„What good is a Sanctuary if I have no-one to share it with?”
Before getting into the minutiae of Sanctuary let's start with what this manga is not:
It's not a modern version of Machiavelli's „The Prince”. It does not present anything in terms of strategy or tactics within the political realm, nor does it flesh out an ideal of what politics should be like.
It's not a japanese version of The West Wing or House of Cards. It deals with politics alright, but you won't learn much about the japanese political system nor does it discuss policy. It barely grazes it.
It's focus also isn't necessarily its plot. The strength of this manga lies in its characters and its themes. As such, if you dislike either of the concepts described below in those categories, it's not worth reading.
If you're looking for something like this, you will be disappointed. With that out of the way, let's focus on the details.
Story:
The plot centers around two japanese survivors of the Cambodian massacres during the regime of Pol Pot also known as the Khmer Rouge. They return to Japan after surviving and in their high school days decide to reform Japan. One will go underground and take over the Yakuza, the other will take over politics and become Prime Minister.
The plot details their rise through the ranks of their respective organizations. You follow each of the two main characters, and sometimes a side character, but their plotlines frequently intertwine, since they not only aim for the same thing (the reform of Japan) but organized crime and politics also have frequent connections and common interests within the story.
This plot is easy to follow. As I said before this is not about tactics and strategy. Of course strategies are developed, tactics employed in their quest for power, but don't expect extensive mind games or complicated plotlines. Most tactics employed are spur of the moment decisions to tilt the table back to favor the main characters and their objectives. That does make for some weird plot developments like joining with your enemies to hurt them from within and then leaving again in the blink of an eye. However it does not make the storyline bad by any means.
As this manga only has 105 chapters, this is a rather fast paced affair.
Consequently the ending of Sanctuary is rushed. Rushed but still good. Bittersweet but still good. Still the manga would have profited from three things. First among them is a better development of the plot to make it less erratic. There is also at least one development in the plot that I personally find less than believable. The other two things that could have been improved I will outline below.
Themes:
This is the heart of the matter. In my view this manga is about a specific theme, not necessarily the individual plotlines. That theme however is not the eponymous „Sanctuary”. If you've read the manga Holyland, like I have, you might expect the concept of a „Sanctuary” to be fleshed out and somewhat similar to the concept of Holyland. You would be disappointed and the manga is worse of for it. Lipservice is paid to the „Sanctuary”, it is mentioned every once in a while. We can infer what it means from the actions and speeches of the main characters. But it is never satisfyingly defined. It becomes one of those vague terms as you might have encountered in political slogans („Change we can believe in”; „Hope and Change”; „Liberty, Solidarity, Justice”)
Luckily the rest of the themes is what carries the manga. Obviously deep friendship is a major theme. The characters have been through hell together and that shows.
The core of the manga is however not really individual ambition as you might expect from a manga in which the character aim for the top of their countries. It is political, or more encompassing even, societal reform. The main characters, coming from their near-death experience, return to Japan finding the people have become complacent and lost all of their spirit and conviction. They reelect the same government again and again in the hope of preserving their cozy lives. The interest in politics is low, the desire to change is nonexistent.
This, the main characters conclude, is not life. Citizens should take an interest in their societal welfare. They should not go about their lives complacent without any ambition. It's not a new concept. But it is well done and an interesting read. At its core this manga is altruistic and hopeful, despite dangling in the underworld and dealing with the corrupt.
Another major theme is youth replacing the old. This is justified even in real life, if you ever took a look at japanese or american politics. It is not, as some suggested, hate of the old. It's the difference between clinging to the past and embracing the future, preserving everything as is or changing it to create something new.
Characters:
Someone argued the two main characters are indistinguishable from each other. They are both survivors of a horrific regime.They're both intelligent, reasonably handsome and have an abundance of determination and willpower. That is true without a doubt. But if you use that as criticism, you have, in my opinion, missed the point.
