With worldwide successes like Monster, 20th Century Boys and Pluto, Naoki Urasawa’s reputation is well established. But the master of the thriller has also written more confidential works.
We recognize the talent of great manga authors by their ability to draw us into their world from the first pages. But few of them are capable of achieving this feat with such metronomic regularity as that demonstrated by Naoki Urasawa throughout his career. His talent as a storyteller is such that one can pick up any of his works at random without risking being tempted to interrupt reading before the end. But is this the case of this mysterious Happy!which too many readers have overlooked?
Sport seen by a master thriller
If most Western readers entered his universe through the chilling Monster or the daring 20th Century Boys, Naoki Urasawa nonetheless remains the author of more confidential works. Long before paying homage to Osamu Tezuka in his masterful rereading of Pluto or to imagine the narrative strings of Billy Bat Then Grill!, the creator had ventured into a register which seems contrary to his art. There are hundreds of sports manga in Japan, but few of them benefit from expertise comparable to that of Naoki Urasawa in terms of storytelling.
Monster undoubtedly remains the centerpiece of Naoki Urasawa’s work.©Kana
Today, its two sports series describing the rise of young competitors in the world of judo (Yawara!) and tennis (Happy!) are relegated to the shadow of his most famous psychological thrillers. And even those who consider themselves fans of the author sometimes know nothing about these long-term works. Thanks to Kana editions, French readers will soon know the outcome of the journey of Yawara Inokuma, destined to become the first Japanese Olympic judo champion.
And although the animated adaptation remains unpublished in our country, its broadcast in Japan greatly contributed to increasing its popularity in the 1990s. An asset from which its other sports series unfortunately could not benefit, Happy!while it is clearly among the author’s most successful works.
An incredible page-turner
Written in the late 1990s, the 23 volumes of the manga Happy! tell the story of a young tennis player forced to embark on a professional career to repay an astronomical debt. Rather than sinking into prostitution, Miyuki Umino prefers to push her limits, racket in hand, and too bad if the whole world is determined to come after her. Even the worst humiliations do not seem to affect him, so strong is his determination to climb the ranks of the competition to win the 250 million yen which will save his brother trapped by the Japanese mafia.
©Panini Manga
Despite its relative length (condensed into 15 volumes for the Perfect edition by Panini), the story can be devoured in one go due to the impeccable quality of its writing. All the characters are portrayed in an almost caricatured manner, but without ever going beyond what the plot requires to captivate the reader, while oscillating between drama and comedy.
The author’s mastery is as much visual as narrative, shaking up our emotions to force us to react internally to the injustices that life limits itself to subjecting to Miyuki. However, the misdeeds committed by its numerous antagonists sometimes also betray very real suffering which makes these sinister individuals as pathetic as they are memorable.
Laying emotions bare
It is very difficult to explain to what extent this manga manages to captivate us in its universe when it is based on almost simplistic foundations: the rise of a simple tennis player. A starting point seen and reviewed a thousand times, which here gives birth to something unique. Abused by an unscrupulous rival and by a destiny that enjoys playing the most sordid tricks on her, the young Miyuki Umino embodies the height of naivety. But, instead of condemning the manga to excessive victimization of its heroine, the character’s ingenuity has the good taste of constantly bordering on parody.
©Panini Manga
The saving humor that emerges from the pages directly counteracts the exaggerated dramatization of the situations in which the unfortunate Miyuki finds herself. The whole world is after her, but she sees nothing. His greatness of soul does not allow him to even imagine an ounce of malevolence in those who nevertheless stop at nothing to bring his career to a brutal end.
Naoki Urasawa is a master at illustrating the troubles of the human soul. The faces of the antagonists are therefore constantly distorted under the weight of hatred, jealousy and anger. Tennis ultimately appears only as a pretext to depict the visceral opposition which separates benevolence from its opposite. Although we know in advance that goodness will triumph, we delight all the more in seeing the troublemakers dragged through the mud… under the gaze always full of sincere compassion of the heroine.
Beyond tennis
Although secondary, the matches in no way betray the uncertainty that constantly hovers over an ordinary confrontation between two tennis players. But the author goes beyond the standards of the genre by focusing above all on the emotions generated by the intensive practice of this sport. Because, to earn the money necessary to repay her brother’s debt, Miyuki is ready to sacrifice body and soul on the courts. And too bad if his physique fails.
©Panini Manga
There is almost Ashita no Joe (reference to the boxing manga) in this title which does not hesitate to push self-improvement to its ultimate extremity to illustrate the absolute devotion of the player. A devotion that even ends up impressing all those who despise it. Each new handicap becomes for Miyuki one more reason to surpass herself, to push her luck to earn the respect that people refuse to grant her. And even her own fate appears to her to be secondary compared to that of her brothers and sisters whom she has taken care of since the death of her parents.
Towards recognition?
The strength of the manga Happy! lies in this permanent multiplication of styles which takes us through all states of mind in a flash. Sports, romance, thriller, parody and drama combine with incredible harmony that turns out to be much more captivating than in Yawara!. However, the author himself admitted not being aware of the potential of this series, often considered “minor” compared to the other works of his career… until he reread it on the occasion of the publication of the Deluxe Edition and revises its judgment.
Ahead of its time, the purpose of Happy! had been imagined as the exact opposite of Yawara!. ” In Yawara!I had written so many “hurrays” that I had had enough, he explains. I said to myself: I’m going to do “boo” instead! It was decided: my main character would be a young woman who is constantly pushed, but who never lets herself get discouraged. »
Under the pen of Naoki Urasawa, this starting point leads to a serialized story which can be devoured in one go despite its length. Let’s hope that its reissue in a double box set by Panini offers Miyuki Umino a second chance to find its audience, because its story fits perfectly into the impeccable trajectory of its author.
2024-05-07 06:12:00
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