Innocent

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"Grandiose et romanesque, ampoulée et pittoresque"

Shinichi Sakamoto is one author of a kind . Pretty discreet, he have been "revealed" with his previous manga "Kokou no hito", that made a lot of fans.
Me too, when I heard about his new project, "Innocent", I was very exited and eager to read it, and that is because Shinichi Sakamoto have a style and way of doing things of his own.

I entered this manga expecting impressive art, lyrism and some exuberant metaphorical and symbolistic drawings along with a story shouldered by a lot of studies from the author for the domain and historical period he was immersing ... himself into.
The result ? I got exactly what I expected.

Maybe not exactly thought, since unlike the synopsis might make it seems, the present manga doesn't cover the event of the french revolution but "before" it happen. For that, we will surely have to wait for the sequel ("Innocent Rouge"), that, as I am writing this, is still publishing.
One other related point: the manga as it is now doesn't offer any satisfying ending on it's own, and that is because it appear clear that the sequel I talked about (and haven't started reading yet) is connected to it directly and will take its follow were this manga ended. So if you enter reading "Innocent" now, you might as well consider that it is still "ongoing" or is just the first part of the "Innocent saga", to not have a bitter taste at the end of volume 9.

Those important things cast aside, now is time to look into the various aspect of this manga for themselves.
The manga being quite interesting and peculiar, there would be a LOT to say, so I hope you won't mind that I will have my own approach to it and won't talk about everything I could have.


The story of Innocent is set in France, before the turning point that will be the French Revolution.
To take a look at this event that is as passionating as it is difficult to handle, our author have chose to show us a very special family, the Sanson family, cursed generation after generation by the title of royal executioners. Which is to say, the duty of ending the lives of criminals in the front of a crowd avid of blood and gruesome "spectacle", in the name of justice.
Inside this lovely family, our "main" protagonist : Charles-Henri Sanson, and taking more importance late, Marie-Joseph Sanson.
It is important to note that all important characters of this manga have really existed, and will be provided a little notice when they first appeart, showing their names, function and destiny.

Which get me to the personal "theory" that I will use to talk and construct my view of the manga for this review : Innocent follow the structure of a theater piece and can be view as one. Innocent is an "opera manga", a theater piece in a manga dress.
Let's take a look at two exemples:
- Charles-Henri is alone in the landscape. Out of nowhere, a beautiful young man he never knew before apear by his side and it's love at first sight. *Poof*, just like that.
- Charles-Henri is alone in his house, lamenting on his knees, in a secret room. A beautiful lady pop up just in front of him, naked. He think it's a divine apparition, but it's not. Two page later, *Poof*, they have sex.
You think it's ridiculous and pretty absurd ? It is.
But Shinichi Sakamoto don't care about that, and it make sense in it's own way: all the characters in this manga are comedian entering the scene when they are sumoned by the author. Each chapters are acts and scenes with specific characters comming from the backstage to recite their line.
At some peculiar points in this manga, Charles-Henri will even, in the middle of a talk, start to... sing.
That's right, out of all realism, this manga can turn into a musical.
It's strange, and you'll be quite surprise and might chuckle, but again: it's an opera you are reading.

As a theater piece, Innocent have a huge list of second characters, all more colorful than the others. This might be one of the point of the manga where I am the most circumspect: some famous characters apearence (like Casanova or Mozart to only name two) seems to have little to no relevence to the plot, and most likely they are just here for the pleasure of the author to draw those mytical human figures. Characters pop up from nowhere and can disapear as fast, but that is because they gravitate around our two executioner Charles-Henri and Marie-Joseph, and also Marie Antoinette, that are like magnets passing through historical events. Attracting and then repulsing second characters in front of the reader's eyes.

I said Marie Antoinette, yes.
She start to take importance in the last half of the manga, and can be view as the third character of the story.
Have you seen "Marie Antoinette", the movie by Sofia Coppola ? If you're like me and you had seen it before reading this manga, you'll find pretty amusing some of the event depicted in later parts of this manga, since it's strictly the same as what you'll see in the movie, but with a completely different mood and view of the characters. If you haven't, I recommend watching it after reading this manga, it should put some other lights on the events and had a very amusing touch to your experience of the two works. Seeing two different artistic view of the same things but with a totaly opposed style is quite an interesting thing.

