Anesthesiologist Hana

[skjam]

Hi, Everyone!

A while back, a site called Jmanga ( http://www.jmanga.com ) was created to host legal scanned translations of manga. It's a pretty good site, with the caveat that a) you have to pay to get more than a tiny taste, and b) it's mostly obscure titles, not the hot ones, because that's what they can get the licensing for.

So in the interest of plugging the site, I though I'd show you a bit of one of the series I've been following, Anesthesiologist Hana.



It's in a rarely seen in the States subgenre, the edutainment manga. Hana is a semi-realistic look at the work done by anesthesiologists, with a storyline attached. Today we'll have 8 pages of 25 of Chapter 1, "Anesthesiologists".






Hana and some of her fellow anesthesiologists are out at a bar, when she's hit on by an obnoxious sexist dude...who then collapses. Hana sees that he's in cardiac arrest, and the anesthesiologists save the dude's life.

Afterwards, Hana tries to hand a letter of resignation to her manager, but he tells her it's not done that way anymore. She needs to file a formal resignation with the head professor, who is free to reject the resignation and force her to continue working for the hospital. And since the department is so short-handed....

The next day is another busy one in the operating room. Hana's in the middle of a long operation and sees that another one is lining up outside. She's hungry, but there's such a workload today that there are no spare people to give her a lunch break. The surgeon mentions that he thinks the patient's stomach is too stiff, and Hana replies that the drugs she just injected should be kicking in soon.



Once the surgery is wrapped up and Hana is clearing her equipment for the next operation, the surgeon comes up behind her and fondles her butt as a "reward." And apparently Hana isn't allowed to ask him not to do that.

Much later, she's lying exhausted in the break room with her manager, too tired even to eat the bun she got out of the snack machine. The manager agrees that he'll talk to the professor, and things have quieted down enough that Hana can leave for the night. This perks her right up.

There's a shower scene so we can see just how stacked Hana is (and I chose not to show because NSFW), then she's out the door and turning off her cellphone. But to no avail, as the chief comes running out after her.



Despite her frustration, Hana can't leave patients in the lurch, so...



Hana notes that like anesthesiology, ob-gyn and pediatrics, the other departments in this operating room, are unpopular and extra-busy, and prone to heavy penalties for failure. No pressure. There's some medical jargon, then--






If you're a fan of medical dramas or have always wondered what it would be like to work as an anesthesiologist, this manga might suit you. I do have to caution that there's excessive fanservice, and Hana is awfully undertrained for someone who isn't even an intern anymore.

Also, I have an interview with one of the translators up at my blog, http://www.skjam.com so please stop on by!

Your thoughts and comments?
SKJAM!

Comments

[lieut_kettch]

Only an anesthesiologist? Oh sure, put down the only person keeping the patient alive while you're cutting him open!

The surgeons I know don't treat their anesthesiologists that way. There's usually mostly mutual respect and a lot of communication-- it's the anesthesiologist that informs the surgeon when the patient is under, and if there are any changes in the patient's vitals. A lot of the time, they form lasting partnerships-- certain surgeons will only work with certain anesthesiologists. Some of them even wind up marrying. :-)

Maybe Hana's being treated that way because she's still a resident-in-training? Though that hardly excuses the sexual harassment-- in the hospitals I've worked in, that's cause for suspension or dismissal.

Also, if she wanted a less toxic existence, she should try for a Pain Medicine fellowship.

[skjam]

I'm presuming that at least some of the off bits are due to the differences between Japanese and American medical culture. Not all the surgeons are depicted as this obnoxious, some of them are quite pleasant to Hana.

The sexual harassment and toxic co-workers are a running theme, though. And Hana earns the equivalent of $7 an hour! (Divided by her actual hours of work, not her official schedule.)

[lieut_kettch]

$7 an hour? Must be a resident. The usual fee for anesthesiologists in private or group practice is one-third of the surgeon's fee. At least, it is where I come from.

And I shuddered at the sight of Hana holding the endotracheal tube in her mouth like that.

[terabient]

Japan tightly regulates the costs of health care--the government sets pricing for various medical procedures every two years, with the aim of keeping services as cheap and accessible as possible.

It makes receiving services quite affordable but on the flip side, medical professionals don't make much since they have such slim profit margins. I think Time magazine ran an article a few years back mentioning that many physicians running private practices were buying vending machines because they desperately needed money but couldn't get it through patients, even though most practices were quite busy.

I'm not sure how the system would affect the pay of an anesthesiologist, but given its' rigidity I wouldn't be surprised if that kind of pay was the norm. :(

[q99]

I do hear older doctors in Japan can get away with far too much.

[glprime]

Up next, the master surgeon decides to insult his scrub nurse. 'Cuz that'll go over well.

I can *buy* this kinda behavior from a seasoned surgeon, but that doesn't make it pleasant to read.

[greenmask]

It's an interesting subject that I know nothing about, and edutainment is kind of attractive, but that level of "oh everything's so shit and people are abusing me, how troublesome! I'll do nothing! ~Narrative continues happily and humiliates protag to reader~" is just not something I can read. :[

((Or watch, Martin Freeman))

[skjam]

I really would like Hana to start being more proactive in improving her position.

