The Fable

Alternative Titles

Japanese: ザ・ファブル

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 22

Chapters: 240

Status: Finished

Published: Nov 1, 2014 to Nov 18, 2019

Genres: Award Winning, Comedy

Theme: Organized Crime

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Young Magazine (Weekly)

Authors: Minami, Katsuhisa (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.51¹ (scored by 10,741 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #132²

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

Popularity: #418

Members: 38,747

Favorites: 1,117

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Wikipedia

8.51

Ranked #132Popularity #418Members 38,747

MangaYoung Magazine (Weekly)Minami, Katsuhisa (Story & Art)

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Chapters: /240

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Available on Manga Store
The Fable
Volume 1
$10.99

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Synopsis

Fable is a legendary hitman who has completed numerous jobs for a variety of clients. After concluding his latest assignment, the number of people he has recently killed becomes too high, and Fable is ordered by his boss to lay low for a year. He is suggested that having to adapt to life as an ordinary citizen might prove a valuable experience for his future work.

Fable is to be accompanied by the woman who acts as his driver, and the two will assume new identities as siblings. However, their boss warns them that they will both face a deadly punishment if Fable kills anyone during his time off. Thus begins Akira and Youko Satou's joint one-year sabbatical from the underworld.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

The Fable won the 41st Kodansha Manga Awards in the general category.

The series has been published digitally in English by Kodansha USA since April 12, 2022.

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Related Manga

Sequel:	The Fable: The Second Contact
Adaptation:	The Fable
Side story:	The Fable

More characters
Characters

Satou, Akira

Main

Satou, Youko

Supporting

Yamaoka

Supporting

Ebihara

Supporting

Misaki

Supporting

Kuro

Supporting

Matsu

Supporting

Reviews

Aug 31, 2023

skisim

Recommended

the best manga i have read so far.

story is gripping, some might think its cliche, but personally i had no gripes with it and everything happened for a reason.

the characters are excellent, very well written and very believable. 10/10

art style MIGHT be hard for some people to get into, but once you start reading it enhances the experience. the body language, realistic look and just the sheer cleanness of the art makes it top tier in my books. 10/10

pacing is just right, i never got bored once i started reading. didn't have any parts where i felt like i was wasting time or felt frustrated. ...

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Jun 19, 2023

Huskkay

Recommended

The Fable uses a well-rounded way of building up the action and letting it flow from panel to panel without any hiccups. I never felt lost and always knew what was going on. The mangaka's approach to building suspense must be highlighted. Letting the reader experience memorable moments in thoughtfully spaced intervals, giving hints of what might happen next, and then it all comes together until you reach the peak of the current arc and it feels quite rewarding.

The story is full of sensitive topics like exploitative prostitution, abuse, stalking, even attempted rape is used to drive the plot. Quite a lot of heavy topics, ... but they were handled carefully. I did not get the feeling that the author threw all these topics in just to achieve a certain level of shock value. Their introduction and purpose for the plot were well-planned and felt controlled.
A big thumbs up to the author for not romanticizing organized crime and actually showing the ugly face of the yakuza underworld.

At first, I was a bit skeptical about the tone of this manga, since it had the comedy label stamped on it. There were elements of comedy scattered throughout the volumes, but it was only a timid amount and it added a lot to the atmosphere.
There was a moment where the writer focused heavily on comedy after a big action-packed arc, and it just felt right. It wasn't forced into the story, it didn't feel like a gimmick. The jokes were just part of a cohesive storytelling mix.
In retrospect, there is a lot of slow-burning comedy in the manga, mainly due to the somewhat warped perception of Akira, the main character. He tries to fit in with everyday society and the average adult, but he goes way off the rails from time to time.

I also love how The Fable stays within the confines of reality. No magic, no teenage superheroes, no glorifying of crime. Akira is a professional assassin of the highest caliber, but he still feels human and not like an unstoppable terminator without any sense of humanity.
For example, Akira never goes up against 50 yakuza at once. His fights are kept on a smaller scale. It is also shown that he puts a lot of effort into honing his skills. This helps a lot to make him more interesting and not alienate Akira from the reader.

I would like to mention one thing about the art. Especially in the early chapters, it has a similar feel to rotoscope animation.
The drawings were never bad, but with each volume they improve, getting cleaner and more detailed, but also keeping influences of the original style.

After giving this manga so much praise, I want to talk about its flaws. My biggest complaint about The Fable is how the author tied everything up and ended the story.
It didn't feel completely disappointing or leave any other kind of long lingering bad feeling, but you could tell that it was rushed and a bit indecisive. The team behind the manga was probably already planning on releasing a sequel, so I guess that's the reason.
Although it contradicts my earlier point about not romanticizing the yakuza, some characters definitely get special treatment and are not as bad as others. For example, Akira is an assassin with a long list of kills, but we never learn who he killed. He could have been sent after the worst scum of the earth, or it could have been scientists who almost found a cure for cancer. I mean, it makes it easier to root for him, so I understand why the mangaka did it.

All in all, one of my favorite mangas and an easy recommendation for anyone who likes organized crime stories or action stories in general.

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Dec 18, 2017

TheLewdOtaku

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (8/240 eps)

Although the concept isn't exactly original or anything I think the only time I've seen this in manga or anime format and have the story revolve around it completely not one episode or just a few chapters would be Full Metal Panic.

There honestly isn't much to talk about as it's only at 8 chapters, in English anyways, so i'll be lazy and list off what I like and don't like about it so far

The art, an easy 6. The art isn't particularly bad or good, which is the problem. It's somewhat boring and lackluster but you can tell what everything is supposed to be ...

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This shit is greatness! DruMzTV - Feb 6, 2020	17 replies	by Koustubh »» Sep 10, 6:39 PM
Poll: The Fable Chapter 235 Discussion AkaiWaZ - Aug 26	2 replies	by AkaiWaZ »» Aug 28, 1:14 AM
Poll: The Fable Chapter 240 Discussion mahzz - Jul 6, 2022	21 replies	by AkaiWaZ »» Aug 26, 8:20 PM
Poll: The Fable Chapter 239 Discussion ryzxgum - Jul 22	2 replies	by AkaiWaZ »» Aug 26, 8:13 PM
Poll: The Fable Chapter 237 Discussion AkaiWaZ - Aug 26	0 replies	by AkaiWaZ »» Aug 26, 8:04 PM

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