Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
362nd out of 1,514 books
—
3,103 voters
MW
by
Osamu Tezuka
A secret U.S. chemical weapon called "MW" accidentally leaks and wipes out the population of a southern Japanese island. Though Michio Yuki survives, he emerges from the ordeal without a trace of conscience. MW is manga-god Osamu Tezuka's controversial testament to the Machiavellian character and features his most direct engagement of themes such as transvestism and homoer...more
Hardcover, 600 pages
Published
October 30th 2007
by Vertical
(first published 1976)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
![囀る鳥は羽ばたかない [Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai] by Kou Yoneda](http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361612641m/15849178.jpg "囀る鳥は羽ばたかない [Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai] by Kou Yoneda")
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
932)
Well first of all while reading this manga by Tezuka I thought of a young Alain Delon playing the lead character in a film version of this realistic horror story. The violence is pretty gruesome, yet I also think it's a classic work by Tezuka (after so many!)
The story is about a young man who comes from a family of Kabuki actors who as a young boy is exposed to a secret nerve gas produced by the 'X' Country that is stored on a Japanese island. Basically he turns into one of the worst serial kill...more
The story is about a young man who comes from a family of Kabuki actors who as a young boy is exposed to a secret nerve gas produced by the 'X' Country that is stored on a Japanese island. Basically he turns into one of the worst serial kill...more
4 likes · like · see review
view all 9 comments
This is the book that made me stop putting Tezuka as Disney's equal.
Because he's beyond that. Definitely.
Forget the cutesy of Atom or the wisdom of Buddha. Read MW and find Tezuka's bordering-too-much gore, homoeroticism, homicide-for-fun, and mental rape. It's like reading the linkage map of a killing machine, who's still a human somehow despite his fucked up, cold-blooded unhumanness (see, I don't make a point). If you think A Clockwork Orange or Portnoy's Complaint made you shiver enough, thi...more
Because he's beyond that. Definitely.
Forget the cutesy of Atom or the wisdom of Buddha. Read MW and find Tezuka's bordering-too-much gore, homoeroticism, homicide-for-fun, and mental rape. It's like reading the linkage map of a killing machine, who's still a human somehow despite his fucked up, cold-blooded unhumanness (see, I don't make a point). If you think A Clockwork Orange or Portnoy's Complaint made you shiver enough, thi...more
3 likes · like · see review
This was good. I had never read any Tezuka before and I'm glad this was my first, due both to it's relationship with morality & the inclusion of the homosexual subplot with a hot priest (haha). I was actually surprised how just sort of remarkably "evil" (in a hegemonic sense) that Michio was in this-- especially for the fact that it was rated 16+? I mean, this is far more intense than most 18+ horror comix which are just sort of banal in their gore (sometimes not, but sometimes yes), whereas...more
a nice book/manga to read on the first day of the year!
i read this while everybody's out and busy watching fireworks (hey, its new year). but i don't care. i was totally absorbed with this one.
at first, i can't imagine what it will look like: a story that's dark and perverted, but drawn like it's cartoons (or rather, anime) for children. just imagine what blue blink and astro boy (tezuka also created those) looks like and you will get the idea.
the main characters of a story: yuki, an intelligen...more
i read this while everybody's out and busy watching fireworks (hey, its new year). but i don't care. i was totally absorbed with this one.
at first, i can't imagine what it will look like: a story that's dark and perverted, but drawn like it's cartoons (or rather, anime) for children. just imagine what blue blink and astro boy (tezuka also created those) looks like and you will get the idea.
the main characters of a story: yuki, an intelligen...more
This is by the creator of Astro Boy?
I read that later in life, Tezuka wanted to do something with a more adult theme than the work he was best known for. "More adult" in this case does not mean more emotionally or morally complex. It is simply outrageous, blissfully disdainful of credibility, and full of sex -- hetero-, homo-, and bestial. It is also over 500 pages long, but I suppose all those manga that come in installments are this long or longer. Still it is an intimidating tome.
Michio Yuki...more
I read that later in life, Tezuka wanted to do something with a more adult theme than the work he was best known for. "More adult" in this case does not mean more emotionally or morally complex. It is simply outrageous, blissfully disdainful of credibility, and full of sex -- hetero-, homo-, and bestial. It is also over 500 pages long, but I suppose all those manga that come in installments are this long or longer. Still it is an intimidating tome.
