Kokou no Hito

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Japanese: 孤高の人

More titles

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 17

Chapters: 170

Status: Finished

Published: 2007 to 2012

Genres: Drama, Sports

Theme: Psychological

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Young Jump

Authors: Sakamoto, Shinichi (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.63¹ (scored by 19,191 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #71²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #191

Members: 64,506

Favorites: 3,367

External Links

Official Site, Wikipedia

8.63

Ranked #71Popularity #191Members 64,506

MangaYoung JumpSakamoto, Shinichi (Story & Art)

Add to List

Volumes: /17

Chapters: /170

* Your list is public by default.

Edit
Synopsis

Through pain and arduous effort, one can reach the top of the world. Standing where no man has ever set foot before, there is an exhilarating feeling of success. This is what Mori Buntarou trains, works, and lives for.

His climb to the top starts when he transfers to a new high school. Despite his lonesome and solitary nature, Mori's classmates persuade him to climb the school building. Without a harness or hesitation, he begins his scale to reach the top. Edging past the point of no return, he halts when he is faced with a final intimidating obstacle—a horizontal overhang. Adrenaline courses through him, and Mori jumps for the final hold at the summit.

From there, he casts his eyes upon something that he normally would not have seen—another peak, another goal. With an awakened passion and newfound purpose in life, Mori explores the breathtaking sport of rock climbing.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit
Background

No background information has been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding background information here.

More characters
Characters

Mori, Buntarou

Main

Oonishi, Masao

Supporting

Niimi, Taku

Supporting

Katou, Hana

Supporting

Miyamoto, Hajime

Supporting

Takemura, Ayumu

Supporting

Shirai, Yumi

Supporting

Murata, Yasufumi

Supporting

Ninomiya, Yuusuke

Supporting

Komatsu, Tatsuji

Supporting

More reviewsReviews

Aug 13, 2017

170 of 170 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

NFMaster (All reviews)

144 people found this review helpful

The saying ‘’A picture paints a thousand words’’ is truly exemplified by this manga. While the amount of dialogue in-series isn’t exactly low, the main character speaks rarely throughout the whole manga; yet that is its biggest feat. While manga, like anime, is a visual medium, most works don't utilize their visuals to full extent, only going as far as to present scenarios in a very bare-bones and basic manner. That's where Kokou no Hito shines, as it manages to tell the story solely through its astonishingly utilized visuals - be it the visualization of psychological struggle or metaphorical imagery that adds a symbolic layer read more

permalink | report

Mar 10, 2015

170 of 170 chapters read

Overall Rating: 9

Rqt (All reviews)

97 people found this review helpful

Its a sort of coming of age story, that is to say, we watch as this young aimless boy becomes a man through the many trials and tribulations he faces, through the mountains he climbs and the people he meets. From the inception he is ostracized from those around him (largely by his own accord) who has no clear goals in life. As fate would have it, he is bullied into climbing, and in turn he develops a deep love for it. Death, betrayal, disloyalty and sacrifice follow Mori on his passage to adulthood and Kokou no Hito is able to present the harsh realities of life. Suffice it to say, this is far from a heartwarming story, at every turn in Mori Buntarou's life he meets adversity and every interaction with those around him acts as character defining moments which are often not for better but for worse.

This isn't simply a story about mountain climbing, which seems to be a common criticism. While largely prevalent, climbing acts as a means of escape for Mori. Atop these mountain peaks Mori is finally able to escape society and reality as each climb not only acts as a physical crucible, but a psychological one. All of which slowly, yet inevitably, leads to the maturation and growth of Mori who by the end of the series has taken a complete 180 out of his introvert shell. In the end Mori no longer climbs to escape reality because he has come to terms with it, because there is now something not on the peak, but on the ground waiting and calling for him.

At heart, Kokou no Hito is an intricate story that exhumes a very realistic setting. Despite being on the extreme side of this scale, there should not be a single point in this story where one could consider something unrealistic or unfeasible. The painstaking amount of detail the mangaka - Sakamoto Shinichi - puts into this story guarantees this. From mountain climbing to the characters on the ground, Kokou no Hito delivers a very realistic and detailed notion of the harsh realities of life. The romantic side of the narrative beautifully juxtaposes this harsh world. Instead of retreating to the top of mountains, relying on mountains for a brief reprieve, he is able to find a place on the ground to belong. The detail Sakamoto puts into Kokou no Hito can be seen in every chapter. Despite the story having jumps in its time frame, everything is explained meticulously. Mori is shown at work and his work-life is explained continuously, all of which is an attempt for Mori to save money to climb the mountains he loves. Not only this, but the detail in describing the many mountain climbing techniques and limitations gives even the ignorant reader - such as myself - a base of knowledge and understanding as to why and how everything happens. These are only small examples of the detail Sakamoto puts into the entire series.

