TLDR
Story – 10/10 – 10 x 0.275 = 2,75
Art – 8/10 – 8 x 0.2 = 1,6
Characters – 10/10 – 10 x 0.225 = 2,25
Enjoyment – 8/10 – 8 x 0.3 = 2,1
Total: 9 -> 9
Braving oceans, I shall be a corpse, waterlogged. Braving mountains, I shall be a corpse, grass to feed.
-Message to Adolf
Story – 10/10
Message to Adolf is a heavy story in all senses – it has death, sexual abuse, torture and the very Holocaust. It is also excellent in its execution, although quite dense. Little can be said to make justice to its quality. Message to Adolf is also probably Tezuka’s heaviest manga, where we accompany the life story of three Adolfs: Adolf Kaufmann – a German-Japanese –, Adolf Kamil – a Jew –, and Adolf Hitler – the Führer himself.
The story begins during the 1936 Olympic Games in the person of Toge, a journalist, and slowly introduces the other characters from this point onwards. It ends in the 80s, in Palestine/Israel, also with Toge. Geographically, the story is played out between Germany and Japan for most of the story and in Palestine/Israel in the final stage of the manga.
As the story slowly develops, more characters are introduced, although in a fashion where everything is logical and makes sense in the narrative. There are also no leaps of faith, and the story is highly coherent. The story is also densely packed and filled with dialogue. This, however, doesn’t affect the readability, as the dialogue makes sense in its context.
It is also filled with mentions – for obvious reasons – of the Second World War, as we also accompany the developments of the conflict in both the European and Pacific theatres. The incremental rise and decline of Nazism and Nationalism in Germany and Japan play as the background of the story, as the very fates of the characters are tied to the development of World Politics – in this sense, some of the characters are but the pawns in a larger scheme of things, where race, nationality, friendship, ideology, and war become intertwined.
This story is character-driven, following mostly the lives of the three Adolfs and Toge in this intense, saddening, and even gut-wrenching story. The influence of the war is also depicted in the fate of the characters, where the darkest aspects of the war are also represented on both a macro and micro scale.
In short, Message to Adolf is a beautifully complex, albeit linear, excellent story about the effects of the War on common people from multiple backgrounds, where hate, division, and indoctrination shape the lives and fates of the characters.
Art – 8/10
The art style of Message to Adolf is typical of a Tezuka manga. This is to say that it is cartoonish, but highly functional. Also, the cadence of the panels is also wonderfully made, making the story, although dense, easy to follow. The character design is also quite well done, making them easy to tell apart. The backgrounds are also cartoonish, although the representations of the war and torture are somewhat graphic in their nature.
Characters – 10/10
The story revolves around three Adolfs, as they form the basis of Tezuka’s story, even though every character is of some importance. It is also, therefore, a very character-driven story, and quite well so, as both the story and characters are excellent. Although the characters are in some sense the personification of indoctrination and ideological zeal (Kaufmann), the personification of innocence and friendship (Kamil), and the personification of lunacy and pure evil (Hitler), it must nevertheless be said that all of them suffer modifications in their individual character arcs that make them complex and beautifully well-made. Kaufmann, for instance, didn’t become a full-hearted nazi right from the beginning, nor is he contradiction-free: Kaufmann is a highly complex character – definitely the most complex of the three Adolfs – that surpasses simple characterisations.
The minor characters in Message to Adolf are more than just figurines, as they assist, intervene and play a role in the main story (and minor subplots, although there aren’t many).
The characters are dense and complex and have distinct personalities of their own.
Enjoyment – 8/10
Message to Adolf is an excellent manga and probably one of Tezuka’s best works. Its story and characters are terrific and are a delight to read. The art functions quite well and fulfils its purpose. Although it is only four volumes long, one must keep in mind that the manga is dense and ridden with dialogue, feeling like they are larger than what they actually are. It is nevertheless a classic – and rightfully so – and, in certain aspects, a true masterpiece from the Godfather of Manga himself. It more than deserves an enthusiastic recommendation.