Michio Yuki...more
A really shocking manga from the father of the genre. Considering when/where it was published (Japan in the mid-70s) and who it's by (the creator of Astroboy among a number of other Disney-ish characters), the blunt portrayal of the homosexual relationship between the two main characters was both startling and strangely sweet, despite the fact that one of them is a psychopath and the other was a child molester in his youth.
Tezuka shows a sincere distrust of religion, politics, and the government...more
Tezuka shows a sincere distrust of religion, politics, and the government...more
I have been on a Tezuka reading spree since I finished "A Drifting Life" by Yoshihiro Tatsumi, who idolized him as the true modern father of manga and as the ultimate master of the form. The blurb on the cover for this one boasts that MW is Tezuka's darkest work, and it would indeed be hard to imagine a darker one, considering the soap opera-esque melange of child molestation, rape, murder, suicide, genocide, and nuclear/chemical warfare that surges through the work. It was kind of jarring to re...more
I came back from Winter Break to find my roommate Ivy sitting in our common room squealing. She had just finished MW for a class, and started raving to me about how much I would love it. "It has a man in it," she exclaimed, "who dresses as women! And he has no moral compass!"
She knows me all too well.
I was initially surprised by how bothered I was at the idea of a Catholic priest having sex with an amoral killing machine. That is to say I was almost bothered enough--not by who he was having sex...more
She knows me all too well.
I was initially surprised by how bothered I was at the idea of a Catholic priest having sex with an amoral killing machine. That is to say I was almost bothered enough--not by who he was having sex...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Bottom line: At the core, MW is supposed to be a thriller, but I wasn't thrilled. If I were thrilled reading this work, it wouldn't have taken me several months and a couple of sittings to finish it.
I think that MW as a worthwhile read, if only to explore the history of manga and experience an unexpectedly adult-themed work from the "godfather of anime" who is most well known for Astro Boy. The plot for this work is somewhat interesting, and it was most likely ground-breaking for some of its het...more
I think that MW as a worthwhile read, if only to explore the history of manga and experience an unexpectedly adult-themed work from the "godfather of anime" who is most well known for Astro Boy. The plot for this work is somewhat interesting, and it was most likely ground-breaking for some of its het...more
This is substantially darker than the other Tezuka books I have read--the Buddha series. Its a thriller about a bisexual cross-dressing sociopathic serial killer, so basically right up my alley. And the illustrations are nothing short of astonishingly good. There are a couple panels that are breathtaking--a couple that come to mind are one of a waterfall and one of a starry night sky. The details are expertly drawn, and its probably the prettiest graphic novels I've ever read.
I found Father Gar...more
I found Father Gar...more
This is the collection of a manga series from the late 1970s by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka is probably best known for creating Astro Boy among others. This story is a much darker one than those he is more usually associated with.
The book features two main characters: the amoral Michio Yuki who spends the book kidnapping, murdering and sleeping with men and women to use them in his schemes and Father Iwao Garai who is one of Yuki's lovers and who is trying to earn forgiveness for past sins by redeeming...more
The book features two main characters: the amoral Michio Yuki who spends the book kidnapping, murdering and sleeping with men and women to use them in his schemes and Father Iwao Garai who is one of Yuki's lovers and who is trying to earn forgiveness for past sins by redeeming...more
If you've read enough Tezuka, you're familiar with his world view and his morality. Be prepared for it all to be turned on its head in MW. Possibly written by his evil twin, MW is an extremely dark novel filled with brutality as Michio Yuki strives to capture MW, the nerve gas that killed his entire island when he was young. His plan? Nothing more or less than to annihilate the entire world upon his own demise, of course, and he will stop at nothing to achieve it. Fortunately, he's the brother o...more
Epoch tale. Really good psuedo-manga. The story was so exciting I felt guilty for speeding through the pages because the pictures were amazing with detail. Oh, and there's gayness too which is so refreshing to see in manga or any graphic novel for that matter.