Now might be the time to talk about the art.
More than anything else in this manga, and most important of all, is the art in this manga. if you had to chose only one aspect about this manga, it would clearly be this.
In one word: Amazing.
Not a single superlative is enought to describe the art that Shinichi Sakamoto is able to pull out of his sleeves.
I didn't said it before, but when it comes to this manga, every quality can be view as downside and every ridiculousness view as genius. Most of the time it's even both.
The biggest point of the author style consist about using very often what I would call graphical metaphore. Explaining it would be difficult for me, but if I had to say something, it is that the author is never afraid of doing too much and being the most lyrical he can.
Over the top, absurd and psychedelic, it's all that.
Other than those absolutely beautiful panels, the drawing of the characters is a feast to the eyes. Curled hairs, piercing eyes, the characters are erected as deity of beauty and refinement.
Marie-Joseph, as a bloody and terrifying beautiful angel of death, is the most impressive of them all.
The author abandon the anatomy of muscular bodies like he drew in "Kokou no Hito" to work this time on the most feminin slenderness he can draw.
By the way, if the idea of two man kissing, two woman kissing ,a man and a young girl in bed, or any depiction of sexual intercourse bother you, you might encounter problems reading this manga.
If you like yuri manga though, it should be all right: just think that the characters are all beautiful girls with long hair. It should be easy.
Also, Marie Antoinette's eyebrows in this manga are out of this world (I should definitly be sorry for those two jokes...)
This is a "libertin" manga.

If Shinichi Sakamoto had been born in France in the past, he would have been a paintor. His skill would have been praised and honored at first.. and then probably cast away because his over the top symbolistic and metaphorical paintings with unbound freedom of visions would have worried the "beaux art" academician and critics.
See the marvelous hommage he do in volume 8 about the wonderful painting of Gustav Klimt named "The Kiss".
The author we have here take his influence and inspirations out of everything and use it to draw is own sensibility and convey what he want to make the reader feel.
Again, one author of a kind.

Let's make a digression to talk about something very significant that surely might stay as completely unnoticed otherwise. Even if you're reading this review after having already read this manga, I'm pretty sure there is a good chance you'll be very surprise by what I'm going to say here:
There is no onomatopoeia in this manga.
That's right. You would have guess that a manga with plenty of sliced neck and choped off heads would have a good amount of *slash* , *splotch* or other things like that. Well, you'll find none.
And there is a good reason to it, it's because Shinichi Sakamoto don't believe in those, he even explained himself about it in a preface of one of his volumes of Kokou no Hito (talking about those introductions, this is another speciality and distinctive aspect of the author. Those little sentence are always strange and filled with his own very serious thoughts and utmost believings. It's something that would be a shame to miss when reading this manga, since it have those too).
His stance might be summed up as this: manga don't need graphical depiction of the sounds, wich at best is only something redundant, and at worst a superfluous element that distract the reader from the narration and what is happening in front of his eyes.
Shinichi Sakamoto believe that if he work hard enought with his drawing, he can reach directly the readers soul and subconscious and make the sound "directly appear in his head", without graphicaly depicting it.
One author of a kind, as I said.

Comming back to the characters. As you may have understanded, the author don't aim to make you feel for them or root for them. Their actions and way of acting are those of a comedian that have a role to fit.
Shinichi Sakamoto is not interested in crafting a continuous story, he willingly make some jump in time of several years, or go back in time to introduce a character the reader had no idea he existed in the life of the protagonist before.
He his interested in the "moments", nothing other than depicting precisely and with the most lyrical and "romanesque" charge what he want to show to the readers eyes.
While reading, you have to accept being throw here and there by the author and just look and read, like an eye looking at events from the side, detached but curious. This is a peculiar way of doing things, and it might have it's problem.
Don't try to hold to much importance in the character evolution and personality of Charle-Henri Sanson for exemple. It's not really what interest the author (or then, his way of doing things is so fragmented that it is difficult to see it that way).

Violence and love, terrors and cries, torture and lust, meanness and vanity, everything is done in an emphatic and exagerated way.
The story of Innocent make some detour, it wander and try to depict the rotten and absurd monarchy France was at the time, and how women were treated as nothing but men's disposable proprieties.
This will lead me to the last point I'd like to talk about in this lenghty review: Marie-Joseph Sanson.
Androgynous, deadly gream reaper and spirit of total freedom, she is the very essence of this fastuous and magnificent opera of a manga.
While all the other characters are handled in the limit of their true existing historical figures, Marie-Joseph Sanson dynamite all likeness and realistic take of the time period to be an utmost modern figure, with no care about gender role or watsohever. It is by her that the author have found the element of trouble to shake all the French society that is show in his story. A rebelious girl, as an avatar of angry uprising that will surely be the embodiment of revolution in the futur, in this theater of mankind that is Innocent. A revolution that will be tainted in rouge.

Thank you for reading this review to the end.

Think of a moment when you really need to get yourself off, but at the same time just can’t get into it. You feel the need, but your inspiration isn’t there. Then Versailles no Bara comes up in your mind, no matter the reason – and you start to work desperately on what raises those chemicals. Let’s make all the characters into sophisticated smashing androgynes – think you – who want to have sex with each other in weird situations and combinations (and with each other’s families, and in front of one’s family). Then you toss in executions and torture, psychological issues and taboo, exciting ... nudity and pretty costumes. You make everything tantalizingly dark, postcard pretty and visually metaphorical (sexually, of course). And somehow you’re also a well-read* intelligent person, interested in the historical period of pre-revolutionary and revolutionary France, so you add spicy facts, like the last days of French monarchy and the executioner dynasty of Sansons, the architecture of Paris and the debauchery of Versailles, Christian values and Christian delusions. You close your eyes tighter – and it all comes together in a feverish self-indulgent lucid dream to shamelessly explore and wallow on your sheets in. That’s basically what Innocent (and then Innocent Rouge**) is, similarly addictive and also an opera at some points (I’ll explain later).

