Little Cry Baby

As I always like to start things on a high note, I'm going to begin first with the production quality of this manga. Little Cry Baby by Keiko Kinoshita is published by Juné, a subsidiary of Digital Manga Publishing. For those of you familiar with Juné, you know what that means; oversized volumes with glossy, color dust jackets. One of the first things I noticed about this book is that the paper quality is extra fine. It's definitely a cut above the more traditional newspaper-like type fare. I have to praise Juné for making this a very well produced and sleek volume. If only that were enough to make up for the other flaws.

My biggest complaint is the artwork. It's not bad, it's just that the artist draws with such a light touch. In many places the scenes and characters are almost indistinct. It gave me the impression of being unfinished. The art doesn't so much draw the eyes to it, as strain them in an attempt to see what's going on. This is really a shame as Keiko Kinoshita's style is actually quite nice. We all have those books in which even the simplest drawing of a face holds us enthralled. I didn't find that here but the thing is, I feel like it was just out of reach. If the artist had been a little bolder, I believe the magic which captures us when we see a finely executed drawing would be there.

This brings us to the stories. It's always been my personal contention that the story is what ultimately carries a manga. I admit I can live without a great story if the artist gives me drawings of guys that are over the top yummy. I can forgive even mediocre art if the tale is one that truly touches me. But I'm not happy when both these things are lacking. Little Cry Baby contains six stories although two of the six feature the same characters. The title story and most of the others, are at best, nice, somewhat enjoyable but mostly average. I found myself, for the most part, unmoved by the characters as they sorted out their various problems, most of which were love related. This is one thing I dislike about anthologies. It's hard to get involved when there is so little time allowed in a short story to get to know the characters.

I was touched by the third story, "Raika," which is actually not romantic in nature. A man, Tsukishiro, is given a humanoid dog. This 'pup' was apparently the invention of his estranged and now deceased father. This tale is obviously meant to be somewhat futuristic in nature. Other than the humanoid dog and some mention of cars without wheels, there's not much evidence to support that idea, not that it's really important to the story. What this tale nicely conveys is how a man, embittered by the desertion of his father, is finally able to open his heart to love. I'll admit it had me teary-eyed and in a good way.

Little Cry Baby is rated 16+ so if you're looking for hot sex you won't find that here. That's not to say there is no sex but it's done in such a way that you have only the vaguest notion of what's going on. The most explicit thing you'll see is a few tongues intermingling.

To sum it up, and I feel bad saying this, I just didn't find anything in Little Cry Baby to get excited about. I read it once, put it away and two weeks later read it again. I always like to give those manga that don't click with me a second chance. Many times that second reading clears up anything that might have been confusing the first time around or gives me a better appreciation for the story or the volume as a whole. In this case, it just didn't work. I'll keep this manga on my shelf but it will never be among those I consider favorites.