素晴らしい世界

SUBARASHII SEKAI

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
2
RELEASE
March 19, 2004
CHAPTERS
19

DESCRIPTION

A dream recaptured. A life on a new track. The absurdity of death.
Laughter in the face of reality.

With this series of intersecting vignettes, Inio Asano explores the ways in which modern life can be ridiculous and sublime, terrible and precious, wasted and celebrated.

(Source: Viz Media)

CAST

Shinigami Dog
Horita Tomotsugu
Yokoyama
Happy Girl
Bear Bandit
Syrup
Hozumi
Bullied Girl
Gloomy Girl
Noh Mask
Tamotsu
Sato Okazaki
Yuriko Togawa
Kasukabe
Ramen Stand
Taepodong
Sister Kato
Shinigami Crow
Tae Kato
Shop Attendant
Kota
Suzuko
Drinking Girl
Mangaka
Endo

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO SUBARASHII SEKAI

Cover Art for 1999 (What A Wonderful World)

ONE SHOT Drama1999 (What A Wonderful World)

REVIEWS

NapoJ
60/100
Antología acerca del valor de la vida, escrita por un joven Inio Asano (reseña en ESP y ENG)
La siguiente reseña está en Español e Inglés (traducida con el apoyo de DeepL)
La versión leída es la traducción al español por Robelais

Español

Es una antología de historias, cada capítulo tiene un protagonista en una situación específica, uno que otro aparecerá en otra historia como personaje secundario. Si bien cada situación es única, el carácter del compendio se puede generalizar, son las vivencias cotidianas de personas cualquiera, con cada quién enfrentando a su manera las circunstancias tan comunes que le suceden.

Sea una relación de pareja, familiar o amistad, el inevitable proceso de crecimiento o la convivencia en tu ambiente; ninguno de los protagonistas está en un buen punto al comienzo ni necesariamente lo estará al final, más es subrayada la idea de cómo podría llegar a estarlo, citando al mismo manga “mientras vivas, algo bueno te pasará”.

Subarashii Sekai es el primer trabajo serializado de Inio Asano, de ahí que la calidad de las historias es notablemente irregular, en algunas su mensaje será plenamente transmitido a nivel narrativo y artístico, en otras es difusa la disposición de los elementos. Entiendo lo tentador de atribuir esas lagunas narrativas al autor en la línea de “invita pensar al lector” pero teniendo en consideración que corresponde a un trabajo casi “de debut”, factiblemente se debe es a un joven mangaka en proceso de entender que quería realizar y cómo.

En está antología están las semillas de varias de ideas, temáticas y estilos que le conseguiría su reconocimiento, sea un capítulo casi prototipo de Solanin, su humor irónico, la percepción de que cada personaje secundario está lidiando con sus respectivos problemas o las pinceladas de pesimismo entremezcladas con sinceridad y esperanza.

Tampoco quiero implicar que su valor sea únicamente histórico o comparativo, sin duda hay genialidad, tal como he mencionado, varios de los capítulos transmiten su mensaje de positivismo frente al devenir siempre y cuándo estemos dispuesto a cambiar en favor del mismo, consiguiendo que en pocas páginas sintamos empatía por el protagonista y valoremos su lección. Donde lo consigue (en general) es en las historias menos “oscuras”, de adolescentes intentando ser adultos sin saber cómo.

La cotidianidad del manga tiene una excepción, hay contados elementos fantásticos en la narrativa que no llaman la atención sobre sí mismos, al contrario, se entremezclan con la normalidad del resto del mundo, consiguiendo plasmar un rudimentario realismo mágico. Su inclusión conseguirá varios de los mejores momentos y paneles del manga, sin embargo, similar al resto de los elementos, son un punto de partida a ser perfeccionado en futuras historias.

Respecto al apartado artístico, Asano en sus veintitrés años ya exhibía una notable habilidad para la composición, donde utiliza el posicionamiento de los personajes y el ritmo del panel para implicar interesantes reflexiones. Particularmente, me han gustado los sentimientos implícitos en su manejo de las miradas como también en lo expresivo de las emociones en su estado puro, ambos consiguen dotar de corazón a las historias.

He leído bastantes reseñas de la obra, varias encuentran diferentes reflexiones de diversa complejidad en lo social y filósofo, considero que la mayoría se realiza en retrospectiva, es decir, atribuyendo al Asano que un día será en vez del Asano que fue; y no debería ser el caso. La mejor forma de corresponder a la antología es ver y reflexionar en los elementos tan sólidos que tiene, a la par que reconoces el proceso de descubrimiento que tenía su autor consigo mismo.

English

It is an anthology of stories, each chapter has a protagonist in a specific situation, some of them will appear in another story as a secondary character. Although each situation is unique, the character of the compendium can be generalized, these are the daily experiences of any person, with each one facing in their own way the common circumstances that happen to them.

