The Fable's premise and narrative style occupy an unlikely middle ground between a classic sitcom and a dead-serious film noir. It tells a story of a pair of elite hitmen ordered by their boss to retire and try living a normal life as fake brother and sister, strictly forbidden to kill again. Given the obvious difficulties with reintegrating harshly conditioned human weapons back into society, a local yakuza group with ties to their organization is tasked with providing assistance so that the two can kick-start something resembling regular day-to-day life. The operative word there is "resembling", because *of course* it's not going to work out so easily—both because deeply ingrained habits and mindsets don't simply go away in a different environment, and also because circumstances calling for those habits constantly catch up to our heroes. It's an ongoing fake-it-till-you-make-it endeavor.
The manga treats this conflict with an astounding amount of thought and respect for its characters' unusual tribulations. As the result, The Fable's comedic writing is viciously funny but almost entirely deadpan in its delivery. There is virtually no witty dialogue or silly gags, no tired pop-culture references or any fan service at all; almost all the laughs are the result of characters so far removed from the norm being exposed to said norm and its vessels—regular people like us. The compelling and occasionally hysterical nature of these social interactions demonstrate truly smart writing in a premise almost completely devoid of complex plot movement, which is a rare but welcome occurrence. Fittingly, it is accompanied by hyper-realistic art that portrays characters to the finest detail of their body language, giving further credibility to visual storytelling. There is a lot of nuance—something I particularly appreciate—but no edginess or pathos commonly plaguing similarly set stories. It's remarkably down-to-earth in all the right ways.
Needless to say, the characters themselves are the bread and butter of this story, and it's very impressive just how likable they are for how unseemly their background is. Especially considering more than half of the recurring cast are either yakuza or assassins—and make no mistake, they aren't some "heart of gold" type exceptions that conveniently dodge the associated stigma. They are true to form and function, and the reason they're so relatable and fun to follow despite that is a testament to the author's ability to give them depth and humanity. They aren't "good" people by most measures, but they're complex, conflicted, and interesting. In a series where morality is largely expressed in the darker shades of grey, this is relayed in a surprisingly comfortable manner, and as I was reading I never felt like I was urged to sympathize with scum or hate the righteous. The characters navigate on their own moral compasses, but it doesn't lead to contradictions or confused allegiance. Again, good writing right there.
The Fable, much like its protagonists, appears to be a vestige of a bygone era of romanticizing organized crime and hard-boiled protagonists, an artifact out of time. But under its hood lies a funny and heartwarming tale about people on the dark side of our society dealing with their own weird troubles and trying to keep up with the times; it has a lovable cast, it nails a satisfying ending. If there's one point of (perhaps, unfair) criticism I could make, it would be for the manga's overall lack of storytelling ambition: this is not the kind of story that you'll carry in your heart and mind for years, nor it is likely to affect how you think about the world or your own self. It's fully content being only where it wants to be and achieving only what it wants to achieve—but it does so with the skill and integrity of a professional hitman.
