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Recursions and inversions that a time loop can reverse. Along various axes.
Sometimes, the levels of recursion are obvious: Bakuman is about the struggles of a pair of teenagers, a writer and illustrator, to become manga creators for Shonen Jump, the magazine that publishes Bakuman. The loop creates is short-lived -- to be replaced by interest in the struggle to become manga creators for Shonen Jump. The series is at its best with the nitty and gritty details of how the manga business works at the pressure cooker of the industry's largest magazine. Much of the rest is kinda meh, actually -- especially the boys' relationships with their girlfriends, which was almost the sole carrier of civilian drama until the recent hospital arc, which was as stupid as a bag of clown shoes. But the boys' creative lives as they learn the ropes, that's where it fascinates. Licensed edition coming soon from Viz, scans current.
For a better recursion, there's Omae ga Sekai o Kowaishitei nara ("If You Wanna Break Out of This World"). When an old vampire turns a teenage girl who turns out to be the reincarnation of the vampire who turned him, the power games make for interesting feedback loops. The story adds thematic texture with other reincarnation loops, and other short-circuits. Yes, in some ways it's just another vampire story, with very Western vampires, but I love that sketchy art style. Two volumes, unlicensed, scans complete.
Recursing in another direction, there's the time loops of The Girl Who Lept Through Time -- multiple and overlapping, most which ultimately get canceled out in one way or another. I'm not entirely sure it landed the conclusion, as the plot logic seems to have been overridden by emotional logic, but otherwise the plotting is tight -- as needed in a time travel story. The animators made good use of their feature film budget, too, without getting too flashy about it. (Though, am I the only one to get Azumanga Daioh flashbacks from some of the character designs?) Licensed DVD released and readily available.
So why do some recursions work better than others? Meta itself isn't necessarily the best sort, or Bakuman would work better, though when done well meta can be most excellent. Thoughts?
---L.
Sometimes, the levels of recursion are obvious: Bakuman is about the struggles of a pair of teenagers, a writer and illustrator, to become manga creators for Shonen Jump, the magazine that publishes Bakuman. The loop creates is short-lived -- to be replaced by interest in the struggle to become manga creators for Shonen Jump. The series is at its best with the nitty and gritty details of how the manga business works at the pressure cooker of the industry's largest magazine. Much of the rest is kinda meh, actually -- especially the boys' relationships with their girlfriends, which was almost the sole carrier of civilian drama until the recent hospital arc, which was as stupid as a bag of clown shoes. But the boys' creative lives as they learn the ropes, that's where it fascinates. Licensed edition coming soon from Viz, scans current.
For a better recursion, there's Omae ga Sekai o Kowaishitei nara ("If You Wanna Break Out of This World"). When an old vampire turns a teenage girl who turns out to be the reincarnation of the vampire who turned him, the power games make for interesting feedback loops. The story adds thematic texture with other reincarnation loops, and other short-circuits. Yes, in some ways it's just another vampire story, with very Western vampires, but I love that sketchy art style. Two volumes, unlicensed, scans complete.
Recursing in another direction, there's the time loops of The Girl Who Lept Through Time -- multiple and overlapping, most which ultimately get canceled out in one way or another. I'm not entirely sure it landed the conclusion, as the plot logic seems to have been overridden by emotional logic, but otherwise the plotting is tight -- as needed in a time travel story. The animators made good use of their feature film budget, too, without getting too flashy about it. (Though, am I the only one to get Azumanga Daioh flashbacks from some of the character designs?) Licensed DVD released and readily available.
So why do some recursions work better than others? Meta itself isn't necessarily the best sort, or Bakuman would work better, though when done well meta can be most excellent. Thoughts?
---L.