Ningen Shikkaku
No Longer Human

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

No Longer Human is a manga adaptation and modernisation of Osamu Dazai’s novel of the same name, following Yozo Oba, a young man who is terrified of other human beings and feels himself alienated from them. I see no problems in adapting the story to a modern setting, as alienation and fear and mistrust of other people exist in any time period. A story with these themes can be told well no matter when or where it is set, as it’s something everyone has likely experienced; but I find Furuya’s manga adaptation to fall short of Dazai’s classic novel in depicting that state of mind. ... No Longer Human focuses heavily on Yozo’s severely broken perception of the world and how he keeps destroying himself in mind and body (helped in no small part by his environment); and in stories like this, my expectation is that the character’s actions and mindset be clearly understandable. In this pursuit, the manga succeeds partially, but it could have done so much more.

The core of Yozo’s character is evident: he feels alienated and mistrustful towards most people, and he can only connect to them superficially, by behaving like a clown to make his classmates like him, and by having casual sex with women instead of forming fulfilling relationships. He goes through hell as he overreacts to his every failing and misfortune, beginning to abuse drugs and falling into a very dark place psychologically. The disappointing thing about Yozo’s characterisation is the fact that most of the time we’re on the outside looking in at him, instead of on the inside looking out at the world through his eyes, as in the novel. We have an objective view of him, not a subjective one heavily influenced by his self-loathing. Being directly inside Yozo’s head gives a much better idea of who he is than anything the manga does from a third-person perspective: the best examples of this are the passages ripped straight from the novel and displayed between chapters of the manga, which have the unfortunate effect of inviting comparison to the source. Now maybe I’m being unfair here, because novels by nature get inside a character’s head far more easily than manga, but it’s not like manga are useless at it. Solanin and Berserk are examples that prove that manga can express character emotions effectively: they build empathy for their characters through effective use of facial expressions and body language, as well as composition. Unfortunately, No Longer Human doesn’t do this nearly as well.

Occasionally, Yozo’s worldview will leak into the art: he’ll be depicted as a helpless marionette, or the people around him will be depicted as faceless beings incessantly staring at him; and one standout sequence shows Yozo drawing a manga, filling it with grotesque and horrifying images, venting his feelings through his art, clearly expressing exactly what’s going on that we don’t see the rest of the time. Although the manga’s artwork becomes more expressive as the story goes on, it is ordinary for the most part, and the occurrences I’ve mentioned are the exception rather than the rule, and arguably a case of too little too late. The artwork doesn’t do quite enough to communicate Yozo’s thoughts and emotions, leaving the rest of the job up to the writing.

Furthermore, Yozo is only given minimal backstory. His father is implied to be a major part of why he became the way he was before he was introduced at the beginning of the story, but the hinting at what happened is so vague as to be nearly useless. The novel, in addition to describing Yozo’s upbringing and early life, includes a brilliant account of his father offering him a choice between two gifts: a mask or a book. He wants the book but gives in to his father’s expectations and chooses the mask, symbolic of the façade he would put on for the rest of his life. Nothing like this is to be found in the manga, leaving us to guess at what turned him into such a broken person, which is unfortunate, as it makes him that much less understandable and relatable. Showing his childhood and giving more detail regarding how he grew up would have gone a long way in creating a more interesting character, and would have greatly benefited No Longer Human, which is first and foremost an exploration of Yozo’s character.

In conclusion, if you haven’t experienced No Longer Human in any form, then I advise you to read the original novel. While the story of alienation, betrayal, vice and self-destruction shown in this manga is certainly serviceable, and its strengths are hard to dismiss, many of the changes it makes cause it more harm than good, making it a decent manga instead of a great one.

this shit is awful, we have an mc with an unending stream of woman willing to pay his bills because yes, because the plot demands it or something, the art is average, nothing really shocking happens contrary to most people says, is very tame, things really "shocking" happend like two or three in the whole manga, and

SPOILERS

the mc was resented with his father but this is never explained, hence i cared very little

END SPOILERS

the rest of characters are just as bland and forgettable as the mc, and they all, again bend over to offer his cheek to him because the plot demands it, and besides ... that, no, nothing more comes to my mind that is worth talking about, this is manga is forgettable, dont waste your time, dont read

What is No Longer Human? First of all it’s widely considered to be Osamu Dezai’s magnum opus, a tragic novel framed as a diary of Yozo Obo who serves as a stand in for the author in his semi-autobiographical work. While it’s hard to call it influential, it is undeniably one of the most popular works of Japanese literature. You don’t even have to look outside the medium of anime and manga to see that. The story of Yozo Oba was adapted into anime as part of Aoi Bungaku series and currently has 4 manga adaptations. However, I can’t say that this one or the ... 2007 manga do it justice.

