When it comes to manga-to-anime adaptations, I'm a bit of a purist. I know filler episodes for shorter series are often necessary and that lengthening arcs here and there helps the studio fill the 20+ minute episodes, but when it comes to toying with the overall plot and characters, I absolutely do not approve unless the studio is genius enough to replicate on their own the narrative style of the mangaka. Of course there are instances where the anime far outshines the written work, but as a literary-otaku, I'm usually on the side of the mangaka and their original material.
However, in my small list of
exceptions, spiritual comedy Tactics is
one of the oddest additions. I have read all eight of the manga
volumes released in the United States before Tokyopop shut down and
left it in limbo, and I adored them completely. I have also watched
the 23 episodes of the animated series, and for the most part loved
these as well. So what's the problem here? The fact that, other than
the characters, setting, and aspects of certain arcs and the main
plot line, the two series have almost absolutely nothing to
do with each other.
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| The main cast of Tactics, manga style |
For those
unfamiliar with either adaptation, let me elaborate. Both series
begin with folklore scholar and amateur writer Kantarou Ichinomiya
breaking the seal on the legendary demon eating tengu Haruka whom he
has been searching for all his life. Haruka is a youkai resembling an
extraordinarily attractive human male, but can sprout black wings
from his back, live much longer than a typical human lifespan, and
command the power of lightning when battling enemies. He also has the
power to consume youkai of the demon class, but has somehow been
unable to do so after Kantarou broke his seal.
When a human has
the power to give a binding name to a youkai, such as Kantarou does
with Haruka, that youkai must follow its master's commands whenever
its name is spoken. Though Kantarou is a lazy, money grubbing, ditzy
sort of guy who uses Haruka and his other youkai servant, the kitsune
Yoko, to do menial tasks for him, Kantarou genuinely wants Haruka at
his side for the purpose of friendship. Having grown up bullied by
those who don't believe in youkai, Kantarou always believed having
the legendary tengu at his side would give him confidence, and
despite his manipulative and often childish behavior, Kantarou
continually shows just how much being with Haruka matters to him.
Both
series are also to a degree episodic up until the point where the
villain Minamoto is revealed, with the storylines beginning with a
client or friend bringing a supernatural occurrence to Kantarou for
him to investigate alongside his companions. Though the manga has
quite a few more funny moments than the anime, both are also highly
comedic in nature, especially given Kantarou's childlike, tricky, and
undeniably flamboyant behavior (which was reminiscent to me of Fai D.
Flourite of Tsubasa fame).
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| Kantarou, only two seconds away from a bishie sparkle |
At this point,
however, they diverge in several respects. So much so, that to
accurately describe what I like about each of them, I'll have to
discuss them separately.
Tactics: The Manga:
The manga, first
of all, hits a specific target market. Though it is first and
foremost a supernatural series, the interactions between Haruka and
Kantarou and arguably Minamoto with several different characters are
meant to appeal to your yaoi fangirl. And even when the bad guys
start making things difficult for Haruka and Kantarou, the amount of
humorous omakes available in each manga make it clear that this
series doesn't want to be taken too seriously. Which is exactly as it
should be: with Kantarou's aforementioned diva behavior, Haruka's dry
sarcasm and youkai quirks, and Yoko's quick temper and love for
pimping Haruka out for an extra buck make this a series meant to
tickle the funny bone.
Most of the
storylines it has in common with the anime end in entirely different
ways, generally emphasizing Kantarou's decision to afford dignity and
life to the youkai he interacts with. The appearances of rival Hasumi
particularly highlight this in the manga. Unlike in the anime where
Hasumi never interacts outright with a youkai (other than Sugino and
Muu-chan, two of the comic relief characters, and Yoko and Haruka in
their human guises), in the manga, he comes across several of the
spirits Kantarou can see, and repeatedly denies them until he breaks
down and admits he loves youkai so much, and his attempts to dismiss
them are rooted in his sadness in being unable to see and interact
with them like Kantarou can. The spiritual missions also give Haruka
and Kantarou the chance to learn and understand each other's world
views, creating a bond between them in spite of the youkai/human
separation.
I also enjoyed
Haruka's attitude towards his loss of memory in the chapters of the
manga available thus far. In the anime, he is extremely bitter about
it which drives a wedge between himself and Kantarou, but in the
manga, although he struggles with the gaps in his recollections, he
realizes he doesn't need his demon eating powers in the life he lives
with Kantarou. He respects Kantarou as a master, and decides if
Kantarou can be satisfied with him as he is, he doesn't need anything
more.
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| A sample from Tactics the manga |
Unfortunately, the
loss of Tokyopop leaves the current path of the manga a bit obscure.
Haruka has regained much of his memory through his interactions with
others, and it seems his former master, a woman resembling villain
Minamoto's sister, was in a sexual relationship with Haruka before
somehow betraying him. His past with humans has made it difficult for
him to be completely comfortable with Kantarou's desire to be with
him, but as things are, it seems to be moving in the direction of
them accepting one another, although Minamoto seems hell bent on
throwing a wrench in their relationship and restoring Haruka to his
true destructive powers. How will that turn out? Only Japanese
readers with access to volumes 9-14 know!
Overall, I am
obsessed with the manga's comedy, characterization, and folklore. As
much as I loved Kantarou's hilarious antics, it was more often than
not Haruka who had my side splitting with his temper tantrums over
his precious tengu bowl, shiny objects, and dignity as a youkai. The
inclusion of Father Edwards as Minamoto's henchman and a regular
fixture in the arcs also added a fascinating religious commentary
from a Japanese perspective which I love to see in manga. The
infusion of traditional Japanese culture and mythology made it a
fascinating read overall.