I’ll skip the fluff and go directly to the main question – why isn’t this more popular?

The art is out of this world and fast travelling to another galaxy: It’s. Just. That. Good. The level of detail is tiny lip folds and individual eyelashes. The level of beauty is scary angelic, with people better then either sex suffering in blood and roses, laces and dirt, extensive visual metaphors and meticulously reproduced everyday environments. A hyperrealistic dream with panels ready for expensive printing, Innocent is so worth reading for the art. And if you’re a fan of gothic aesthetics maybe you should drop whatever you’re doing and go read it immediately – so much exquisite pleasure awaits you. There’s no fault in Innocent’s drawings.

So maybe writing? The very fabric of the manga also shows no structural weaknesses. The early chapters are pure awe, sex and tears. By the way this is not torture porn as I had feared – Sansons are public executioners, they don’t extort confessions (they torture at home sometimes), nor is this proper porn – copulations tend to have context and are censored. The eroticism is varied – sometimes cynical and dirty, but more often XVIII century sensitive or romantic: executioners are said to curse by touch, so braver people use our heroes’ bodies as ritualistic objects of severance.

A lot of ambition and earnestness is poured into the story by the author – big people, big history, big ideas come together in the edge and pathos that are, for once, warranted and work. There’re attempts at a serious message: Innocent talks about future, fate and change, about the weight of blood and seeking freedom. Though as far as the plot as the chain of events goes it does drag and become sillier later on – with cheap sensationalism and some characters seemingly having no direction, like the secondary protagonist Marie, whose role seems to just be very cool and ignore the established rules of their universe. Yet even some of the later chapters produce moments that make your heart sink or flutter.

Maybe the dark topics? Innocent shows very graphic, very barbaric violence. The lives of people are shitty. And while the main characters grows and changes before your eyes and we know his ideals, it’s hard to empathize with him – so alien his occupation and mentality are to us. In order to read and enjoy this manga you should be onboard with scenes like a lady sending a perfumed handkerchief to a tired executioner to remind him of their night together after which he is invigorated and happy that he can send more people to God. The ideas about women are icky and become progressively more so in the course of the story (believe me it’s a very strong sort of cringe, also I should give a rape warning, including rape of minors).

But being dark and sort of monotonous has not hurt series like, say, Tokyo Ghoul and Berserk. So my best bet is on the complexity of writing. Innocent demands a certain level of cultural knowledge and reading experience. It meshes verbal and non-verbal storytelling, references music, art, books and, especially, Biblical mythos. I got through it without feeling that it’s rocket science (but then I probably have missed a ton of things), but you definitely should be fast on literary uptake

And then Innocent is very free with its narrative mode. In the postmodern manner it turns Versailles into a comedic opera or even social media parody, and the closer to the revolution they get, the more the events remind of an absurdist stage play. It’s better to understand from the start that Innocent isn’t strictly realistic, while otherwise more or less consistent and historical. Also I must add that music is present along the whole course of this manga and works of art contemporary with revolutions tends to be theatrical, so maybe it’s the nature of the event. But no matter the explanation, these interruptions are indeed immersion-breaking and hard to swallow – are these what causes Innocent to elude many dedicated seinen readers? ...I am kidding, of course, you need to get far into the manga first, and they’re not that big of a sin compared to the virtues of this work.

What I am hinting on is – there’s no good reason for the Innocent series not to be on more reading lists and yours in particular too. Everyone who has stomach for its topics should attempt to read it. Innocent is rich, intoxicating, complex and unique. Even if it asks for some effort (mostly suspension of modesty) – it is all around worth trying for yourself. Just think about the fun – executioner families conversing about hangings during a family dinner or a handsome executioner making love to a lady while ashamedly visualizing dead bodies! Even if not all fetishes click with you, something is bound to reach your soul or other parts. Something is bound to touch you, and here the pile of good things is so big, that more likely than not you’ll get there, if only by repeated friction.

* Sakamoto Shinichi references the books he has used, it’s mainly “Executioner Sanson” by Adachi Masakatsu. But all in all Innocent is not 100% historically accurate, just fyi, you history nerd.
** Innocent Rouge is the direct continuation of Innocent in another magazine.

Innocent is such an interesting piece in the world of manga. If you research it online you will see the same question pop up, over and over and over again - "why is this manga not talked about more? it's so gooood!". And well, guess what, I'M GONNA PONDER THAT QUESTION TOO! Because dammit, this manga truly blew me away in spectacular fashion. To me personally, Innocent needs to be up there on a pedestal with the greats of seinen manga like Vagabond, Kingdom or Vinland Saga. Maybe even Berserk. It has both the art and the writing to stand alongside them. I believe you're ... doing yourself a disservice by not reading it, so allow me to explain why this aggressively French manga is so tre bien.

