Adolf ni Tsugu
Message to Adolf

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Adolf is one of Osamu Tezuka's later works and acclaimed as one of his best. Since it deals with Jews and Nazi's, comparisons to the masterpiece Maus, published around the same time, are bound to happen. But the works are incomparable since they deal with different parts of the Holocaust. Adolf, unlike Maus, focuses more on the mental state of one particular SS officer rather then the Jews themselves and what they go through.

Simply said, it is a very well crafted WWII spy story. Unlike most spy stories, it is fairly realistic in the timeframe of the story since it is told of the span ... of 9 years (excluding the very end) starting at the 1036 Berlin Olympics and mostly ending at the end of the war. The pacing is done very well as it alternates. The slower parts are used for two things, setting up for what is later to happen and character development. Even between events, years sometimes pass and some contains some of the rare instances where narration is used in manga to explain how the war is unfolding. Though mostly in-directly affecting to the characters, it is still helpful to show how the world is developing around them.

Though the story starts off and with the plot revolving around the missing documents of Hitler's origin, that is not the focus. In essence, it is a tragedy of the irreversible effects of brainwashing and blind devotion have on a person's psyche and their relationships. Though overarching theme is Adolf Kaufmann's mental state, the other characters also have problems large and small to make them feel real, but the focus isn't on their mental state so the story doesn't explore their psyche so much. There of course is the ever-present theme of racism, but that is quite self-explanatory.

I have only completed two of Tezuka's works, this and Metropolis. Since the two are on the opposite sides of his career, I can say that he has improved immensely as an artist with a profound influence from Gekiga. I have quiet a bit of Gekiga and I can say that the art is even superior to the majority of Yoshiro Tatsumi's (judgeing him by what has been published by Drawn & Quarterly) but falls short of Lone Wolf and Cub, Screw-Style, and Red Color Elegy (of what I've seen that is). The most impressive scenes are the narrative ones. Those scenes are visually-staggering, vividly-haunting (though it doesn't contain the alienating feel of Tsuge's works) and comparable to the austere beauty of the Himalayas in Buddha (though they do have a different feel). What is most impressive to me is the character designs. Tezuka easily has one of the most varied character designs that I have seen. Unlike many different designs, the design isn't dependent upon the upon the hair nor clothes, but rather the face of the person. Due to the old art, quite a few will be turned away, especially some of the people who are quite new to anime and manga.

Overall: It meets its potential. My only complaint is that there is not an extensive usage of symbolism and literary techniques to add depth, nor is it highly experimental. It is as I would define as a "progressive" comic. Separating the medium from other ones (animation most particularly), but in a more conservative way rather then the ground-breaking and experimental works of many of the works of underground and art comics (see Maus for that). A hugely enjoyable work that doesn't require much require intense thought. Lastly, there are mature themes (such as rape) presented, so this is definitely not for kids.

Availability: Despite only being 5 volumes, it is quite a scare manga to find with volume 1 going for even more then volume 4 of Phoenix. Since it was Tezuka's first work published in its entirety in English, it has been out of print for quite a while (started in 1995 and continued for only a few years). But for some reason all other volumes have been quite easy to find. With the exception of the first volume, I haven't really been able to find any scans. Since this is Tezuka that were talking about, there has to be scans of them out there, but I am at a lose to explain why all of them are so hard to find. In the past couple of years, there has been an immense surge in an interest of his works with the publication of Black Jack, Buddha, Phoenix, and MW (to name a few). So it is only a matter of time before it is republished in the US. But when is still iffy.

EDIT: It is currently being scanned, check for a comment by Curropt ID in the The Tokusyu Manga Club.

-Pierre Bezukhov
P.S.: Feedback is most welcome.

This is the story of three men named Adolf. It is a story with the grand sweep of myth, something that seems to rise from the unconsciousness, as told through a Japanese observer. At the opening of this story, in the early 1930's, it was a popular given name. Two Adolfs lived in Kobe, as part of the German expat community: one the son of a Jewish baker, and one the son of a Nazi diplomat. The coincidences interweaving their lives are so profound they should seem contrived, but they play out organically in the cadence of tragedy.

