May 18, 2018
Sanctuary is not reality, but it provides a medium to digest in a readable way what would realistically take a lifetime. It is a passionate and deep story about how two young men went about accomplishing their vision of bringing life back to Japan, grinding through the piles of corruption that had stagnated the nation. The other favorable reviews have talked a lot about what the manga does well so I'll refrain from that and address some faulty criticisms.
I'd like to address the criticism that the women in the story are just "fuck toys". Most of the women are, but that's because they're prostitutes, it's
...
quite literally their job. If not that, then it's because the women were attracted to the man. Then there are the cases of rape by a gangster (ex. Tokai). These are barbaric primitive men who are portrayed as such, Tokai even calls himself stupid. The story does not glorify these actions, it's there as a part of the story as it would be in real life with these criminal organizations.
In a story predominantly about 20th century Yakuza and the Diet it wouldn't be surprising not to have female leaders, especially since the story is mostly focused on the Yakuza. But the author does include at least two substantial female characters, a big shot politician from America Ms. Bisett and Deputy Chief Kyoko Ishihara. To call them objects would just demonstrate bias or a lack of brain cells. These were characters who weren't afraid to confront their enemies and speak their minds. Ms. Bisett does not abandon her duties as some may accuse the women in the manga of doing. When Asami needed her support the most she did nothing and stayed true to her role as "The Trade Minister of USA". Kyoko, on the other hand, does progress to fall deeper in love with Hojo and changes her attitude on arresting him, if she hadn't critics would still be unhappy that she didn't change and was a flat character.
The story is not about how old people suck. It just happens that the one's stagnating and corruption the government are old, because guess what they kept their seats for all these years by thriving in this corruption. The story is about the potential and momentum that the youth have for propelling productive change in their nation. It is against the stagnation of government by selfish politicians who care more about keeping their seats until they die of old age than doing something for the country. This is straightly apparent from the start where the politicians just use each other to gain support and climb higher for status, not for some vision for their country.
Even in the manga there are old people who are helping with pushing Japan into the new age. In general, old people are more conservative and the young are more ambitious, but that is not always the case. Hell just look at Trump and Bernie. If your take away is that young people are good and old people bad then you've read this manga with a single digit IQ. This manga is about uprooting the old systems that no longer work for it's people. In the end, it's why Norimoto Isaoka didn't take back his position and undo all the progress everyone made. Because he realized his vision for Japan was archaic and narrow compared to the "sanctuary" everyone had created.
As for criticism on how quickly things progressed. How could you rise that quickly, so unrealistic? I can see your point. But it is explained in part in the manga and towards the end there's an added reason why they must speed up their plans. You may not have seen in detail how Hojo got to where he started at the beginning of the manga but you have glimpses into his past, as well as Asami's. The important part is their journey from there to the "sanctuary" and that's what's depicted in the manga. If it is not as exhaustive or detailed as you'd like, you have to keep in mind there is only so much time to produce a chapter. It would not only be time-consuming but useless to include the mundane realities. If he were to really cover reality he would need far more time and expertise, all unnecessary for the purpose of this manga. Which was to give you a snippet of the "sanctuary". An inspiration, not a how to.
If you're thinking about reading this manga, do it. Enjoy yourself and take your time understanding each page you're reading. It'll make the ending much more impactful for you.
Btw Ms. Bisett is introduced in Vol 5 Chp 16.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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