i read a quirky art manga 🎨 (SPOILER FREE)

tldr: It's not Blue Period. Genkaku Picasso compiles a variety of art styles, metaphorical storytelling, and unique extras/details rarely seen into a short three volume series. Though feeling episodic, Usamaru Furuya delivers a beautifully compelling story that has the reader dive into the human psyche alongside his characters.

I saw Volume 1 of Genkaku Picasso at a used bookstore sometime late 2020. Having never heard of the series before, I was intrigued the moment I saw it. What first caught my eye was it’s unique cover design. The title is spelled out in both a pencil-sketched block font and a college-style format using different art supplies. I also noticed how the book was designed to simulate a sketch book, with its spiral binding draw along the book and the main cast of characters drawn on both covers and the barcode. The SJ logo on the spine even has a circle outline and is pencil filled!

I decided to buy it after giving the synopsis a quick read and liking the concept. It took me an hour to read, and I knew immediately that I needed more. After doing some quick research, I was surprised to see that it had a three-volume run. I've come to appreciate its short plot length though, and that there were copies still in print and available online. After finishing the series, I could honestly say that I’ve never read anything so unique and intimate. There were moments in the story where I felt were both heartwarming and stunningly beautiful.

Plot

GP follows Hikari “Picasso” Hamura, a talented high school artist. despite acclaim from his classmates, Picasso acts somewhat cold towards them. Being too absorbed in his drawing, his only companion is Chiaki, a bubbly girl who playfully teases him. They normally hang out by the riverside as the Riverside Club after school, where Picasso draws and Chiaki reads.

One day, a tragic riverside accident causes Chiaki to perish but Picasso to survive. Afterwards, Picasso begins to see a mini Chiaki who tells him of a miracle: he was granted life by the Gods after Chiaki prayed for Picasso’s talent to go on. In return, Picasso must dedicate his life to using his art to help others. One problem… he doesn’t want to!

Shortly after this revelation, Picasso begins to see the darkness inside the hearts of his classmates. This then leads Picasso to draw his vision in his sketchbook, eventually learning to travel inside his drawings (thus going into his classmates’ hearts) alongside Chiaki. While inside, they begins to interpret the artwork/art subjects and relieve the darkness.

The story has Picasso and Chiaki experience different scenarios involving their classmates in a sort of episodic format. In time I’ve come to find that this format was intended, with Furuya originally wanting a two volume run to tie up the series. Although i’m okay with the short run, I would’ve loved to have seen this concept expanded (or maybe even highlighted alongside other Slice of Life/Coming of age manga).

Artwork

There are about 4 different art styles that i’ve noticed throughout my readings. There’s your standard Furuya character design (usual seinen artstyle with realistic people/settings) and Picasso’s sketches, which are done in pencil. My favorite styles were the surrealism works done to interpret the students’ hearts and the collage style artwork sprinkled in between each chapter.

Each illustration was uniquely done for the character and is the general setting for each conflict. while inside the drawing, Picasso and Chiaki maintain their designs while the world around them has a pencil-sketched texture to it. I personally loved this attention to detail when it comes to its use of art styles, especially towards the end of the series. Having the reader try to understand these details really helps develop their attention/appreciation for a mangaka’s work.

The art collages in this series are some of my favorite extras in my collection. The use of hand drawn art work mixed with physical art materials is so fascinating to me. It’s really appealing to the eye, and offers a flair of creativity that I feel makes this series wonderful (even the page numbers are in different fonts!)

Overall Thoughts

This series offers the reader a lens into the human (particularly teenage) psyche. Without giving any spoilers, I loved Furuya’s use of his personal life and how he integrated them into his characters. The artwork also adds a beautiful and immersive world building element that I personally rarely see.

That being said, I did notice that there were some online reviews that gave GP some feedback for being too episodic/repetitive. Although I agree that some stories may come across as filler or unnecessary, I feel that they were essential for Picasso’s character development and for the story to come full circle.

Genkaku Picasso was an experience for me. at the time, was in the beginning stages of my collecting phase and I was in the mindset to “buy what I know I’ll like”. Granted, this is what every collector would tell you at the start of your journey (whether you're on r/mangacollectors or at your local comic shop), but now I think completely different. This series taught me to appreciate some of the finer things in manga: the dynamics of art style, use of relatable characters and situations, and compelling metaphorical storytelling. and while I wish there were more done with this series, Usamaru Furuya delivered a one of a kind, thought provoking series that leaves the reader with more than just a story.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for reading! offline I work at a bookstore where I’m the only “manga guy”. and with manga becoming so popular lately, I figured it would be nice to share some of my personal favorites/collection highlights online as well. Feel free to comment down below and let me know if you have any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations

As mentioned before, I’ve changed my way of reading manga since starting my collection and feel that it’s something that may be worth sharing. I feel that every reader should take the opportunity to learn to know what their tastes are and see what’s out there. On my page, I have a variety of recommendations that go from sci-fi to horror, or shonen/seinen to slice of life. And even when you discover something you don’t like, you at least have the insight about it. I’ve never been one to turn down a recommendation or honestly say that something just wasn’t for me.

If you’re interested in checking out Furuya’s other works, I suggest Lychee Light Club or his adaptation of No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai (coming out in English this Fall 🙌🏻). Otherwise, If you’re looking for other manga with compelling art or in the slice of life genre, I would say check out any of the works by these authors (Takehiko Inoue, Tatsuki Fujimoto, and Inio Asano) or series like Blue Period (if you haven’t already), Wotakoi (recent otaku culture manga), or Bakuman (manga about mangaka).

Once again, thanks for reading and hope to write soon 🤙🏻

Published by kev_from_work

i read a quirky art manga 🎨 (SPOILER FREE)

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