Otakuism

Story:

Moeyo Pen tells the daily life of the normal hot blooded mangaka Honoh Moyuru that you would see everywhere and his trials and tribulations. Watch as he engages in hot blooded, petty rivalries with other mangaka; is tricked by his editor, works his assisstants to death, becomes obsessed with idols, sees his manga turned into an anime he has no control over, and learns the path to becoming a hot blooded mangaka.

Impressions:

Moeyo Pen, literally Burning Pen, is a manga by Kazuhiko Shimamoto, best know recently for designing the characters for Animate Tenchou that have been referenced in Lucky Stars and parodied by me. Moeyo Pen is basically a parody manga of the hot blooded action series of the seventies and eighties, but instead of being set in a dystopian wasteland, it’s the life of a mangaka. All the humor is derived from over-exaggerated reactions and the odd life of the everyday mangaka Honoh Moyuru. It also parodies the real life of Shimamoto, like his own popular baseball manga and the process of his manga Blazing Transfer Student being turned into an anime by Gainax as an OLA (Original Laserdisk Animation). Even though Moeyo Pen is one big parody, it actually shows a lot of factual stuff about the manga world; like the long hours, deadlines, and how you have no control over your work when it is turned into an anime. The art style is filled with thick lines, retro character designs (though, I guess they were contemporary when he did them), and a frenetic style that fills every page with energy. Moeyo Pen is sadly only one volume long, but there is a sequel series called Hoero Pen that is a lot longer but untranslated. Moeyo Pen is a must read for everyone who enjoys the Animate shorts in Lucky Stars. It’s the same level of awesome hot bloodedness and otaku absurdity. Honoh even looks like Animate Tenchou!