What do you think?
Rate this book
地球を呑む [Chikyū wo Nomu] #1-2
Il mondo in una bottiglia
"Questa opera di Tezuka è creata in un momento di rinascita dello spirito nipponico, suggellato dalle Olimpiadi del 1964, e attraversato da tensioni sociali e questioni quasi esistenziali su temi fondanti: lo sviluppo economico come fonte di benessere ma anche di disuguaglianza e inquinamento; il rapporto ambiguo con il prezioso, ma ingombrante alleato americano; lo scontento giovanile; la marginalizzazione della donna nella vita economica e sociale. Le vicende rappresentate declinano tali distonie, una delle motrici narrative è il piano della bella e misteriosa Zephyrus che, in punto di morte, chiede alle sue sette figlie di vendicarla contro tutto ciò che l'aveva tradita: gli uomini, la legge e il denaro."
514 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
8 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Osamu Tezuka
2,133 books1,303 followersDr. 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 formative years. His prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the father of manga" and "the God of Manga."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 31 reviews
May 15, 2020
In Swallowing the Earth, Tezuka's dependable storytelling and consistent art lead to an intriguing boilerplate plot repurposing the Myth of the Sirens to speak to the cultural climate of Japan in the early Twentieth century. One can learn a lot about Japanese culture by reading Tezuka's works. He is not a key to a full understanding of the country, but he could be called Japan's Walt Disney. In a way, he led the movement toward more mature, plot-driven comics in the East, by borrowing heavily from Western influence without losing his historical and artistic richness.
One of the prodigies of the manga form, Tezuka compulsively included subtle or overt commentary on race, class, religion, technology, history, love, sex, and dozens of other common topics in most of his longer works. This is one of his adult-oriented, semi-romantic, heavily atmospheric pieces. Not one of his masterpieces perhaps, but an entertaining, thought-provoking experiment among so many rewarding and readable examples.
Often, too much analysis of Tezuka's themes and contexts have lessened the impact of his stories to modern audiences, especially in America. He is called outdated and sloppy, among every other descriptor you can think of, good or bad. No one looks as closely at One Piece or or even the works of Mishima as they seem to do at Tezuka. It is almost as if his art has attained the status of literature to warrant so much criticism, study and appreciation. Flaws are everywhere, that is undeniable, but he is at least as interesting a figure as any several other mangaka combined. Such a prolific and varied body of work, never tiresome, always intelligent, swiftly paced, hectic, wry, emotional, raw, cinematic and characteristic of every stage and evolution of brilliance and influence. He made every mistake an artist could make, but also did everything right at some point too.
This story is not perfectly consistent. It is convoluted and strained, but as fulfilling as an old James Bond flick. For me, this was a nostalgic, easy read, a possible re-read, a reaffirmation of my love of Tezuka's quirky form. The density of his ideas is staggering. Too much compression is part of his charm, in my eye, like he was frantically recounting a compelling dream without fully comprehending or considering its implications and flow. The stakes are high and the science is very Sixties.
One of the prodigies of the manga form, Tezuka compulsively included subtle or overt commentary on race, class, religion, technology, history, love, sex, and dozens of other common topics in most of his longer works. This is one of his adult-oriented, semi-romantic, heavily atmospheric pieces. Not one of his masterpieces perhaps, but an entertaining, thought-provoking experiment among so many rewarding and readable examples.
Often, too much analysis of Tezuka's themes and contexts have lessened the impact of his stories to modern audiences, especially in America. He is called outdated and sloppy, among every other descriptor you can think of, good or bad. No one looks as closely at One Piece or or even the works of Mishima as they seem to do at Tezuka. It is almost as if his art has attained the status of literature to warrant so much criticism, study and appreciation. Flaws are everywhere, that is undeniable, but he is at least as interesting a figure as any several other mangaka combined. Such a prolific and varied body of work, never tiresome, always intelligent, swiftly paced, hectic, wry, emotional, raw, cinematic and characteristic of every stage and evolution of brilliance and influence. He made every mistake an artist could make, but also did everything right at some point too.
