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Vol 2 Issue 7
[MANGA REVIEWS]

Dakara Papa Niwa Kanawanai Manga
— by Eric "Scanner" Luce

Are you after a nice dose of humor in your stories? Tired of the stories which are either too serious, or too slapstick, or a too painful combination of the both? If that is the case, and even if it is not, you should check out DAKARA PAPA NIWA KANAWANAI by Endo Toshiko. This single volume of mostly episodic stories is quite entertaining, with a good mix of humor, relationships, and a touch of mystery.
  The setting for these stories is quite simple: you have a girl, Uemura Touko, sukeban by nature; you have her step-father Raymond; and, last but not least, you have her grandmother. Touko's mother died one week after she married Raymond. Raymond is an American, which presents quite the social dilemma for both Touko and her grandmother. They all live together in the same house, and Ray-san supports them as owner and master chef of a French cuisine restaurant.
  The first story, "Papa to Odorou" (Dancing with Father), starts off with Touko on her way home. She gives a narration of her basic situation: she is stuck with a weirdo stepfather. Her mother died one week after she had married her new father, who was 8 years younger than her mother. At this point her reverie is interrupted by one of the girls from her school being bothered by some random male. The girl appeals to Touko as she passes by, saying that this guy will not leave her alone. The bothersome male student tries to brush off Touko, but ends up insulting her. She promptly beats him up.
  After telling her classmate to be more careful about strangers, she starts on her way home again. Almost immediately she comes upon another student (this one not from her school) being assaulted by several men who look very much like members of the yakuza. The boy calls out for her help. Touko responds that it is hardly interesting saving boys. One of the men tells Touko "get lost, ni-chan." Calling Touko a "little boy" causes her to lose her temper and take out the two yakuza. The boy she saves insists on giving her something for her trouble. Despite Touko protesting she does not want any such reward, he manages to put a coin locker key in her hand and runs away before she can do anything. Touko shrugs and heads home.
  She enters her house with a resigned expression, saying "Tadaima." Immediately, a robed and pumpkin-headed apparition leaps out and hugs her, saying "Welcome home, my sweet!" This is her step-father. "Give me a welcome-home kiss, darling!" Touko does not like her extremely affectionate step-father and promptly bops him one. Ray-san responds with "What?! Touko, don't you love your father?!" in a most hurt tone. Touko shouts back "Every time, every time..." Ray-san responds with "But... I am an American!" (Apparently, this is how Americans act...) Ray-san continues saying that today is Halloween, hence his costume. There is a party at his restaurant this evening and he wants Touko to come along. Touko has no interest in attending such an event. Touko's grandmother comes along and wonders just what is going on. Ray-san, always calling her "okaasama," offers her some pumpkin pie. She acts put out, saying that she could not eat such cholesterol-laden food. She then begins to browbeat Ray-san about his cooking technique. We come to understand from Touko's reaction that this is a common scene at her house.
  Over the next couple of days, Touko gets into several fights. Hiding from the police after one such fight, she realizes that all these fights have been with people who are not students. She stops by her step-fathers's restaurant and expects the usual treatment. Already swinging in for a punch to forestall his inevitable hug, Ray-san catches her fist and notes calmly that she has been fighting. Dragging her into the house, he bandages her hand. Touko is a bit surprised, in that he does not seem to at all care about why she was fighting, just that she was hurt. Suddenly, they notice someone in the backyard, who throws a rock through their living room window. Both of them quickly duck down. Ray-san asks Touko if she is okay. Touko says that she is and asks if he is all right. Ray-san responds that he is fine and is actually used to avoiding things like this from when he grew up. He ends by saying that he figures Touko will take a part-time job to pay for the broken glass, so it is not a problem. Touko retorts, why does he think that it is her fault this happened? She suddenly remembers the coin locker key as her grandmother appears and starts making a fuss about the broken window.
  Touko realizes that she has been having more fights with strange people ever since she got this coin locker key. She resolves to find out what is in this coin locker, but of course she has to find the coin locker first. After searching several public locker areas in vain, she runs into the guy who gave her the key in the first place. When she finally corners him, Ray-san shows up and interrupts. During the brief exchange between American step-father and Japanese-sukeban-daughter, the guy manages to escape Touko's grasp. Her father is not fazed at all (of course, since he does not seem to understand the situation), and in reaction to Touko becoming angry, he just tries to make her smile. He then pulls out a present he has for her, a dress for a Christmas party that is still a ways off. She stomps off, resuming her search for either the coin locker that the key fits, or the boy who gave her the key.