Similarly, the art is truly majestic, which is very important in a series like this. The detail put into every aspect of the manga's art is a sight to behold. Whether it's the double page art spreads of the beautiful mountains or the characters themselves, every aspect of the art is detailed and unique offering a very easy way to immerse the reader in the story. The biggest aspect being the arts realism which compliments the fact that this is a realistic narrative. Characters are drawn perfectly, they are not ripped behemoths nor are they weak boys, they are drawn realistically and they are, for the most part average yet unique. No two characters look the same. Similarly, the climbing utensils and equipment all look realistic. Of course, the mountains and weather are no exception. Mountains are drawn to perfection with excruciating detail and the snowy biomes and weather are masterfully drawn. Kokou no Hito has some of the most beautiful and detailed art in any manga I have read.

As previously mentioned, this is a coming of age story and as such a very large emphasis in regards to characters resides with Mori Buntarou himself. He is a character with phenomenal depth, development and backstory. For the most part, this provides us with sense and reason to every action Mori makes. We understand why Mori is socially withdrawn, we learn why he wants to climb and we understand why he begins to open up as the narrative progresses. Many characters inevitably die, in either a literal or metaphorical sense. That is to say, while some characters simply die others die in the sense that what they believed in and what they aspired to do has died and they are no longer what they once were. Regardless of how characters die, it presents us with a very realistic approach. These deaths end up being tests of Mori's strength and resolve. By the end of the manga it is beautiful to see how far Mori developed, which is really what the series is about. While the main focus resides on Mori, other characters are developed for better and for worse. As mentioned, some of these characters meet a literal or metaphorical death. It's understandable how they can be criticized but regardless of how they develop, their outcomes and actions are equally realistic despite being on the darker side of realism. While they are used to develop Mori they are more than that, often reaching tragic outcomes these characters represent what happens in life without the resolve to do what they dreamed to do.

Ultimately, Kokou no Hito is not your typical sports manga. It is a dark story about growth and maturation. It is a story with its emotional ups and downs which are both juxtaposed beautifully. It is important to note that the manga does not glorify any actions or outcomes within the series, it illustrates a painfully realistic scenario where life is full of consequence and hardship. It is a story that shows while dreams can be achieved, a herculean resolve is often required and even still there is a price to pay. However, that isn't to say there's no light at the end of the tunnel. But above all else, it is a story that isn't simply about mountain climbing, knowledge and passion of climbing is not a requirement to appreciate this manga.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Helpful

permalink | report

Feb 28, 2014

170 of 170 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

Po_and_Dong (All reviews)

45 people found this review helpful

Kokou no Hito is about Mori, a young, very angsty and lifeless man who initially transfers to a new high school. In 1-2 chapters Mori is goaded by a classmate into climbing up the school building and seemingly in a trance, he does so, almost killing himself in the process as he climbed up a small pipe 4 stories up. After being scolded heavily and slapped in the face by Onishii-sensei, he is encouraged to take up climbing and take part in a local contest, of which he initially refuses but ends up going through a series of events. Mori realizes rather unconciously, as he is a very dense youth (not stupid mind you), that he feels alive by climbing and takes it up almost religiously and out of nowhere, as if climbing was meant for him all along. This dude also makes some funny faces sometimes. Mori then decides to take up climbing not really professionally, but as if its the only thing that matters in the whole world. Moving on-

Alot of things happen in and out of climbing to these characters, as there is a cast of sorts. It's very realistic, there is zero nonsense in how they interact and how events transfold between them. "That makes no fucking sense" will never be said to describe anything here. In fact its so surprisngly serious in parts it may completely take you off guard, as if you just got in the face with some of the stuff. It's pacing is all over the place, which is PERFECT for this type of story, as life does not always go fast or slow. Good atmosphere, basically. Now you may be thinking that this kind of story is not entertaining, as you are not a supposedly overly pretentious reader who needs everything to be dramatic and realistic and etc. HOWEVER you would be surprised how entertaining someone climbing rocks is. It is. I say beforehand I enjoy every manga I review but I very much doubt others would disagree with me on this for the most part, but don't let my perceived minor uncerainty shake you just try it for yourself its bretty good.

