Thursday, October 31, 2019

Cowa! (review)

When the smoke finally cleared on the blood-sweat-and-tears drama that Dragon Ball had become in its later years, it perhaps came as no surprise when Akira Toriyama, creator of that now legendary series, decided to return to his more humorous Dr. Slump roots and debut Cowa!, a short, single-volume children’s comic.

Indeed, Toriyama’s intent to appeal to an even younger audience than his usual shonen demographic becomes clear upon reading this self-contained work, as none of the author’s trademark sex jokes or double entendres are featured in what is ultimately a wholesome and decidedly innocent reading experience.

But the good news for Toriyama fans is that this more lighthearted approach does not come at the expense of his usual panache for laugh-out-loud physical comedy, fast-paced action, and profound character moments. No matter the target audience, Cowa! is very much an Akira Toriyama manga—and that’s a good thing

In Cowa!, Toriyama presents us with a silly, every-day-is-Halloween world of benign and friendly Universal-style monsters (the Mummy tends a watermelon patch, for example) and does an effortless job of endearing us to this lovable cast of characters. The lead character, Paifu, is a mischievous little half-vampire, half-were-koala—a spooky Tom Sawyer who, along with his best friend Jose the Ghost, can’t help but get into sitcom-style predicaments that provide plenty of comedic fodder early on in the series.

As is the expected formula for many adventure manga, these early, done-in-one hijinks—while amusing on their own—are really just there to introduce us to the world Toriyama has built and set the stage for the larger, more action-oriented story to come. The nature of the main quest—travel to the witch’s house to retrieve a cure for the Monster Flu that has overtaken Paifu’s hometown of Batwing Ridge—transforms the series from a slice-of-life humor story to a perilous road movie. The addition of Makoleen, a grumpy human with a dark past whom even the monsters fear, adds an element of reality that prevents what would otherwise be just a goofy romp from feeling too goofy. The stakes are raised, if only a little. Also, even though Paifu and his friends can more-or-less hold their own in a scuffle (they are monsters after all) Makoleen’s background as a world-class sumo champion gives Toriyama plenty of excuses to revert back to the rather simplistic, fight-oriented storytelling for which he’s best known. And while the middle act of the series quickly escalates to a series of kung fu matches that may have some Dragon Ball critics rolling their eyes, these physical confrontations are entertaining enough so they don’t feel as contrived or formulaic as they should.

From a formal perspective, Cowa! provides a couple different aesthetic idiosyncrasies that set it apart from just any run-of-the-mill manga. Behind the front cover, readers are treated to an unusual sight within the pages of a manga tankobon: color. While it’s not unheard of for certain chapters of a manga to be colored in their original publication, they’re rarely presented that way once collected into the cheaper black-and-white volumes. Yet as cool as it is to be treated to some color in the typically colorless world of manga, the fact the these color pages are printed on a matte paper stock and not a glossier finish means the colors lose some of the pop and vibrancy they may have had in their original form. But the good news is only the first chapter is in color, and it doesn’t take long to get re-acquainted with the traditional black-and-white art work.

As for the drawings themselves, readers of Toriyama’s other work may be taken surprise by the hyper-simplified art style he uses in this series. There’s little-if-any cross-hatching, the character designs are cartoonishly simple and devoid of any unnecessary detail—all of which helps to give a sense of childishness to the series. But this simpler style never comes across as artistic corner-cutting, but rather a stylistic decision that only enhances the innocent nature of the story. And while the overall storybook approach means far more panels per page than readers may expect from their typically decompressed manga, Toriyama’s uncomplicated drawings and breezy storytelling prevent the reading experience from ever feeling cramped or tedious.

If there’s ever any question as to why Akira Toriyama is such a monumentally successful manga creator, Cowa! is as good an answer an any. Simple but powerful archetypal storytelling that never lets itself get bogged down in meandering exposition or pretentious world-building—the sense of fun, the love of art and storytelling that bounces off of every page… And as interesting a place as Batwing Ridge may be, as with any Toriyama comic it’s less about what’s being told and always about how it’s being told. And Cowa! is told in such fun way that, well, you’d have to be a downright monster not to enjoy it.