Cloverfield manga
© Kadokawa
Cloverfield Manga: Last Minute Hype
By: Nadia Oxford, ColumnistDate: Thursday, January 17, 2008
January is a cold, pale month that's made blearier by the post-Christmas blahs. The early days of 2008 have been a little more cheerful, however, because a mysterious movie called Cloverfield has initiated enough speculation and discussion to help us forget we're sad and freezing.
Even now, just a day or two away from the official release of the film, we don't have a solid idea of what the movie will really offer. Vague trailers have shown snatches of footage. We know that some huge beast wrecks New York City and possibly takes a bite out of the rest of the world, but we don't know what the monster looks like. Valid guesses include something resembling Godzilla or Cthulhu. Rumours even suggest a giant whale-creature with parasites clinging to its hide. I once heard suggestions of Lavos, the spiked alien entity who destroys the world in the old Super Nintendo RPG Chrono Trigger. It's unlikely, but the thought thrills the nerd inside of me.
If you're not already bored of guessing about Cloverfield's mysteries, check out the Cloverfield manga, now hosted online</a> by Kadokawa (publishers of popular series such as Sgt Frog and Cowboy Bebop). The manga is part of the viral marketing campaign that includes the movie trailer, "character blogs" and other small hints and bits of info that are doing a successful job at farming hype for the film.
The online-exclusive publication probably won't see an official translation. There are four parts and a new part will be released each week (previous installments will reportedly be taken down, so read quickly to the best of your ability).
True to the nature of the eerie, minimalist tone Cloverfield's become famous for even before its release, the manga brings up more questions than it answers. Don't expect a clearly defined shot of the monster. The last page gives up one panel of something big and scary being dragged under a tarp cast on the ocean. We don't know what it is, but we can assume it's trouble.
And to be completely honest, don't expect anything special out of the rest of the story, either. It's pretty standard manga fare. At this point it's not known if the manga is a prequel, a sequel, or a side-story. The first available chapter is split into two parts: A young high school boy named Aiba is tormented regularly by punks, and during a routine beating he asks himself why he was born. As he contemplates his destiny at a time when most victims would be busy trying not to let their guts spill onto the bathroom floor (as I said, this is a pretty standard manga), an evacuation alarm sounds. It's followed quickly by the principal telling the children that it's merely a drill.
The story shifts to a boat on the ocean. The vessel is owned by Tagruato, which, incidentally, is the giant corporation that the movie's main character had been hired to work for before everything went to hell. On the boat, a salt shows off pictures of his wife and says he can't wait to go back home to his family. Dude, shut your mouth. Family pictures shown off during the tension-building moments of a monster movie are kryptonite.
Back in the school, Aiba is saved by a tough girl. Cue a flashback in which we learn Aiba has been bullied most of his life thanks in part to his mother being "strange." It turns out his strange mother died some time ago, and Aiba wishes he'd died with her. When we're dealing with a character this pathetic, we all sort of do.
There's obviously supposed to be a connection between Aiba, his mother, Tagruato and the monster that will surely reveal itself in chapter two to swallow the Family Guy sailor whole. In fact, the Cloverfield manga is written by J.J. Abrams, the film's screenwriter (I'm assuming it's been translated into Japanese, which makes for an interesting switch).
I consider myself a defender of manga. I know there are a lot of people who believe anime and manga should piss off entirely and take the curse of Pokemon with it, but I try to stand firm and point out the stuff that isn't generic. So far though, the Cloverfield manga is pretty generic, which makes me wonder about the movie. I've heard tell that Abrams wants Cloverfield to be an "American Godzilla." We had one of those, and it's best not remembered.
But there's no point in making a snap judgment. In a few days we'll know if Cloverfield will live forever in the hearts and minds of movie-goers, or if it was all just a formless pile of cleverly-built hype. Unfortunately, I might have to sit this one out entirely. If the previews are any indication, Cloverfield is largely told through shaky cell-phone camera footage. I'm very prone to motion sickness and I'm sure nobody wants me to throw up my Skittles in the aisle. Generic or not, I guess the manga will be my closest connection to one of the decade's most highly-anticipated films.
