Loose Senki: Old Boy
Old Boy

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I had no idea that the modern cinematic classic Old Boy was adapted from a manga, of all things, so when I learnt that yesterday I just had to check it out and (old) boy, am I glad I did!

Old Boy is an enigmatic, brilliant thriller; a slow burn of a story that ensnares and fascinates the reader at every turn. The plot and characters are just great, both relatable and formidable; I particularly loved Goto, the main character, as well as his relationships with Dojima and the other major players of their twisted "game." The art is very good, with a timeless, adult feel; ... I just wish there was a little more poetry to it (it stays mostly realistic with a few very beautiful surreal tableaux).

I could not put this series down, I read the first four volumes yesterday and the rest today; I really want to buy it and add it to my shelf. In summation, Old Boy has become one of my favorite manga series ever, and I have no doubt that it'll become a regular on my reread roster.

A lot of people like me will have probably gone into this manga having watched Park Chan Wook's Oldboy (2003), arguably one of the greatest thrillers of all time with one of the most shocking twists to hit the big screen - also based on this manga of the same name.

Unfortunately those lofty expectations are almost never met. Understandably there are many flourishes the film has that the manga cannot compete with: on a technical aspect the film is basically flawless (the one shot hallway fight scene comes to mind). Even taking this into account however, or disregarding the films rendition completely, the manga still ... has wide missteps.

Firstly, the beginning. In the manga Goto (the MC) is almost instantly out of his imprisonment. He seems like he is completely unfazed, apart from appreciating his new found freedom. It's almost like he hasn't just spent the past ten years with just a TV for company. Additionally, we never get so much as a glimpse of his life in prison. The most we understand is that he almost immediately focused on working out and got ripped. With the manga being 8 volumes long, surely some of those chapters could have been devoted to his time in prison? Contrast these details with the films depiction of the prison time, of which we get much more of. We see Oh Dae-Su (the film MC) fall into despair, begging his captors to be released, masturbating to whatever women he can lay eyes on on his TV, attempting suicide, essentially going crazy. I understand that the two characters can obviously be different: Tsuchiya, the mangaka, may have wanted to create a more macho and strong protagonist which admittedly fits better with the noir/gekiga style the manga falls under. However this doesn't change the fact that the film's protagonist is infinitely more interesting as you can sympathize with him, but above all his character's plight is more believable. The manga chooses to make the protagonist laid back, he finds it hard to think who would hate him enough to do this. Meanwhile the film protagonist is a deplorable drunkard-womanizer prior to his imprisonment, who finds it hard to decide on who his captor could be because so many people hate him anyway. In my opinion the latter makes for a much more captivating story.

My second issue is with how comical it is that Goto almost does nothing to find out the reason he was held captive , instead the plot is pushed along by hints and clues that are never found by Goto himself but are rather handed to him on a silver platter by a side character or even the antagonist himself. This adds to another gripe which is that the antagonist never really comes off as threatening, he "handicaps" himself to help Goto but does basically nothing to threaten people on Goto's side. This, coupled with many plot conveniences make the read un engaging at times, especially coming off of the movie which is much more brutal; where the stakes are much more clear; where the consequences of Goto's actions are actually felt in character deaths.

*SPOILER SECTION*
My final issue has to do with the ending and the twist, so please stop reading if you haven't watched the movie or manga. In the manga it turns out that the antagonist imprisoned Goto because he was the only person who ever saw his loneliness, as Goto cried once in elementary school while watching him sing badly in class. This is a pretty poor excuse for a motive in context, made worse by the fact that Goto, after meandering his way through the story still doesn't reach this conclusion himself, the antagonist has to tell him. The manga essentially blue balls you right until the last chapter. Admittedly the motive isn't necessarily bad as it brings to mind interesting thoughts on loneliness; both the antagonist and Goto are solitary characters, and in that moment they may have understood each other more than anyone else in their lives ever would again. The humiliated antagonist may have retaliated out of spite, for being acknowledged by a popular kid who had no idea the suffering he went through. Maybe this is why he imprisoned Goto, to force him into his own loneliness? I can't be sure, because this revelation comes too late in the story and is forgotten almost as soon as it is mentioned. This is an interesting topic but is, in the end, too esoteric for its own good; the premise is wasted on it - there is simply no logical reason to subjecting someone to a ten year imprisonment for something so benign.

In the film on the other hand, it is revealed that the antagonist had sex with his sister, the MC witnessed this and unintentionally caused a rumor to be spread in school around this, eventually leading the antagonist's sister to suicide. In retaliation, the antagonist coerces Oh Dae-Su into having sex with his estranged daughter unknowingly via hypnosis, thereby subjecting him to the same suffering he had. (Who would have thought, the Japanese version isn't actually the one with incest, lol). Straight away this reveal is all the more disturbing, interesting and worth the wait - but most of all it gives a believable purpose for Oh Dae-Su's imprisonment, since his daughter had to grow up for the plan to be enacted. This reveal ties up the film neatly, meanwhile the manga finishes with plot threads still left unanswered. Why did the manga antagonist hypnotise Eri into loving Goto and vice versa? Why did he hate the teacher as well, enough to try and drop a brick on her? Whatever happened to the secretary? We don't know.
*END OF SPOILER SECTION*

I know I've slammed the manga quite a bit but there are some saving graces. For one the art and panelling are great, really bringing home the noir atmosphere present in the Tokyo nightlife. In some respects I may have liked the manga more had I not been aware of the film. The manga has a slower pace, and characters spend most of their time brooding or ruminating alone, or talking with one another whilst at bars drinking. This is why it is 8 volumes long, when if you were to cut the fat it would probably be 6. I can value this as a creative decision, but it just doesn't hold a candle to the films faster pace, wicked action and infinitely more engrossing plot.

The film essentially took the pieces of what could be a great story from the manga and made a phenomenal one out of it. I would still read the manga as it has aspects to appreciate, but the film will ultimately always be the better depiction.

Yknow I really really wanted to like this old skool manga so much because I was looking for the damn movie everywhere and it wasn’t on Netflix and I heard a few anitubers talk about it. The opening were promising, with a man trying to find out why he was imprisoned by the mafia in an odd room and why he was set free? The man was actually treated nicely as well as the Mafia giving him 1000 yen. He then meets a girl from a noodle shop and the two hit off. That's where I began to lose interest in the story; I ... mean, personally, I'd prefer if the romance wasn't so fast-paced because I felt like there were a few plot holes here and there. Okay, we know about Goto, the main character trying to find his identity’s but the author didn't devote much time to the other characters, especially the love interest, who appears in one scene and then vanishes, and vice versa. It just got boring for me to continue after reading 30 chapters of the story.

Sorry to the Old Boy fan club but this ain’t for me chaps unfortunately!