A lot of manga have the most convoluted, pernickety premises – I can’t fault the imagination behind them though they do get awkwardly set up within a short space of time. So it goes with the first volume of Genkaku Picasso!
A high school student miraculously escapes death because his actually dead classmate made a deal with Buddha to spare his life. In return, he must use his drawing skills to help those in need or he will rot. He senses troubled people’s auras and sketches enigmatic visions whose meaning he must unravel whilst also inhabiting the drawings!
It’s a strange idea for a series but this first book wasn’t bad. It’s a little too contrived – Picasso always manages to intervene at the exact time the people are about to do something crazy like commit murder or suicide. And all the people he has to help happen to be in his class at school or in a nearby class.
The main character isn’t particularly likeable or interesting and resembles a weasel at the best of times. Not sure why the book is called “Genkaku” either as it’s not his name though I get that “Picasso” is a pun on his real name. And I’m not sure if she was meant to be but the suicidal ultra-emo goth chick was really funny!
Still, the mysteries of what was wrong with the various characters was compelling to see solved and I wouldn’t say I found it a boring read. The haunting, dream-like imagery was quite arresting and I liked the difference in art styles between the drawing world and the real world – normal, clear lines for the real world and shaggy, sketch-lines for the drawing world.
Usamaru Furuya’s first Genkaku Picasso book wasn’t bad but it didn’t do enough for me to want to keep reading the other two books in the run – it’s just a tad too gimmicky and it was already feeling repetitive towards the end of this first volume. I’ve said it before but not every manga needs to be a series!
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