Daijobu Kamo and other comics
Daijobu Kamo is an idea for a comic book and hopefully will be written and drawn one day. I also hope to write down other ideas of comics that come from time to time.
Daijobu Kamo and friends...
"Daijobu kamo" stands in Japanese for "it's probably all right". But "kamo" also means "duck" in Japanese. So "Daijobu Kamo" means also "a duck called 'Daijobu'". A play of words, of course. People in all cultures (I hope) are familiar with the concept and I, for one, enjoy this game quite a lot. And the comic characters of the Kamo family come right from this play.
Daijobu Kamo and friends date from the spring of 2009 when we found out what a cheerful little bunch they are during some friendly banter walking around Tokyo after a few drinks with friends.
Sitting on the surface is Daijobu Kamo
See, there are other common expressions in Japanese that end with "kamo". Well, anything really can end with "kamo" because it means "maybe". So, one often says "dame kamo" meaning "it's a bad idea I think". "Ii kamo" goes for "good, I guess". And so on.
So, enough talking, I present you the Kamo family:
- Daijobu Kamo is a young duck that thinks most of things in life are all right. Even those others find questionable or impossible Daijobu Kamo just shrugs off with her "daijobu kamo". The attitude makes her appear a bit lazy though...
- Dame Kamo is a grumpy old type that is rarely in a good humour and thinks most things in life are damned bad. Especially things that others, like Daijobu Kamo, do. That gets him all worked up a lot and makes me worry about his health.
- Mondainai Kamo is a cheerful duck that thinks nothing of any problems that Dame Kamo comes up with every ten seconds. Easy-going attitude combined with plenty of energy makes him a likable little fellow.
If you look at the picture, you will find Daijobu Kamo quietly sitting right on the surface of the water enjoying the sun. While others around her are getting all excited telling her that she should be sitting in the water instead of on the water, Daijobu Kamo just answers "daijobu kamo" and keeps enjoying the sun because she sees nothing wrong with sitting on the water. She thinks it is quite likely all right if you do not think too much about it. Of course, if you would ask Dame Kamo (right there in front, the black one), he would be totally opposed to the idea. In fact the mere thought of doing something like that is a bad idea in its own right, in his opinion. And that's why he is the most excited of the lot. You cannot see him very well though because Mondainai Kamo has got into the front of the picture (well, Mondainai Kamo thinks it is no problem, naturally).
There were quite a lot of Kamos at the time, we played with them the whole evening, but I only remember those at the moment. If my friends remind me, I will write down the rest of the family some time.
Last revision: May 22, 2010