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| And yes, there is a extra special doujinshi from the creators of the manga featuring spicy HarukaxKantarou action. |
But should you
read the manga or watch the anime? The manga may be for you if you
like:
-religion in
anime: As mentioned, the manga discusses cult behavior, “inventing”
religions, Christianity/devil worship, and Shintoism. Very
fascinating all around.
-boy's
love: vibes are off the charts between Haruka and Kantarou. Kantarou
will flirt with anyone with money, but has purer and more
straightforward feelings for Haruka as the story progresses. Tactics
mangaka Kinoshita and
Higashiyama-sensei have also written yaoi doujinshi based on them,
making it fairly canon.
-comedy: twice as
funny as the anime, especially in regards to Haruka's
characterization
-stronger
overarching main plot: Minamoto and co. appear a lot earlier, and
have more dynamic roles and individualization as characters.
-Japanese history:
an omake goes into the background of Kyoto, legends are elaborated on
in extreme detail, and several kinds of gods, youkai, ritual, and
spiritual terms are explained.
Tactics: The Anime
The
manga has several differences from what I mentioned above, and is
made distinctive from the anime for its more episodic nature. The
conflict with Minamoto doesn't come into play until much later in the
story, and before that crops up, the anime is comprised of
supernatural investigations that call on Kantarou and Haruka to
utilize their wits and special powers. Most of these are not featured
in the manga, and the ones that are for the most part have different
conclusions that introduce new characters or increase tensions
between the main cast.
The main cast also
includes a character who never plays into the manga: the young and
cute little Suzu, who is supposed to be a teenager, and yet looks
like a seven year old. Suzu has a precocious crush on Haruka and
likes to pick on Kantarou, but overall serves as the group's morality
coach, holding them together when they fight and trying to help
everyone through their difficulties, although her temper and
childishness causes its own share of issues. Since Kantarou, Haruka,
and Yoko all have troublesome personalities, she is an acceptable,
balancing addition to the team, though I'm not a huge fan of how her
role plays out into the final episodes, with the surprise twist
regarding her in the end.
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| The new addition to the cast, the young and pure hearted Suzu |
Many of the
personalities in the manga have also been altered. Kantarou is very
much the same, but Haruka is much more stoic than his manga
counterpart, with not quite so many humorous moments, but rather
layers upon layers of brooding and discontent. He's much less
accepting of not knowing his past even though he does want to value
his relationship with Kantarou, and their relationship is much more
laden with tension, though not necessarily of the romantic variety,
such as in the manga. Yoko's personality is also slightly more
subdue, and she doesn' get into yelling matches with Kantarou nearly
as often or give Haruka regular “man whore lessons.”
The episodic
nature of the anime makes it a fun watch, but it is entertaining in a
different fashion than the manga. I wasn't a fan of how Hasumi
continually was able to ignore the existence of youkai without the
character development present in the manga, but I enjoyed several of
their new supernatural investigations that introduced even more
youkai to the storyline, which is always welcome to me. I also
enjoyed Kantarou's greater involvement with his career as a published
author, although he does avoid his deadlines more often than not. His
editor was a likable character, so I was happy that she was given a
bigger role.
However,
the anime did annoy me when it took the instances of young women
falling in love with Haruka at first sight present in the manga and
making them way more serious than they needed to be. After reading
the instance of the girl who hired Haruka as a bodyguard and arranged
for people to attack her simply to put herself in the damsel in
distress role, I wasn't thrilled how they tried to make her into a
tragic romantic heroine in the anime. Especially since they had her
practically propose to
Haruka within a few days to meeting him. Talk about “I just met you
and this is crazy!” I've never been one for love at first sight as
a trope, and I didn't like how it was used here at all.
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| I mean, Haruka is hot and loves to brood, but at least wait a few weeks before trying to jump him! |
That being said,
watching the anime was an enjoyable experience for me, although I
don't advise going into it with the expectation of it being anything
like the manga. Haruka's character and perspectives of his situation
are too different to how he is in the manga to make him the same sort
of hero, and the conflict with Minamoto is founded on entirely
different motivations with different consequences and results. The
introduction of Suzu also shifts the focus in several ways, making
the story just as much about her relationship with Haruka and
Kantarou as it is about their relationship with each other.
The anime may be
more for you if you like:
-dramatic tension:
later in the anime, there is loads of it between Kantarou and Haruka,
with Haruka spending a long amount of time away from Kantarou thanks
to his identity crisis and continual brooding and discomfort with his
current state causing major problems for the group
-episodic
supernatural stories: this follows a similar set up to Natsume
Yuujinchou and Mushishi
with each new episode
introducing a new supernatural conflict. There is a main conflict,
but the majority of the episodes are stand alone adventures
- the
power of the shoujo heart: Suzu's presence is a unifying factor not
available in the manga, and similar to Tohru Honda from Fruits
Basket or Nagisa from Clannad,
her love changes the people
around her
-internal
conflict: this is Haruka's main issue throughout the story, thanks to
the loss of his powers and memories. Unlike the manga, he doesn't get
over it.
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| Even more bishie service? Tactics is a giver! |
In short, both
tell interesting, engaging stories... but these stories take
different paths to different conclusions. The anime is more about
Haruka's desire to become know who he once was, even if it leads to
conflict with Kantarou, while the manga is more about the place of
youkai in human lives, with Haruka carving a new identity from his
past existence thanks to Kantarou's friendship and love. I was more
inspired by Haruka and Kantarou's friendship and characterization in
the manga, but I loved the adventures of the anime and the new
supernatural occurrences they unveiled. Through their differences, I
was still able to enjoy and admire both for different reasons, which
is an accomplishment that made the experience well worth my time!
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