Author: Ugawa Hiroki
Copyright © Ugawa Hiroki / Young King Comics

Every once in a while it's nice to be able to pick up and read a manga story that's only a singe volume long. It frees you from the commitment needed for long series, and it can give you more depth than can be presented in a single installation short story. STANDARD BLUE is one such single-volume story, written by the relatively unknown Ugawa Hiroki. This seems to be the first major collection of Ugawa's work, as there is a scene with character cameos that indicate that he's been working as a manga professional for a while. Perhaps someday the stories featuring these cameo characters will be published, but for now, STANDARD BLUE will do.
The Standard Blue of the title is an artificial city built around the island of Nirai, which is the destination of a girl named Shiki. Unfortunately, the passenger seaplane she's riding has to divert its landing approach because of a small fleet controlled by the Knights of Gaia (an organization that resembles Greenpeace). In doing so, the seaplane clips a small salvage boat and makes a crash landing. The salvage boat moves in to help rescue the passengers, and Shiki recognizes it as her grandfather's boat. The owner of Ushio Sea Services is pleasantly surprised to see his granddaughter, but the reunion is cut short as the seaplane starts to sink.
Overhearing that the flight attendant is still aboard the plane, Shiki runs back into the aircraft despite reprimands from her grandfather's employee, Takeshi. She discovers that the attendant remained behind to aid an injured passenger, so she lends a hand in carrying the passenger to the exit as the compartment starts to flood. They make it to the exit, but the door shuts on Shiki's skirt before she can jump into the water. She bats at the door with the seat cushion she's using for a flotation device as the seaplane drags her underwater. Takeshi spends an anxious moment looking for Shiki before she surfaces, but she refuses to get aboard the boat. Takeshi discovers the reason for her reluctance after he plucks her out of the water — Shiki escaped by slipping out of her skirt, and her grandfather doesn't take too kindly to Takeshi's discovery and nearly sends his employee into orbit with a punch.
The mix of humor and drama in the first chapter is typical of the following chapters, and Ugawa uses this mixture in a well-balanced fashion as the main plot develops. The overall plot of STANDARD BLUE concerns Shiki's coming of age, which is impeded by the tragedy of her father's death four years ago. Kagari Kazuki's death shattered his family, driving his wife Shizuru deeper into her work as a scientist and leaving Shiki with a pendant as his legacy. The people who knew Kazuki speak of him with revered tone and seem concerned about upsetting Shiki, except for Takeshi, who doesn't seem to like kids. Especially supportive of Shiki are her grandfather, a jolly old man who is very defensive of his granddaughter, and Tai Chien, the laconic salvage ship pilot.
Shiki herself is probably both the best and the most annoying part of STANDARD BLUE. At times, she acts ditzy and easily awed, which is natural for a child her age, but at other times, her displays of strength and melancholy betray how deeply she has been affected by her father. Luckily, Shiki acts more and more mature as the story builds to a pretty intense climax, and details of Kazuki's death are revealed. The plot resolution is satisfying and moving, because it involves not just Shiki, but her mother as well.
Ugawa's style is fairly clean and easy to follow. The art looks light due to use of thin, pen-drawn lines and simple screentone work with lots of hatching. His layouts are simple, yet dynamic enough to keep things interesting. The character designs are simplistic, but Ugawa has a good command of facial expressions that allow his characters to emote their inner states. At times, the character designs quality drops to a crude grade school quality for comedic effect, and there's even a tiny collection of 4-coma (4-panel) strips drawn in the crude style hiding under the dustjacket. The backgrounds are not overly complex, containing enough detail for recognition, and they're present in most panels except for the ones that focus on the character reactions. The art may not seem very sophisticated, but Ugawa is a good storyteller, able to direct the reader's attention the way a film director focuses the audience's attention.
The cinematic quality of STANDARD BLUE allows readers with little or no Japanese fluency to follow the story easily. There are a few parts where it gets talky, but the emotional results are understandable. Only a few furigana are provided, so reading the text requires an advanced level of fluency or some patience with a good dictionary.
Packed into one tankobun, STANDARD BLUE is a strong story that doesn't seem too long or too short, but just right. Ugawa introduces us to a group of likeable characters who win our hearts, not because they are superhumanly cute, but because they are just as human as the rest of us. The art isn't hyper-detailed, but the overall storytelling has a profound emotional impact that leaves a lasting impression. If the other works by Ugawa Hiroki are as involving as STANDARD BLUE, their publication will indeed be anticipated.

Publisher: Shounen Gahousha (Young King Comics)
230 pages; Black and White
ISBN4-7859-1891-8
¥530
Available Now in Japan
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