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Kakimoji S.O.S. 6 – KAKIMOJI HUNTER 

Enrico Croce Enrico Croce 29/03/2018 8 min read
Hello, my name is Enrico and I… am a Manga-sweeper. I got hired by beautiful manga creators to improve their manga skills, specifically…Kakimoji! My only friend? A Colt Python 357 (this is actually the name I’ve given my pencil). I work alone with only one mission on my mind, to defeat flat manga and give inject some noisy action. I’m the KAKIMOJI HUNTER!
  Hello my NOISY friends! Welcome to the 6th Kakimoji S.O.S. (the Sound of Silence), the only series on the internet that brings you straight into the action of manga creation. By showing the best Kakimoji in manga history, I aim to help improve your Silent Manga (by the way, 2 days left until the SMA9 deadline! You can do it!) This week’s article kicks off a 3 part tour of the outstanding work of our beloved SMA Judges: Hojo sensei, Hara sensei and Tsugihara sensei! Beginning with Hojo sensei, his incredible cinematic vision inspired thousands the world over, with many falling for his expressive and engaging manga heroes. As you may have guessed by the intro, today we will talk about CITY HUNTER and the diversity of Kakimoji used depending on the characters and situations in each scene. For example, what makes Ryo the hero of the series? His incredible ability as a gun-shooter of course!     Let’s take a look at the picture  above – Ryo is aiming his gun at the target, freezing the atmosphere in the scene. The Kakimojis DOGOOON!! ZUGOON!! (that’s how Japanese people decoded the sound of an incredibly heavy gun like a magnum) are thin and sharp, almost resembling the power of the recoil and trajectory of the bullets as they find their target. (Editor note: All Kakimoji are read left to right, as is Ryo as he dominates the right side of the page. Remember, always draw your protagonist BIG!) Let’s now see how Kaori shoots for the first time in her life!     Ahahah! I guess you can figure out that this scene is comedy gold!! Whereas the Kakimoji in the previous scene were sharp and thin, here we have cute and bold examples. This is always the case when Kakimoji are written in Romaji, or English. Also, the Kakimoji “Biku”, featured close to Ryo are written in Hiragana in a very cute style, compared to last week’s Kakimoji S.O.S. examples of Shojo Manga!   But look! What is happening in these two panels? It looks like the principle characters are staring at their objectives with a knowing look, yet there is a difference in each Kakimoji.   Ryo’s confident smile is accompanied by Niya… (ニヤ.., from Niyari – grinning; smirking). With a resolute expression, Ryo’s way of smiling immediately makes the reader feel that he has this dangerous situation under control, showing resolution! NOTE: The tension and the continuity of action and intentions in the character’s emotion are defined by the 2 dots after the Kakimoji!      Kaori’s smile is represented by Niko…(ニコ.., from Niko niko – friendly grin; smilingly). From here on, she will do something incredible, even if she’s under pressure and scared! In fact, this Kakimoji has 2 dots after it as well, directly linking the sound of the gun (GACHI). So…What’s she thinking?! She’s really THAT serious?!     Whaaat?! Wasn’t Ryo supposed to save the sitch?! Kaori is now surrounded by DOGGOON! (ドッゴオン), the sharpest Kakimoji imaginable, representing a shattering gunshot! The Kakimoji has is slightly different compared to the previous one: if Ryo’s shot was smooth and sure, Kaori has a tremendous recoil from this gunshot and this heaviness is represented with the double GG in the Kakimoji! What a great woman! Don’t you agree, Ryo?

 (What a chick…!!)

    PenMaru says: Great! So Kakimoji can represent gender differences, not to mention the evolution of a characters ability! Can’t wait to read the next episode, Enrico. What will be it be about?       Oh PenMaru, thank you for explaining in the shortest way possible what I tried to make our readers FEEL (killjoy…). Anyway, next episode will be all about the different Kakimoji designs used among the heroes and villains of Hokuto no Ken! Not to be missed!! CIAO!
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Enrico Croce

Enrico Croce

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