Zero #2

Zero #2

by Taiyo Matsumoto

Genres: Comics, Manga

217 pages, Comic

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

See also: 松本大洋 and 松本 大洋

Although Taiyo Matsumoto desired a career as a professional soccerplayer at first, he eventually chose an artistic profession. He gained his first success through the Comic Open contest, held by the magazine Comic Morning, which allowed him to make his professional debut. He started out with 'Straight', a comic about basketball players. Sports remain his main influence in his next comic, 'Zéro', a story about a boxer.

In 1993 Matsumoto started the 'Tekkonkinkurito' trilogy in Big Spirits magazine, which was even adapted to a theatre play. He continued his comics exploits with several short stories for the Comic Aré magazine, which are collected in the book 'Nihon no Kyodai'. Again for Big Spirits, Taiyo Matsumoto started the series 'Ping Pong' in 1996. 'Number Five' followed in 2001, published by Shogakukan.

Source: Lambiek website bio .

Reviews

[RaveAnt]

The second volume of this is soo good - compared to ping pong, this is so much uglier and more brutal - ofc because it's adult characters doing boxing

But yeah the entire second volume being ONE fight between travis and goshima - and the like flower metaphor and weird toxic homoerotic violent spiral that goshima draws travis into...v v cool - smth smth leo bersani/lee edelman and the death drive... Because there is this weird like "reproductive" metaphor thing going on?? Like goshima as an outcast who is always left alone because he just breaks everything with his fists - and travis finally being his "friend" -- but travis also eventually becomes unwilling to participate and by the end even goshima has this out of body awareness and lack of drive to be in the position he is doing what he is doing but they've already driven each other to their deaths ooof

Also coach araki's dynamic with goshima - the faux parental relationship and the way he toxically relishes in goshima's death - and not because he doesn't care for goshima cuz he really does but because he understands him on a level that makes him ALSO wish for goshima's end in an empathetic way oof

It's always nice to read manga about super muscular SCARY boxing men that sorta goes to their childhood and their current childlike emotions and stuff - like goshima running away to the Ferris wheel right before his match but then having no choice but to return home to the ring like a runaway kid

Also, interesting to see Matsumoto's early art and paneling - the art style is pre different from no.5/ping pong and maybe closer to tekkon kinkreet but even then a lot rawer with simpler panels but still a lot of cool zig zaggy stuff and montages whenever it's internal thoughts -- nice read

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

reread

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les fleurs de la folie ou l’histoire du boxeur trentenaire Goshima

C’est un Taiyō Matsumoto qui prend ses marques, qui débute, un univers graphique et thématique à l’état embryonnaire qui ne demande qu’à se développer, qu’à exploser: utilisation poétique de métaphores, la marginalité du personnage principal… Plusieurs éléments qui feront la puissance de Ping Pong. Le découpage du premier tome est très conventionnel, alors que le second aura tendance à se libérer des contraintes à mesure que la folie gagne du terrain et que le climax se rapproche. L’utilisation du noir est magnifique et le tome 2 est marqué par certaines cases particulièrement sublimes. D’un point de vue narratif, le contrepied est ici de prendre un personnage en fin de carrière alors que les mangas de sport ont tendance à s’attarder sur les jeunes en pleine ascension et de suivre cette ascension. Cela dote le manga d’une certaine mélancolie malgré la folie de Goshima, tout en se concentrant sur la fin d’une ère, d’un rêve. Et c’est ce qui est absolument brillant dans ce titre (aux antipodes d’un Coq de Combat): à travers un match occupant tout le second volume, Matsumoto développe une connexion entre deux personnages, et l’action n’est que le prétexte d’une transmission tissée subtilement, puis ostensiblement au cours des chapitres. En plus d’être de plus en plus palpitant, Zero est extrêmement touchant, malgré ses petits défauts qui paradoxalement renforcent cet attachement. Zero est aussi le titre le plus tragique de son auteur, le plus éprouvant, le plus mélancolique. Mais Zero était surtout une promesse, celle d’une grandeur à venir, et on sait depuis longtemps que cette promesse a largement été tenue.

[William Mego · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote my full review for this in volume 1: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...