Firstly, let's talk about the most obvious - the artwork. I swear, Sakamoto Shinichi is the reincarnation of some legendary Renaissance painter because his art is truly otherworldly. First of all, his line work has a kind of gentleness that I have never seen in anything ever. It's so soft and tender that it's as if everything is made out of silk, like he used a feather instead of a pen. This leans greatly into the setting on many levels. The characters, regardless if men or women, have a type of Griffith-esque ethereal beauty to them with at least a hint of androgynous appeal. The faces are both exceptionally expressive but also flawlessly crafted, the perfect proportions and exquisite textures making them look like they were sculpted out of marble. Their eyes are these portals that draw you into expansive worlds of emotion. Don't even get me started on the lips - oh my goodness, these are the fullest, most detailed and most beautiful lips ever put onto a page.

Beyond just the characters the clothing and backgrounds lean into this style too. The clothes look so gentle and soft, the line art making you almost feel all the silk, velvet, linen, feathers, gold incrustations, embroideries, etc. The fashion game is top notch here (it is France after all). Also, the backgrounds benefit from this just as much - the Baroque and Rococo frescoes of the wonderful Parisian architecture are all-engulfing, glorious and triumphant, but also crushing and claustrophobic when the story demands it. The trees, flowers and blades of grass can be seen billowing gently in the wind, like nature dancing with itself in contrast to human tragedy. And don't even get me started on the lighting, as this manga uses light itself in both the most realistic and the most artistically engaging way ever. Listen, I could go on and on and on about how well drawn Innocent is but it truly needs to be experienced. I think Sakamoto-sensei needs to be considered among the real greats of the manga world for being able to craft something like this.

However, fantastic art alone does not guarantee an interesting read, for it's the story that is always most important. But, guess what - the writing is almost as sophisticated as the art! There is something unique about how this story flows that is very hard to put into words and it also plays into my personal theory that Sakamoto-sensei got isekai'd into our world from the Renaissance. The dialogue here is very sharp and manages to flow naturally and be exceptionally elevated and poetic at the same time. The deep use of allegories, the rich and dense subtext, the Shakespearean cadence of the speech all leads to this work that feels incredibly theatric in the best way possible. Another review on this site said that Innocent is like an opera in manga form and that is quite accurate in my opinion. The fact it also has the closest a comic can have to musical numbers helps too.

Innocent is a rich and enthralling experience that touches on so many deeply human things - love, hate, family, honour, pride, greed, wealth, power, status, justice, compassion, humility, parenthood, dreams and so much more. I don't want to go into detail here, because to do so would ruin the point, which is for you to experience these yourself and ponder these questions against your own beliefs. Innocent will present these ideas before you but will not present a definitive answer, for it's obvious that such an answer doesn't exist. These are some of the most intrinsic and complex conundrums of humanity and we've been pondering them since forever. Integrating philosophical quandries into a story can be hit or miss, as there is a huge danger of becoming either preachy and pandering or dry and boring. Neither is the case for Innocent though! Here, these ideas are presented flawlessly in an incredibly gripping historical tale that will envelop you in the rich and nuanced world of 18th century France. The world breathes and feels lived in and real in an incredibly immersive way. And all of this will be carried confidently by the large arsenal of morally grey characters, each with their own agendas, goals, dreams, literal and figurative scars, good and bad aspects. Each character is a masterful patchwork of personality traits that form these real and believable people that truly spring to life on the pages. They are probably not good people, but they are definitely real and while you may not agree with their actions, you will understand them. For this is the glorious complexity of the human soul.

The last thing I want to mention is an aspect that is, for me at least, unique to Sakamoto's work and that is the use of visual metaphors and allegories. What I mean is that often, instead of literally depicting a certain scene, he will present it in symbolic fashion. A non-spoiler example would be a person getting decapitated being represented by a chef slicing vegetables, characters touching each other erotically being represented with tarantulas crawling on their bodies or sexual release being represented as raindrops falling on blooming roses. This and so much more is a perfect example of what you get when you have a person who is equal parts a brilliant artist and a brilliant writer. The story and artwork come together in this perfect symbiotic symphony to represent something in a beautifully artistic way. These, combined with the incredibly vibrant and expressive posing and the strong inspiration from classical paintings give Innocent this true artisanal feel to its visuals that belong more in a gallery than on a page! These go far above and beyond the expectation of manga pages and truly transport you into a different world.

