Donten Prism Solar Car Chapter 9 10 11 8 Donten Prism Solar Car

At first glance, the art in this series might look just as sharp as the humor—fine lines, plenty of detail and hatching—but it falls short when it comes to actual storytelling. The level of detail ends up obscuring a lot of the physical and visual gags; for example, we can't see that Gin is comically running away from a ghost because there's so much else going on in the panel. In addition, the artwork often lacks the action that's needed to make slapstick comedy work—the characters look more like they're doing static freeze-frame poses rather than actually moving. (Imagine how awkward this must look during the biker gang race scene.) But there are still some visual strong points, like the well-developed backgrounds and buildings that bring historical Japan to life, inaccurate as it may be. Character designs are also another source of enjoyment, with this volume's highlights being Gin in drag and a "cute animal" that hides a fearsome face.

Sarcastic, in-your-face dialogue is the final key to unlocking this series' sense of humor—in fact, even the creator himself gets in on the action. "Dear Mr. Sorachi, are you aware that so-and-so wasn't born during the Bakumatsu era?" "Dear reader, are you also aware that there were no alien invasions during the Bakumatsu era?" Talk about putting a guy in his place. Trash-talk and bravado are all a part of Gin and company's vocabulary, and it's delightful to read a translation that "gets it" and captures that attitude. On the downside, the dialogue does take up a lot of room, making the already crowded layouts even more eyestrain-inducing. Sound effects are also kind of a mess: all the sounds have been removed and replaced with English equivalents, but instead of blending into the artwork, they just look even more visually jarring. And for a series that's so heavily dependent on Japanese culture, they don't give you any footnotes or glossary—good luck kids, you're on your own with this one!


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