An Ideal World
Written By: Wiedong Chen
Illustrated By: Chao Peng
Translation: J. Gustave McBride
Lettering:
Abby Blackman
Tania Biswas
JuYoun Lee
Yen Press
An Ideal World, follows the main character A You, a 19-year-old male who finds himself in the midst of a deep depression feeling his entire life has been paved by bad luck. After a morning where everything that could go wrong went, wrong A You finds himself jobless and unsure on what the future holds. A You accidently gets on the wrong bus and ends up in the country where he takes a nap inside a big hallowed out tree to escape a rainstorm. A You awakes and makes his way back outside only to find himself lost in a dense strange forest leading to him meeting a strange man known as Grandpa Beard who transports A You to an alternate world called Abi Port starting A You on a never boring journey to find his self esteem and give him the strength needed to better his life and achieve his dreams.
Although this was my first time reading a manga stylebook I must admit that I absolutely loved An Ideal World. I quickly found myself on a one-way trip back to my childhood when epic stories such as The Neverending Story and The Labyrinth took me to magical locations. Consider this a more mature take on that genre that does an great job at gearing itself towards teenagers by interlacing the strange fantasy world with the real life problem of feeling stuck, depressed, and scared of the future. A You, you’re typical slacker who is tired of his mundane life yet refuses to take any sort of steps or action in improving it is a very empowering character at the end that is easy to relate too as everyone at some junction of their lives falls into a rut. The writing is top notch and believable and the translation was done very well as far as I can tell with all the dialog sounding natural and easy to follow.
The art work featured in An Ideal World, are breathtaking and perfectly create atmosphere and suck you into the story. From big cities with towering buildings and smog filled skies to dense forests filled with mystical creatures Chao Peng does an amazing job with the illustrations and creates an unforgettable world. I found myself scanning each page repeatedly drooling over endless small details that give each scene a touch of realism. The colors are beautiful and eye catching to the point where I would forget at times I was simply reading a comic and not watching a full blown motion picture.
I have always been weary of manga stylebooks but mainly due to the fact the manga I have always been exposed too seemed silly or to soft-core porn like for my taste. Now that I have come across such a solid display of storytelling with such strong visuals, I find myself craving suggestions for more series or horror inspired manga series. Feel free to leave a comment, leave me your recommendations, and in return I highly recommend giving An Ideal World a read it’s well worth the price of admission.
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