In conclusion, Innocent was one of the most breathtaking works I've ever read and I was personally deeply moved by it on many levels. To me, this is the pinnacle of what a seinen manga needs to be - a deep and introspective story that is both beautiful and brutal at the same time, touching on mature themes from all walks of life, populated by vibrant characters that bring to light the best and worst that humanity has to offer, all presented through breathtaking art. Innocent should be put on a pedestal up there with the greats. Hell, it even has the luxury that some of the best that seinen has to offer couldn't afford - it actually ended. It even got a sequel that also saw its conclusion! And to think that, in the grand scheme of things, Innocent is just the establishing half with all the big resolutions kept for the second part. And despite that, it's still so good! My only concern now is that almost any other manga I go to next will look like scribbles with teenage fanfic on top in comparison. Anyway, I've gushed on long enough. Do yourself a favour and read this artistic masterpiece!

I hate the Fr*nch and I still loved every page of this, that should tell you enough. Adieu!

If you look for a psychological manga- Innocent is for you.

Innocent is another, after Kokou No Hito, wonderful case study of human minds by Sakamoto Shinichi. It's a wonderful psychological story, artistically presenting events and emotions using abstraction as a paint.

It's a story about a family. Family of executioners in Paris, before the French Revolution. You will be a witness to many historical turmoils, thanks to this wonderful setting. There is no much action or plottwists. It's all about the people, our actors on the big stage of France. How they live, what they believe in, how they react to suffering, who they ... love, how they think.

The setting is just PERFECT. You see everything mostly from the executioners perspective. And it's soooo interesting. You see beggars, kings, revolutionists, murderers, prostitutes- just as everyone is even before death, everyone is even before the executioner eyes.

The characters are portrayed in a specific way. They can change fast. But it's not without a reason. You see, that story is made for taking it slow. It's good to think about WHAT is happening and WHY. Human mind is complicated and in this manga, it is shown clearly.

There is an abstraction in every aspect of the story. If you don't want to connect dots or think about metaphores-> you will be bored to death.

The whole thing is BRUTAL. And sometimes I had to avert my eyes because it was so intense and realistic. The executions are presented in a very detailed way, with the explanations how human body reacts during beheading or wheel breaking. You will see many deatiled executions so be prepared for it.

....making it short: Innocent is a very good manga, psychological portrait of historical figures, brutal description of how society used to functon and the story of one particular family living during these extraordinary times:)

Indeed, this is an INCREDIBLE manga: it makes you look away from its pages, transporting you to France in the 18th century, the heavy, psychological and in some cases strangely sweet plot, which plays with your feelings and complex characters and in the In the case of the protagonists (and some others) you become so fond that you only have to fear if they are going to die or not and if at least it will be in a pious way.

I must begin by saying that the drawing is extremely impressive, everything has a detail that is amazing and when I say everything, I mean ... even the most minute and small that there can be, it shows a lot the ability of the author (and his assistants) to make very delicate and fine that give a very particular weight to the expressions of the characters and the situations that arise.

Undoubtedly, the protagonist, being part of a family with an extremely particular tradition, such as that of being generation after generation in charge of administering justice applying the death penalty to those who break the law, is something very heavy to bear, not only for the emotional and psychological burden that implies if not also for the repudiation and contempt that society has towards them when they are seen as a sign of bad omen.

It will not be easy to advance along the path that has been imposed on you just because you were born into this family. From the beginning, it is predicted that its history will be very stormy and full of many obstacles to overcome, since at no time will it have a break.
So many things happen that you manage to empathize with the protagonist and understand the despair and the mixed feelings when having to face this bloody fate, the stages that have to be overcome and the surprises that are being found. You really can't stop thinking every moment that the poor thing deserved better luck.

Of course, there are certain situations that have caught me completely off guard, not only for the moment they represent but also because the drawing seems to me to transmit a wide variety of emotions that reinforce them, moments of despair, amazement, disbelief, relief. ..and obviously, the very unique way of life of Parisians in the pre-revolution era.

And the end, being how the events have happened, could not end in a less dramatic way, with a fast-paced rhythm at an important moment for the protagonist, giving rise to the continuation about the crimson revolution.

It is worth mentioning that this story is based on historical data of the character but with some adjustments, which is interesting and an incentive for curiosity to prompt you to read about the lives of Charles-Henri Sanson and Marie Joseph Sanson, although I have to mention that I feel that it is a story not so easy to recommend, however a point in its favor is the fact that it is a manga with a historical basis, not as common as many other stories and with an impressive drawing, so for the same it deserves a opportunity and if it is not to your liking, at least you will have tried to read something different.

After reading The Climber, I had a lot of hope for this series. And honestly, It mostly delivered. The ending sets up the plot for Innocent Rogue pretty nicely and I'm excited to see where it ends up going, I feel like it'll be even better tbh.

STORY - [8/10]
I found the story to be very interesting. It takes place in the French revolution as you follow the Sanson family (mostly Charles Sanson), which is a family of executioners responsible for executing anyone found guilty by the French. The story is mostly pretty good, it really is. But you begin to notice something a bit off ... tbh. The story begins to just go all over the place, and very frequently. By this, I'm referring to how the story likes to do this and then do that and exc exc without really giving sincere enough closure to whatever was currently taking place. It usually does this with a time skip or something, and it begins to get a bit tiring. As a result, it begins to feel like the story doesn't really know what it wants to be about as it jumps from topic to topic tirelessly. When you think about it, this kind of makes sense when you consider you're following true events based off a real person, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.