Whether it is a relationship, family or friendship, the inevitable process of growing up or living in your environment; none of the protagonists is in a good place at the beginning or necessarily will be at the end, but the idea of how it could become so is underlined, quoting the same manga "as long as you live, something good will happen to you".

Subarashii Sekai is Inio Asano's first serialized work, hence the quality of the stories is notably irregular, in some his message will be fully conveyed at the narrative and artistic level, in others the arrangement of the elements is diffuse. I understand how tempting it’s to attribute these narrative gaps to the author in the line of "inviting the reader to think", but considering that it corresponds to an almost "debut" work, it is probably due to a young mangaka in the process of understanding what he wanted to do and how.

In this anthology are the seeds of several of the ideas, themes and styles that would get him his recognition, be it an almost chapter prototypical to Solanin, his ironic humor, the perception that each secondary character is dealing with their respective problems or the touches of pessimism intermingled with sincerity and hope.

Nor do I want to imply that its value is only historical or comparative, there is undoubtedly genius, as I mentioned, several of the chapters convey its message of positivism in the face of the future as long as we are willing to change in favor of it, getting us to feel empathy for the protagonist in a few pages and value his lesson. Where it succeeds (in general) is in the less "dark" stories, of teenagers trying to become adults without knowing how.

The everydayness of the manga has an exception, there are a few fantastic elements in the narrative that do not draw attention to themselves, on the contrary, they are intermingled with the normality of the rest of the world, managing to capture a rudimentary magical realism. Their inclusion will achieve several of the manga's best moments and panels, however, similar to the rest of the elements, they are a starting point to be improved in future stories.

Regarding the artistic section, Asano in his twenty-three years already exhibited a remarkable ability for composition, where he uses the positioning of the characters and the rhythm of the panel to imply interesting reflections. Particularly, I liked the feelings implied in his handling of the looks as well as the expressiveness of the emotions in their pure state, both of which manage to endow the stories with heart.

I have read quite a few reviews of the work, several find different reflections of varying complexity in the social and philosophical, I consider that most are made in retrospect, that is, attributing to the Asano that one day will be instead of the Asano that was; and it should not be the case. The best way to correspond to the anthology is to see and reflect on the very solid elements it has, while recognizing the process of discovery that its author had with himself.
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NoLongerMega
85/100
A Slice of Life That Reflects Real Life
Adolescents struggling to figure out their place in the world. A sushi chef trying to make things right with his brother. A young salaryman who wants to rediscover the fun of his youth. All of these are present in Inio Asano’s What a Wonderful World!, the series that launched his career into the beloved writer and artist he is today. Despite the shorter length, these 19 stories manage to encapsulate how simultaneously wonderful and heartbreaking life can be.

The first aspect of What a Wonderful World! that immediately stuck out to me was how well the single stories worked. While there are some intersecting plot lines, such as the Shinigami who appear throughout the stories and recurring characters, all of them manage to come together in a complete package that mirrors the real world. Life, death, happiness, sadness, fulfillment, longing for more, all of these emotions are present at some point in the collection and can resonate deeply with the reader. Asano is renowned for his works featuring heavy themes and realistic characters, and all of that began here with this short but sweet anthology series. Without this, we might have never obtained modern classics such as Goodnight PunPun or Dead Dead Demon’s DeDeDeDe Destruction, both of which are known for these exact elements.

The series overall also covers a wide variety of issues and topics, all of which feel realistic and personal to the characters. By the end of the series, I am sure that everyone who reads it will have at least one story that resonates with their own lives and experiences by the end. For example, younger readers might relate to chapters 5 and 10, which revolve around how harsh academics and bullying can be, while adults might resonate with the chapters such as 13 and 14, dealing with topics such as the hardships of maintaining a family and truly feeling like you are truly content with your life. Because of the length of the chapters, however, this does result in some feeling more well-rounded and having more to say than others, but even the weaker ones are worth the read. The short windows we get to see of each character are similar to seeing a random stranger on the street, where we only view a brief amount of their lives in the current moment. Whether they are living their best lives or have hit their rock bottom, everyone needs to keep moving on with life and work hard to become their ideal versions of themselves. By the end of each story, all the reader can do is wish the best for whoever the protagonist is for that chapter, hoping that they can ultimately be happy with their lives.

While it might not be perfect, What a Wonderful World! manages to do so much in such a small amount of time. It might lack the appeal of a long-running series with multiple character arcs that the reader can grow close to as the story continues, but there is still so much to love about this more simple episodic approach to a slice of life. This manga mainly serves as a stepping stone for Inio Asano’s later works, with his talent being clear this early on in his career. The purpose of this review was more so to shed some light on an underrated series rather than get into a deep breakdown, as simply writing about it would not do enough justice. If you are a fan of Asano’s work, enjoy realistic stories, or simply want a great read that should not last more than an afternoon, this is the perfect series to read.

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