The Climber, Vol. 1

孤高の人 [Kokō no Hito] #1

by Shin'ichi Sakamoto, Jirō Nitta (Original Story), Yoshio Nabeta

L'introverso Buntaro Mori, durante il suo primo giorno nella nuova scuola, viene spinto dal compagno Miyamoto a scalare l'edificio. Sebbene l'impresa si rivelerà essere più pericolosa del previsto, l'emozione provata durante la scalata fa sentire il ragazzo "vivo" come mai prima d'ora... L'incontro con il climbing cambierà per sempre il suo destino!

Genres: Manga, Seinen, Sports, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics Manga

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2008

About the author

Sakamoto Shin'ichi (坂本眞一) is a Japanese mangaka.
He is mostly famous for his series Innocent and Innocent Rouge.
He is currently working on #DRCL midnight children based on the classic by Bram Stoker.

Reviews

[aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

The story, the art, the main character—everything was just absolutely stunning and amazing. Some moments made my heart beat a little too fast, so I already know this is going to be one hell of an emotional and intense ride.

[Kynthos-the-Archer (Kyn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review based on the whole series (Vol.1 to 17):

Dark, dramatic and powerfully captivating. Absolutely not a typical sports manga.

Kokou no Hito is a unique manga experience with dark and complex storytelling combined with breathtaking artwork that captivates the mind and soul. Since this manga was a Seinen category, both the plot and the theme focused on heavy subjects which are intense as well as disturbing in nature. The story explores role of emotion, morality, rationality in human reason when pushed to to the edge of survival. The mountains is no place for the weak, the same goes for those below the mountains. Above or below, only the fittest will survive and prosper.

This riveting manga series was inspired by Kato Buntaro, he is one of Japan's famous solo mountaineer of the early 20th century. Buntaro began his winter solo mountaineering career in February 1928 in the Hyōnosen mountains and from then on he couldn't stop climbing until he drew his last breath on Mount Yari.






In Kokou no Hito we follow an extremely introverted protagonist, Mori Buntarou as he progress from high school climbing to professional high-altitude mountaineering and later as a challenger of the untrodden K2 East Face. K2 was known as the holy grail of mountaineering and also as 'The Savage Mountain' due to countless lives lost to it. Even though it was only the second highest mountain in the world, it was far more hazardous than Everest. Until now the eastern face of K2 was untrodden land because it has the hardest and deadliest routes.



As opposed to many other readers who finds it hard to relate to the protagonist, I am completely enamored by him for I truly admire his character and personality despite his shortcomings. I do believe he can't function well with people around him due to severe anthropophobia. This makes him a true loner and an outcast to society. And it is also one of the reason why is he drawn to the mountains all the time. I find him fascinating and quite a romantic person. Romantic not in the sense of being in relationships but the sentimentality of his being. His heartstrings quivers at the slightest provocation and sometimes this trait of his maddens me. I am torn between wanting to embrace and protect him from harm and wishing to knock some sense into him, hard.

Despite not being a sports fan myself, I was highly intrigued by the mountaineering technical details presented in this series. The mangaka did so well with it that a layman like me finds it easy to follow and appreciate the mountaineering aspect of the story. The realistic portrayal of mental and physical challenges faced by the mountaineers was insightful and eye-opening. Apart from that what makes this manga unputdownable was the thrilling conflicts sparked by feuds and controversies in Mori's life especially in the world of mountain climbing. When it comes to extreme sport like mountaineering, your life literally lies in the hands of your teammates and theirs in yours. Therefore mountaineering as a team could potentially turn into harsh trial of humanity where ethics and morality are stretched as thin as the air in high-altitude.





I would highly recommend this manga to matured readers especially to those with broad-minds and appreciative of visual metaphors. I am glad to learn that Kokou no Hito won an award at the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival in year 2010. This exceptional manga absolutely excels in terms of its fine artwork, amazing character arc, compelling storyline and its great sense of place. There's also good balance between the sport and slice of life aspect, both elements blended really well together. I wish I could watch a film adaptation of this manga in the near future. I already felt like I am missing out because I couldn't read the original novel of this story by Jiro Nitta sensei as it was in Japanese and there's no translation for it at the moment. But I do count my blessings for the existence of this manga in English scanlation. I vow to own the entire series in paperback should one day Kokou no Hito was ever licensed in English. It is totally worth collecting.