Despite all this, the story is still very good and enjoyable. Just something I began to notice mid-way through.

ART - [9/10]
It's one of the best artists in the manga world imo. It's great. I did give it a 9 though because I just felt like some of the art was a bit off early on, but like 90% of it is top tier stuff.

CHARACTERS [8/10]
I found the development of Charles Sanson and Marie Sanson extremely interesting. I think they did a really good job at what they were supposed to do as protagonists but I'm not gonna lie... I personally thought Charles became a lot less interesting after his primary development. The conflict between his personal thoughts and opinions on executions at the beginning was really good, but once he developed and changed... it was just a bit of a sudden and random change and also not for the best imo. I do really like Marie's change though tbh. Her rebellious nature sets up really nice things for the story and TBH, I notice that other reviews rip apart Marie towards the end and her progressive tone, which I don't understand. Her progressiveness goes against the oppressive standards set at the time of the story, and the contrast comes out very nicely. It only benefits the story.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT - [8/10]
Overall, you should definitely read this. It's a very unique and enjoyable ride that sets itself up for a (probably) even better sequel. Sure, the story doesn't really know what it wants to be at times, but its still very enjoyable no matter what it is. I recommend it a lot.

Innocent....Before reading that ,I used to believe that it wasn't something special ,in the end it proved me wrong cause it's actually pretty good.The story is about a family of executioners that lived some years before the French revolution began.The protagonist is a boy that doesn't like what's happening but as the next executioner of Paris he had to be get on work at a young age.As the story continues the protagonist will realise how harsh and unfair the world can be.Due to the numerous executions he performs, he ends up changing quite a lot until the end.The manga is beautifully drawn , the ... art is truly unique ,the way expressions are drawn is able to make readers fully realise the emotional state the charactes are in ,which in my opinion is a very strong aspect of Innocent.Taking the aforementioned into account,Innocent according to my point of view is very striking and magnificent and it is my firm belief that it deserves a lot more attention

Innocent is dark, gritty, gory and beautiful. It takes us into the 18th century era of France, with its own style on key figures. It's historical, so whilst it's enjoyable as hell to read, you will learn some things along the way.

I am surprised this series doesn't get enough praise, as I have never heard about it until a friend pointed it out to me, and am I glad it was. The art is spectacular, and not just due to his own art style, but how he expresses certain ideas with his pen is quite the sight to behold. The story kept me captivated ... until the very end. It does start strong, I believe, however get's even stronger as you go. The characters are the strongest part of this story, and very distinguishable from each other in many ways.

I would recommend this series for someone that wants something different from the usual, and a quick read that isn't too heavy but will keep you interested. Also, there is one character that truly makes reading this series worth while, though I shan't spoil you the details. That is for you to discover.

Okay so Innocent by Sakamoto Shinichi is definitely a wonderful work, from its marvelous art to a wonderful balance and characters, the manga as a whole is an outstanding experience. The work flows around the Sanson family, a family of executioners for the french crown, our protagonist is Charles-Henri Sanson, future head and his morals and ideas revolving around his "cursed" work as a executioner. I mean cursed due to the old beliefs that families of executioners had cursed touch.

Its historycal setting is done exceptionally good , altough not 100% accurate, the author managed to, not only get his personal flavour into what's already ... an interesting theme, but he also managed to stick to the existing flavour of its setting, The Revolutionary France (in fact this manga has its story leading to France's revolution).

Not to mention that after I was done with Innocent, my interest about its characters and figure peaked, so I went on a research spree to learn as much as could, due to the fact the manga has an immense potential to get you emotionally attached and interested in it.

Onto the art, the art it's simply amazing, out of this world, it conveys such angelical beauty that even the most grotesque and nasty scenery actually looks wonderful, there are takes so cinematographic and artistic I'm awe to this day.

The characters are so angelical and equally beautiful, almost everyone in this work seems androgenous, and I don't mean bad, every character has its flavours, be it dark or light, and the art emits it in such a way it's remarkable.

The story has a healthy balance of "dark and light" so to say, nothing it's too out of proportion, when it has to bring its dark aspects it does beautifully and in contrast to its light moments. The lyricism and symbolism are strong and marvelously done, the metaphors and monologues have a beauty of their own. Historically speaking it's not full accurate, as said before, but it is still historical and revolves around "big" figures of the time period, also giving value to the setting and the author changes.

Now not everything is perfect and Innocent pace certainly isn't, sometimes it can't feel all over the place, plus it's also a letdown that Innocent ended being a saga (with Innocent and Innocent Rouge), due to the bitter taste the end gives, of course moving into the next part of the saga will most likely take away the bitterness, but cutting it short just to keep it going it's still something many people don't like, I myself included, but there are circumstances and we must respect it.