  Touko finally heads home, her mind full of how difficult it is living with an airhead American father. She finds a crowd of people in front of her home. When she asks her grandmother what is going on, she is told that someone had run out of their storage shed as if they were up to something suspicious. The phone inside their house rings and the grandmother has Touko go in and answer it. It is the yakuza folks telling her to meet them at a warehouse, to bring the coin locker key, and to not tell the police. Touko retorts that is not likely she would go to such a place. It turns out, though, that the yakuza have her father, and he cries to her over the phone: "Touko! Papa da yo! Help me!" Touko agrees to bring the key. When her grandmother asks her if she is going out, Touko responds that she will be late and to not wait on dinner for her. Her grandmother responds "Oh, Ray-san will be okay. He is not a child." Touko is shocked: "Grandmother! How did you know?!" She responds that before Touko had come home, she had gotten a number of phone calls which she hung up rudely on (typical demon-mother-in-law). As Touko leaves, she's told to keep one thing in mind: women in her family have always had bad luck with guys, so be careful.
  At the warehouse, Ray-san and Nakatani (we learn the boy's name over the phone) are being held by the yakuza. Touko hands over a key. As the yakuza look at the key, Ray-san chips in that his child would not try to give them a fake key. Touko blurts out angrily that the number of the key is different and she gave them the wrong one. The yakuza threaten to blow off Ray-san's head if Touko does not give them the real key. Suddenly though, taking advantage of the gun being in reach, Ray-san grabs it from the surprised yakuza and begins blasting away. Touko is totally dumbfounded. When did he learn how to use a gun? Ray-san responds matter-of-factly that he grew up in America; he knows how to use a gun, at least. Back home, they would practice shooting a gun once every three months. Touko finally responds, asking what they are going to do now. Here her step-father pulls out a cell phone and calls the police, giving an anonymous report of gunfire from the warehouses. Touko is totally at a loss for how to explain her step-father. When the yakuza hear the sirens of the police, they flee. Ray-san calmly wipes the fingerprints from the gun and suggests they quietly slip out the back alley.
  At the coin locker into which fits the key, Nakatani explains how he came to be involved in the mess. They open up the locker and find a bag with white powder in it. Ray-san says that it is cocaine. Touko is again shocked; how would her step-father know what this is? Her father says that in junior high school he knew a classmate that was a drug dealer. He reassures Touko that of course, he never bought any drugs! With that they toss the key away. Ray-san explains that it is best to avoid any publicity and news; however, if Touko really wants to appear in the newspapers he can make some phone calls and arrange it with the talent agents. Touko replies curtly that that will not be necessary. With that they hurry home, for if they delay, Okaasama will get angry because she will not have eaten, waiting for them to return.
  Touko says a bit despondently "You probably have a lot of things to say, don't you?" Ray-san replies "Yes, but I will not say any of them." He figures that she wants to be treated as a grown-up and takes responsibility for her own actions. He continues, though, that even when Touko is 90 years old, she will still be his daughter. As long as she does not forget that, it is okay. With that out of the way, he again tries to get Touko to try on the Christmas party dress and asks if she will dance with him at the party. Touko relents and says just a little bit.
  This synopsis covers the basics of the first story, but it really leaves out most of the little comments that make it so priceless. That is how it works with Endo Toshiko's stories. The tales themselves are interesting and fun enough to read, but it is the embellishments that make them priceless. Usually these take the form of contrasting behaviours of people in different situations. Here we have Touko and her father in their "ordinary" home life, versus when her father is put in what would normally be a very difficult situation. They end up coming out with a better understanding and a happier relationship. Touko begins to think it probably is not so bad to have a father like Ray-san.
  Although the humor and quirks of the story are engaging, the rest of the work ends up feeling a bit rough. The art style is very simplistic. We tend to have sparse renditions of the chracters with mostly plain or non-existent backgrounds. In Ray-san's case, Endo Toshiko tends to over-exaggerate his expressions to get across how much more emotional he may be. The frame layouts of the page are very easy to follow and have several neat twists that keep them from being boring.

 

The story does tend to rely upon a knowledge of certain stereotypes. There are at least three main ones in this story: Touko—the loner sukeban tomboy, very tough and independent on the outside, seeking some assurance on the inside; Ray-san—the American, very emotional on the outside, prone to embarassing shows of affection (he can be extremely effective and full of surprises, though); and Obaasama—the stereotypical mother-in-law having to deal with a difficult son-in-law. These stereotypes probably have more impact if you have lived near them all your life, but it does not take much to understand what they are and what makes them so amusing when thrown all together like they are in this story. There is a liberal use of furigana, so although it can be a touch challenging for those who are new to Japanese, it remains easy to read without much effort.
  All in all a very enjoyable story, this reviewer's only wish being that it really should have been at least three volumes long, not just one.

  DAKARA PAPA NIWA KANAWANAI
Copyright © 1993 Endo Toshiko
Presented by Hana to Yume Comics / Hakusensha
¥390
ISBN-4-592-12635-1
1 Volume


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