BOOK DETAILS:
Title: Kokou no Hito (The Climber)
Associated Names: 孤高の人 / 孤高之人 / 고고한 사람 / Ascension / Koko no Hito / The Climber
Mangaka: Shinichi Sakamoto
Author: Shinichi Sakamoto (art and story from volume 4 onwards), Yoshiro Nabeda, Hiroshi Takano
Publication Date: 2007
Type: Serialized Manga (17 Volumes) based on the novel by Jiro Nitta
Genre: Seinen, Sports, Drama, Slice of Life, Contemporary
Tags/Keywords: dead friend(s), death, accidents, suicide, deliberate loner, guilt, hiking, loneliness, loner protagonist, rock climbing, mountaineering, soul searching, social outcast, time skip, tragedy, mature

Description:
On his first day of transferring to a new high school, a loner named Mori Buntarou, is cajoled by a classmate into climbing the school building. Despite knowing that one misstep could send him spiraling to his death, he moves forward, and upon finally reaching the top, Mori experiences a sense of fulfillment. That feeling, which seems to be telling him, "You're alive!" gives birth to an adrenaline for rock-climbing.

*From volume 4 on, Sakamoto Shinichi has done both story and art.



This review has been cross-posted on my blogs:




* Reviewed on July 2nd, 2014

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Previous notes:
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UPDATES (July 2nd, 2014):

My review for the whole series: CLICK HERE


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I am amazed by the intensity of this manga right from the start of the story. Fear gripped me and holding my breath without realizing how tense I was for the protagonist to make it to safety. Mori kun nearly gave me a heart attack with his crazy move. Oh, my poor heart. I am such a hopeless acrophobic person. (一。一;;）

The art was detailed and it has captured the excitement and energy precisely. Amazing work really. I am very impressed.



* Reviewed on June 22nd, 2014

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[alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

[volumes 1-17, chapters 1-170] Incredibly fucking good. Like actually blew me away. Read like a weirdly over-rendered sports manga with kind of stiff interpersonal character acting until it popped OFF in volume 3 where it becomes an expressionistic psychological drama character study that I could not put down. The story and emotions stay so grounded that Shin-ichi Sakamoto’s art DAZZLES in every symbolic introspective moment. The appearance of Holbein’s distorted skull genuinely frightened me when I finally figured out what I was looking at.

Anyways. Kind of like if that 2018 Free Solo hulu documentary was Goodnight Punpun for adults. This is surely already on every single men’s manga list that includes Berserk, Vagabond, and/or Naoki Urasawa, but it’s getting an official English release later this year, and IMO this is basically a must read seinen

[Kanishka · Rating 3 out of 5]

The passion, intensity and grit in the first volume is making me excited for what’s coming next.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love when he holds his hands out to imagine climbing a wall and everyone is impressed.

Happy to learn my man has always over-rendered his characters' lips.

[EmpressKoh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've heard amazing reviews for this manga, but this first book wasn't anything special. We've got the typical bully-whose actions are misunderstand- the loner mc, and the 'nice'girl. Hopeful that it will improve.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una altra joia amagada. El començament em va costar: t’enganya i sembla que et porta per un camí que s'allunya molt del que acaba sent The Climber. A mesura que avança però, es revela com un drama psicològic centrat en un escalador solitari i la seva creuada per conquerir el K2. Obscur, filosòfic i sobretot, profundament humà. I quins plans… senzillament, dels millors que he vist.
(Aprofito per recomanar també l'altra obra del mateix autor, Innocent)
4.5/5

[Абрахам Хосебр · Rating 5 out of 5]

Якщо б Ніцше малював манґу то це був би "Скелелаз" Шінічі Сакамото.
Ще один тихий шедевр, який я прочитаю ab initio tu epressen.