Characters, oh characters, the characters in this one are masterfully done, each design, each personality and traits it all blends well, the growth for our important characters is so satisfactory and gorgeously done. That aside many characters are just tossed in and cast aside, making them loose relevance.

In short Innocent it's an artsitic manga, with deep lyriscism, vast use of metaphors and a protagonist that has a lovely growth, alongside with his struggles in a marvelous walk leading to a bitter tasting end that is continued in Innocent Rouge, my score is a solid 9/10.

I started Innocent today and I finish it today. This story to me started of phenomenal and went going downhill in the last few chapters. To begain this review, the title itself is misleading, there's nothing innocent about it. Its filled with psychotic characters, degeneracy at every panel and 98% of its characters are the most disgusting human beings I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. In this insane world that was crafted from the first chapter, Charles was the only light at the end of the tunnel. He was young, naive, and idealistic for his future. Though Charles naivety and innocent made you ... root for him as the manga progressed, his story and survival in a society that did not accept him or the Sanson Family, the parrallels between their ideology, truthfully it was a phenomenal start. Charles was a kind boy who vowed to never be like his father and to not continue his family legacy, vowing to himself that the Sanson bloodline will end with him. The earilest volumes supported few of the most amazing side characters all with their differenting personalities, Personal beliefs. But als it wasn't meant to be, Dear Charles the boy I was rooting for 50+ chapters would grow to become a man I would later despise, he was no longer that idealistic little boy but a cynical ideology beaten adult. He would become everything he saw to change and mimic those he promised to purge.

The story of this manga made me feel cold and detached, I will not lie some of the storylines and panels were hard to stomach due to how gross its connotation were and that's coming from a person who's read disturbing shit before, for a series that near the end lost itself and forgotten what made its essence, Innocent by Shinchi Sakamoto utter strength is its art and its ability to convey a plethoras of different emotions through its art and panels.

The moment that Charles innocences was lost was the moment that such a beloved story entered the realm of no return, Charles change in character and beliefs made no sense, one second he was this amazing character Ive been rooting for, than he became a man I longer recognized, the only problem is that these changes within Charles did not happen gradually, the author didn't ease us(the readers) in to Charles slowly going psychotic but in few short chapters his personality made an 180 turn, he just went full fanatic. That was the problem summed up with the final few Volumes. Everything that came out of Charles mouth was convoluted and mirrored his father the man he despised, he become controlling and psychotic for the sole reason of well just being a psychotic character. I kept reading on because a series like Innocent second strength was it characters, Charles may have become irredeemable at this point, but at this point Charles was no longer relevant to the story, the moment he gave up on his dream he became irrelevant and the spotlight was given to his sister Marie, one of the most baddass character.

I could keep on going but than id be writing spoilers and I wouldn't want to do that, Thought Innocent is not without its flaws but at the end of the day its a phenomenal series and I don't regret it, I've Binge it in a day, I just think that its sad the way things were handled in the end, such a beloved character was done dirty by the author, its like Charles story was cut and the plot started focussing on other things, no explanation what's so ever was given about his insanity and why such a strong and determined man gave up on the future he wanted to build.

Would I recommend this series? 100% percent I would, it has claimed itself upon my cold and detached heart and ill always remember Innocent in a fond way.

(I'll go off and start reading its Sequel Innocent: Rouge now.))

Premierment c'est tipe des histoires qui racconte un evenment comme la revolution francaise u simplement quelqu'un period historique sont le mieux.
As you already have noticed im not very good at french im still learning, i didnt know that you can write a review in thsi site so here is mine. I have read the book of "memoirs de sansons" the first time that i read this manga i really feel that this was someone else then with the book and other documents i can say that this is gold, every character has their own magic, you have moments along in this manga that does not ... seem to be important or just a regular filler, but then you notice how important or even real;, like marie antoinnette talking with the first time with madame du barry, or mozart with marie antoinnette i(that moment put in a very powerful contrast about what was coming) the execution of demiens (it wasnt like that but that twist in the character of demiens, the reassons behind his crime,i mean they were powerful) or even others executions like toundell laly, sir barre (i dont remember what was his name in the manga) the panel of marie like the LIBERTÉ GUIDANT LE PEUPLE it was awesome, some people might not like so much charles henri, but this manga took as inspiration the 2 books of MEMOIRES DE SANSON, one its an appocriphic book wrote by honore de balzac that has some facts, but the other was written by his grand,grand child, so the merge of this 2 books, plus the popular narrative, plus the historical facts, plus the art of shinchi = one of the greatest thing iv ever read in my life, it was so powerful the execution of the kings, he even put in the history characters like marques de Sadé or even chevalier d'eon, who werent very close to this particular point opf view of the history or even werent part of the french revolution but i really like it, i feel that i already loose the track of this tex so im gonna leave like this
PD: sorry for my bad english