I make it a point to read Tezukas work in one sitting, and this one was no exception. This man was always ahead of his time, and if you're looking for a real bizarre set of characters whose actions are both deplorable, but acceptable given the circumstances, this is that kind of work. A little American Psycho, a little bit of Hitchcock's Psycho, a little Silence of the Lambs, a little bit of Takashi Mikii, a little bit of everything, but with all of these, except maybe Hitchcock's Psycho, MW pre...more
This is not your regular “light” Osamu Tezuka read. It still has the minimum required level of Osamu-esque silliness (some plot devices just don’t hold up to current storytelling standards). But the subject matter is definitely not silly. From military cover-ups of biowarfare, to cold-blooded, murderous psychopathy, to the reconciliation of faith and homosexuality. The antagonist (protagonist?) is one of the most memorable characters I’ve come across in graphic fiction. Should I hate his guts? O...more
This was my first Osamu Tezuka comic that I've read. I have seen a few movies that he has helped directed. So reading this comic seemed a lot more sophisticated than what I have seen of his child-targeted movies. In fact there is nothing "childish" about this comic.
The story is about a Catholic Priest, who was in an accident on a small island. A gas called MW leaked on the island, killing everyone on it except for him and a small boy. The small boy's moral had been "damaged" by the gas, leaving...more
The story is about a Catholic Priest, who was in an accident on a small island. A gas called MW leaked on the island, killing everyone on it except for him and a small boy. The small boy's moral had been "damaged" by the gas, leaving...more
A young boy, Michio Yuki, is accidentally poisoned by MW, a top-secret hyper-powerful chemical weapon, which turns him into a sociopath. As an adult, his life's ambition becomes to find a hidden stockpile of MW, which he hopes to use to kill pretty much everybody. Michio is a remarkably uninteresting sociopath because of his origins: His soul has literally been poisoned, and that's that. Nothing else to talk about here. More absurd than uninteresting is his foil, Father Garai, a pedophile turned...more
There might be slight spoilers ahead!
Review:
This is the first manga I’ve read by the great Osamu Tezuka and while I think I chose quite a difficult and unusual book for my first reading experience from him I have to admit that the story was incredibly gripping and I was intrigued for more. I already have Princess Knight as my follow up Tezuka read, which I predict to be nothing like MW plot, character, genre and target audience wise.
First of all, this was a quite difficult read emotionally and m...more
Review:
This is the first manga I’ve read by the great Osamu Tezuka and while I think I chose quite a difficult and unusual book for my first reading experience from him I have to admit that the story was incredibly gripping and I was intrigued for more. I already have Princess Knight as my follow up Tezuka read, which I predict to be nothing like MW plot, character, genre and target audience wise.
First of all, this was a quite difficult read emotionally and m...more
Wow. This has to be one of the most disturbing, fun and addicting books I've read. The setting is Japan during the 70's, 15 years after MW, a gas bio-weapon killed an entire island, except two kids, which were forever changed by the event. Allegedly Tezuka's darkest work, this story really knocks it out of the park with the shocking stuff. In the first few chapters the main character, Michio Yuki, who emerged an emotionless psychopath from the island incident, kills in cold blood children, women...more
Osamu Tezuka can be moralistic and preachy at times, as in Phoenix and Buddha. I suppose that's why many readers are pleasantly surprised at this violent, sinister masterpiece. However IMO his sermon just shifted its gear and took another form. This time the messages are:
(view spoiler)...more
(view spoiler)...more
An intricately plotted but cartoonish (I know, silly choice of words considering this is a graphic novel) story about an amoral bisexual sociopath who also happens to be a cunning female impersonator... and dreams of destroying humanity by stealing the poison gas to which he was exposed during a military experiment years earlier. Then there's the priest who knows this man is evil, and wants to stop his schemes, but also can't bring himself to stop having sex with him, either, and actively thwart...more
MW by Osamu Tezuka is a thoroughly entertaining graphic novel. I just finished it and found it to be quite, quite enjoyable.
Soon after setting down MW, I picked up Douglas Wolk’s Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean. So I do not yet have an adequate framework to be much more articulate and informed about how and why MW is so good. Yes, I am that confident in Reading Comics that after absorbing its content, I will be forever eloquent and wise on the topic of comic criticism....more
Soon after setting down MW, I picked up Douglas Wolk’s Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean. So I do not yet have an adequate framework to be much more articulate and informed about how and why MW is so good. Yes, I am that confident in Reading Comics that after absorbing its content, I will be forever eloquent and wise on the topic of comic criticism....more
This is two parts THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, three parts A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, five parts AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE and all parts Manga. It is a terrifying graphic novel with depth, suspense and precision.
