Nickelodeon

MOOD: A veritable thought-particle collider of a series. It’s hard to describe what makes Nickelodeon great. People have compared it to the works of novelist Haruki Murakami, to anime the like of Lain, Penguindrum, or Kyousougiga, ad infinitum; none of this really fits the manga. It could be chalked up to its way of approaching fantastical and absurd concepts with a mundanity one would see in a realistic manga and a warmth one would see in a slice of life work. Yes, it’s weird, but it doesn’t point itself out; instead, it lets you discover its weirdness on your own. Perhaps it’s the brevity of its chapters -each chapter is about 6 or 7 pages long, but in those pages ideas are explored to extremes in ways full series haven’t tackled the same concepts. Its flash fiction stylings create a structure that is never boring nor rushed. More likely, however, is how well it manages to channel the spirit of its namesake media format, the nickelodeon. Although the manga is very inclusive (tackling a multitude of LGBT themes in its 39 chapter run), it relies on weird, new ideas, shock value, and occasionally erotic content to recreate the sheer fascination of an emerging medium. This and its brief lengths (as mentioned before) really do make it feel like you’ve walked inside a seemingly magical box and been shown things that you’ve never experienced the likes of before. The stories run a broad range of genres, tones, and styles. There are stories ranging from conversations about buckets to a woman who eats her lovers to a story about a girl born on the day of the Columbine attack. In this, it tackles themes of unrequited love, manipulative lovers, sister interactions, determination, and a slew of other thinking pieces on human life. The art is entirely unique in its field, sporting a pop art/saturday cartoon inspired aesthetic, with solid but disarrayed lines, exaggerated features, sharp angles, intentionally stretched proportions, and vivid shading. It’s not entirely describable, but it’s utterly gorgeous to look at. If there’s anything to take issue with, it’s that the series will perhaps leave you feeling unfulfilled. There was much more of it planned, but when the magazine it ran in tragically closed up shop, mangaka Dowman Sayman was forced to bring a sudden end to the series, leaving threads of worldbuilding and plot hanging in an emotionally dissatisfying fashion. Despite this, the first and last chapters still manage to serve as great bookends to the series for anyone unaware of the corporate politics behind the ending. FINAL VERDICT: With its tales of conjoined twins, buckets, vore, unrequited love, hypnotism, space, pop culture references, and much more, Nickelodeon’s pace, boldness, and intrigue will leave you blown away and needing more.