Misperceptions of Manga: The Push Man

The first thing I honestly thought of when Doc Clemente said we would be reading a classic manga, my heart leaped for joy! I was thinking something along the lines of Inuyasha, DragonBall Z, or Bleach! Then I stopped and realized that those weren't classics yet, as they hadn't been out that long! So my mind turned then to Astroboy and Speed Racer. Whatever manga we read would of course have to be something completely amazing! It was after all a manga! In my naiveté I was very unprepared for the intensity and non-fanciful Pushman.

Tatsumi's The Push Man and Other Stories is a anime that was intended to show life as it really was.... well, not quite anyway. But it's intention was to bring up real issues that occurred everyday in the Japanese culture, as well as ours. It's graphic images of intimacy (explicit and perverted), ideas of murder and mayhem, and it's subject matter of cheating relationships challenge the reader to acknowledge the existence of those very

things. It also gives insight into the minds of the people who deal with these situations day after day.

As far as the art goes, The Push Man is not what I would consider a typical manga. Yes, this manga is definitely in a league of its own, and certainly has fathered many manga-esque stories, but for a girl who grew up with DBZ, this is just not what I think of. All the characters are simply dra

wn with fairly proportionate features, albeit a great deal of eye make-up for the woman. No one seems to have that characteristic large gem colored eyes that constantly sparkle; the terribly long feathery lashes, nor do they have the funky hairstyles anime has become known for. However, both versions are true manga... just

generations apart. While The Push Man represents the classical style, and all those others the more modern style, then it's not that hard

as a reader to simply look at it that way. Thinking deeper, Tatsumi wanted us to not only identify with the characters but perceive life through their eyes, so maybe it was just his choice to draw them more "realistic."

Whatever the psychological depth or superficial nature of Push Man, it certainly encompasses very adult themes, and certainly makes the reader look closer at their own lives.