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Monday, February 17, 2020

Faults' Artists Highlight: Hiroaki Samura

Welcome to Faults' Artists Highlight, where I write about artists or works whom I took influence from, the ones which I admire, or artists whose works which I found fascinating. In the series, I will be writing about my experience with the highlighted artists, attempting to identify aspects of their works that resonated with me.



 As is the case with most people, my entry point into the work of Hiroaki Samura is through what is widely considered his magnum opus, the almost 20 year long running Blade of the Immortal series. I had joined in the series quite late - a bit past when the series was to be halfway of its total run - and the exact moment I first came across his name was not from finding out about the series itself per se, but rather having read an interview with an artist that namedrop Samura as well as Terada as one of his influences. 

 From that interview, I can still recall that this specific page was used to showcase his work:


At some point after the interview, I came across a compilation of the earlier chapters of Blade of the Immortal (from this point onward referred as BotI), and I was really intrigued by the mix of violence and beauty, coupled with dynamic fight scenes, even if I was not necessarily interested with samurai stories during that time. 



But really, it was what I had perceived as the 'rough' linework of Samura, as well as Terada that had initially caught my eyes: having a notoriously terrible handwriting (which also translate into rather messy sketches), I was very interested with the concept that one does not have to work in clean line style to convey a sense of dynamism... that, hell, such rough works may as well be the main contribution for the sense of life in the works of those two artists...

I was pretty surprised to find out much later during my ingestion of Samura's works that (at least primarily with BotI) he works with micron pens, as opposed to the more widely used nib pens among mangaka. To think that such a medium which I viewed as rather limiting and simple being used so effectively by him, it goes to show how important one's skills is to fully utilize the tools at one's disposal - that the skill truly is in the hands. 



Which neatly segues into the next point: Samura draws some pretty damn fine hands. 







It is a point that I see being repeated a lot through admirer of his works, and although it is something that I had not realized it when I was reading through his works, in the words of Masashi Kishimoto, 'hands really are something that you can’t help but notice'. 

Certainly it was interesting to come across the mentioning of Samura in one review of the work of Mucha, as both of these artists are who I would place as masters, whose level of visions and skills are that which I aspire to reach. 


Alphonse Mucha




"I’ve been told by one of my readers that he thought the artist behind my manga must be a woman, because men draw their fetishes into the work more when they draw women, emphasizing certain parts and all that [...] I’m always thinking about the balance of the whole"

Another notable point of Samura's works that is repeatedly mentioned is his masterful works in traditional drawing media, with one review mentioning that it has gotten pretty rare to find contemporary manga artists who are still focused on traditional media (even if he had mentioned in interview of how he originally hated oil painting during his college years). 

His pencilling work are stunning, with some of the splash pages and standalone illustrations off BotI leaving quite the impression on me. 




Live demonstration of Samura's pencil work

Samura's pencilling work provides a good jumping point to talk about a particularly notrious illustration book of his, Brutal Love. 

Containing previously published illustrations in various erotic and pornographic magazines, the book primarily features some of Samuras best pencil art. If the mention of those magazines seems innocuous enough in the increasingly more desensitized entertainment... oh believe me, the title of the book is very, very apt... 

"Samura Hiroaki – manga genius, or twisted mind ?" - closing remark from review of the book



It is one thing for wanton display of violence - and a casual read of BotI shows that it's not something that Samura shies away from - but to see it intersecting with sexual elements (which would fall under what is considered as 'ero guro'), to see it drawn with such realism and vivid expressions that you wince at the contorted bodies, pierced limbs, maimed orifices...

Interestingly, Samura himself noted - begged, actually - in the afterword to 'not show this book to those who aren't interested in this sort of art and those who can't stand seeing women being hurt, tortured, or killed even in pictures.' Despite the disturbing nature of the theme, the drafting skill of Samura is evident in the pages - with one reviewer stating how this book stands as the artist most important artistic statement.


"I do draw women in pain pretty much for the sheer eroticism of it"

This is not an easy book to recommend, despite the undeniable artistic merit present. Honestly, simply thinking about some of the pages gives me the shiver... And so it was very difficult returning to them during the process of writing this post, with me more or less skimming through most of the pages...