The whole manga wouldn't have worked if the characters had been different at their core. The very premise of it is that a) they have been shaped through their common experience in Cambodia and b) that they decided who would take which path (Yakuza or Politician) through Rock-Paper-Scissor, essentially through chance. Not to mention coming up with the plan to reform Japan in the first place. They are essentially (for plot purposes) the same soul in two bodies. If they had competing ideals ala Naruto and Sasuke the premise as well as the ultimate point of the manga would have been lost.
The other politicians all have their own interests and desires, same as the other Yakuza. They're fleshed out as much as their respective roles require. Sometimes a trope is repeated, but that nearly always makes sense for the setting and/or the plot.
The only ones coming out of this manga badly represented are the police. They're clueless or deliberate bystanders at their best moments, fomenting gang violence at their worst and ultimately only there, because otherwise the reader would ask „Why is there no law enforcement in this manga?” Well, this manga shows that just because police is there, the law isn't necessarily enforced.
The most outrageous character without a doubt will be dealt with in an extra segment that is probably unique to this manga.
Sexism:
Full disclaimer. I am not interested in gender politics. I believe women should be treated equally to men, but that is it. I don't generally care about how women are portrayed in media products. I don't subscribe to the idea that how a gender, a religion, a political group is portrayed in your random entertainment product has anything to do with how we view or treat them in society. Anime and Manga especially do not suffer from this. This is an entertainment product so vast (and infinite) that anyone can find something to their taste. Be it an action driven shonen, a psychological seinen, a fluffy shojo or a touching josei. As much as we say that those are demographics and not genres they very often share so many themes, plot devices and tropes, that this argument often becomes irrelevant.
That being said, Sanctuary is sexist. I do not believe it to be a deliberate choice of the mangaka. He didn't want to promote sexism nor was it part of the setting. It might have been a product of its time in that way, although the early 90s weren't remotely as sexist as this manga.
Let's return to the character I left out in the characters section: This guy is a brute. He kills, maims and rapes his way through the manga. I actually counted his exploits somewhat. There were different versions of Sanctuary published. One went for 9 volumes, another for 12 and one for 14. If you slice it into 14 volumes the character rapes at least one women in every of the first 8 of them. By volume 9 the rest of the cast has caught on to this and a restaurant actually offers a girl to him to prevent him from raping some random woman in the bathroom. Slice it anyway you want it, this is supremely sexist. The character also has alot of consensual sex throughout the manga, so it isn't like he's a psychopath drawn to rape either.
There is virtually no woman portrayed as a strong, independent female (whatever that means). All of them are in various stages of gagging for a male. The police inspector without a doubt takes the cake for various reasons. Characters also engage in sex with prostitutes every couple of chapters (this is not a charge of sexism, but should be mentioned while we're on the topic anyway). This goes beyond your average seinen or shonen with its reliance on only token females of little importance.
Art:
If there is anything that is (nearly) beyond reproach in Sanctuary, it's the art.
It's realistic and well done even though the style looks a little dated to me. It fits the story well and Hojo's (the Yakuza mc) character design specifically reminds me of the portrayal of organized crime in American movies (think of The Godfather, Casino and Goodfellas). Isaoka is the embodiment of the old politician. Despite my criticism of the sexism inherent in this manga, the sex scenes, the naked bodies (male and female) are well drawn. Every character has his own unique design, that fits him and his position well and you won't ever confuse one with the other.
Particularly praiseworthy is the portrayal of Cambodia during the regime. Mounts of corpses and skulls have never been portrayed that beautifully in manga (and yes, I'm aware how sickening that is. It should be).
Enjoyment and conclusion:
I've debated for a long time how to deal with the sexism issue in my rating. If you're really touchy on the subject, you might invert my rating (you'll give it a 3 instead of my 8) or it might at least bring down your enjoyment and rating of it. Not so for me. It is noticeable. It is not pretty. But ultimately it is not the point nor done with ill intend. I've decided not to let it influence my rating at all.
This manga is enjoyable for the journey of those two great characters to power. It's enjoyable for the themes it touches on. It's enjoyable for the unbreakable friendship, the iron will, the ambition, the positive mindset. It has a great supporting cast, a formidable antagonist and highquality art.
Interested in stories about organized crime and/or politics? Despite some weaknesses, some themes not fully developed, Sanctuary is well worth the time.
