Read "Spark" by Naoki Yukichi

To be honest, the content of this book is not well translated, or the mancai (Japanese comic dialogue) jokes should be performed by real people using body movements and tone to show their flavor, so reading the text alone is not enough to appreciate the fun of character interaction. But it is a pity that there is one place that is not translated. The manga group to which the male protagonist Tokunaga belongs is called "Sparks". "Spark", but the book does not have any annotations, I only learned about the movie version.

When reading this book, it always reminded me of the highly talked about Japanese drama "Nagi's New Life" a while ago. It tells the story of a heroine Nagi who pays too much attention to the atmosphere and makes compromises, and then throws everything away and finds herself back. In that Japanese drama, the heroine Nagi learned to be herself instead of being overly observant, but it would be interesting to put this point of view in the book "Spark". As a performing arts worker, you have to rely on the audience to pay for food and clothing. If the audience doesn't like it, they will starve to death. How can you please the audience while maintaining your art? Such a contradictory relationship, there are two characters in the book to interpret, one is the protagonist Tokunaga, who is still groping not long after his debut, and Kamiya, who is slightly older than him. Kamiya is the complete opposite of Tokunaga. He doesn't care about other people's opinions at all, and insists on the mangai he likes. This is clearly shown at the beginning of the book when Kamiya is arranged to appear in the fireworks display:

The meaning of his roar is almost unknown. I can hardly describe what was going on at that time, "I am very psychic, so I can know whether that person will go to heaven or hell just by looking at his face!" He side He roared so loudly, pointing at each passing person one by one, "Hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, what the hell! A sinner!"—p.24

Tokunaga was attracted by this man (Kamigu) who insisted on telling his jokes, and who pointed at passers-by and shouted hell in such a festive occasion as a fireworks display. Later, the two started a relationship of being both a teacher and a friend. The two people with such different personalities have a common tacit understanding: "Both love Mancai very much." , it makes people smile, is this art learning to play others or learning to play oneself?

As the story goes on, the two have always been unknown in the talent circle, and many rookies have risen behind them. They have no choice but to strive for more performance opportunities. The more I feel that the other party is like a mirror cruelly reflecting their own shortcomings. But in this long road, everyone can only go with the flow, as if caught in a loop, self-doubt and cheer up, try to think of new themes, and even challenge the tradition. Kamigu, who was struggling and insisting on himself, was lost. On the contrary, the protagonist Tokunaga began to make a name for himself, but the author did not describe whether the protagonist found his own personal characteristics, or simply when the time came, he became popular, and without this Part of the characterization, personally feel that the story is not full enough. But I like what Tokunaga did when he chose to disband at the end:

"We Sparks, today is not the last time we will perform cross talk. From now on, I'm really happy to see you every day. I won't take these ten years as spiritual food. So, please just die!"

I have long been looking for an opportunity to perform a cross talk like this, and my mouth is flying and yelling.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"—p.174

Tokunaga's manga was understood by the audience. When he was talking about this period, the audience laughed, but his "Go to hell!" ' is actually the same as the first encounter with Kamiya's 'Hell! 』 is echoed before and after, personally see this paragraph is very excited! Kamiya has always been the person that the protagonist looks up to. He is so indifferent to worldly vision and insists on going his own way. Kamiya has a magic power that makes people around him willing to support him. Until the end, Tokunaga was deeply influenced by him.

But why is Kamiya not red? There is no correct solution to this. After all, there are many unknowns in life. Maybe it's not my fault that I'm not popular, it's just that the opportunity has been missed with myself.