This is by no means simple manga. This has many many layers of complexity going on and a reader just go through those layers, some do notice that, others don`t and only concentrate on shallow bits of the story.
I am not gonna write much about the story line, because you can read the intro yourselves. I want to address the style of the whole manga and those different layers of story that I mentioned.
Personally I haven`t read a better manga than this one, so this manga is very well executed its not for very young audience there are some sex explicit scenes, some gore, some dead bodies etc..
Lets start with The ART is really good, might not be to the standards of those very detailed artistic manga`s where each page is an artwork, this one is normal manga made for people to read it not enjoy the art. Some say it lacks details. But that`s the good part, because the author use this trait to emphasize whats important in the manga and what is not. Some people and some panels are drawn in less detailed way, while others are quite detailed and really well executed, for example people expressions, weapons, cars, environments, there are even some pages that have a very unique cinematic execution to them for example chapter 48 page 120, when he leaves the garage in the car, there is an emphasize on a reflection from the lights on the window of the car, that is a very cinematic drawing right there and it add the feel for the reader, it connects very well to the readers personal experience and it add that emotion to the whole scene. Bit like these are hidden all over the story in various topics and scenes. It is really something I haven`t seen a lot practically in any manga`s it is executed on a different level.
The STORY - well the story might be typical, but the execution is not. It actually feels very real to the point where you could imagine yourself being there right next to those characters. The story is set in ~2015 or something like that, once again due to the realistic approach to the art, we see a lot of stuff that we can associate, stating with the way characters dress, to the many different items that the characters use, we can almost tell their brands. This create a very well executed world view and it feels very realistic.
Another thing to note is that in this story there are no good or bad people. The reader is fallowing a characters who live in an underground world. And it is very interesting to see them incorporated in a normal to us world, you fallow these bad guys that are totally right there living among the whole citizens who really don`t know nothing about their background. And these guys are there lurking in the shadows of a normal life, waiting for their pray to come to them for example to get a loan, or to get any other service, and that is how they get hooked by the yakuza, loan sharks etc.. and get entangled in that shady world where they got no ways of escaping, because yakuza really got their contacts in police and higher places. I really do like that there is this reality approach of how the criminals work, how they get by in the society.
Another layer of the story spins around the MC and his unique character, humor and at some point author incorporates some absurd moments and actions in the story, making it look like its silly at some points. As if the story is not real, and as if the main character and the whole organisation he belongs to is some sort of urban myth. So while reading you get both, a laid back story with silly moments and almost absurd ideas. And at the same time, cold seriousness when the character can smile and shot another in the head. Author play around with these two opposing approaches very well. In some situations this brings in very good humor in some situations it brings in seriousness.
The story feels very real but it is important to note that the name of this manga is Fable, which means "urban myth", unrealistic story etc.. So this is were another layer of things reside in because in the story there are stuff that is unrealistic and made up, or should be made up. For example the "best of the best hit man", or such things as MC trying to stay low but he drives in 1970 Nissan Skyline it like screams of attention from everyone etc... So the whole story is like an urban myth about a person whom is real but did something unrealistic and made up. I feel that the author is trying to make this story look like the stories you get from someone you know about some guy who did some unreal things back in some time...
This story feels like something you would hear from your pal about events that happened some time ago not to far away from your home. The reader is constantly seeing the story from 3rd perspective so he gets bits about the event from different opposing sides. There are no such moments where in the middle of some action, some sort of unknown character steps in and turn the tides around. The readers get all the information needed and he sees everything before the even happens. very well written and executed story.
CHARACTERS - Executed very well. Their ways and actions are very well shown. The MC is kind of autistic in a way he has awkward humor sense, he is very unique physically individual with nearly godly ability to kill people. He is also awkward around people because he never was a social person. So this whole situation is very new to him and he is learning to live a normal life.
The yakuza characters are executed very well. They feel like the normal people, but once the business matters appear, they become cold blooded killers. There are some characters executed particularly well, for example Kojima - a cold blooded maniac, who is very hard to predict and his actions are very dangerous. Each of the main characters have their own circumstances that puts them in the same boat and we get to know them little by little as the story goes.
ENJOYMENT - Well, I can tell you, that this manga is written for a lot of different readers, because you will find many things in this piece. Be it a humor, a story, a realistic approach. There is a lot to see here and I really do recommend this to anyone.
OVERALL - I haven`t seen any other manga`s that felt as realistic as this one. There are some good works out there I agree on that, some with unique world building, some with very good art, some with really interesting stories. But they all have one thing in common - you read them and you realize that its fantasy, so everything that doesn`t make sense in reality suddenly becomes OK for you as you read those stories and when you put yourself in that reference point and that unrealistic world everything starts to make sense.
This however is purely realistic, to the point where it could be a story about a real person, maybe not as good as this one right here, maybe not as special, but a real person that happened to be staying low for a while because he did many dirty jobs and got too much attention on him... Like I said before, a story like an urban myth stories, about some persons past, about some events that happened some time ago...