This is more painful to read the second ... (third, etc) time. The suspense is still there, but it is tinged with the tragedy of inevitability. That, I hold, is a hallmark of truly great storytelling. It is compelling no matter how many times you read it, and you realize different things each time you do. The dramatic irony that comes of the reader knowing history is brilliantly rendered. This is a masterwork of literature, skillfully plotted, driven by a vague sense of futility. And I am struck, each time, by the clarity of perspective with which Tezuka writes. It is a stunningly anti-war work, ruthlessly critical of the Japanese military state and the Nazi regime, but the atrocities of each country are laid bare. They are all guilty of unimaginable violence. The Manchurian campaign is to this day glossed over in Japanese textbooks (America is no less guilty of this sort of censorship of its history), but discussed openly in the story. The American firebombing of Kobe (recall most Japanese buildings were woodframe at this time) was an attack of equal cruelty as the Blitz and the atomic bombings. The Pearl Harbor ships were essentially dragged out as bait, the seamen left to die. The Russian army raped and pillaged Berlin with impunity, taking revenge, as is so often the case in war, on those who had no control over the situation from the beginning, many of whom were just quietly trying to survive. The Jews were ruthlessly persecuted by the Nazis, but then persecuted the Palestinians with equal ruthlessness, and the Palestinians responded equally heartlessly against Israeli citizens.

I am taken by the honesty with which Tezuka portrays a person's awareness of his own malleability, foreshadowed by a young Adolf Kaufmann not wanting to go to a Hitler Youth school, because he knows it will brainwash him to hate Jews--even though his best friend is Jewish. Even knowing this, he does indeed become a Nazi ideologue. This is one of the most stunning aspects of the story, not often explored honestly in literature, anymore. Usually, we assume awareness of the effect ideology will have on us is portrayed as sufficient to prevent its effects. It is so often not so.

Sexism and racism aside (of which there is plenty in his works), Tezuka was a man leagues ahead of his time and place. I ask the reader to keep this in mind with any of his works, and I am glad they were reproduced accurately. If we censor the casual prejudices of brilliant writers in hindsight, to make their works more palatable to contemporary audiences, we erase a record of how pervasive these prejudices actually were, to be entrenched even in people who truly believed in egalitarianism. It still took courage to write this stuff, even as late as the 1980's. As recently as this year, Miyazaki Hayao was catching heat for anti-imperialist themes in his latest movie, which takes place during the war. That's 2013.

I find it interesting Tezuka implies Hitler was a man who abstained from all forms of stimulants, as shown in a brief dinner scene. The pop culture version I had always heard here in the US was that he was a vegetarian, but a meth addict in his later years. I do not know if that was the Japanese version of Hitler that existed in the public mind back in the 80's. Maybe Tezuka was illustrating his hypocrisy.

Overall, I most highly recommend Message to Adolf, even if you don't normally read manga or comics at all. It is just a damn good story, and an illustration of the potential of graphic novels to portray stories of equal nuance and power as prose.

"Adolf" is another great work of Osamu Tezuka or so called the "God of manga".I could say this work is really a hidden gem.

Story: The manga is telling the story of three men called Adolf.It's following their lifes and shows how they change as a human beings through the years - psychologically and psysically.The story ,doesn't sound like something "new" or "original",but really once you start reading the manga you could not possibly leave it until you understand what happens.The story develops before and during the period of Hitler's ruling of Germany.So everything is resolving and starts from his character.He changes the lives of ... the main characters even with his existence.Every character in a different way,as you could see later in the manga.The story may seem a little slow at times ,but sooner after that you understand why the mangaka meant by slowing it down.

Art: The art is old,but as we can see the year of the releаsement of the series,we could not expect much more.The art won't bother you,it may be bad at times,but as you follow the story you would not even notice it.If you are all about the art you may not like it,but it's your decision.

The characters: This is probably the best part of the so called manga "Adolf".The characters even the minor one's develop through the whole story.We see that people who have totally different opinion,change their mind and actions under the influence of people and their surroundings.Some become cruel,some keep following their dreams through their whole life,some are brave even facing the death.Definitely you won't be disappointed by this part of the manga.

Enjoyment: I really enjoyed this manga and I hope you will too.Maybe you won't enjoy it if you have different opinion from the mangaka for Hitler and the Second World war at all.Tezuka is showing his thoughts of the Hitler's character and they could offend some people.

