geri_chan | Promoting the nemu*nemu webcomic

This journal was set up mainly to host my Harry Potter and Petshop of Horrors fanfiction, but I want to take a moment to plug the nemu*nemu webcomic and graphic novel. And in case you've ever wondered, the "puppy wuv" icon that I sometimes use on comments is from nemu*nemu. It's a delightfully sweet and whimsical comic drawn in the manga style, so if you're a manga fan, I think you'll probably like it, although it's far lighter and more innocent fare than the darker style of Petshop.

In the interests of disclosure, I should mention that the nemu*nemu authors (Kyubikitsy and KimonoStereo--A. Furuichi and S. Yoshinaga, respectively) have asked their fans to promote the comic, and are holding a prize drawing for anyone who takes part in their Street Team promotion. I would love to get some cool nemu stuff, of course, but I would happily promote them even without that incentive.

I picked up a copy of their graphic novel because I thought it looked cute, and immediately fell in love with it. I went out the very next day and bought a copy to donate to my local public library--how's that for promotion? ^_^ Since then, I've been visiting the website regularly to keep up with the new comics.

So what is nemu*nemu about, you ask? Two young girls, Anise and Kana, stumble upon a mysterious shop where they adopt two stuffed toy puppies that come to life. (Hey, there is some resemblance to Petshop of Horrors after all! But nobody gets killed or eaten, I promise!) Anise names her puppy "Anpan," because he resembles a type of Japanese sweet by the same name, a round bun filled with anko (sweet red bean paste). The word for bread in Japanese is "pan," hence the word "anpan"--a bean paste bread.

Kana names her pup "Nemu," which is the Japanese word for "sleepy". In one of the early strips, he makes his bed in a dresser drawer, where he happily curls up and goes to sleep, making "nyamuuu" snoring noises. He's not particularly sleepy most of the time, though.

Anise is intense and a bit eccentric; her favorite tv show is "Henshin Rider," a fictional parody of Japanese sentai (superhero) shows --Power Rangers is probably the most familiar to Americans, but Henshin Rider is actually a single superhero rather than a team, so it's closer in spirit to the Kamen Rider or Kikaider tv shows. The puppies look alike--Anpan eventually gets a red scarf that helps distinguish him from Nemu, and he's also a bit more gruff and aggressive, but he's a good guy at heart. (He's the one in the icon, btw.) One of his favorite sayings is "Oh my pizza!" (instead of "Oh my God!")

Kana is a bit more practical than her friend, and both she and Nemu are more laid-back than Anise and Anpan. Nemu has a yellow scarf, and he has a very innocent and childlike personality.

If I had to compare it to another manga, I'd say it's closest in spirit to Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba. The four-panel style and eccentric humor is a bit like Azumanga, but with more of a sense of childish innocence and humor, like Yotsuba. The stuffed-toy-coming-to-life theme reminded me a bit of Calvin and Hobbes, but the girls are much sweeter and well-behaved than Calvin, and I think it's clear that the pups really do come to life, while it's not clear whether Hobbes actually comes to life or if it's all in Calvin's imagination. (My friends and I once had a very invigorating philosophical debate on that very topic!)

But really, I think that nemu*nemu stands on its own. It has a very sweet and whimsical sense of humor, and the artwork combines a nice mixture of originality and manga influences, unlike some Amerimanga or OEL (or whatever the proper term is these days) that imitate the manga style while lacking its substance. Each strip is generally a "slice of life" picture from Anise, Kana, Anpan, and Nemu's lives, like Nemu discovering the joys of a grilled cheese sandwich, or Anise deciding to give Anpan a bath in the washing machine--an experience that poor Anpan finds rather traumatizing!

So if you would like to learn more about nemu*nemu, you can visit their website at www.nemu-nemu.com. You can read the entire comic archive (it's best to start at the beginning if you're unfamiliar with the story), learn more about the characters, read the nemu blog, buy some cool nemu gear, and pick up some nice free extras, like icons and banners. The first nemu graphic novel can be purchased through their online store, and also through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The second one will be released soon, in time for their appearance at Kawaii Con in April.