Over the past couple of years manga publisher Viz Media has been treating manga fans with the English release of several manga by artist Natsume Ono. Ono's work ranges from absorbingly interesting to mildly boring, but the good thing that they all have in common is the fascinating character study that takes place in each one. We witnessed the pains of an abandoned daughter in Ristorante Paradiso, and the struggles of a skilled samurai too socially awkward to effectively complete his job in House of Five Leaves.
The short story collection Tesoro brings together a number of Natsume Ono's earlier works, and we see that this tendency to take a very close look at individual moments in a person's life has always been a part of Ono's storytelling.
Tesoro - Short Story Collection by Natsume Ono
The opening story in Tesoro is entirely textless, as a bear goes out on an autumn day to buy a donut. While a little weird, this immediately showcases one of the major points in the collection, the pleasure in a moment, with many of the subsequent stories showing how that moment is enhanced by a someone's pressence. In "Moyashi Couple", an older couple takes a walk together, not only to be in each other's company but to also show off to their neighbors that they are a happy, considerate couple. A man is pleasantly surprised in "Inside Out" when his wife decides to return from a trip a month early. And in "Senza Titolo #2" we get to watch the watcher - a bookseller observes an older patron who seems to only want his books, but then she gets to share in his joy when he finds his own awkward love.
I previously reviewed another short story collection by Ono, Gente. One of the bigger issues with that manga was that each of the stories came to their solution so easily that it became unrealistic and boring. Ono takes a different track with Tesoro. Many of these stories have an open ending - a young man getting out of jail doesn't know which of the four cars he'll get into, and a man is still unclear how to make up with his estranged after his wife dies. Though it's nice to see a story tied up neatly, these stories are much more thought-provoking, and insist on rereads to figure out what may have happened next.
Natsume Ono's unique art style still shines through in these older stories, with the big drooping eyes and strange but expressive faces. The art is a bit looser in these manga, and at times Ono seems to be drawing the characters in her own version of the super-deformed style. This causes some exaggeration of features that can look strange, but magnifies the expression of emotions. Signorina Azzura smile in "Senza Titolo #1" curves up into her cheekbone in sad pleasure as she thanks the moon. And the aforementioned droopiness is magnified in poor Stanley, always depressed that his sisters treat him like a toy.
Tesoro also has the problem with backgrounds that I noticed in Ristorante Paradiso, that they are often empty or under-detailed. But Ono fills the panels with close-ups of objects or character faces, so it's much easier to look over the emptiness behind them.
Tesoro from Viz Media and SigIKKI
None of the stories in Tesoro reach any great length, so each one is a small window into the lives of different characters. Yet in those short pages Ono manages to make us feel comfortable for these people, so that we feel their small pains and take pleasure in the bits of happiness we see. Though Ono's illustration style is untraditional and at times a bit strange, it's pleasingly unartistic and helps pull the reader further into the stories. If you've already made the decision that Natsume Ono does nothing for you, then you're better off leaving this manga alone. But if you're an Ono fan, or love slice-of-life stories where people just do things, then Tesoro is a worthy buy.
Tesoro gets 5/5
- ISBN: 9781421532233
- MSRP: $12.99
- 248 pages
- Released November 15, 2011
- Viz Media
Join the Conversation