So . . . Dictatorial
Grimoire.
Sitting at home, you’re probably thinking that is the oddest
name for a fairy tale related comic ever.
You might be right. Also, the
strangeness doesn’t exactly stop there. Dictatorial Grimoire is a manga (that’s
the term for a Japanese comic book) by manga artist Ayumi Kanou and published
here in the US
by Seven Seas Entertainment, LLC. I
think I’ve mentioned a while back how European fairy tales are actually rather
popular in Japan
despite having a nice selection of the more domestic product (such as
“Momotaro”, “Urashima-taro” and “Issun-Boshi”).
This is actually just one of many fairy tale related media products from
the land of the rising sun.
The story revolves around a half-Japanese student named Otogi
Grimm. Otogi spent much of his life
moving around with his mother until tragedy strikes and she dies. Suddenly, Otogi gets a letter from the father
he never knew telling him to move into a certain mansion that’s been left to
him and enroll in a certain school. After
complying with this unusual request, things are set in motion. Otogi finds out that he is the last surviving
descendant of the Brothers Grimm. It
also turns out that the Brothers Grimm didn’t really go around collecting folk
tales from servants and friends. They
actually used sorcerous power to summon the fairy tale characters who are
actually beings called Marchen Demons and get the stories from them (if you’re
keeping track, the Brothers Grimm have now been reimagined by popular culture
as con-men, monster hunters, detectives and now sorcerers. Wow).
Anyway, as part of the deal, the Marchen Demons are allowed to come
after the Brothers’ descendants after a certain amount of time. Naturally, time is up for Otogi Grimm. On the upside, it turns out he can use his
copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales as a grimoire (book of spells, and thus the name of
the manga). He can use the book to bind
the power of the Marchen Demons and make them his own allies. Also, he’s got help from a couple of
classmates Hiyori Hatsushiba and Sorimachi Yuma (Yuma actually starts out as more of a rival)
and the Marchen Demon Cinderella who serves him freely.
Here’s the thing: in this manga Cinderella is a man.
In fact, the series seems to be full of gender-bending and
homoerotic overtones. Cinderella is a
dashing, long-haired man who has a masochistic streak. Snow White is a man who’s an expert in
poisons and calls himself a princess because he’s just so beautiful. Red Riding Hood is a manly hunter type. Also, Bluebeard is a woman who likes to
capture pretty girls and keep them locked in cages. Also, some of their costuming looks
suspiciously like fetish gear. I know I
say “this comic isn’t for everyone” about a lot of fairy tale comics, but I
think it really applies here. I guess
there’s a reason that this manga is rated “Older Teen (16+)”. Now, it’s not that uncommon for modern fairy
tale media to play with genders.
Zenescope’s comic series Grimm
Fairy Tales does it all the time.
Once Upon a Time did it with Jack.
Ever After High invariably does it with the offspring of male
characters. However, in these cases,
it’s usually to provide extra tittilation to male audience members, provide
more feminist heroes and villains or to better connect with the target
audience. Also, it’s almost invariably
changing male characters into female ones.
Here, it goes both ways. The
truth is that Japanese pop culture often just likes to play with gender
expectations. I know of a number of Japanese
video game characters that do it as well. I'm not sure why. It just seems to be something built into their popular culture.
Overall, it’s not a terrible manga. But it’s not spectacular either. It’s kind of by-the-numbers for a manga of
its type. It’s a “wimpy loner kid gets a
lot of power at risk of his life” manga.
It’s practically a genre all its own in Japan . If you’re interested in seeing how the
creator twists around and reinterprets the different fairy tale characters, you
might want to give it a look. However, I
don’t really think it’s something worth rushing out of the house to find. But, that’s just my view.
Anyway, a lot of interesting stuff has been coming out in regards to fairy/folk tale comics. So, for this entry I also bring you Also in Comic Shops:
- Archaia Entertainment, the current licensee of Jim Henson properties is currently putting out a miniseries inspired by Jim Henson's The Storyteller entitled Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Witches. Of course, this is the second in a line of Storyteller projects following the Jim Henson's The Storyteller graphic novel from a year or two ago.
- Boom! Studios is continuing to publish Paul Jenkins and Humberto Ramos's rebel Red Riding Hood series Fairy Quest with a new miniseries Fairy Quest: Outcasts. In addition, they're also publishing another series set in the world of Fablewood entitled Fiction Squad which follows the exploits of a forgotten crime fiction detective as he tries to solve nursery rhyme crimes.
- For those who prefer their folklore to be of the frontier variety, Image Comics has released a new weekly series American Legends which follows Davy Crockett, Mike Fink and Sally Ann Thunder as they try to save the Lewis and Clark expedition from the machinations of Jean Lafitte and Marie Laveau. Other legend and tall tale characters are likely to also make appearances.
Interested in any of these? Reading any already? Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
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