Aspect to Aspect Chapters

I feel like I have just read a very intimate, nostalgic and emotional perspective on Japan’s culture as affected by Hiroshima and the war. I saw some elements that I felt were very important or prominent to its culture, told masterfully through icons and images. As some panels showed, such as in page 18, Tatsumi was able to tell a perspective through mere picture. I noticed some themes that continued throughout the story. I really appreciated the way Tatsumi was able to “marry” text and image, using both to tell his narrative. He also includes a lot of aspect to aspect closure to highlight an entire place – Hiroshima.

            I particularly enjoyed how each story was very tightly wound, like little cinematic vignettes. I was a little confused about some continuity but I like how each chapter was almost aspect to aspect in itself; the chapters create a collective image of the effects of war. The focus on a citywide perspective makes me think of Tardi’s way of showcasing Paris. Like Tatsumi, Tardi also included a whole cast of characters, seemingly unrelated, but all affected by a single entity or event.

            I noticed several themes through each of the chapters. Tatsumi was able to put together text and image to evoke certain emotions or opinion about the mourning or coping. The hell as an internal and external place was an excellent tension that Tatsumi displays. His perception on image, especially with the introduction of the image on page 18 in the second row, was a perfect way to engage his reader. Personally, I also thought it was a picture of a man choking a woman. When Tatsumi decides to acknowledge and tie this into his story, it really shows his attention how you can create tension just through image and perception.

            In chapter 2, the theme of impotence, continued with phallic images such as the canon revealed internal through of the narrator through image. I wonder the importance of impotence in Japanese culture, since I saw it as a common theme in Louis Chu’s Eat a Bowl of Tea. This novel also draws attention to the main character’s inability to please his wife due to impotence. I'm not sure what the significance is between men and their inability to please women sexually, but I'm wondering if this is also some sort of frustration from the war. In chapter 3, Tatsumi extends the aspect to aspect to become a metaphor by including a seemingly unrelated story of a gruesome ritual to his main storyline. Tatsumi was able to represent ideas of mourning, grief and the rotting away by comparing it to gruesome ritual as a slow release from the bodily form for his main character. The main character, like the hunted prey, literally ‘rots’ away in his hell state. I wonder if he'll ever find refuge, or if his soul will ever be released from his guilt. 

            Tatsumi’s way of illustrating death, mourning and the internal experience of the narrator through contextual image is done beautifully in this novel.