Kirihito Sanka
Ode to Kirihito

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

When faced with a strange new illness that seems to turn people into beasts, Ode to Kirihito follows the titular character as he tries to solve the mysteries surrounding the disease. Under a fashion similar to North by Northwest, Kirihito is thrown into a series of bizarre and extreme circumstances which he becomes inevitably involved despite his innocence, giving a whole new meaning to “out of the frying pan, into the fire.” While the manga is often considered a precursor to another one of Tezuka's great works, Black Jack, they really share very little beyond featuring doctors in the story. While still feeling like classic ... Tezuka, Ode to Kirihito is really another great manga to add to his repertoire that stands well on its own.

If you have read any of Tezuka's other works, then the artwork will come as no surprise. The Disney influences are as apparent as ever, with cartoony characters that are often drawn with long and exaggerated body parts. However, there are times when the mangaka goes for shocking realism, which really adds to many of the scenes. Tezuka takes more risks in this work, going for a darker, almost film-noir feel with overwhelming shadows and interesting uses of lighting. Characters are even sometimes drawn in a sketchy style, lending significantly to the manga's dark and uncertain feel.

And it is not just the art: the entire graphic novel is one of the darkest pieces that Tezuka has ever written. Like with The Book of Human Insects, Osamu Tezuka has seemed to check his humor at the door. I noticed only two instances of gags in the whole work, despite the fact that Tezuka is well known, and often criticized, for his all too frequent use of jokes, especially at inappropriate times. This is probably for the better since Ode to Kirihito deals with some heavy themes such as persecution, rape, isolation, psychological damage, slavery, and humanity to name a few.

Characters are interesting and varied, with most given enough time to grow and become fully fleshed out. They can be far more complex than they first seem, with even the most vile of characters given human emotion and a chance for redemption. Tezuka really uses the entire cast to his full advantage, blurring the lines between beast and man and making each person feel important to the story as a whole. Unfortunately, with such a strong overall cast, it does sometimes feel like there are some missed opportunities with Kirihito, who does not even feel present for a large part of the manga. We often see him jump between many stages of his life but not the actual transitions. However, this is a minor point in category that Tezuka excels in.

When Tezuka is at the top of his game, he can forge together a story that interesting, poetic, poignant, important, and imaginative. In Ode to Kirihito, Tezuka is undoubtedly at the top of his game. The story follows many different story lines, all of which take interesting turns and all contribute to what Tezuka has to say about what it really means to be human. Without spoiling too much, you can rest assured that the actual plot is on par with Tezuka's most revered works, such as Phoenix. Sometimes the situations can seem a little too extreme, but that's also part of the fun.

Tezuka's story-telling is extremely experimental, with panels that spiral in or explode out of the page. Some pages seem to mimic a film strip, emphasizing the progression of character expressions. When done well, his style really pays off, though sometimes the overemphasis on certain scenes can mess up the pacing a bit. Furthermore, the experimental style, though interesting, can take readers out of the experience and make them all too aware that they are reading a manga, which is not generally desired. The manga is also filled with Christian imagery, which unlike in Neon Genesis Evangelion, feels important without being overbearing.

With Ode to Kirihito, Tezuka beautifully weaves together a fascinating drama that is fantastic in almost every aspect. His medical background often makes it difficult to separate fact and fiction, and indeed, the manga shapes up to be one Tezuka's most realistic works, both in story and in style. Tezuka is one of the few artists who seems to be able to seamlessly blend art and entertainment, creating one of his finest tales with Ode to Kirihito.

A lot of strange diseases roam this world, with scientists trying to find remedies, but to no avail. In the case of Ode to Kirihito, a bizarre disease that turns people onto dog-like creatures, yet retain their human consciousness, is found in an isolated village. The doctor Osanai is sent to the village to investigate the case, yet everything is not as it seems: be prepared to explore the unknown as well as the bureaucratic world of the doctors.

The premise of Ode to Kirihito may seem nothing outstanding at first glance, yet shines in its presentation; by introducing the Monmow disease suddenly as most illness ... do, it creates a believable setting, while at the same time maintaining a well paced story. Needless to mention, Monmow degrades people's life gradually worsening to the point of causing the death of the affected. The hardships people have to endure are well displayed through interactions with characters and events that happen.

Other great aspect of the manga is how it displays the world of scientists/doctors, including the explanation of medical terms, through the characters and narration of the different events that take place, be it a medical conference, or diseases patient suffer.

There is however a negative aspect to the story; to make it darker and cruel, the author introduces incidents that happen to the characters, ranging from unnecessary rape scenes and deaths being some examples. This is not bad on its own, yet it is badly executed thus having no impact on the story, likewise having near to no consequences at all which makes it totally redundant to the storyline.

The characters of Ode to Kirihito are varied, each with its own personality. Tatsugara the ambitious doctor that refuses to accept a theory that opposes his own or the not so talented Urabe. Being merely 800 pages long, character development for the characters is scarce, Kirihito being the exception. He undergoes serious changes to the point of looking like a total different character due to all the events that happened to him, ranging from humiliation to enslavement. The supporting cast is well done too, yet is difficult to find any attachment to them due to the short duration of the manga.

The art style of Ode to Kirihito is at first glance simple and off-putting, yet its characters design fitted well with their personalities, as it was making it very easy to convey their beliefs and behaviours. Panel placement is well done too, giving it a "cinematic" feel to it. In addition, the backgrounds are stunningly well drawn, matching perfectly with the atmosphere it tries to portray. However, the character design is immersion breaking and doesn't fit the story at all: it is difficult to take the manga seriously, which is a shame, as it would have made this manga better.

Overall Ode no Kirihito was a very enjoyable read, yet the "edgy" things that happen in conjunction with the characters design, made the story less realistic and less enjoyable than it could have been. Nevertheless, its presentation, narrative, and characters made it a very interesting read that kept me wondering what would happen next. Recommended to anyone with interest in the psychological genre.

Thank you for reading.

For someone credited as the godfather of manga, with a good number of classic works under his belt, you’d expect Osamu Tezuka to be more of a classy writer, at least that was the expectation I brought with me when deciding to discover more of his work. It has however become apparent to me that Tezuka was not above inserting all kinds of depravity into his more adult stories.

Having taboo elements in a story obviously doesn’t automatically make something bad, but it should be said that I hope any writer keeps themselves to a high standard when exploring them. Ode to Kirihito sadly can ... only be described as clumsy in its execution. Sometimes a rape scene will have actual purpose when exploring the twisted psychology of incredibly flawed characters, made greater by creative use of the artwork and pages that are designed to be read in a distorted way. But other times a rape scene will literally pop up from behind a bush with little to no purpose other than shock value.

What Ode to Kirihito deserves most credit for is in its theme about appearances and the value we put in them. Our main hero ends up being distrusted because of how his appearance changes from a human to a dog, despite being a respectable doctor. The main villains are obsessed with appearing smart and dignified to the point of using their positions of power to bury the truth. A few scenes of blatant racism spotlight how judging people by appearance allows ignorance to grow. Although once again, this praise is balanced out by twists that come out of nowhere, tragic events that are so numerous that they feel unnatural, and worst of all hospital politics that are an absolute bore to read through.

Overall, Ode to Kirihito ends up being a mixed bag. Every well executed element is balanced out by an equally baffling element. I might still recommend Ode to Kirihito to big fans of Tezuka who wish to see his growth as an author as this was written around the mid-point of his career. For the casual reader though this one could easily be skipped, especially when there’s plenty of other mangas from Tezuka to explore instead.