a manga artist trying to make sense of india using a japanese art form that goes back to the late eighteenth century: an interesting premise, yes? this is what it teaches us: (a) indians are difficult to work with; (b) type-setting and translating comic books is harder than you think; and (c) yukichi yamamatsu is a brave man.
the mangaka (as he is referred to in japan) is brave because coming to india to sell manga translated into hindi is not easy. he did it a few years ago though, hawking copies of samurai manga to indifferent residents of delhi. this longer tale — published in japan in 2008 as
indo e baka ga yattekita — explains that tricky project from the point of view of a wide-eyed foreigner with absolutely no idea of the culture he has decided to immerse himself in. naturally, it makes everything from apartment-hunting to finding something edible a difficult task. the difficulty, in turn, becomes fodder for the artist.
for readers in japan used to a culture of manga that encompasses genres as diverse as experimental gekiga, sexually explicit hentai and romantic shonen, this may find acceptance as an interesting travelogue. what may let it down rather badly for readers here is the clunky translation. the awkward english and half-hindi phrases become tiresome, as do the exaggerated expressions defined by words like ‘blunt.’ it is, at times, more an act of transliteration than one of translation. there are some revelations about indian character, but little else.
—
stupid guy goes to india, yukichi yamamatsu, blaft-tranquebar