[Edthebacca8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in this story is truly magnificent and might I say unparalleled in comparison to other manga. The Mc was so well written with his characterisation and development being so bitter sweet. The overall story truly was great, the conclusion was nice although I wasn’t as big a fan as other people, I was still happy overall and am really glad I dedicated my time to this manga!!

[Bingus Boingus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did not expect to get sucked into a sports manga like this the way I did

[Valentina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serie completa in 17 volumi. Un capolavoro, recensione su YouTube: https://youtu.be/0xHw2kncjoo

[Isaac Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

ESTUVO INTENSO. De lo mejor que he leído. En mi perra vida escalaré una montaña. El arte realza inmensamente la historia y al protagonista.

[brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The climber is peak pun intended>> each step up the mountain happiness is still within reach even when life tries to pull u down multiple times.. Sometimes a promise is all you need to keep u accountable, an inspiration & almost sacrificial bond to finally find that will for change. oh my gosh. i fucking love this manga sm.

To find ur own solace purpose in the world. climbing & personal growth.. Loneliness, the emotional & psychological struggles he goes through. Reflects a lot on his past , identity & what it means to persevere. True embodiment of human determination. MASTERPIECE this manga gives me so much life. From the condensation of every cold breathe, to the obstacles of life & the beautiful art. To the dedication to be fit (bros massive back & small ah waist is insane). Everything that inspires me about life is here and feeds meee. The journey is everything. I romanticize the atmosphere of my life in my head—always dreaming and focusing on the beauty of nature and appreciating little things & somehow this manga captures it all.

beautiful might be the best manga i’ve read!!!!!! i rotted in my room to keep reading. Need the last panel etched into my skin fr. somehow feels like this was perfectly curated & made just for me cnt really explain it but it gives me chills

[Mayank Agarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a amazing manga, left quite a impression on me. Read it a second time in two years. The manga is about a solo mountain climber who is a loner/introvert. The way the author portrays his mind and the way he feels among crowd is just too awesome. Loved the images he uses - abstract, sad as well as funny -the dark humor is perfect.

The art is great, it captures the beauty of mountains very well. The art and the loner aloofness reminds me a lot of Vagabound.

It's not a sports manga but a very mature and dark one.

[Hamza Mohammad Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, Depressing, Alone, Amazing... noy your typical sports manga really

[Bug Drinker · Rating 4 out of 5]

i will be calling this the climber because im obnoxious and dont wanna type out kokou no hito every time

the climber is a very unique manga, mori is a very very intriguing character and the themes of isolation and loneliness that the climber explores are incredibly compelling to read about. admittedly the first 30 or so chapters are very weak but once the story picks up, it picks up very well. sticking again to mori as a protagonist, the journey he goes through is really relatable to a lot of people struggling with depression and i particularly enjoy the psychological study of the climber and how ascending mountains becomes this trippy sort of visual representation of mori's own mental state and his depression and loneliness. its all done very well and the art is absolutely breathtaking. 9/10, i am cringe but i am free

[Babeth]

OMG! Je suis amoureuse de ce coup de crayon!
Shin'ichi (et oui, je l'appelle par son prénom, parce que quand on en a un aussi beau on devrait l'utiliser tout le temps... Et je fais ce que je veux :p ) est vraiment le mangaka des corps et des muscles: Que ce soit dans Innocent ou ici dans Ascension, il a manifestement choisi des histoires où les corps ont un rôle à part entière (des corps torturés dans Innocents, et contorsionnés dans Ascension)... Et c'est TELLEMENT bien fait!!!
Je n'aime pas toujours la direction que peuvent prendre ses histoires mais esthétiquement je suis époustouflée devant tant de talent...

[Anna C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akhirnya dapat mood juga baca seinen manga yg satu ini. Secara baca review orang katanya ini bakal depressing bgt tapi ceritanya bagus bgt. Well, aku baru baca sampe no 3 saat ini. Jadi nanti review ini bakal ku-update lagi setelah kelar baca 17 vol.

