this might not be everyone's cup of tea ...
I realise that I've been a ghost/hermit/lurking wonder again, but the beginning of uni this week was accompanied by a whole hoard of problems. Which I won't recount because it still makes my teeth gnash against each other in anger. And no, it's not classes-related. But rather about having to pay higher student fees, even though I normally wouldn't have had to. Thankfully, the problem has been solved and I'll get my money back.
But still, I was upset.
So, in retaliation of all that, I finally caved in and read Ichi The Killer - a manga I had on my bookmarks for a whole two months prior to reading it. I won't make any secrets about this. I loved the manga. A lot. I was watching Welcome To The NHK too, but won't talk about it more in-depth because I'm still not done with it.
No, I'm not reccing it directly because Ichi, being what it is, is really not suitable for everyone. It's so violent and outright gross at points that it's even been partially banned in Japan. I doubt we're ever going to see it officially licensed in a language other than Japanese.
You see people die. In cruel and unusual ways. Women get raped and violated, again in cruel and unusual ways. Men get violated too, in cruel and unusual ways (one man, in particular, wants you to violate him in cruel and unusual ways).
The cruel and unusual methods with which people get tortured and/or killed feature: penis-slicing, getting shoot through the anus with a gun, getting your dick pierced, getting your hand pierced, having your nipples cut out ...
And there's more. Much, much more. Do not read this manga while eating. DO NOT.
Few people in this manga are decent; the large majority of this cast is either a) fucked-up in the head or b) fucked-up and terribly ruthless. The few decent characters in this manga do not end up happy.
The hero is a screwed-up individual who gets a hard-on at the thought of violence. And he cries while he kills because he remembers how he used to be bullied. The main villain is a screwed-up man who gets a hard on at the thought of pain; his face is full of scars and piercings (he gets aroused too when you hurt him and he's oh so in love with the “hero's” carnage).
Yes.
Now, why would one like a manga such as this? Why, just why?
In my case, it's a mixture between perverse curiosity and the sheer fact that this manga is just crazy-awesome. It's not incredibly deep or beautiful in any way, but twistedly funny and kind of epic if you can deal with the violence and the more nauseating aspects of it. It's entertaining - very much so.
Moreover, there are moments in this manga that are more serious and upsetting. It's rare, but the moments are there. The plot itself is nicely thought out with many nice twists.
You might like Ichi The Killer if you're interested in psychology. Without spoiling too much, Ichi The Killer is, in many ways, all about manipulation, mental trauma and how you can, by clever mind-games, make a person do your bidding.
But again, I'm not directly recc'ing this. I thought the manga was entertaining and funny, but do realise that not everyone might share my opinion. I just felt like writing a post about it because it deserves to be talked about?
I like pointing people out to manga that aren't your usual forte.
Sharing this image (even if it's really fan disservice and so forth) because it's such a LOL/WTF moment in the manga. And really funny:
If you hate me for exposing you to such ugly, ugly things, then have this too (the gorgeous Slam Dunk boys <33). It should make the other sight more bearable. See it as an apology on my part!
But still, I was upset.
So, in retaliation of all that, I finally caved in and read Ichi The Killer - a manga I had on my bookmarks for a whole two months prior to reading it. I won't make any secrets about this. I loved the manga. A lot. I was watching Welcome To The NHK too, but won't talk about it more in-depth because I'm still not done with it.
No, I'm not reccing it directly because Ichi, being what it is, is really not suitable for everyone. It's so violent and outright gross at points that it's even been partially banned in Japan. I doubt we're ever going to see it officially licensed in a language other than Japanese.
You see people die. In cruel and unusual ways. Women get raped and violated, again in cruel and unusual ways. Men get violated too, in cruel and unusual ways (one man, in particular, wants you to violate him in cruel and unusual ways).
The cruel and unusual methods with which people get tortured and/or killed feature: penis-slicing, getting shoot through the anus with a gun, getting your dick pierced, getting your hand pierced, having your nipples cut out ...
And there's more. Much, much more. Do not read this manga while eating. DO NOT.
Few people in this manga are decent; the large majority of this cast is either a) fucked-up in the head or b) fucked-up and terribly ruthless. The few decent characters in this manga do not end up happy.
The hero is a screwed-up individual who gets a hard-on at the thought of violence. And he cries while he kills because he remembers how he used to be bullied. The main villain is a screwed-up man who gets a hard on at the thought of pain; his face is full of scars and piercings (he gets aroused too when you hurt him and he's oh so in love with the “hero's” carnage).
Yes.
Now, why would one like a manga such as this? Why, just why?
In my case, it's a mixture between perverse curiosity and the sheer fact that this manga is just crazy-awesome. It's not incredibly deep or beautiful in any way, but twistedly funny and kind of epic if you can deal with the violence and the more nauseating aspects of it. It's entertaining - very much so.
Moreover, there are moments in this manga that are more serious and upsetting. It's rare, but the moments are there. The plot itself is nicely thought out with many nice twists.
You might like Ichi The Killer if you're interested in psychology. Without spoiling too much, Ichi The Killer is, in many ways, all about manipulation, mental trauma and how you can, by clever mind-games, make a person do your bidding.
But again, I'm not directly recc'ing this. I thought the manga was entertaining and funny, but do realise that not everyone might share my opinion. I just felt like writing a post about it because it deserves to be talked about?
I like pointing people out to manga that aren't your usual forte.
Sharing this image (even if it's really fan disservice and so forth) because it's such a LOL/WTF moment in the manga. And really funny:
If you hate me for exposing you to such ugly, ugly things, then have this too (the gorgeous Slam Dunk boys <33). It should make the other sight more bearable. See it as an apology on my part!
