It snowed here yesterday, and since it didn’t stick to the ground or make travel difficult, I was delighted. So for this weekend’s random question, what are some comics you’ve read with memorable scenes or sequences in snowy landscapes? I’ll start after the jump.
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Clamp’s Shirahime-Syo immediately comes to mind.
I want to say snow features in some of the early flashbacks of Vampire Knight, but I haven’t read that in so long, I could be wrong.
I am reminded of Sand Chronicles, and the strong role the seasons (and their related activities) play in that touching story.
Sand Chronicles, Mushishi, Fullmetal Alchemist (Briggs!), and Saiyuki Reload come to mind.
“Sand Chronicles” is a great choice. I’d give “Run, Bong-Gu, Run!” the nod for best use of snow in an urban setting.”
The Briggs arc in Full Metal Alchemist is the first one to come to mind.
Then there’s the story in Land of the Blindfolded where the hero has to rescue his girl who’s gotten lost in a snowstorm on a mountain. Sounds like the usual fluff but really isn’t, explaining it would be a spoiler though.
I love Tsukuba’s stuff, or at least what I’ve read of it. Penguin Revolution is a favorite.
Black Blizzard
Not to mention Red Snow.
My immediate answer is the “what does snow become when it melts?” motif in Fruits Basket.
There’s a very sad part of Saiyuki that takes place on a snowy mountain – the story arc is called “Snow Drop” but I don’t remember where it is in the series.
I’m watching through the Natsume Yuujincho anime right now and it has some gorgeous and poignant snowy scenes. I haven’t read the manga (yet!) but I’m sure they are there as well.
(I appreciate this post, because it was 84 degrees here today – nice, but not what you’d think of for November weather!)
There’s that Sad Snowy Flashback Scene in VB Rose (contrasted with a scene where present-day Ageha runs around having fun in the snow)… Other than that, snow/winter always makes me think of Hari Tokeino’s manga—she’s written a couple Christmas-themed one-shot stories, as well as Christmas and winter chapters in the Me & My Brothers series. I get the impression she really really likes the season. I myself got hooked on the series during the month of December, so it seems especially fitting
In Please Save My Earth, we see memories of Mokuren’s childhood in the snowy land where she grew up. Everyone wears heavy 80s sweaters—it feels so cozy (and therefore all the more heartbreaking in the context of the story).
Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales
[...] David Welsh starts winterizing his blog by asking the readers: What are your favorite comics with snow scenes? [...]
I’m rather fond of the snow scenes in Mushishi.
Mushishi does so many seasons and environments just right.
I’ll play against the grain, and mention the Lone Wolf & Cub story that takes place on a snowy battlefield versus Ninjas who fight using chains in a Jewish star formation.
http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=48907771748%2026
There was also the three-way drag race between Rally Vincent and Bean Bandit that was hampered when snow interfered with their traction, making the danger of a wipeout even riskier.
I might as well mention the sadistic training Maya went through to learn her lines to the Growing Up play in The Glass Mask. She rehearsed her character Midori in an empty shack while her teacher recited her lines outside. It might not sound like much, but she originally had her script torn up in front of her
I’ve noticed that Japanese comics tend to employ weather more often than American comics. As a Canadian who often has to deal with the fickle nature of the weather, this kind of thing is rather refreshing.
The Yaoi from DramaQueen “Allure” I believe was entirely set in Winter except for the last chapter. It really added to the isolation of the story and helped focus more than ever on the two lovers.
Nana immediately came to mind. From the time in the first volume, telling Ren and Nana’s backstory, walking in the snow together, brought back again to us when…
//*/*OMG SPOILER ALERT*/*//
…
Ren crashes his car in the snow, outside of the same building.
This is one of the many reasons why Ai Yazawa is one of my favorite mangaka. :> She knows how to tell a meaningful story.
For some reason I always think of Nana and snow–even though I can’t think of any precise moments. (OK the aforementioned Ren car crash does stand out). Ack and here I was just thinking we wouldn’t get any snow in BC this year again, maybe we will…
My choice is Jyu-Oh-Sei. Snow is absolutely pivotal to the story, since the planet and the inhabitants are ruled by it’s climatic weather. I wish more people would read it. You can’t beat it for action, adventure, romance, intrigue, science fiction, and on. I’ll stop now.
Somewhere on the east coast, Kate Dacey smiled because someone, somewhere said something nice about Jyu-Oh-Sei. She doesn’t know why she smiled yet, but…
I hadn’t even realized till a few *weeks* back that it had been translated… It is terrific (and miles better than the anime, if anyone was turned off by that).
The most memorable one I can think of would have to be the flashback fight on the mountains in Matsumoto Taiyo’s Takemitsu Zamurai. It was such a stunning scene visually with the snow and ash floating around and Matsumoto Taiyo’s incredible art style. Viz really needs to bring this over.
There are some gorgeous snow scenes in Mu-shi-shi, too.