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Let’s Go Karaoke! Manga Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
Let’s Go Karaoke! Manga Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
- Mangaka : Comedy, School Life, Seinen, Slice of Life
- Publisher : Wayama Yama
- Genre : Yen Press
- Published : April 2022 – Present
Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
Mangaka Wayama Yama has undoubtedly received a good deal of media coverage in recent years. She won the “New Face Award” for manga at the 23rd Japan Media Arts Festival in 2020, as well as the “Social Impact Award” for manga at the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2022. Wayama has once again created a profoundly emotional and thoughtful almost-boys-love school drama with Karaoke Iko (Let’s Go Karaoke).
In its most basic form, Karaoke Iko (Let’s Go Karaoke) tells the tale of Satomi Oka, a middle school choirboy on the verge of high school, who reluctantly agrees to train a charming yakuza member whose singing needs to be improved. However, there is much more to the story than just that basic plot synopsis, and it will stay with you long after the book’s final pages.
On today’s episode of Honey’s Anime, we’ll examine the finer points of the manga genre and discuss Wayama Yama, one of Japan’s newest rising stars.
Let’s Go Karaoke! [Manga] Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
Discussion Time
Unexpectedly, the absurdist storyline of Karaoke Iko (Let’s Go Karaoke) touches a deeper, more intimate nerve. Since Satomi is going through puberty and his voice is beginning to crack, his third year of middle school will be his final one as a choirboy. He is under pressure to lead his choir and represent his school at competitions, in addition to the pressure of performing.
The yakuza family’s quarterly karaoke tournament, where the merciless family leader punishes the “Sucky-Song King,” poses a rather serious threat to well-mannered and sharply dressed Kyouji Narita, who works as the family’s assistant lieutenant. The consequence? a terrible tattoo reflecting that person’s biggest pet peeve (and done with the significantly more painful hands of a beginner tattooist, no less).
Let’s Go Karaoke! [Manga] Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
As is customary in Wayama’s work, there is an Achillean undercurrent of Boys Love (BL) that never quite achieves an actual romance but settles for a platonic overtone of male companionship. And the peculiar bond between these two men is what drives the narrative, with the singing lessons and karaoke serving merely as a vehicle for their emotional ups and downs.
In this sense, Karaoke Iko (Let’s Go Karaoke) is actually a manga of the “fine art” variety; it makes no attempt to be an ordinary trade paperback. Reading Karaoke Iko (Let’s Go Karaoke) entails taking an emotional journey through male relationships, the hazy line separating childhood and adulthood, and the exploration of one’s genuine goals and objectives.
Reasons to Read Karaoke Iko! (Karaoke Time!)
Let’s Go Karaoke! [Manga] Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
Karaoke-Iko-manga-wallpaper-700×394 Time for Karaoke! [Manga] Review of the CD Hits A High Note by Japan’s Rising Star Impactful and memorable: Japan
Wayama Yama has received numerous nominations and awards from the Media Arts Festival, as we already said. Although her work is extremely different from the typical manga we discuss on Honey’s Anime, that doesn’t mean a casual reader can’t enjoy it.
The kind of manga that stays in the back of your mind for a long time after reading, letting your subconscious consider the complexities of the story, is Karaoke Iko (Let’s Go Karaoke). Since their worlds are so far apart, Kyouji and Satomi’s relationship is unusual, but each of the men serves as the other’s mirror, allowing them to reflect on and change themselves.
With the aid of a gangster and a karaoke booth, Satomi gains the most from this unexpected encounter, and throughout the course of this stand-alone, he changes from a shy choirboy to a self-assured young man.
Let’s Go Karaoke! [Manga] Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
Why You Should Read Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!)
1. Impactful and Memorable
Fine art doesn’t always result in visually appealing art, at the risk of sounding like an action-movie enthusiast watching the Cannes Film Festival. We’ll be upfront and admit that Wayama’s art is… rough, even though it may sound rude to criticise such a well-known mangaka. Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!) is difficult to look at for someone used to the exaggerated designs of modern manga. But fans of earlier BL or josei-targeted artwork will feel at home with her approach.
Let’s Go Karaoke! [Manga] Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!) is the kind of “artsy” manga that will turn off anyone merely looking at the surface-level artwork, much like literary fiction feeling inaccessible to a genre reader or independent French films feeling inaccessible to a casual cinema-goer. We believe that would be a mistake, but even so, it might be enough to utterly turn some readers away.
Why You Should Skip Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!)
1. Fine Art Doesn’t Mean Great Art
Fine art doesn’t always result in visually appealing art. At the risk of sounding like an action-movie enthusiast watching the Cannes Film Festival. We’ll be upfront and admit that Wayama’s art is… rough. Even though it may sound rude to criticise such a well-known mangaka. Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!) is difficult to look at for someone used to the exaggerated designs of modern manga. But fans of earlier BL or josei-targeted artwork will feel at home with her approach.
Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!) is the kind of “artsy” manga that will turn off anyone merely looking at the surface-level artwork, much like literary fiction feeling inaccessible to a genre reader or independent French films feeling inaccessible to a casual cinema-goer. We believe that would be a mistake. but even so, it might be enough to utterly turn some readers away.
Let’s Go Karaoke! [Manga] Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
Final Thoughts
At Honey’s Anime, we spend the majority of our time reading and reviewing “trade” manga. Which are the popular stories from serialised shounen magazines. That will be animated on your television. As a result, it’s simple to overlook the fact that this form of art, like all forms of art, has a wide variety of stories to tell. And On the other hand a crudely drawn standalone like Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!) can offer profoundly emotional character development. The biggest, shiniest shounen might have a hollow, worn-out plot.
Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!) is a surprisingly approachable example of manga’s potential as an artistic medium. Even though Wayama Yama’s art style isn’t for everyone. Karaoke Iko! (Let’s Go Karaoke!) is a great place to start if you’re interested in learning. What Japan considers to be award-winning manga. While our English-speaking readers may enjoy this more frequently, it’s less common to see translated in Japan.
Let’s Go Karaoke! [Manga] Review – Japan’s Rising Star Hits A High Note
Reference Sites:
https://www.crunchyroll.com/news
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/
