Urasawa Naoki - Monster, vol. 05-07 (Eng. trans.)
Oh man, it's been so long since I read vols. 1-4 that I can't quite remember all the plot twists!
I am sure no one reading is surprised about this ;).
Also, it's really weird picking this up again after reading Urasawa's 20th Century Boys in the meantime. I keep looking at things and thinking, "That's so 20th CB!" Except, of course, Urasawa wrote Monster first. Both of them have some very similar concerns: facelessness and identity, how memory shifts upon retelling, the persuasiveness of evil, and the ability to make choices to be good or evil and to change yourself.
So somehow Johan is convincing other killers to do his killing for him, and he's managed to insinuate himself in the affections of one old man (I forgot his name). I vaguely remember some talk about this guy who really was the old man's son but was too scared or just unwilling to let him know, which seemed to go with Johan constantly being a sort of cuckoo figure for various families.
I was really glad Nina appeared and that she didn't kill someone; I'm usually grumpy when the women act merciful in books, just because the women always act merciful, but in this case, Urasawa so clearly believes that mercy and kindness are the way to go that it doesn't feel like a gender division. Also, Tenma clings to the same principles.
And now I'm curious as to what Urasawa will do with Eva.
I am sure no one reading is surprised about this ;).
Also, it's really weird picking this up again after reading Urasawa's 20th Century Boys in the meantime. I keep looking at things and thinking, "That's so 20th CB!" Except, of course, Urasawa wrote Monster first. Both of them have some very similar concerns: facelessness and identity, how memory shifts upon retelling, the persuasiveness of evil, and the ability to make choices to be good or evil and to change yourself.
So somehow Johan is convincing other killers to do his killing for him, and he's managed to insinuate himself in the affections of one old man (I forgot his name). I vaguely remember some talk about this guy who really was the old man's son but was too scared or just unwilling to let him know, which seemed to go with Johan constantly being a sort of cuckoo figure for various families.
I was really glad Nina appeared and that she didn't kill someone; I'm usually grumpy when the women act merciful in books, just because the women always act merciful, but in this case, Urasawa so clearly believes that mercy and kindness are the way to go that it doesn't feel like a gender division. Also, Tenma clings to the same principles.
And now I'm curious as to what Urasawa will do with Eva.