Maybe, as is the case with Terada, it's not just the matter of the subject being drawn, but it is the vision and skill of the artist that scares me...?



Another equally polarizing work from Samura would be Bradherley's Coach  - a one volume short series set in Western Europe. 

The early chapters were not easy to digest, with unspeakable acts being carried out to little girls. With such a brief description, it would be obvious as to why most are disturbed with this series.... It is still much easier for me to go through the story than to linger on Brutal Love, I'll admit, but I don't see it as a story that I would casually return to. 


These two aforementioned works are fascinating case study in trying to piece together what goes on in Samura's mind. It certainly does bring into mind the subject of separating the artist from the art.


A feeble attempt at rendering the artist's likeness



I recall a review of Samura's later works, where it was suggested that the whole story arc is pretty much a rape and revenge setting, even if the act in question does explicitly occur to the lead female character throughout the story (although it did transpired for another main female lead in the series, even if it is only a brief part in the overall story). 


The exploration of similar theme is made even more explicit in his subsequent works,  Die Wergelder/Beageruta, which I see as Samura really letting it loose, a "manga without dignity" - as one reviewer has succinctly summarize the book, it's all about Samura drawing women, sex, and violence! 

Interestingly, not one, but two of the major characters in the series have undergone through traumatic experience in the past, shaping into the - at the risk of being more misogynistic while talking about the series - bad bitches they are. The main character does not carry a similar burden with her - which you could say how she plays a sort of balancing role, a sort of observer to the blood soaked path of vendetta.

Yeah, okay, I was thinking of this early panel off BotI when writing the line there

You can really feel that this series is Samura's working with the subjects that he is best at. Truly an exhilarating series, I can't get enough of it. 




"My manga is pretty much always about flashiness, first and foremost"



Samura's depiction of the female characters in his story has certainly been... interesting, to put it mildly. A casual browsing of either Bradherley or Brutal might give the initial gut punch that leads one to say 'the artist must hate women!' (and I have come across the exact sentiment once), and certainly Beageruta can easily be described as an exploitation piece... Yet, go beyond the surficial sex and blood, and you could see that there is a sense of beauty in his rendition of the female characters... That, despite all the bruises, blood, and suffering, most of the female characters in his stories end up coming on top of their male counterpart. 

 "I can’t treat women as just plain background. I can’t portray them getting physically hurt past a certain point.[...] I have that desire for them to be symbols of aesthetic beauty"

Several reviewer have noted how in the original run of BotI, the story arc of two of the main female leads - Rin and Makie - are tied to their male counterparts - Manji and Anotsu respectively. In that sense, Beageruta does feel like Samura distilling the elements that he works best, further developing the idea of violence dealt to and by women. 

"[...]which is why I always make the women in my manga into badasses, or really courageous, or indescribably beautiful. I always try to make the women mentally superior in my work"

It is not so surprising, then to see the quote 'believe in female supremacism' being the highlight in one interview. Its a fascinating read, and is interesting not only because it is one of the few case where he provide an interview, but it goes into details on some of his background in art, his artistic inpirations and development, and more relevant to the previous point, some of his view of the opposite sex. 

" I believe in female supremacism. On some fundamental level I am just not as good as women"

Reading on his... shall we say, preference, I will shamelessly say that I really relate with him viewing the body more from an aesthetic point of view... It was as if he put into words - and images - of my own ideals and preferences, and to see him executing his visions with terrifyingly beautiful renditions...

Samura's style emulation
Pieces directly ripped off from Samura's works

If ABe was the catalyst who made me to pay more attention into drawing more seriously, Samura is one whose level of skills and visions I continue to aspire to. While it is true that my works are nowhere near the style that he works on - and of course nowhere even near his level! - I am continuously amazed at his beautiful illustrations.  He is one I would without a doubt refer to as one of the greats, be it as a comic artist or illustrator. 

"Authors separate fiction from reality even more than people realize"

Happy birthday, Samura sensei!


References/materials for further reading:
Posted by Faiz Faults at 6:10 PM
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