>>280132663
I think this idea also ties into how I would define soul (or SOVL). When I say art, it doesn’t mean just painting or writing, but any form of creative self expression where you make something yourself. Soul I believe is a quality in a creation that is defined as being intrinsically recognizable as being the result of human effort and passion. One of the reasons why so much old media is soulful is because it was hard to make. Tools were not as advanced, you had to hand draw each frame, videogames had poor engines, less defined languages, there were no online painting tools, etc. So anyone that was able to make one of these things, in a way that people enjoyed, had to put a lot of effort into it. And to get to the finish line, you can bet they needed passion. So when you see a drawing, a video game, a movie, an anime, a book, a building, fashion, pretty much anything and consider it soulful, that’s why.
Of course this doesn’t mean only old media is soulful. Even nowadays you’ll get media made by people who put immense time, effort, and passion into what they do to create something remarkably human. After all, what better definition is there for soul than that it feels like the creation itself has a soul, a human quality, imbued into it by the blood, sweat, and tears of the creators?
This is what I think the webcomic has. ONE does not have the perfect technical skill of other mangaka. And yet, I would argue what he makes looks better than most. Instead of coasting on his technical ability, he’s had to learn how to use paneling, coloring, expressions, writing, pacing, and everything else unseen that goes into his works to get by. It’s like the artists of old, who had poor tools and had to master fundamentals. He’s (in my opinion) mastered paneling and storytelling.
4/5
