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Like Classic Comics decades earlier, the Manga Editions of Shakespeare suffer two fatal flaws inherent in most edutainment: one concerning the content and the other the medium. Regarding content, the Manga Editions do not simply adapt great works of literature to a modern form; they devastate them in the process. The result is an illustrated version of CliffsNotes

However, there is one major difference contained within the Manga Editions of Shakespeare. Whereas Baz Luhrmann’s modernized film Romeo + Juliet is designed to entertain, the Manga Editions aim to educate, or at least substitute for education.

The second overarching flaw of the Manga Editions concerns the medium. This I discovered via an informal focus group of ten manga scholars: students in the manga club at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in New York City. These high schoolers are not mere manga fans; they are devoted researchers of the genre. They read, discuss, and debate manga in school, out of school, and in their sleep, I imagine. Moreover, they create their own manga and share their work with peers, just like Japanese youths thousands of miles away. Their first impression of the Manga Editions was voiced in unison: “It’s NOT manga!”

look at common misdiagnoses of "trends" — especially in Japan.

A lot of Japan-oriented trend blogs seem to push "cool" products as "trends" without any evidence that consumers agree

This essay is not to say that there isn’t noteworthy reporting on innovations, novelties, and borrowable ideas from the Japanese market, but there is always an error of over-reporting these as "mass trends." If we return to the initial problem in analyzing the "rent-a-luxury-bag" phenomenon, the best course may be to err on the side of skeptical neutrality. Reporting on new products and services is great fun for blog posts, but overselling novelty as "trend" can create a false sense of market realities.