Tower of the Future 1 by Saki HIWATARI
At the Forbidden Planet in Union Square, there was a point when they had copies of every single volume of Tower of the Future on the discount manga rack, except for volume 1. Usually, I would’ve taken that as an opportunity to start collecting the series even though I don’t have the first book. But considering that I haven’t even finished reading/collecting all the volumes of Please Save My Earth, I’ve held back on purchasing this series. I think there’s only so much Hiwatari that one person can read at once…
Okay, what an idiot I was. I was able to find v1 of Tower of the Future at FanimeCon, and am now sad that I don’t have the rest of the volumes (yet).
If PSME is any indication, this first volume is obviously a warm-up for bigger things to come. It starts out feeling very normal and innocuous — middle-schooler Takeru is your average normal kid. He has friends, is busy prepping for the high-school exams, and writes fantasy-based stories in his spare time. Then one day, his mother is involved in a dangerous car accident, and her dying wish is for him to accept a half-sister that he never even knew about into their home. Teenage angst ensues. He runs away from home (granted, he ends up running away to a friend’s house who lives maybe a block away from home) and rebels against his father and what Takeru perceives as infidelity towards his mom.
Hiwatari, as much as I adore her, is a bit of a hard sell to fans who are used to the slick, cute art style that’s common among many of the artists working right now. Her art in Tower of the Future has the smushed noses and the wacky hairstyles and fashion choices that was cool in the early 1990s. I have to say, though, that the payoff for reading and sticking with one of her stories is more than worth it. She is a master at characterization and motivation, and it’s in the subtle things that she does with this knowledge that makes her a wonderful mangaka.
May 27th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I’ve read Tower of the Future 1 a long time ago and haven’t read the second volume yet. I need to read them both one after the other and see if I want to get into this series. I really wish someone would translate Global Garden though, that seems like it might be the most interesting Hiwatari series yet.
May 27th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
@Anna: I actually am hoping that they (ah, who am I kidding, I mean Viz) would pick up the PSME sequel, especially since certain characters that I couldn’t stand in the original are more likeable in it ^_^
May 27th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Oh, I look forward to hearing more about this! I’m a huge fan of PSME!
May 28th, 2009 at 7:52 am
[...] (Comics Should Be Good) Patti Martinson on Tail of the Moon: Prequel (Sequential Tart) Anna on vol. 1 of Tower of the Future (2 screenshot limit) Julie on vol. 1 of Venus Capriccio (Manga Maniac Cafe) Melinda Beasi on vol. 4 [...]