Comics god Osamu Tezuka's darkest work, MW is a chilling picaresque of evil. Steering clear of the supernatural as well as the cuddly designs and s...
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Feb 18, 2008
Tosh
rated it: 
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 wor 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 wor More...
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Apr 29, 2009
Theresia
rated it: 
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 mad 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 mad More...
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Mar 22, 2009
M.
rated it:
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)
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Nov 15, 2011
Charles Dee
rated it:
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 intimidati 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 intimidati More...
May 18, 2011
Robin
rated it:
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 t More...
Tezuka shows a sincere distrust of religion, politics, and t More...
Jun 08, 2010
Marissa
rated it:
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 jar
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Feb 05, 2009
Jackie
rated it:
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 enoug 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 enoug More...
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Nov 27, 2011
Jennifer
rated it: 
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-breaki 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-breaki More...
May 19, 2010
Moriah
rated it:
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 foun More...
I foun More...
Jan 27, 2011
dejah_thoris
rated it:
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
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May 19, 2008
Will
rated it:
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.
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Jan 15, 2011
Salem
rated it:
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
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Sep 26, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
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 "da 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 "da More...
Jan 29, 2012
David
rated it:
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 t
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Jan 05, 2011
Amang
rated it: 
Bagi penikmat karya Si Dewa Manga Ozamu Tezuka yang mengenali garis-garis lukisnya yang halus, rasanya mustahil bisa menerima dengan mudah novel grafis yang gelap dan mengganggu, serta tanpa kehadiran satupun pahlawan dalam ceritanya.
Yang ditawarkan novel grafis ini adalah sesuatu yang berbeda, sesuatu yang bertolak belakang dari apa yang pernah dihasilkan oleh Ozamu Tezuka sebelumnya, sebuah kontroversi yang hanya akan membuat saya sebagai pembaca menyukai sepenuh hati atau malah me More...
Yang ditawarkan novel grafis ini adalah sesuatu yang berbeda, sesuatu yang bertolak belakang dari apa yang pernah dihasilkan oleh Ozamu Tezuka sebelumnya, sebuah kontroversi yang hanya akan membuat saya sebagai pembaca menyukai sepenuh hati atau malah me More...
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Oct 31, 2008
Ron
rated it:
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
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Jul 21, 2008
James
rated it:
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 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 More...
Jun 30, 2008
Frederick
rated it:
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 th 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 th More...
Apr 13, 2008
pepe
rated it:
"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 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 More...
Jan 08, 2008
Dave-O
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jul 22, 2009
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
Jun 16, 2010
scarlettraces
rated it:
after a while it dawned on me that MW is not just about a priest and his psychopathic female-impersonating male lover, that the story is an exemplar and a metaphor for nuclear and chemical warfare, or just wars and violence committed against the innocent in general. but it still *feels* warped, and i think it'll stick in my head for a while.
maybe i should find some astroboy as a corrective.
maybe i should find some astroboy as a corrective.
Sep 30, 2011
Jon
rated it:
Pretty good read. Some interesting characters who deal with their temptations and burdens of sins in different ways. (Unrepentant cover-ups, prayer, insanity). The theme of sexual molestation and use of seduction may be too much for some readers who have a sensitivity to issues dealing with sex. If you liked other of Tezuka darker adult work you'll probably like this.
Apr 22, 2010
Molly
rated it:
Tezuka is a master, and I don't use those kinds of terms lightly. Everything he does is put together well, and this is no exception. I was nervous about it- there's murder, rape, bestiality, priest-molesting-child scenes, but believe it or not, it's excellent. The same problems that I have with any manga abound (ugh, women, why are you sooo dumb??) but it's still very worthwhile.
Feb 04, 2011
Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea
rated it:
another graphic novel! i'm in a graphic novel binge lately! this one is a general action adventure story with some twists--it follows the antagonist mostly and he is bi--however he has the unique ability to dress/sound/pass as a woman. his love is a priest: father garai. it was an engaging tale, though i liked tezuka's buddha series better.
Aug 28, 2010
Tjibbe
rated it:
I picked this one up after I read Buddha part 2 by the same artist. I loved the drawing style and the pace of the story in Buddha. MW didn't disappoint. The story is not for the weak of heart, though. There is a Catholic priest with a troubled past, a bisexual delinquent with a nack for killing women, a corrupt politician and a determined police officer. Because of the catholic references, the manga has a distinct American feel. However, there is still enough 'Japan' in it to suit readers with a
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May 19, 2011
Gabe
rated it:
One of the most genuinely disturbing books I have ever read made even more unsettling coming from fiction's greatest optimist. Tezuka is never one for cheap thrills like many of his more sensationalistic peers(Go Nagai, I'm looking at you!). Even when staring in the abyss of Post-WWII Japan, Tezuka finds glimmers of hope.
Apr 23, 2011
Geoff
rated it:
I've read a lot of Tezuka. Something like twenty or thirty big books. This is the most fucked-up one I've read yet.
Mad props for the Beardsley shout-out while the criminal mastermind is having gay sex with the priest. I would also like to know whether or not the nerve gas scandal at the heart of the book was real.
Mad props for the Beardsley shout-out while the criminal mastermind is having gay sex with the priest. I would also like to know whether or not the nerve gas scandal at the heart of the book was real.
May 05, 2011
Hayley
rated it:
This is one of those books that I finished on the bus, and had to work my emotions into check surrounded by all of the sometimes sad looking folk of SF Muni. It took me places, most of them not good, and made me feel a variety of emotions that I've come to expect from Osamu Tezuka. Definitely a great piece of art.
May 19, 2010
Jeffrey
rated it:
This work by Tezuka, the godfather of modern manga, is one of his darkest, most philosophical works, as well as a criticism of Japanese society around the time of the student protests in the 1960s and 1970s. The homoerotic subplot also explore issues of morality and individual desire in modern society.
