Aug 28, 2024
Yankee Juku e Iku is a story about a boy with a dream.
Ikariishi is a delinquent. Not much is revealed about his past, his goals, or his ideals. Throughout the story, he doesn't really become a better person or change his life drastically. It's quite difficult to tell exactly where the plot is supposed to be going, because it seems to have a mind of its own.
There is no narration in this very blunt manga, just pictures and dialogue. Many of the characters are butt-ugly, including its protagonist. It's strong point is neither action nor comedy, and its characters are about as complex as real
...
high school students—in other words, either unreasonably angry, inexcusably horny, or somewhere in between. These characters jump rope with the line between reality and fiction, almost becoming caricatures of themselves in the process.
Our first encounter with Ikariishi is quite typical, as he properly establishes himself as the protagonist by handing out ass-kickings like Halloween candy. By pure chance, he's dragged to a random cram school by a very pretty girl who mistakes him for one of her classmates. Seeing how motivated she is to get into a good high school, he just... decides to study along with her. In the meantime, one of his rivals is back from juvie, and wants revenge! On the day of the entrance exam, Ikariishi is forced to pick between saving his best friend and getting a chance at a normal high school life.
My favorite part of the manga is that Ikariishi truly does look stupidly intimidating. And yet, it's not really his appearance that prevents him from becoming a typical shounen protagonist. He is the product of his circumstances, and his choices are driven by a moral code that has been shaped by the conflict in his life. Ikariishi's fate is the brutal reality that is glorified by delinquent manga: unbridled, unavoidable violence. His inability to prioritize himself over others is the reality of living in a world where the strong rule over the weak. These are the circumstances that lead a young boy to give up on his dreams of the extraordinary vastness of outer space, and to instead be chained down by his responsibility to his remarkably ordinary neighborhood.
This manga is very blunt. Teens rebel just for fun, bully out of boredom, and rarely think about anyone except themselves. Teachers are bystanders, parents are absent. And Ikariishi himself is not a hero by any means—he's just a teenager trying to do the right thing in a world so full of brutality that it threatens to consume him entirely.
Yankee Juku e Iku completely disregards traditional storytelling and tropes in manga. It strikes a strange balance between parody and deconstruction, teetering and tottering towards either side without ever committing to one. But at the end of the day, it's fun as hell to read, and I hope that I've convinced you to give it a shot.
Written 09.28.2019 | Edited 08.28.2024
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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