Ranked #493

Shamo (Manga)

The story of Ryo Narushima begins when he is admitted to a reformatory school for murdering his parents. He’s a bad guy, and sure, you’ll pity him at first. That’s inevitable, when you see how skinny and frail he is and you see the horrors he endures. But your opinion of our devilish protagonist will change, and at what point in the story your opinion does change will probably say more about you than you realize or intend.

He begins a repentant and neurotic mess, but the tragedy of Ryo Narushima is that this character is wholly indoctrinated into an unforgiving world of violence, and only grows more depraved and twisted with every passing chapter.

If you’ve read the works of Kazuo Koike (Offered, Lady Snowblood, etc), then you’re used to grim storytelling built upon a tapestry of violence, rape and unbridled enthusiasm. What you’re not used to, however, is this tapestry marvelously applied to the Shonen formula, without ever feeling gratuitous or self-parodying. Yes, there’s the shonen notion of progress, and an ever-continuing set of obstacles for our antagonist to overcome. But make no mistake, this is no shonen manga.

When a shonen hero says he’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done, he doesn’t really mean that. When Ryo says he’ll do whatever it takes, he will. Whether that be provoking a world-class boxer into fighting him in a televised fight by raping his girlfriend, taking steroids in preparation for said fight until his heart almost explodes, biting off a man’s penis in self-defense, or working as a gigolo to make ends meet, you can be sure that Ryo will pursue the goals his ego sets before him, in the most un-heroic yet effective way possible.

The art style is fantastic, presenting a wide range of facial expressions and body types in a realistic and effective way. This is necessary, because the transformation of Ryo from skinny 16 year-old to rippling column of power and beyond is gradual and nuanced (to explain all that entails that “beyond” would constitute massive spoilers).

For beautifully drawn Machiavellian seinen, please do yourself a favor and check out Shamo. It won’t disappoint. read more

Shamo is not something for those light in heart to read. In chapter two the main character is sent to prison were he is raped, not only once, but twice. On top of that, the story if very violent, lost of fights happen as the main character grows.

Good story over all, but not something for people used to Shonen. This is X-rated stuff.