Overall the manga is really interesting and you won't be disappointed if you read it.It's one of the good Tezuka reads.I recommend it to you,I enjoyed it a lot and I didn't felt like I have wasted my time.

This is possibly the greatest Tezuka work I have read to this point. With a collection of: Nextworld, Metropolis, Astro Boy, Kimba, Pheonix and many other excellent pieces, this one is by far the most grasping.

Not only does it go into the more serious darker under side of WWII, it also brings a certain heart and drama to both sides of that world. Tezuka became bold when he did this one, going into many elements many not dare touch. Though pushing the envelope into this more serious work, he still managed to retain some humour and made it enjoyable to the reader. It truly keeps ... the readers on edge until the very end.

Like any Tezuka works, don't let the art style fool you, one you get into this one, you won't want to come out and you'll be begging for more once it's done.

So this is the first work of Tezuka Osamu that I've read and it was great.I was not clueless of Osamu's storytelling ,as I've seen the Dororo anime and it was amazing, if you ask me.

The story and its characters are probably the strongest aspect of this manga .The beginning takes place in Japan,some years before ww2 starts.The protagonist is a japanese reporter named Toge Sohei who gets mixed up with some documents proving that Hitler was a Jew.The whole story is a hunt for these documents by others and Toge trying to protect them.Later on another character takes a leading role and that's Adolf ... Kaufmann who is half japanese and half german.After some events he ends up being sent to Germany to become a nazi and his character gets a 180 degrees shift gradually.There were many memorable people in this story and were irreplaceable and important.

Well one problem that I had with the manga was the kinda outdated art .It's not like that I consider it bad or sth ,but it was probably the thing that I enjoyed less and it was the reason I sometimes thought ''eh I'm not in mood to read Adolf today''

Overall ,the manga is damn great with amazing storytelling and a great plot .If you are okay with outdated art-style, then I would definetely recommend it .Also I need to say that I would love a modern anime adaptation to it ,like the one Dororo had ,because not only it will get more people into the Godfather of manga ,but it will also be a pretty good experience watching a modern Adolf ni Tsugu

Adolf is an extremely well put together thriller focused around the lives of 4 characters. The Sohei Toge who serves as the narrator and writer of this story and 3 men named Adolf.

If you’ve ever read Urasawa works before I feel like the formula here will be pretty recognizable. Everything starts when Toge goes to report on Olympics going on in Germany when his brother asks to meet him in his hotel for something extremely urgent. What Toge finds however is a ransacked room and his brother dead in a tree outside the window. Who did it? Why? What will Sohe do and where ... will it lead him? In very little time Tezuka establishes an intriguing mystery that smoothly transitions both reader and the main characters into a messy offer that will keep spiraling down throughout the entire story.

It’s hard to describe what follows without spoilers, while none of the individual reveals will likely affect your enjoyment too much, Adolf as a whole is still built on the excitement of following the footsteps of the characters and finding out what will happen to them. Tezuka doesn’t hold anything back when it comes stakes. Even if you know the main characters won’t die, the things they go through constantly put them under pressure to which they react in a believable human way and this pressure is near constant.

Toge constantly has to face a shadow of government hanging over him. There’s a real sense of overwhelming power watching his every step, making sure not a single thing goes his way. Torturing him mentally and physically in hopes of depleting his willpower enough to squeeze out the information they need.
Kamil’s perspective is a bit more mild until the concluding chapters but as a jew living in Japan, his side of the story serves to introduce some jewish characters and set some things up.
On the other hand, Kaufmann’s PoV might be the roughest of them all as you get to see a little kid who wouldn’t hurt a fly slowly turn into an irredeemable monster after he is forced to enroll in AHS to become a part of Hitler’s Youth at behest of his father. The things he is made to do are depressing enough but seeing him get brainwashed and become a slave to ideology is heartbreaking when you get to see the results of it.

The manga can see a little unfocused at first. At least that’s how I felt originally. While sure, it’s established early on that this will be the story about three Adolfs, we nonetheless spend a huge chunk of time with out narrator/writor - Toge. Sure it’s exciting and it connects with a lot of key characters but it makes the switch to young Kaufmann and Kamil a bit weird cause you go from intense chases, escapes and fights to kids listening in on their parents or some historical exposition about nazis, jews and other things. However everything comes together so nicely in the final chapters that it’s hard to call any part of Adolf unnecessary or unfocused. If anything I feel like maybe there could’ve been more chapters flashing out Kamil cause in the end, while he’s a very important character, he’s given the least room to breathe and develop.

