22 reviewed Nonnonba by Shigeru Mizuki
Review of 'Nonnonba' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A yōkai (妖怪, same word as used in the Japanese translation of the first sentence of the Communist Manifesto; also note the casual misogyny in the character 妖 meaning both “calamity” and “attractive”, incorporating the characters for “woman” 女 and “early death” 夭) in the form of a wart that makes young Shigeru (“Gege”) suddenly very good at school. The wart-phantom points out, pleading for its life, “This country is a pretty good place if you can pass tests.” Gege has to agree: “I guess so. Everyone treats you differently when you do well on tests. Life isn’t about your actual talent.”
This memoir–manga is absolutely awesome: I explained death to my young children using the imagery of the Hundred Thousandth World, and the universality of young death in those early days of modern medicine. It’s a really meaningful memoir of a boy’s days as a boy. Shigeru Mizuki is …
A yōkai (妖怪, same word as used in the Japanese translation of the first sentence of the Communist Manifesto; also note the casual misogyny in the character 妖 meaning both “calamity” and “attractive”, incorporating the characters for “woman” 女 and “early death” 夭) in the form of a wart that makes young Shigeru (“Gege”) suddenly very good at school. The wart-phantom points out, pleading for its life, “This country is a pretty good place if you can pass tests.” Gege has to agree: “I guess so. Everyone treats you differently when you do well on tests. Life isn’t about your actual talent.”
This memoir–manga is absolutely awesome: I explained death to my young children using the imagery of the Hundred Thousandth World, and the universality of young death in those early days of modern medicine. It’s a really meaningful memoir of a boy’s days as a boy. Shigeru Mizuki is a national treasure.
