Mango miniatures – review of the manga “Illusory Gynecocracies”

The content of the volume

The Polish edition of Illusory Gynecocrats consists of 23 stories published in Japan in two separate volumes. Many of the stories are less than ten pages long, and the longest in the entire publication, Ivan Gorje, is located on less than forty boards. After each of these miniatures (because it is difficult to call them otherwise) there is a sketch related to the plot and a short, author’s note with a commentary or explanation to the story. The latter are a plus point for this publication, as they provide an insight into the author and his intentions.

In addition to the manga, there are afterword at the end of each of the two original volumes. From the first one, we learn, among other things, that the title of the collection means “women’s superiority” or “women’s rule” and that this was the idea behind Hiroaki Samura’s selection of subsequent comics. However, as the author himself pointed out, this intention was not fully implemented.

Illusory gynecocracies are released like many other manga. The soft, black and white cover is surrounded by a colored dust jacket. There are several colored pages inside. Interestingly, the latter are placed not only at the beginning of the comic book, but also in the middle, where the second original volume of the collection begins.

Various topics

It is difficult to summarize the subject of the stories contained in the Illusory Gynecocracies . The presence of female characters in the foreground is certainly a common theme, but contrary to the artist’s original intention, they are not always dominant and strong. While some are like that (for example, the heroines of the 2011 Blue Reef or Pregnancy Pregnancy ), in other stories female characters do not have much to say, and in one of the miniatures the heroine – unfortunately – was reduced to the role of a sexual object.

This item is definitely not intended for a young audience. The visual sphere is full of nudity and scenes of violence. However, the pronunciation of individual pieces is more inadequate. Some are highly erotic, some are downright distasteful. Others are too scary or gloomy for the young readers. The publisher does not suggest an age group, but it is definitely not a comic book for people under 16.

A touch of humor and a handful of fantasy

Some of the stories presented have a certain hint of humor. While none of them make you cry with laughter, some contain some kind of joke or gags. While the author seems to agree with the potential accusation that he specializes in “little comedies,” most stories cannot be described as comedies, even if they contain humorous interjections.

Much of the stories in Illusory Gynecocracies are fantasy. These are not typical stories belonging to this trend, but they contain elements “out of this world”. Songs such as Cembrowina , Notes z pole battles and Kamakurianka deserve special attention . Each of them contains an interesting theme that could be developed as part of longer texts. I omit their discussion here on purpose, because due to its small size, even a general presentation of the concept would be a big spoiler.

Final considerations

Illusory Gynecocracies are a collection of short comics in which female characters play an important role in the plot. Unfortunately, the whole thing is not very good. The short length of most tracks does not allow for too much development of either the characters or the plot. This does not mean that the book reads badly – it just does not stand out above the average. Only a few of the twenty-three stories contained in it are somehow deeper remembered.