However it’s worth noting, I think, that even though the characters are an important part of this manga, their development is not a selling point. None of them are deep but their believable behavior is what makes them interesting. It’s not often that you see someone go through the things they go through and having it realistically reflect on them is enough to create some curiosity and intrigue.

Despite thrillers often lacking in what people usually consider substance and focusing on emotional engagement, I think Adolf succeeds in both. As in the background a gripping adventure goes on, there’s an overarching point being being made about justice and how people can use ideology to manipulate others for the sake of achieving their personal goals. How this zealous loyalty can ruin people’s lives and lead to terrible, needless tragedies. Tezuka never beats you over the head with this but I feel like that’s intentional. It’s vague enough that people might interpret this differently but not enough to a point where you can say it’s about anything at all. This might just be a result of how impartial Adolf is for the most part. Not in a “nazis weren’t simply evil” kind of way but in the same way a history book would simply tell you about people and atrocities they did without telling you how you should feel about. History in general is treated with respect here, even though the story is entirely fictional, a lot of it is supplemented by real events without any huge rewrites or alterations.

One point that’s so-so to me is the art. I remember reading Astro Boy and being kind of put off by a chapter where some village in Asia gets bombed and a bunch of people die and it’s all done in Tezuka’s trademark cartoony art style which severely clashed with what was shown. While Adolf still have some kind of cartoony moments overall there wasn’t a moment where I felt it clashed or was inappropriate. Also Tezuka’s paneling is as always on point. Normal moments get mostly normal presentation but when Tezuka wants to add some emotional tinge to the page he knows just how to do it by arranging the panels just right.

Overall Adolf is an excellent manga. Being 36 chapters long it’s hard to not recommend it to anyone who wants a good read. Though if you’re queasy or easily upset some of the darker parts of it might affect some people.

Message to Adolf – Spoiler Free – Recommended

TLDR
Story – 10/10 – 10 x 0.275 = 2,75
Art – 8/10 – 8 x 0.2 = 1,6
Characters – 10/10 – 10 x 0.225 = 2,25
Enjoyment – 8/10 – 8 x 0.3 = 2,1
Total: 9 -> 9

Braving oceans, I shall be a corpse, waterlogged. Braving mountains, I shall be a corpse, grass to feed.
... -Message to Adolf

Story – 10/10
Message to Adolf is a heavy story in all senses – it has death, sexual abuse, torture and the very Holocaust. It is also excellent in its execution, although quite dense. Little can be said to make justice to its quality. Message to Adolf is also probably Tezuka’s heaviest manga, where we accompany the life story of three Adolfs: Adolf Kaufmann – a German-Japanese –, Adolf Kamil – a Jew –, and Adolf Hitler – the Führer himself.
The story begins during the 1936 Olympic Games in the person of Toge, a journalist, and slowly introduces the other characters from this point onwards. It ends in the 80s, in Palestine/Israel, also with Toge. Geographically, the story is played out between Germany and Japan for most of the story and in Palestine/Israel in the final stage of the manga.
As the story slowly develops, more characters are introduced, although in a fashion where everything is logical and makes sense in the narrative. There are also no leaps of faith, and the story is highly coherent. The story is also densely packed and filled with dialogue. This, however, doesn’t affect the readability, as the dialogue makes sense in its context.
It is also filled with mentions – for obvious reasons – of the Second World War, as we also accompany the developments of the conflict in both the European and Pacific theatres. The incremental rise and decline of Nazism and Nationalism in Germany and Japan play as the background of the story, as the very fates of the characters are tied to the development of World Politics – in this sense, some of the characters are but the pawns in a larger scheme of things, where race, nationality, friendship, ideology, and war become intertwined.
This story is character-driven, following mostly the lives of the three Adolfs and Toge in this intense, saddening, and even gut-wrenching story. The influence of the war is also depicted in the fate of the characters, where the darkest aspects of the war are also represented on both a macro and micro scale.
In short, Message to Adolf is a beautifully complex, albeit linear, excellent story about the effects of the War on common people from multiple backgrounds, where hate, division, and indoctrination shape the lives and fates of the characters.

