248 – One Shot 21 – Abara

On this episode we take a look at Tsutomu Nihei’s short sci-fi series Abara! We talk about Nihei’s focus on bioorganic designs and compare it to his other works BLAME! and APOSIMZ!!!

Abara is available for purchase from VIZ.

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If you have any thoughts on the episode, manga suggestions, or anything else please comment below!

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 – Intro Song: “New Stranger” by sora tob sakana from Hi Score Girl, Opening, Introductions, Summer solstice, Working retail on Black Friday, Social Media, Upcoming Retrospective on Tokyo Tarareba Girls
• 00:05:01 – Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: Dragon Ball Z OST “Prologue”, Darfox is interested in seeing more of the portrayal of a sane Joker in Batman: White Knight
• 00:12:17 – *SPOILERS* dakazu loves the odd couple pairing of an old man and little girl in Alice & Zoroku
• 00:16:03 – *SPOILERS* Jun Hanyunyu’s Juuman is a unique twist on battling giant alien monsters a la Ultraman
• 00:23:50 – dakazu finds an enjoyable sports manga formula with the ballet focused The Magnificent Grand Scene
• 00:26:28 – News: Masashi Kishimoto is basing his characters in Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru on the cast of Doraemon
• 00:29:08 – *SPOILERS* Discussion about articles on Attack on Titan and it’s fascist and nationalistic themes
• 00:47:13 – Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Darfox Dabbles, Darfox will revisit Weekly Shonen Sunday and Weekly Shonen Magazine to check out some of their newer manga
• 00:47:48 – Main Segment One Shot: Abara, Transition Song: “Catch up, latency” by Union Square Garden from Run with the Wind, we review Tsutomu Nihei’s 2005 sci-fi tale of humanity’s losing battle against grotesque alien invaders
• 00:52:17 – Seamus notices that Nihei has moved on from his robotic & mechanical designs in BLAME! for more organic designs here
• 00:55:49 – Seamus enjoyed Abara for it’s direct and short story
• 00:57:25 – Darfox and dakazu comment on Nihei’s signature use of scale and perspective in his action scenes
• 01:00:05 – Darfox points out Nihei’s use of tiny robot characters in his works
• 01:01:46 – dakazu loved the comedic scene of an old lady trying to eat her dinner
• 01:03:02 – We question the validity of the plot synopsis on Wikipedia
• 01:05:32 – This manga fits in the Dying Earth subgenre of science fiction that Seamun enjoys
• 01:06:58 – dakazu wants some clarity on the ending of the story
• 01:09:58 – Darfox thought the human survivors ended up in cyber space based on the similar environment found in BLAME! and the video game SOMA
• 01:11:45 – Nihei has given interviews explaining more context for the story of BLAME! so Darfox thinks there might be information he’s shared about Abara as well
• 01:12:21 – Darfox wanted more lore explaining why the structures were built they way they were
• 01:15:01 – We discuss how Nihei’s design aesthetic alone can appeal to the reader
• 01:17:31 – dakazu is surprised that the main character doesn’t have an overpowered gun as a weapon, like in other Tsutomu Nihei series
• 01:18:10 – We share our thoughts on the short Digimortal story included within Abara
• 01:21:10 – The video game E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy and the table top game A.V.A. share similar design elements found in Nihei’s works
• 01:23:35 – We praise BLAME! and discuss why it’s timeless
• 01:25:34 – We share our final thoughts and compare Abara against BLAME!
• 01:29:05 – Next Week’s Topic: Darfox Dabbles on Weekly Shonen Sunday & Weekly Shonen Magazine, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “wish men” by sunbrain from Beet the Vandel Buster