A couple of weeks ago, I came across “Guyabano Holiday” by panpanya while I was shopping at my favourite comic shop in Amsterdam. I started to read it right away, on the metro on my way home. And I loved it immediately. There are several reasons why I’ve loved panpanya right away: how non-judgmentally they observe the world around them, how the fantastic and realistic coexist seamlessly in their stories, and how nature and urban environment support each other. I like the love for details: the stories and explanations are as detailed as the drawings, without being pedantic, and at times the short stories feel like commentary to a catalogue, or a manual.
I needed to know more about panpanya and read more of their works: I found and read their blog (google-translating it), and went back to the comic shop and asked for panpanya’s other books. Only “Invitation from a Crab” has been published in English, and they told me they are expecting “Fish society” to be released in October, but the publisher is not very reliable. That made me sad, so much so that I restarted to learn Japanese to read the original versions.
Then, just two days ago, after I googled once again for panpanya, I accidentally opened a link to the page of an Italian manga and comics publisher, and discovered that many of panpanya’s works had been translated into Italian, years ago.
I called the bookshop of my hometown in Italy: explained I will be in Italy in some weeks, if they could manage to order for me all the books I could not find in English. They can. I told them if I end up not travelling to Italy next month, I will have my sister go there and pick the books up for me.
I should not have been surprised to learn that panpanya was translated into Italian: every Italian kid of my generation has grown up watching anime. Mangas are popular.
I am so relieved, and looking forward to reading more stories by panpanya.
On guyabano: I actually asked a Filipino colleague about it, over lunch break. She told me she loves guyabano: her father grows them in their garden back home, but she never brings any back to Amsterdam when she visits family. Guyabanos are too big to fit into a suitcase. She knows a Filipino store next to her house: she will bring me some guyabano juice to taste.
Giulia Gallini 