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abookishbalance 's review for:
Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey Vol. 1
by Akiko Higashimura
4.5/5 stars
Blank Canvas is the autobiographical manga of Akiko Higashimura, best known for her Princess Jellyfish series. We follow Hiyashi on her journey to become a shoujo mangaka. In this first volume Hiyashi is in high school and is trying to get into a good art school for university.
I was recommended Blank Canvas by a friend, partially because I myself enjoy art. Ultimately, I do agree that if you are an artist, or do art as a hobby then this is a fantastic read to pick up. I can definitely relate to some of the pigheadedness Hiyashi feels in regards to her skillthough all I need to turn it down a notch is to admire artists who are more talented than myself, and there are plenty and I found her determination to pursue her passion very inspiring. Higashimura’s talent also pops off the page and this manga does well to showcase her skill. She has a pretty distinctive style, so much so that when I was reading this volume my husband felt compelled to ask me if I was reading manga because the art is so different from what I tend to read.
In regards to the story, Higashimura is a really talented storyteller and her memoir is extremely engaging and entertaining. There’s also a melancholy air throughout the story, but more on that later. Something of interest for me in this volume was learning about the Japanese university entrance system at the time. In particular, the methods Hiyashi used to study for her entrance exams were extremely shocking, but very entertaining. Also, if you’ve ever been a university student or applied to university there’s a lot that’s easy to relate to here, overconfidence, failure, that bond between yourself and potential cohorts (these scenes in particular were some of my favourites). While nothing particularly ground breaking is happening in the story, Higashimura successfully captures every day life while still making things both entertaining and relatable.
As for the characters, Hiyashi’s overinflated ego should be off-putting, but its balanced out well by humour. She’s extremely likeable and charming, and though her attitude towards school is less than ideal, her ambition towards art is extremely motivating and inspiring. The side characters are all likeable, though not particularly fleshed out. I don’t actually have a problem with this though, because I feel it reflects on how self-centred Hiyashi is. The most important character, aside from Hiyashi, is Hiyashi’s mentor and teacher, Hidaka. Hidaka is an incredibility talented artist, and an incredibly harsh teacher. Hiyashi does not get along with him initially, but we see their relationship change over time, and its this relationship, and Hiyashi’s attitude towards it later in life, that brings about the melancholy atmosphere that is pervasive throughout the story. So a bit of backstory on me, two years ago I lost one of the prominent father figures in my life. He was someone who always supported every interest I had. I was a math major and he was the only person outside of my math peers who would wish me happy pi day, or send me math memes. He was interested in what I read, and got me to read the Hunger Games, and would tell me about the rare times he watched anime. Hidaka reminds me a lot of him in the way Hidaka supports and looks after his students, and ultimately wants what’s best for them. The chapters in this volume often end with Hiyashi reminiscing on times with Hidaka, and there is something about these moments that really just takes me back. They’re often impactful enough scenes, at least for me personally, that they have me close-to or in tears and I just never expected a story to be able to have such a profound impact on me. I know this story isn’t going to hit everyone the same way it’s gotten to me, but because I’ve made a personal connection with this story it’s become so important to me and I love it so much.
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Blank Canvas is the autobiographical manga of Akiko Higashimura, best known for her Princess Jellyfish series. We follow Hiyashi on her journey to become a shoujo mangaka. In this first volume Hiyashi is in high school and is trying to get into a good art school for university.
I was recommended Blank Canvas by a friend, partially because I myself enjoy art. Ultimately, I do agree that if you are an artist, or do art as a hobby then this is a fantastic read to pick up. I can definitely relate to some of the pigheadedness Hiyashi feels in regards to her skill
In regards to the story, Higashimura is a really talented storyteller and her memoir is extremely engaging and entertaining. There’s also a melancholy air throughout the story, but more on that later. Something of interest for me in this volume was learning about the Japanese university entrance system at the time. In particular, the methods Hiyashi used to study for her entrance exams were extremely shocking, but very entertaining. Also, if you’ve ever been a university student or applied to university there’s a lot that’s easy to relate to here, overconfidence, failure, that bond between yourself and potential cohorts (these scenes in particular were some of my favourites). While nothing particularly ground breaking is happening in the story, Higashimura successfully captures every day life while still making things both entertaining and relatable.
As for the characters, Hiyashi’s overinflated ego should be off-putting, but its balanced out well by humour. She’s extremely likeable and charming, and though her attitude towards school is less than ideal, her ambition towards art is extremely motivating and inspiring. The side characters are all likeable, though not particularly fleshed out. I don’t actually have a problem with this though, because I feel it reflects on how self-centred Hiyashi is. The most important character, aside from Hiyashi, is Hiyashi’s mentor and teacher, Hidaka. Hidaka is an incredibility talented artist, and an incredibly harsh teacher. Hiyashi does not get along with him initially, but we see their relationship change over time, and its this relationship, and Hiyashi’s attitude towards it later in life, that brings about the melancholy atmosphere that is pervasive throughout the story. So a bit of backstory on me, two years ago I lost one of the prominent father figures in my life. He was someone who always supported every interest I had. I was a math major and he was the only person outside of my math peers who would wish me happy pi day, or send me math memes. He was interested in what I read, and got me to read the Hunger Games, and would tell me about the rare times he watched anime. Hidaka reminds me a lot of him in the way Hidaka supports and looks after his students, and ultimately wants what’s best for them. The chapters in this volume often end with Hiyashi reminiscing on times with Hidaka, and there is something about these moments that really just takes me back. They’re often impactful enough scenes, at least for me personally, that they have me close-to or in tears and I just never expected a story to be able to have such a profound impact on me. I know this story isn’t going to hit everyone the same way it’s gotten to me, but because I’ve made a personal connection with this story it’s become so important to me and I love it so much.
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