Quick Reads: Manga Mania
Today's Quick Reads article will be a
little bit different because it won't be about regular books like
previous installments – instead the focus will be on a form of
literature that's distinctly Japanese: manga.
If you're a long time enthusiast of Nipponese vehicles chances are
you've heard the word before or you may even be a fan of it but for
those of you in the studio audience who've never heard of the term
manga are
basically Japanese comic books.
That's
an oversimplification of course since there are several unique traits
that differentiate manga from
the Batman, X-men, and Archie comics you used to read on the toilet
(or maybe still do while using your newfangled Squatty Potty). First
of all, just as “anime” differs from Western “cartoons”,
manga caters to all audiences in Japan, not just the young and/or
nerdy like comics are widely perceived in the West. You'll find all
types of manga catering to all manner of readers: young, old, guys,
gals, sci-fi lovers, horror fans, pervs, military nuts, cat fanciers,
overweight Italian plumbers who save princesses on the side, etc etc.
Manga
has also remained traditionally black and white unlike Western comics
that long ago made the jump to color. Also unlike Western comics that
traditionally come in 7” x 10” sized monthly releases, manga
typically is first published in phone book sized anthologies then
later gets released in handy 5” x 7” collections called tankobon.
And just like the Japanese
prefer to drive on the wrong side of the road they also read from the
wrong end of a book so manga reads right to left instead of left to
right like us gaijin have
been taught to do since we were mistaking Play-Doh for tasty
comestibles.
The Nissan GT-R is
a distinctly Japanese car so it seems only fitting that way back in
2005 when Nissan unveiled the GT-R Proto concept car at the Tokyo
Motor Show that it would use a distinctly Japanese medium to help
educate the unenlightened Western press on the history of their
vaunted marque – and this gave birth to the official GT-R manga.
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This book is either about GT-Rs or it's about a giant floating head who drew a penis on the back of his evil twin-brother's race helmet. |
This little gem was
only given out as a press freebie so I was lucky to snag a copy from
a GT-R forum way back when all my memories were as black and white as
the drawings inside. It apparently came in both a Japanese and
English version but mine is the latter – which helps because my
ability to read Nihongo is about as stellar as my ability to read
Shakespeare in the original Klingon.
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Tokyo Motor Show 2005 - the GT-R Proto concept car debuts and a bunch of journalists get free manga. Image credit: Motor Authority |
It's a rather thin
tome at only 64 pages but as you can expect from a company
promotional book it's pretty informative. Using nice line art, the
occasional photo, and a LOT! OF! EXCITED! JAPANESE! FACES! (who all
seem to look alike for some reason) it hits the highlights of GT-R
history from its origins as the Prince Skyline up until the unveiling
of the GT-R Proto in 2005. Even with the short length the book is
full of fascinating trivia for the GT-R fan such as how the debut
race for the original PGC10 GT-R was nearly lost to a Toyota but won
on review after the first place car was disqualified and that the R32
GT-R was actually called the GT-X all throughout development and
wasn't revealed to use the legendary name until the day of its debut.
Unfortunately as a
press giveaway you can't just go out and buy this little primer on
Skyline history but it still pops up on eBay from time to time so if
you keep an eye out you may be able to get a copy from there or if
you just want to read it scans are posted here:
Interestingly, that
2005 manga wasn't the only one to feature the GT-R's history – in
2007, around the time of the reveal of the actual R35 production car
there was another one released. There's very little information on
this second manga out there since it was apparently only published in
Japanese and it seems it was a commercial release by a manga
publisher, not an official promotional piece from Nissan like the
previous version. I did see someone online claim there was an English
version but I think he's confusing this manga with the 2005 version.
The small amount of info out there in English is thanks to one guy
who graciously translated a small part of the manga and posted it
online here:
The manga seems to
have been a much thicker volume than the 2005 version since the
translator mentioned in a forum post that the first pages were text
and that his translated section from pages 14 to 51 was just a
fraction of the manga part, with the whole book weighing in at 260
pages! Unlike the official 2005 Nissan manga which is basically a
straight-up documentary retelling of GT-R history this later
publication decided to frame the history-telling within a touching
story of the budding love triangle between an innocent young boy with
his hand-me-down S15, the ex-mechanic owner of a GT-R themed cafe
who's blessed with a mustache of power, and a rare, restored PGC10
GT-R. Read the scans if you think you're hard enough.