Published in the United States in 2007, MW began as a serialized graphic novel in 1976. I finished it last night, having begun it last November. I didn't read the folding flaps until tonight, however, so I have only just now found out that the man whose work this is was the creator of one of the very...more
Published in the United States in 2007, MW began as a serialized graphic novel in 1976. I finished it last night, having begun it last November. I didn't read the folding flaps until tonight, however, so I have only just now found out that the man whose work this is was the creator of one of the very...more
"mw" is one violent fucked up comic book. once i'm done with this review i'm upping it to 5 stars. the fact that this even got published in the 70s is beyond me, but i really applaud tezuka for being this courageous.
anyhow, "mw" is about the two survivors of a toxic gas outbreak that wiped out the entire population of a small island in japan. the two survivors, a teenage boy named garai and a 9 year old boy named yuki, who suffers a side effect from exposure to the gas: he has no moral or consci...more
anyhow, "mw" is about the two survivors of a toxic gas outbreak that wiped out the entire population of a small island in japan. the two survivors, a teenage boy named garai and a 9 year old boy named yuki, who suffers a side effect from exposure to the gas: he has no moral or consci...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
4 stars. beautifully done. but also oddly very similar to Apollo's Song in its dissection of a murderous sociopathic personality. and Apollo's Song is also a much more complex and nuanced narrative; this one is a much more linear storyline. still, the way the character's deterioration over time corresponds to the deterioration of the chemical that corrupted him is compelling and memorable: destruction itself seems to have a half life of its own..
Jul 22, 2009
Raven
added it
MW by Osamu Tezuka..
I shall respect the depth of the story and the intelligence of the author.. but this kind of story is not my type at all T_T
how many stars should I give? objectively, it's 5 stars..
subjectively.. none
dang this manga...
I only interested because they're gonna made it into a J movie.. with Tamaki Hiroshi as the main character..
Now I'm not sure if I want to see him acting as a crazy-genuis-murderer
I shall respect the depth of the story and the intelligence of the author.. but this kind of story is not my type at all T_T
how many stars should I give? objectively, it's 5 stars..
subjectively.. none
dang this manga...
I only interested because they're gonna made it into a J movie.. with Tamaki Hiroshi as the main character..
Now I'm not sure if I want to see him acting as a crazy-genuis-murderer
ถ้าพูดถึง Tezuka Osamu คอการ์ตูนก็มักจะนึกถึงการ์ตูนเด็กๆอย่างเจ้าหนูปรมาณู แนวตลกร้ายรันทดชีวิตอย่างแบล็คแจ็ค หรือปรัชญาไซไฟอย่างวิหคเพลิงฮิโนโทริ แต่น้อยคนจะรู้ว่าอ.โอซามุเคยเขียนแนวฆาตกรรมระทึกขวัญ ซับซ้อนซ่อนเงื่อนแฝงประเด็นทางจิตวิทยาไว้อย่าง MW เรื่องของฆาตกรรักร่วมเพศที่จิตใจอำมหิตราวกับปีศาจ เนื่องจากสมองส่วนหน้าได้รับผลกระทบจากสารพิษที่หน่วยงานทางทหารพัฒนาขึ้นมาอย่างลับๆแล้วเกิดรั่วไหลในเกาะแห่งหนึ่ง
Tezuka's most shocking work I have read so far. The diabolical nature of the lead protagonist in the first chapter was enough to make me read this in one sitting. Frightening how vile a character Tezuka was able to build. I wonder how it was received when it first came out with its homosexual premise, rape, murder, suicide... - super bleak and edging on gore...nothing cute about this manga.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
From Wikipedia:
Dr. Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫) was a Japanese manga artist, animator, producer and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. He is often credited as the "Father of Anime", and is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during his f...more
More about Osamu Tezuka...
Dr. Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治虫) was a Japanese manga artist, animator, producer and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. He is often credited as the "Father of Anime", and is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during his f...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
