Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka
Published by Shogakukan
Translated by Vertical
I knew that if I read this book, I would be swept in a heartbeat. But not in the same romantic tale that Tezuka presented to me in Ribon no Kishi. This was way different from what we knew of him. Consider my review a bit dumb and light hearted, but I honestly did not see this in Tezuka. Sure, we’ve seen Kimba, Atom, and Sapphire. In my head, I felt that Tezuka was Disney. Many books on manga said he was Japan’s answer to Disney. So when I grabbed Ode to Kirihito on the shelf the other day, I knew I would have an entire paradigm shift on that old man with a beret. Indeed, I felt like Tezuka struck me with a bat saying “Wake up kid, I’m just as cruel as the other guy.” The man is no Disney, and he will never be one.
My friend Takk was right. This was grim. Far beyond the fairy tales of Ribon no Kishi and the wonder of Atom. Tezuka created a greedy and vengeful world for Kirihito Osanai. And I’m just in awe of his genius.
Just admit that you’ve got it all wrong, Khursten
Tezuka begins the book with the character of Kirihito Osanai, a young doctor with ambitions to find the source and possibly a cure to a disease that turned humans into dogs. Osanai has a different theory on the rare monmow disease compared to his mentor, Dr. Tatsugaura. Tatsugaura then sends Osanai to the village with the reported case of monmow disease. Osanai leaves without worry of the troubles that would lie ahead in his future. His departure marked the beginning of changes, of which some are truly grim and unbearable. Yes. Not all of Tezuka’s works are nice and fluffy. Ode to Kirihito revolved around the world of medicine, its politics, and its effects on people. The fantastic went as far as the disease that turns you into a dog. This book is beyond Megalopolis and flower beds. The book tackles the darkest of our our emotions.
If I try to encapsulate the entire story of Ode to Kirihito with one word, it would be obstinacy. You have one seasoned doctor who refuses to accept questions about his theories. You have a young doctor who could not deal with the changes in his body. You have a women in deeply and blindly in love. You have a man endlessly atoning for his sins. Each of the characters in this story has a sense of obstinacy and it resonates through out the book. Despite this, you’d never feel annoyed with theme for Tezuka managed to balance them out, presenting them in a more mature light.
When I read this, I honestly didn’t feel that same Tezuka that had written Ribon no Kishi. Some chapters were just too depressing. Just when things were doing along fine, Tezuka whips his pen and creates tragedy upon tragedy. Grim as they were, I still kept on reading. His story and art bridge towards grotesque, yet it was tastefully done that you can still keep on reading. The images were shocking but not traumatizing. Again, I’m just in awe of his genius.
There were still some moments that reminded me of the old Tezuka. His sense of justice was still there. So was his amazing art. There were some moments were the paneling was a bit off, probably an experimentation on his end. But all in all, he drew the story well. An amazing story done by one amazing man.
Aftershock
I am still on a high with Ode to Kirihito. For a moment, while reading, I was thinking “God! This is the stuff that Urasawa is made of!” Then I thought to myself, maybe Urasawa was more like Tezuka. lol. Either way, I’m just amazed with the extent of Urasawa’s talent. Unlike Disney who still keeps children in a dream, Tezuka grew up with his children. He realizes the fact that the same people who loved Atom have now grown up and are looking for an entirely different story altogether. And this was his story for them.
Wow! Now I’m looking forward to actually reading more of his seinen themed mangas! He does deserve that title of God of Mangas. He’s done shoujo, shounen, and seinen. I was surprised to even see a sex scene in Kirihito which I did not expect at all. Wow.
Oh! And thanks for visiting the site John! ^^v
I’ve read Adolf, I found it on a par with the historical stories in Phoenix at least in terms of creating an atmosphere. There were three fascinating aspects to Adolf that I enjoyed, one was seeing a Japanese perspective of the homefront on WW2,another was the Jewish refugees (from Germany)in Japan, and the third being the Japanese/German relations of the time.
It is a very definitely a Tezuka work,in that it has the odd bit of melodrama, but I never found that the “heavy” themes overwhelmed the storytelling, or came across as preachy. I thought it actually a fairly restrained story compared with his other works I’ve seen in English. Overall I’d rate it on a par with Phoenix or Buddha as an example of Tezuka’s mastery of medium.
I haven’t read Adolf; the only place I’ve ever seen it is a public library, and I didn’t happen to get it. Maybe I’ll grab it sometime; it certainly looks interesting. I really wish more of Tezuka’s work was available in the U.S. He did such a huge amount of manga, and it seems like only the most famous has been translated (Astro Boy, Phoenix, Buddha). We are slowly getting more of his material, and I’ll be reading it as soon as I’m able.
@Matt. Thanks for visiting the site, and yes, I’m more in awe of his genius more than anything else. And this is one hell of a book. As I tell my friends “You have your harry potters and I have this mammoth of a manga. XD”
A friend of mine has recommended Phoenix too and I’m looking forward to finding these books in our bookstores (might have to go asking friends to get it for me in Japan). Buddha’s 8th volume is the only one available here. mwr. Hard to figure out where 1-7 went to. ><;; Definitely Phoenix is in the list. Have you read Adolf? I wonder if it's good too. ^^;;
Yeah, this is a hell of a book, isn’t it? I was slightly familiar with Tezuka’s more adult work, so it wasn’t as big a blow as I imagine it would have been if all I was familiar with was Astro Boy or Kimba. But it’s still a bit surprising to see such shocking images rendered in Tezuka’s cartoony style. For more adult stuff, I recommend the awesome sci-fi/fantasy series Phoenix, and Buddha is an interesting one, mixing the Disney sensibility with some very adult scenes. Man, Tezuka was a genius.