So what makes Ningen Shikkaku a bad adaptation? First of all the focus of this manga seems different from the novel. Original work feels like an extremely personal experience. You go through his short and depressing life with plenty of details and insight that makes you understand what made Oba the way he is and at times sympathize with or relate to his despite Oba overall being a person unlike many others, plagued with countless traumas and vices. However despite the depth of insight you get Oba’s recollections are kept rather brief and don’t stay on any one event for longer than necessary.

In the manga Oba is not even half as nuanced. The first part of the book that recounts his childhood is almost entirely ripped out with only short snippets of it appearing later on and interpreted in a way that doesn’t align with how it was presented in a novel. Focus instead lies in shifting the priority towards plot rather than Oba’s character. A lot of effort went into making the progression smoother and fleshing out the side characters just a bit more while vaguely following the story beats and themes of the original.

If you want to experience No Longer Human in a different medium this manga is not a way to go, you will miss out on Oba’s character and his development and that’s pretty much the whole point of it. With how different the manga is I think it’s more fair to say that it’s “based on” No Longer Human rather than an adaptation of it. I think it would be better of as something different because of this, the author obviously has a grasp on the original. otherwise reinterpreting it as well as he did would be impossible. He probably could’ve done something much better if this was an original story that only borrows the themes and characters instead of the story itself.

Despite all this I kinda warmed up to it towards the end. While I think it’s necessary to point out adaptations not fulfilling its premise, when taken on its own Ningen Shikkaku can be a decent short read.

While losing some things it made for a more conventional and slightly more relatable story. It’s a rather dramatic tale of self-ruination brought about by problematic upbringing and personal vices that can stem from it. It doesn’t make a big point out of it, there’s no preaching or grandstanding, just a very predictable but satisfying build up to a cathartic climax.

The art is solid and imaginative. It reminded me a bit of Takeshi Obata. Lines are clean and consistent, there’s not much in terms of shading and the character designs are largely pretty to look at. Big strength of this adaptation are inventive visual metaphors and just a lot of expressive imagery throughout. Strangers with warping features, puppets resembling Yozo smiling and dancing to amuse others, childhood memories appearing as holes in the wall of normal beliefs and morals Oba heard from others. The strongest part though for me was the last chapters where Furuya goes wild with Oba’s hallucinations. It can be over the top but overall very entertaining.

In the end, if you want to experience No Longer Human probably just read the novel, it’s short and captivating. If you want a decent, well paced and cathartic tragedy brought about by very human vices and traumas you can’t go wrong with this.

I adore original novel. Enjoyed every bit of it. Sure it is a vile thing. But such drama should be like that.
I have read 2 volumes of Junji Ito's adaptation and desided to read this one too. Furuya's adaptation shines the light on different points of the story comparing to the Ito's version. So it is completely different experience. But is it good experience?
I don't feel the main character. I think Ito had portrayed the main character as it was shown by Dazai. But Furuya's interpretation makes the main character completely different. Sure the plot points ... are based on the novel but I don't sense him to be that guy. Itbis a new character completely. I don't feel him be depressed. In both Dazai and Ito works he is a complex character, you may think he is an awful guy, but you like to follow him towards the end of a spiral
Here I feel indifferent towards him. He seems boring. And so the manga gets boring too.
There are plot points that are present here and not in Ito's interpretation, but I didn't like them in the novel and don't like in this manga.
The art work is alright, it is pretty pleasant to look at, but I don't see anything eye-catching in it.
Also, moving the event from first half of 20th century toward today's time doesn't work for me at all. The plot has the right to have modern setting, I just don't see the point in doing that.
I don't think I will finish this manga.