Ceritanya tentang seorang remaja pria penyendiri yg bosan hidup dan baru bisa merasa "hidup" saat adrenalin terpacu dan menantang maut. Dia kerap kali memanjat gunung tanpa pengaman dan partner. Tipe pendaki yg siap mati. Baginya gunung adalah segalanya, candu baginya. Mati di gunung saat memanjat? Kebahagiaan yg tak terkira untuknya. Sebagai org yg takut ketinggian, jujur saja aku takkan bisa pernah memahami orang seperti ini, juga ga bakalan menantang maut seperti ini. Bayangkan, di vol 3 itu, setelah berhasil bertahan hidup dari salju yg longsor di pegunungan hanya dgn jaket dan jeans tanpa peralatan lengkap khusus pendakian, dia malah lanjut mendaki gunung salju dgn tangan kosong, belum lagi dia ini seorang newbie, tdk pernah olahraga sebelumnya, tak punya otot2 hasil latihan yg diperlukan utk panjat gunung, juga tak paham teknik pendakian, hanyalah seorang pendaki yg mendaki secara naluriah dgn bakat alamiah. Konyol. Menurutku dia ini adalah tipe orang yg egois. Memang dia berhak lakukan apa saja dgn hidupnya dan nyawa miliknya itu. Tapi, apa tak terpikirkan bahwa orang2 yg perhatian dan kuatir padanya seperti guru pembimbing yg jadi tim pencari/penyelamat yg menyusulnya juga bisa kehilangan nyawa gara2 kenekatan dan keegoisan dia? Aku juga termasuk loner, tapi tdk seekstrem dia (secara dia juga punya trauma psikologis di masa lalunya sehingga begitu tdk menghargai nyawanya), dan prinsipku sebagai seorang loner, at least tdk merugikan org lain. Sedangkan MC ini, dia memilih menyendiri krn merasa kesialan selalu menghinggapi orang2 yg berteman dgnnya. Maksudnya dia tuh daripada org2 bunuh diri atau kecelakaan krn dia ada di sana (bkn sebagai pemicu, hanya berdiri dan nonton saja), lebih baik dia menutup diri. Agak besar kepala ya orgnya? Menganggap dirinya punya pengaruh sebegitu besar pada orang lain... Padahal dari trauma masa lalunya yg cuma disebut sekilas itu kayanya temannya bunuh diri bkn karena dia, dia cuma berada di tempat dan waktu yg salah. Kasus kedua juga, cewek manajer klub jatuh saat hiking juga bkn salahnya dia, salah ceweknya yg begitu menganggap remeh gunung saat hiking. Dan omong2 soal cewek, kok 2 cewek dalam 3 volume ini semuanya biang masalah ya? Ceroboh dan sembrono di gunung. Ujung2nya bikin repot org lain dan bikin tim dan partner hampir kehilangan nyawa gara2 nolongin mereka. Memang sih di gunung itu blm tentu kita bisa 100% aman jika tahu dan mengikuti aturan dan memakai peralatan dgn sempurna krn yg namanya musibah tak bisa diramalkan, tapi memang, seperti kata Kurosawa-san bahwa siap mendaki gunung maka kamu siap dgn kemungkinan kalo kamu bisa mati di sana. Jika tak siap, jangan daki. Dan inilah salah satu aspek yg bikin aku lumayan salut dgn MC yg bosan hidup itu, dia tak takut dgn yg namanya kematian. *Bikin aku teringat quote spesial dari Dumbledore nih*

Anyway, sebenarnya banyak hal yg mustahil bgt dari vol 1 ini, seperti saat MC panjat dinding sekolah tanpa tali pengaman itu, masa tangannya ga tergelincir krn keringat? Trus melompat mundur ke belakang dari dinding utk meraih pegangan di atas yg begitu jauh, wah mustahil deh di dunia nyata, kecuali kamu titisan spiderman, jgn ditiru deh pokoknya kalo masi sayang nyawamu. Di vol 3 juga, begitu absurd krn harusmya dia udah mati beku saat diterpa badai salju berjam2 dgn pakaian tipis di suhu minus, dan kalo pun selamat, kedua kakinya bisa jadi sudah tak bisa digunakan krn sudah beku gara2 jinsnya basah kena salju. Tapi yah, ini kan komik, jadi harus tutup sebelah mata deh krn MC ga bakal mati, apalagi kalo baru awal2 vol. Lol.
Aku pernah ngerasain suhu minus di NZ waktu SD, walau sudah pakai baju 4 lapis dan celana 3 lapis pun masi tdk bisa berhenti gemetaran dan mimisan. Memang suhu tubuhku rendah sih, cuma 35,4 Celsius sehingga aku bersyukur bgt lahir dan tinggal di Indonesia. Juga tdk pernah ngiri dgn negara yg ada saljunya, palingan ngiri dgn musim semi dan musim gugur di Jepang, hahaha.

