Response to Karma

Karma was a very interesting read to me, and I admit that I had to look up some context of the work since I knew that this was one volume of Phoenix. I loved Tezuka’s artistic choices regarding paneling and the use of abstract patterns. One moment particularly striking was when Gaoh’s wife dies and his figure as he screams becomes a silhouette filled with patterns. Seeing the two main male characters from the beginning to end, and how much they had evolved from their experiences (from good to bad, bad to good) was extremely interesting. Gaoh’s transformation as a character was the most intriguing to see since he was introduced as the closest thing to an antagonist in the story.

The beliefs and spirituality of both characters were directly related to the art they made, and I found it an effective way to explore, especially since their sculpture art are so divergent from each other. From an artist’s point of view on the perspective, it was nice to see Tezuka say that art talent is so much more than technical skill and training. Art, well, comes from the heart and is the result of the artist’s feelings, thoughts, and even sacrifices. Karma had a lot of philosophical points as well, which I didn’t think to expect from a manga, but it fit perfectly with the great narrative this story in the Phoenix anthology had.