So the characters are fantastic, the plot is a very human drama about life and death, moving on, things of that nature. It's hard to swallow, it very much is. That's another adjective that you can use to describe the entire manga, "heavy." Everything is heavy in this manga. Even the art style is heavy. Elaborating on that the art is very good

It's very difficult to make the review standout so I think most of the time at the end of these I will right a paragraph that is a thinly veiled "read it read it read it" statement. I loved reading this and if you are in the mood surely you will as well, I don't really believe that someone is only an "action reader" etc. rather you just have to be in the right mood for certain stories. This is one of the best manga I have ever read. I found it by clicking the random button at batoto lol

Helpful

permalink | report

Jul 31, 2015

170 of 170 chapters read

Overall Rating: 8

Dunkelklinge (All reviews)

38 people found this review helpful

This is not a typical sports manga. There is no friendship, no team spirit, no working towards the same goal. It's more psychological than sports.

The goal of climbing is not to beat the opponent, it is to reach the top of a mountain. That is usually done in a team of two or more people, so you would expect some team dynamics at least, but that is not the case with Kokou no Hito. The protagonist Mori Buntarou climbs alone and over the span of the story you learn about his past and why he pushes everyone away and isolates himself.
It starts like any normal sports manga would. We have the amateur climber Mori who has great potential, we have the rival, we have the love interest, we even have a school climbing club. That all changes after a certain event that will show the real tone of the manga. Everything that can go wrong goes wrong. It tries to have so many harsh realities about life that it comes off as unrealistic sometimes, because they come out of nowhere and there is no explanation or foreshadowing for them. It tries to shock you and to make that effect stronger the author uses a lot of time skips. And I mean A LOT. Sometimes it is just a few days, but it can go up to years that just get skipped. It works a few times, but when you use time skips that often the characters suffer under it. It can seem annoying and can ruin the enjoyment of scenes, but there is a reason behind it. The time skips are the main reason the manga keeps you invested in it. When the story reaches a point where it seems boring or slow, the time skips hit hard and keep you on the tip of your toes wanting to read as fast as possible to know just what the hell happened in the time that was skipped. But time skips are not the only device used by the author. He uses a lot of transitions, metaphors, allusions and literal passages from poems and books. He tries to express extreme feelings of joy and euphoria in very weird and memorable ways and uses a lot of obscure art to back that up. The one that I liked the best was when the sun was rising over a mountain that was climbed by a character. To show just what he was feeling in that moment the author drew an orchestra that followed the sunrise with its performance. It was a new experience for me and really improved the manga.
http://imgur.com/a/qJ2js

But back to the characters. Because of the time skips characters change and characters that were introduced in previous chapters just disappear. The author tends to make his characters change completely in the blink of an eye. That is one of my biggest gripes with the story. It is unreasonable how the characters develop, because you are not there when they do. It is supposed to shock you, but you just cannot make a connection with the characters and thus do not care about their changes. The character that was developed the best is Mori, but even he suffers from that problem.

Well in conclusion I have to say Kokou no Hito is no ordinary manga. Its use of stilystic devices remind of a poem and really made the manga for me. If not for them I would have given it a 6-7/10, because of the sudden time skips and changes in characters, but as it is it deserves a 8/10. I highly recommend it if you are tired of usual sports manga and want something with more focus on the mind of the protagonist and with a more realism and mature themes.

Helpful

permalink | report

More stacks

Interest Stacks

My Top 50 Favorite Manga

by volcan01

50 Entries · 1 Restacks

The Masked Man Top 50 Manga (In Order)

by Deylin

50 Entries · 67 Restacks

MANGA THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE !! (Part-2)

by Deylin

12 Entries · 16 Restacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

View All

More news
Recent News

14th Japan Media Arts Festival Award List Announced

Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan announced the winners of the 14th Japan Media Arts Awards. Animation Category Grand Prize Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei Excellence Priz...read more

Dec 8, 2010 3:31 AM by dtshyk | Discuss (38 comments)

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Kokou no Hito Chapter 170 Discussion PhoenixIce - Aug 23, 2012	49 replies	by hzrds »» Jun 20, 8:37 PM
Nudity in the Climber NightSong0123 - May 27	1 replies	by cookie644 »» May 29, 10:11 PM
Poll: Kokou no Hito Chapter 48 Discussion alpir - Jun 2, 2015	3 replies	by tookthisusername »» Jan 13, 11:20 AM
Poll: The Climber Chapter 20 Discussion Perfect - May 29, 2010	8 replies	by tookthisusername »» Jan 7, 12:57 AM
Poll: Kokou no Hito Chapter 18 Discussion ThePimp - Aug 2, 2014	2 replies	by tookthisusername »» Jan 5, 10:40 PM

Kokou no Hito
The Climber
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

External Links

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

More reviewsReviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

More featured articles
Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kokou no HitoThe Climber Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsType

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

External Links

EditSynopsis

EditBackground

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More charactersCharacters

More reviewsReviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations Recommendations

More newsRecent News

More discussionsRecent Forum Discussion

More featured articlesRecent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kokou no Hito
The Climber
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

More featured articles
Recent Featured Articles