So, lantas kenapa kuberi 4 stars biarpun kritikku bejibun di atas? Krn alur plot dan gaya berceritanya yg bikin aku ga bisa berhenti baca dan hampir lupa bernapas saking menegangkannya, gimana ga tegang kalo MC nantang maut terus. Dan lagi aku salut dgn riset yg dilakukan mangaka, berbagai penjelasan tentang teknik pendakian dll bikin aku semakin memahami dunia pendakian gunung ini. Tapi kalo disuruh coba sih ga bakalan mau manjat gunung, lol. Dulu pernah turun lereng yg curam saat field trip saja sudah bikin aku hampir semaput krn vertigo melihat betapa curamnya dan dalamnya jurang di sisi tubuhku, tidak ada pembatas lagi dgn jurang tsb, tempat berdiri juga sempit, wih apalagi pas ada angin kencang, bisa melayang beneran ke jurang sebelah itu.

Aku pernah baca komentar seorang pecinta gunung bahwa dgn mencapai puncak gunung itu barulah dia bisa lebih dekat dgn Tuhan, lebih memahami kebesaran-Nya dan lebih menghargai alam. I mean, really? Kayanya aku tanpa perlu panjat gunung sampe puncak saja sudah bisa paham dan menghargai alam. =P Tinggal lihat saja yg ada di sekeliling kita, yg sederhana, remeh, ga usah yg jauh2 dan ekstrem seperti itu. Dan menurutku, lebih baik kalo membantu sesama yg membutuhkan di sekitar kita semampu kita daripada cuma sekedar mengagumi keindahan alam sekitar. :)

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid opening about a guy who's moody and gloomy but wants to climb because it gives him a reason to live?

Basically he doesn't care about shit till he's almost forced to climb a school building and makes it. Now he wants to climb an entire mountain. Like most sports manga, we're built up to learn the fundamentals of the sport, and it's no different here. So I feel once we get past that we'll get to the nitty gritty storyline. But so far it's solid save for the friend/soon to be friend who did a rape joke, not cool but it was 2007 and shit was weird back then.

A 3 out of 5.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the emotions in this story- you can feel the loneliness and the passion the characters feel about climbing. I felt a little silly at first because I have never been climbing and just don’t really know anything about it but these guys are talking like it’s heaven - just so overly emotional but by the end I’m feeling those same emotions. I hope I can climb the mountains in my life, I won’t give up.

[Elyrria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost a star because there was a random, unnecessary r*** threat. Why do y'all put that trash in your stories for no reason? It's not funny or engaging. Other than that, the rock climbing narrative is great.

[Huguelet Michou · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 étoiles... parce que l'histoire est intéressante mais que le manga, décidément, ce n'est pas mon truc.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried reading this it is really fucking good but also very dark. Amazing art.

[Dafaka Divaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top 3.
Amazing

[Rauru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me los he leído todos pero como son muchos tomos pongo solo el primero y tan panchos nos quedamos.
Obra de arte magna

[Agustmarto · Rating 4 out of 5]

ta weno me motivo a leer más tomos del manga

[rox ⋆☕︎ ˖ · Rating 4 out of 5]

les dessins!! l’histoire!!

[Clara Pasquier · Rating 5 out of 5]

LA FRAAAAAPPE

[Lailah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[VK · Rating 5 out of 5]

alr why was this so hard to find on goodreads…. Anyways I loved the art and it kept me on the edge of my seat I genuinely felt like I was climbing with them. so tuff