The concept for this manga is genius. Exploring the perspective of the Sanson family is an inherently interesting concept because of the hypocritical way they were treated. They were well known in Paris. Viewed by many as no more than brutal, cold-hearted, satan worshiper killers. Yet people would show up to enjoy the executions. They were treated like scum but were also needed to keep order. The manga later develops past the personal conflicts of the protagonists and focuses on larger thematic ideas of inequality, wealth, aristocracy, fate, and sexism. I believe it mostly succeeds in tying them together with the characters personal journeys.
The ... art is obviously amazing and one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. The setting is well conveyed and both the character designs and the backgrounds are unmatched.
Unfortunately, it isn't perfect. Due to the author's decision to advance their stories through time skips, the pacing feels off at times and there are events and character development that happens off-screen which is pretty annoying since what is actually there is written pretty well. The ending is not satisfying but it is intentional because there is a sequel. Overall it's a fascinating concept with some of the best art and compelling characters but also isn't told as thoroughly as I would like.

Also, I've seen a lot of men complaining about the character Marie-Sanson. They say she is annoying and that she doesn't feel right yo follow in a story about Charles. Whoever says this is either missunderstanding the message of the story or so scared by the thought women being their own selfs that they feel the need to post about it on anime forums.

First of all I would like to thank the mangaka a thousand times for this manga (art piece).

While reading, at first 'Ahh history? I started by saying, 'I don't like it at all. But when I finished, my heart started to pound and I don't know what to say. Words are not enough. I'm sorry, but I can say that this is my favorite manga now. I can't say. Really my favorite manga is now Innocent. I cannot thank you enough for this work. The characters, events and connections... Incredibly, incredibly beautiful. The love of Marie and Marie impressed me, although it didn't last long... ... Marie and Henry they are truly amazing characters. I think the manga style was pretty good too. It was the best manga I've ever read. I'm still staring at the screen with my mouth open. It was just perfect, no it was great. I don't know what to say and I'm starting to read Innocent Rouge now.

Congratulations and appreciation for this work of art. I hope we can continue to see manga like this. This manga 10/10...

Innocent is such an "almost perfect" manga, it has everything to reach the high of one of the greats, a beautiful story, an amazing concept, so many ways the story could've developed, but the last arc fell so hard, it was like a tonal whiplash, something that I really had to read very on and off since my investment was intense from start to chapter 80ish, but I can't deny what it does amazingly well and even if the ending is a mixed bag, there is a lot of merit to this piece of art.

As I stated before, the story is amazing in its own ... right, period pieces aren't my cup of tea, and just recently, plunging my foot in the genre there are some jewels like Innocent and what maintained my attention was the story, a drama about an executioner with dreams of pacifism, denying his "destiny", imposed by family values and he himself fighting what feels like a personal tragedy, only to realize, the world is much more complex that what his dreams are, he encounters many people fighting for their own values, using their own tragedies as driving forces and the collision between each other is the interesting part of the story; the exploration on executions, the way science waives itself into every panel of destructive brutality, and many moments almost brought me to tears, mostly a certain execution that felt so personal, so horrifyingly tragic, not many things make look away to compose myself, but this manga does it, and the subjective moments are perfection, moments of pure surreal, experimental paneling and expression that is matched by the perfect art.

A 20/10. What shines in this manga more than anything is the art no doubt, every panel, and really, it sounds like a joke but every, single, panel, was an absolute piece of art, unmatched by almost anything I've read ever in my life; if I stopped to look at the detail in every single panel, I'd spend months in this manga, it was almost a disrespectful act not to look at those page spreads, every powerful moment was elevated by the pure perfection in expression, in the screams, the tears, anger, hate, jealousy, sexual desire, the team of artists working on this manga deserve every award they got.

Now here is something that didn't shine as much, of course I love many of the characters here, I was so relieved to see some in the future that appeared before, it was like looking at people I can empathize with and know, yet, so many others were impossible to like or to even understand, and I don't talk about Marie, which many people seem to hate, I don't get that, I loved how it felt like a destined path to conflict but again, the resolution for the characters wasn't there, and maybe it's because in the sequel they fix that, like a second season per se, and maybe I'll be back here to correct this.

I really enjoyed the first 80 chapters of this beautifully crafted period piece, some moments being what I'll remember it for, but the ending is a mixed bag, it starts to jump around, to get away of what it established really jarringly and of course the art never falls off, but that being what keeps me into reading it till the end is not a good compliment overall, this manga stays as a super solid 8 with only flaws in characters and story since both don't work as well together when they introduced so many all at once, taking them out, changing them, skipping time, everything out of nowhere and not in an interesting way, but I still commend this manga for doing what it does, their focus, their art, their lesson and character study in people that are so vastly different from us in a whole different world, it feels like a fantasy, but it was just the past, one many want to forget.

I recommend Innocent, as an art gallery and as a great story with not the best ending, but the sequel will speak and defend this part of its story.