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Mw [Hardcover]

Osamu Tezuka (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 16 Oct 2007
A secret U.S. chemical weapon called "MW" accidentally leaks and wipes out the population of a southern Japanese island. Though Michio Yuki survives, he emerges from the ordeal without a trace of conscience. MW is manga-god Osamu Tezuka's controversial testament to the Machiavellian character and features his most direct engagement of themes such as transvestism and homoeroticism.

MW is a chilling picaresque of evil. Steering clear of the supernatural as well as the cuddly designs and slapstick humor that enliven many of Tezuka's better-known works, MW explores a stark modern reality where neither drive nor secular justice seems to prevail. This willfully "anti-Tezuka" achievement from the master's own pen nevertheless pulsates with his unique genius.

Product details

  • Hardcover: 600 pages
  • Publisher: Vertical Inc. (16 Oct 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1932234837
  • ISBN-13: 978-1932234831
  • Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 4.6 x 20.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,058,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.7 out of 5 stars
7 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth picking up if you have a deeper interest in manga. 5 Feb 2008
By C. Amess
Format:Hardcover
This is a great slice of Tezuka's storytelling brilliance. This was written in his later years, veering away from the more child-oriented early works of Astro Boy and Kimba. Though other works of his such as Buddha contain some graphic violence and ideas about human existance, this gives them a more modern context, incorporating the feelings of those living in post-war Japan. The story focuses on two survivors of a biological catastrophe, Yuki and Garai, which wiped out an entire island community and was subsequently covered up by the government. Yuki is a young man changed by the effects of the weapon, MW, turning him into a psychopath incapable of controlling or rationalizing his urges. The other, Garai, is a priest conflicted by his feelings for the beautiful, feminine Yuki and his duty to God. As Yuki schemes to obtain the MW for himself, Garai has to choose between his faith and stopping Yuki.

A great example of how graphic novels can be as powerful and poignant a medium as film or script.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Drawing is exquisite, plot unlikely but gripping 31 Mar 2010
By D. Reynolds
Format:Hardcover
This is great. The plot is gripping and devious, if a bit unlikely sometimes (but hey, it's a comic!) But the real joy for me is the artwork. I can just open it and look at how Tezuka rendered the different foliage, or how he suggested a whole cityscape. And then there's the masterful way he visualises a scene, with a mixture of realism and manga-style exaggeration. From the opening, dialogue free pages, which remind you of Hitchcok's pure cinema approach, the book is a joy to look at. Definitely a master at work, at his most mature and capable.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Dark, mature Tezuka 8 Oct 2009
By Keris Nine TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Not only is Osamu Tezuka's 1976 graphic novel MW a remarkably different kind of story from the Japanese master of comics, but challenging his country's political infrastructure, the corruption behind election string-pulling, the government connections with rich and influential businessmen and the thorny question of US involvement in Japan, it's a daring and challenging work of great relevance.

More than that, Tezuka explores the human, or perhaps more accurately, the inhuman impulses that lie behind such actions. At the centre of the story is an unusual love affair between a priest, Father Garai, and a morally corrupt young man, Yuki. The two of them have in the past survived the accidental release of a deadly experimental virus called MW that wiped out the entire population of a small Japanese island. Only a child at the time, the experience and exposure to a smaller dose of the virus has however has deeply affected Yuki, the effeminate young man now a quite dangerous and ruthless kidnapper and murderer. His actions seem random, striking out at authority but also showing up in cruel behaviour towards Father Garai and anyone who comes into close contact with him, but they all have a connection to what happened 16 years ago on that small island.

As well as the interesting questions that Tezuka raises in regard to US wartime actions, their influence in Japan and their impact on the psychology of the individual (are the actions of Yuki any less harmful to society than what has been perpetrated by the respective governments?) - Tezuka's layouts and artwork techniques as always remain fascinating, the writer-artist's style still cartoony, but finding other appropriate means in the line work and the arrangements to express the dark elements that underlie the story.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly my favourite Tezuka yet 26 Mar 2012
By deldel2
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Possibly my favourite Tezuka yet, Possibly because of the sheer difference between this and all of his other works that I have read so far, or maybe that's just me. Quite frankly I've never read anything quite like it, nor do I expect to, although I still hope. Most readers will probably find the content of this book disturbing. Definitely not one of Tezuka's more popular works, I like it for being what it is, highly contentious even now, let alone seventies Japan. A must read for hardcore Tezuka fans.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read! 1 Aug 2011
By ross brocklesby
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Osamu Tezuke' darkest work, very dark and sometimes explicit not for the easily offended. Awsome characters and the story is truly one of a kind! Youd be mad not to pick this up. My only dissapointment is that its not in the original japanese format of ready right to left but some may see that as a positive as it is easier to read if you arnt familiar with the proper way to read japanese graphic novels. 5* book though so buy it!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Far-fetched, yes, but astonishingly good 2 Sep 2010
By Roland Cassard VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
You can read this graphic novel on a number of levels. You can see it as a damning examination of government and corruption, in the cover-up of the appalling gas attack, the deadly gas giving this book its name; you can see it as an anti-hero heist caper, complete with improbable final showdown; or you can see it as the story of a cross-dressing serial killer and his Catholic priest lover.

I need to re-read the book to be sure, but I am assuming at some point there is an illustration of a kitchen sink, as this manga really does have everything, including the kitchen sink. The plot twists are jaw-dropping (and reality-stretching) but the pace is so fast, and the storytelling so assured, that it is impossible not to accept the improbable and let the fantasy wash over you. It's shockingly dark, the first chapter features a businessman and his very young son being killed by the youthful hero-villain, and subsequent chapters see the death count increase. Despite the over-the-top drama, there are moments of deep psychological insight, and the priest's struggle with his conscience - and his sexuality - are moving and believable. The art is exquisite, helped along by the 1970s fashion on show (you can't really hate a villain with big 70s hair, big Deirdre Barlow glasses and a natty line in tank tops) and the mixture of hyper-realism and comic parody that makes Tezuka's other 'adult' manga so appealing (see also the highly recommended Ode to Kirihito Part 1, Ode to Kirihito Part 2 and Apollo's Song, all from the same publisher).... Read more ›
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