Art – 8/10
The art style of Message to Adolf is typical of a Tezuka manga. This is to say that it is cartoonish, but highly functional. Also, the cadence of the panels is also wonderfully made, making the story, although dense, easy to follow. The character design is also quite well done, making them easy to tell apart. The backgrounds are also cartoonish, although the representations of the war and torture are somewhat graphic in their nature.

Characters – 10/10
The story revolves around three Adolfs, as they form the basis of Tezuka’s story, even though every character is of some importance. It is also, therefore, a very character-driven story, and quite well so, as both the story and characters are excellent. Although the characters are in some sense the personification of indoctrination and ideological zeal (Kaufmann), the personification of innocence and friendship (Kamil), and the personification of lunacy and pure evil (Hitler), it must nevertheless be said that all of them suffer modifications in their individual character arcs that make them complex and beautifully well-made. Kaufmann, for instance, didn’t become a full-hearted nazi right from the beginning, nor is he contradiction-free: Kaufmann is a highly complex character – definitely the most complex of the three Adolfs – that surpasses simple characterisations.
The minor characters in Message to Adolf are more than just figurines, as they assist, intervene and play a role in the main story (and minor subplots, although there aren’t many).
The characters are dense and complex and have distinct personalities of their own.

Enjoyment – 8/10
Message to Adolf is an excellent manga and probably one of Tezuka’s best works. Its story and characters are terrific and are a delight to read. The art functions quite well and fulfils its purpose. Although it is only four volumes long, one must keep in mind that the manga is dense and ridden with dialogue, feeling like they are larger than what they actually are. It is nevertheless a classic – and rightfully so – and, in certain aspects, a true masterpiece from the Godfather of Manga himself. It more than deserves an enthusiastic recommendation.

I've always been a fan of historical fiction, and this manga is a great depiction of the trials and tribulations that the Germans, Jews, and Japanese had to go through during World War II. Right and wrong are mixed, people are killed on the basis of religion and race, and everyone's afraid of offending the wrong people and risking their lives. Historical drama is really quite exciting, but at the same time, the morbid theme of the Holocaust brings the reader down to earth about how close the world was to wiping out an entire race.

Adolf ni Tsugu is has a very strong and engaging ... plot. The story has three main characters and centers on each of them one at a time until one of them come to meet the other. Each of them have their own circumstances to deal with, so even if you dislike someone, you won't be reading about them forever.

Now, I don't know how historically accurate this manga is, but from what little I know, there is a large change in history done near the end of the manga, but I won't mention it. Other than that, I think the mangaka did a splendid job with depicting Japan and Germany in states of war. He paid attention to cultural customs and gender roles and did an outstanding job.

One flaw I'd point out is the romantic development in this manga. There isn't a romance tag, I know, but whatever there was of love, it was mostly love at first sight.

There are multiple characters, a lot of recurring ones and others not, and I think they were all splendid. They had distinctive personalities and features, and not one of them were boring. They had ideas, unique thoughts, and acted like real people. No one was perfect, of course, but that makes them all the more real.

I also love the way he depicts Hitler. Hitler was known for using exaggerated gestures and raising his voice during passionate speeches, and even if I couldn't hear him from reading the manga, he looked like he would burst out of the panels. His mouth stretched wide and he spit sometimes. I could imagine Hitler to be that way.

This is an old manga, so the panels are rectangular and the characters cartoon-like. I think in the mangaka's day, that was pretty good, so I'm not complaining. He's pretty good with drawing buildings in my opinion. And there is bloodshed and violence in there because of war injuries and fist fights; to me it looks like uncensored cartoon violence. Otherwise, uniforms are detailed and facial features smooth. There's nothing much to dislike.

Other than the Pearl Harbor incident, this manga really opened my eyes to struggles the Japanese had with deciding whom to ally with. There were other countries that took part in the war, of course, but I had never thought about struggles with mixed race families that were both Japanese and German.

For those who like a dose of politics and a dive into history (especially the Holocaust), Adolf ni Tsugu is a good manga to pick up. Though it's from many years ago, it's a good portrayal (though not entirely accurate) of history from the perspective of people who've been there to witness it. You really care for the characters' safety and hope for the best despite knowing how terrible World War II turned out to be. Therefore, this manga gets an 8/10 from me.