Aug 9, 2010
Being a huge fan of Hiroaki Samura's work on Blade of the Immortal, I could barely contain my excitement when I ran across Ohikkoshi, and I had absolute confidence that he would deliver the same beautiful artwork and compelling storytelling that I've become accustomed to.
The story focuses on Tono and his group of friends taking those awkward, and often difficult steps toward adulthood. Desperately clinging together over alcohol, cigarettes, loud music, and love, the group slowly begins to crumble as each begins to drift toward their own respective paths.
It's a fairly simple story, and the sort of subject matter that I'm not used to
...
seeing from Samura, but as someone dangerously close to turning 30, I couldn't help reflecting upon my own experiences and struggles during that time of my life. Tono's obsessive and awkward feelings for his friend Akagi, the group's constant drinking, smoking, and desperate attempts to continue living in the moment, all of it echoed my own experiences and put me in a bit of an introspective mood. In this respect, Ohikkoshi does a fantastic job of delivering an interesting, relatable story, and I suspect a lot of people in their 20's and 30's will be immediately sucked in.
Taking this into account, it's unfortunate that the actual narrative is a bit of a mess. Dialog and plot elements are introduced at an erratic and random pace, often from panel to panel, and it's often difficult to follow what's going on, who's talking to whom, and what the group is even talking about or doing. This is further complicated by elements that are exaggerated or part of a character's imagination, but with little to differentiate any of it. One moment, I would find myself sucked in and enjoying the story and characters, only to be pulled back out of it again, and I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe something was wrong with the translation, as the experience was similar to some of the crappier scanlations I've run across.
While there were a lot of things I enjoyed about Ohikkoshi, it's clear that this story simply needed to be longer and paced more evenly. Instead, what's presented is something that could have been a truly great manga, but whose potential is sadly cut short. I'm not sure I'd recommend it if you're just looking for something new and interesting to read, but Samura fans will likely want to check it out if only to get a brief taste of what might have been.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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