![]() |
Love blossoms between a man, a boy, and an old Japanese saloon car. Image credit: Urbanslide.com |
Also interesting is
the fact that the translator appears to have been an American who
moved to Japan to live with a host family and was keeping a car
enthusiast blog which you can find if you follow the root directory
of that link I posted. His blog is actually a fascinating read for
anyone who's ever thought about visiting Japan whether they're a car
enthusiast or not. Sadly, it hasn't been updated since 2010 with no
reason given for why it was abandoned. I did find a forum post dating
from 2012 that seemed to be from the owner which didn't explain why
he stopped his blog (reading his forum profile it sounds like he
moved back to the States at some point) but did at least shed light
on why he couldn't finish his translation of the manga – he lost
his copy. Too bad because even the characters in it said it was just
getting to the good part! Hopefully the good part remained suitable
for audiences of all ages because otherwise that would just be too
weird.
His forum post was
asking anyone if they knew where to find a copy so he could finish
his translation but his call was left unanswered and unfortunately he
never scanned the cover which would have made finding the book much
easier. If anyone reading this happens to know more, please, please
for the benefit of the GT-R fan community post a message in the
comments or send me an email because I'd love to learn and write more
about this intriguing book and maybe even acquire a copy myself.
Although I sadly
don't have a copy of that GT-R manga I did manage to luck into
another one called Car Imp. Comic while browsing a Japanese used book
store a while back.
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This book is about a dwarf who worships a giant steering wheel and likes to stand on the roof of vintage cars. |
It's not strictly about GT-Rs but it does feature
the R32, R33, and R34 along with some other very cool cars like the
Mclaren F1, Toyota 2000GT, and that ultimate paragon of ultimate
performance: the Daihatsu Midget. With my aforementioned limited
Japanese reading ability don't even bother asking me what the “Imp.”
in the title stand for or why it segues in the middle of a chapter
from talking about the Ford Mustang to some Middle Eastern sultan
with a fetish for the Colt 1911 pistol, or why the chapter on the
Chevy Corvette shows two dudes donning tactical gear, M4 carbines,
and H&K USP Tacticals to raid a warehouse. Did I mention they
threw in the Saturn V rocket for some reason?
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It's saying something when this page that shows Nazi's throwing grenades at a Volvo is one of the LESS weird parts of the book. |
Fortunately or
unfortunately the GT-R sections seem far less wacky – although the
R34 chapter shows the car being worked on by a dude in prison
overalls so I'm probably totally wrong there. Oh well, maybe when I
can clone myself to have more free time to improve my Japanese skills
I'll translate this so everyone can join in the insanity.
![]() |
This section is about one lucky bastard who owns an R34 and likes to pretend he's a spy. |
In case you think
the GT-R is the only hallowed Nissan nameplate to get the historical
manga treatment I have one last book to show you. Back in 2006 a
small publishing company in California picked up the rights to
release an English version of a manga series called Project X. No, it
wasn't about the sexy escapades of Japanese race queens if that's
what you're thinking, instead it was based on a TV show that featured
important Japanese products. One of the products they featured before
the English translation was abandoned due to low sales was the 240Z and the
resulting book is a 207-page retelling of the origins of the Z from
the very beginning. Since the Z was the brainchild of Nissan USA
pioneer Yutaka Katayama the book also shows some insight into the
early years of Nissan in the US – which apparently involved random
used car salesmen in sunflower-print Hawaiian shirts and a whole lot
of legwork from Mr. K himself.
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This book is about a ghostly Datsun Z that terrorizes the Japanese racing circuit on its endless quest for revenge and a good ramen joint. |
This manga is also
sadly long out of print and I don't believe any full scans are
online. They can still be bought from used book sellers online but
they're asking 80 bucks for a volume that retailed for $12.95. Gotta
love capitalism.
Of course, these
books are just the tip of the iceberg as far as Nissans in manga.
With the legendary status of the GT-R and Z plus various other famous
models Nissans often make their way into fictional manga like Initial
D, Wangan Midnight, Shakotan Boogie and so forth but that'd be a
story for another day. I hope you enjoyed this not-so-brief foray
into the land of manga and you'll come back for a future edition of
my Quick Reads articles. Have fun and drive safe out there!
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