MMF Guest Post on The Panelists

I wrote about Japanese cartoonist Mitsuru Adachi’s Cross Game for group blog The Panelists as part of the monthly Manga Moveable Feast blogging event (wow, that’s a lot of links). I analyzed a few of Adachi’s narrative and structural techniques and talked about how Cross Game differs from other sports manga. You can find the other MMF contributions on Cross Game here.

One point that I would have liked to mention but couldn’t find a way to include in my piece is that Adachi is a very strong cartoonist. He has a great economy of line but still manages to create a sense of energy in his cartooning when necessary. His style also strikes an interesting balance between the influence of older Japanese cartoonists such as Tezuka and an incorporation of more modern approaches. In other words, Cross Game or any of Adachi’s other recent works are worth reading for the art alone, though the stories are good genre fun too.