Zen. by 102

Yes, it's been a very quiet September... not that anyone cares. This was mostly because that month had no haul to speak of, scarce funds to blame. I do have quite a backlog of dōjinshi I would like to review but, for some reason, I am usually more excited about new purchases than older stuff.

Fortunately, October did have a haul (alos courtesy of the people at Otaku Republic serving me a nice coupon). There are now a pretty meaty (and wordy) SAYU Studio work, and an actual full fledged manga in the reviewing pipeline. This time, however, I will be reviewing yet another impulse purchase: the quirky Zen. by an artist who simply goes by the nickname '102'.

As the few who read this blog might have realized, while I do like a sleek, well drawn illustration, I also do think that a good, or at least a curious concept can trump both skill and form. I mean, I will be the first one to admit that Heikinritsu just can't draw that well; yet, the sheer force of the concept, the 'idea' that ties together the illustrations for each of his works makes him my favorite dōjinka by far.
So, when I came across a few images from 102's so far only publication, the relatively unpolished style didn't turn me off at all. In the end, while the craftsmanship in Zen. sometimes comes too close to the point where even I would draw a line, the dōjinshi was still a purchase I didn't regret.

The book is fairly thin, 20 A4 pages or so in total, stapled, full color. There is no text to speak of: aside the title on the cover, and a few contact info on the back of the dōjinshi, the illustrations have no title nor explanation accompanying them. The style, as one can see from the illustrations above, is fairly rough: backgrounds are mostly abstract, the human form is simplified into its basic details, the palette is made up of starkly contrasting full, blocky colors. As far as themes go, the images are fairly fantastic in nature, sometimes whimsical but often with a dark undertone: 102's girls sometimes come very close to reminding one of yōkai, a la kuchisake-onna.

As often happens with a lot of the dōjinshi I enjoy, this one is definitely an acquired taste, and a lot of people will be put off by 102's expressive, at times almost naive style. Still, if one gets into the mindset that surface polish can sometimes take a backseat to the sheer power of concept and imagination, Zen. could definitely be a worthwhile purchase.