Manga Mayhem

After turning into an alien, I could handle a little more red tape and decided to go open a bank account. Turns out however, bank branches in Japan are only open between 9am and 3pm. These work hours are awesome for the branch attendants, but were not overly convenient for me at the time, maybe I could secure a position in a bank then they would be very convenient for me too.

My disappointment was put on pause though, when I discovered my proximity to the Kyoto International Manga Museum. In fact, the uber-geek in me almost fainted with delight.
The title library is probably more fitting, as the museum holds a vast selection of titles that may be taken down and read on-site as well as holding special exhibitions.

The first of the exhibitions that are currently on, is a figurine display, exploring the development of the modern figurine from the ancient clay dolls. There were ol'skool SCI-FI figurines from Godzilla, Mothra and Gamera, as well as Anime/Manga 3D depictions of everything from Sailor Moon, to Evangellion and Sakura Cardcaptor. I was in little miniature geekie heaven. The craftsmanship of the figures was remarkable and most were prototypes never released by the manufacturers. One of a kind. Awesome.

The other special exhibition was on RM Drawing Works, a series of illustrations that really have a life force of their own.

There are also other exhibits, one a collection of children's books dedicated to teaching conflict resolution without resorting to violence, something maybe the worlds collective governments should see, another on the history of Manga as an artform. Through which I learnt that Tetsuwan Atom was the first ever weekly TVManga. I had known previously that my dear little Astro was important to the development of Anime as we know it, but I did not know he held such an instramental role. So in his honour, after drinking in as much as I could from the rest of the displays, I padded soberly to the English section of the shelves, took down the translated version of Issue One and began to read.