[lieut_kettch]

I'm guessing the hierarchical structure of Japanese society comes into play here. Granted, in the medical world, there is a sort of pecking order where the more senior physicians take precedence over their juniors, but I'm guessing it goes to extremes when it's overlaid onto a society like Japan.

[greenmask]

It's not just about what's happening in-story for me, it's the way that the narrative voice doesn't seem to give a toss about the protagonist's dignity or emotional integrity.

I mean, I'm reading into things here because I only have these scans to go on, but it's something I've encountered in other stories - particularly manga (just bad luck? is something getting lost in translation?) - and it felt a lot like these sequences do. That the main character is just a plaything to be batted about for the lulz of the reader and that their suffering doesn't even really matter to them, because the author doesn't care about them as a person, you know? It makes me feel yucky.

[skjam]

I can definitely see what you're saying here. When I say "excessive fanservice", part of what I'm referring to is that it comes across as "Hana is on display for you to ogle in this scene." And the rest of the manga wouldn't really dispel your impression of the narrative voice, so I'm going to say you probably are better off saving your money on this one.

[greenmask]

Aah thanks for the information! D'you know any edutainment manga that doesn't have these negative-for-me aspects, off the top of your head?

[skjam]

Off the top of my head, I'd recommend looking into "Oi Shinbo", because the translated volumes are in print. The plot excuse is that a newspaper is reaching its centennial and the leisure section has been taxed with creating "the best menu ever" and assigns a lazy but expert at food reporter to research this. So he and his sidekick/watchdog go various places to investigate how food is grown, cooked and eaten.

It's an extremely long runner (100+ volumes) so the translation has "ala carte" volumes, each containing the best stories grouped around a theme, such as "rice" or "booze." I do have to warn about the author tracts--he's anti-pesticides and pro-protectionist, so the hero will rant about this every so often. Also, some old-school (It started a couple of decades ago) sexism; in the later stories the female sidekick/romantic interest becomes a much more equal character.

Another that I'd suggest looking at *if* you can track it down is "Japan, Inc." which is about Japan's corporations and the global economy as it was during the Japanese economic bubble of the 1980s. The plot involves two colleagues in a zaibatsu (one who wants to do business in a way that enriches all parties, the other more concerned with personal advancement and short-term gain) as they interact with various economic topics. Again, some old-school sexism as the one recurring female character is the OL.

It's been out of print for many years, but you might be able to find it via a university library.

[greenmask]

Oi Shinbo sounds brilliant, I love food and I lo-ove stories about food.

Japan, Inc also sounds very interesting but I don't think I stand much chance of finding it. I'll keep my eyes peeled though!

Thanks very much! :]

[skjam]

There are many other food manga, but most of them are less "edu" and more "tainment".

[greenmask]

I tried to follow.. that one about bread? is that specific enough?.. for a while, but it wasn't so much my thing on a more general scale.

O knowledgeable skjam, hath thou any recs for me, again?

[skjam]

That would have been Yakitate Japan. If that was not your cup of tea, then I'm definitely not going to recommend Toriko, which is so far over the top you can't even see the top from there.

I'm going to recommend Iron Wok Jan, which is about Jan, an arrogant jerk who wants to be the king of Chinese cuisine in Japan. It's a little over the top, but more in that they treat cooking like a martial art for plot purposes, with Training From Hell and "if you lose this cooking battle, yI will break your hands so they can never hold a pan again!"

Also, despite the main female characters' unlikely figures, Kiriko, Jan's primary rival, isn't relegated to falling behind and shuffling off to Combat Commentator status. She remains his equal throughout, and even (technically) defeats him once or twice. There may not be as many female chefs, but the ones we see can cook like no one's business.

Contains at least one authentic not impossible to make Chinese recipe per volume.

I have not actually read "Kitchen Princess", but it's a shoujo romance set at a cooking school. Comes with a lot of dessert recipes.

I've long forgotten the name, but back in the early 90s thre was a kid's anime series that featured a young genius cook who specialized in kid-friendly recipes elementary schoolers could make at home.

Oh, and one that is on Jmanga that you might find interesting...Gokudou Meshi. It's about a group iof prisoners in Japanese jail who pass the time with a story-telling competition. All the stories must be about "the best food you ever tasted."No recipes, but some excellent storytelling. I'll put that one down to post about soon, because it is so different from out usual fare.

[greenmask]

I thank you with some Macoto Takahashi, perfectly illustrating my grateful glittering eyes!

*0*

[skemono]

Could you also post some Iron Wok Jan at some point, please? I ran across that a while ago and it piqued my interest, but I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to read it.

[skjam]

If I can find any of my volumes, sure. May take a while.

[icon_uk]

I agree, utterly passive characters tend to bug the hell out of me (See also Shinji Araki in Evangelion)

[greenmask]

From the many things I've heard about Evangelion, being raised a citizen of the internet, I don't dare watch it. Good gracious!

[grazzt]

Needs Blackjack crossover.

[skjam]

Have you read any of "Say Hello to Blackjack"? (I haven't yet.) It's supposed to be a look at the modern Japanese medical system through the eyes of an idealistic young doctor who got into the field because of reading the Tezuka manga.