felt even in a crowd of people. This volume also includes some essays about the artist and the work. It's an interesting collection of stories and I'm glad I got a chance to read it.
I received a review copy of this manga from Top Shelf Productions, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.
There are 11 stories collected here and they are about normal people and lives that don't feel fulfilled. One story follows an older lady as she tries to make her way as a condom salesperson. She ends up not being very good at sales, but pretty good at getting entangled in people's lives. In another story, a man buys cigarettes, not because he smokes, but because he secretly likes the woman who sells them.
Alternative and mature should be described more as indie film. The stories tell quiet stories of people interacting in each others lives and the solitude and isolation that can be felt even in a crowd of people. This volume also includes some essays about the artist and the work. It's an interesting collection of stories and I'm glad I got a chance to read it.
I received a review copy of this manga from Top Shelf Productions, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.
mcglat's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Fun little collection of romantic vignettes seen through a heavy blanket of urban ennui. The characters in these one-off stories find themselves in romantic entanglements for awkward/funny/nonstandard reasons and we just get little slices of each situation. Each story is 10-20 pages except for a 6-part arc that follows one character in the middle of the collection.
I have to say I didn’t find the art very compelling at first - flat, unexpressive? - but it grew on me a bit as the collection went on. I ended up feeling that Matsumoto’s style served the collection’s narrative aims pretty well, depicting the little worlds its characters were drifting through, with lots of stories taking place between tiny apartments.
Overall a fun read and a cool glimpse into manga history, as I understand Matsumoto’s techniques were quite influential. While it took a bit to get used to the tone and pacing, the stories in this collection provide a nice portrait of unsure, fumbling young people figuring out their lives in the city.
I have to say I didn’t find the art very compelling at first - flat, unexpressive? - but it grew on me a bit as the collection went on. I ended up feeling that Matsumoto’s style served the collection’s narrative aims pretty well, depicting the little worlds its characters were drifting through, with lots of stories taking place between tiny apartments.
Overall a fun read and a cool glimpse into manga history, as I understand Matsumoto’s techniques were quite influential. While it took a bit to get used to the tone and pacing, the stories in this collection provide a nice portrait of unsure, fumbling young people figuring out their lives in the city.
chelseamartinez's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great collection of stories from the 1970s; as the front matter discusses, the everyday subject material was out of vogue at the time but depicts non-fantasy life in Japan so well (I am going to visit in March and it has given me a picture of how I might want to spend my time exploring cities and towns). I will admit that the right-to-left format still slows me down and possibly prevented me from getting some of the visual gags or story elements, but I just need to read more in this format. I love the way street noise and exclamations are illustrated and would love to see a short film based on the condom selling!
bluenicorn's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure that I totally understood everything going on here... unless it really was just going for a sort of "slice-of-life wherein most things are terrible" thing. Which is not an insult- just important to realize before diving in. I think the person who used the "quiet lives of desperation" reference really nailed it. There were moments of tenderness, vulnerability, and and so on; but most things are kind of lousy and it goes on. Not bad, and important for "the canon" but not something I'd want to read on my own.
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
3.0
Stop, don't pick up this book, don't even consider this volume, if your idea of manga is full of pretty girls or robots or gods. This book is not for you.
Mashiko wrote about the downtrodden, the poor, the forgotten. I have read other volumes of his, and they are sad, and very slice of life. They are not happy, with heroes fighting crime, or cooking, or playing sports. These people are selling condoms door to door, or flirting with the cigarette seller on the corner. Sometimes the stories end with a resolution, but not always happy. Sometimes they just end.
So, if you want a different slice of Japanese manga, this might be the book for you.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Mashiko wrote about the downtrodden, the poor, the forgotten. I have read other volumes of his, and they are sad, and very slice of life. They are not happy, with heroes fighting crime, or cooking, or playing sports. These people are selling condoms door to door, or flirting with the cigarette seller on the corner. Sometimes the stories end with a resolution, but not always happy. Sometimes they just end.
So, if you want a different slice of Japanese manga, this might be the book for you.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
critterbee's review against another edition
2.0
Has a sparse, abbreviated feel, even when the frames are filled with text and drawing. The story is somehow aloof, withdrawn, bitter, emotionally stilted and dispassionate all at the same time. Honestly, it reminds me of some people male humans of my acquaintance. The story is set in Tokyo, and reminded me so much of the minor, seemingly unimportant things that I somehow miss and do not miss from living in Japan. The little things that remind me of everything.
Cigarette Girl overwhelmed me with the imagery, and left me feeling cold and a little down.
**eARC Netgalley**
Cigarette Girl overwhelmed me with the imagery, and left me feeling cold and a little down.
**eARC Netgalley**
happentobeshort's review
2.0
This is a very realistic portrayal of life in Japan in manga form. So if you're expecting something a bit more dressed up or even uplifting, probably don't pick this up. It's not bad, it's just very blunt. To the point, so to speak. It is very realistic basically. The stories are about the regular people and their problems, the downtrodden and ignored.
Long story short, I didn't really enjoy this. The art style was amusing and cute and in a way reminded me of [a:Mohammad Nor Khalid|342982|Mohammad Nor Khalid|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1381718763p2/342982.jpg], but I felt like this book didn't really have much heart to it. JUST MY ONION!!!
https://hercommonplaceblog.wordpress.com/
Long story short, I didn't really enjoy this. The art style was amusing and cute and in a way reminded me of [a:Mohammad Nor Khalid|342982|Mohammad Nor Khalid|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1381718763p2/342982.jpg], but I felt like this book didn't really have much heart to it. JUST MY ONION!!!
https://hercommonplaceblog.wordpress.com/
dedda's review
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jameseckman's review
3.0
Lower class slices of life from the mid-70's and prior, not erotic or violent and usually a bit funny with art that is not cutesy. Mostly hapless romantics and failures making their way through the world. The door to door condom saleswoman Happy-chan chapters were especially weirdly funny. The living conditions would seem unreal to an American, but lower end Japanese apartments used to be pretty terrible, like many parts of the US at one time.
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