This story is not perfectly consistent. It is convoluted and strained, but as fulfilling as an old James Bond flick. For me, this was a nostalgic, easy read, a possible re-read, a reaffirmation of my love of Tezuka's quirky form. The density of his ideas is staggering. Too much compression is part of his charm, in my eye, like he was frantically recounting a compelling dream without fully comprehending or considering its implications and flow. The stakes are high and the science is very Sixties.
April 20, 2010
Swallowing the Earth is best thought of as an interesting failure. Produced in the ferment of the late 1960s, it represents an attempt by Osamu Tezuka to grapple not only with the cultural tumult that was gripping Japan, but to engage with gekiga, the newer style of grittier, more adult comics that were gaining popularity in Japan at the time. In its endearingly addlepated way it attempts to address racism, capitalism, class conflict, patriarchy, misandry, war profiteering, the economy of scarcity, and the threat posed to public morality and legal authority by new technologies. All of this is stirred into Tezuka's usual mix of archetypes / stereotyped characters, broad themes, brutally streamlined pacing and hypercompetent draftsmanship. It's a hugely ambitious work that falls apart more than once before reaching a not entirely satisfying conclusion, but it hits just about as often as it misses.
Like most of Tezuka's work for older audiences (Phoenix, Adolf), there are moments of startling brutality, and the tone attains the same somber, apocalyptic dread that characterizes much of his later work (and indeed, much of post-1970 shonen manga). The protagonist is a cipher characterized almost entirely by his two-fisted alcoholism – as Popeye is to spinach, Gohonmatsu is to hooch, right down to its universal problem-solving attributes. I seriously haven't seen alcoholism this fierce since I last watched Leaving Las Vegas, and it's a little unsettling how much it's played for laughs. Even Tezuka was dissatisfied (according to Frederick Schodt's excellent, concise foreword) with how flat Gohonmatsu turned out, and unfortunately I agree more with Tezuka's harsh self-assessment than Schodt's more generous take. The story requires a more complex antihero than Tezuka pulled off here – much more interesting are the story's two main villains, the mysterious Zephyrus and her assistant Monte Christos (a name that is itself almost a spoiler).
There are some brilliantly daft ideas in the story, which is basically a serpentine revenge story, told with frequent digressions to show how the characters' actions affect the larger world. Unfortunately, Tezuka seems at times to be uncertain whether he's addressing an adult or a child audience, and this means that a few of his more novel twists are undercut by oversimplification. The plotting is occasionally hysterically compressed – anyone familiar with Scott McCloud's idea of closure will be amused to watch how frequently flipping pages will move the story across several years and thousands of miles, without so much as a "Later..." in the corner of a panel. If the layouts weren't so beautiful, and Tezuka so willing to go for broke in his composition (a sly reference to Tadanori Yokoo is far from the only incorporation of psychedelia into the story), the bare-bones presentation would be a problem. Not only that, Tezuka's style doesn't lend itself to portraying the naked human form (rarely have I seen more perfectly spherical breasts), nor does his cartoonish style do him any favors when he tries to address questions of race by introducing non-white / non-Japanese characters. As it is, this is not going to be something you're going to read more than once for the plot, which is a queasy mix of Jane Eyre and Moonraker. The art, however, is frequently amazing, and there are some layouts in here that are as good as anything Tezuka ever produced.
Who's going to want to read this? Fans of Tezuka, of course, and anyone who found Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life compelling; students of Japanese modern history; and students of manga's development, particularly those who are interested in the dialog between gekiga and more mainstream manga (and Tezuka's own complex feelings about gekiga). Casual manga fans and people whose experience of Tezuka is limited to Astro-Boy or Black Jack may find this to be rough sledding. Thorough knowledge of the difference between fiat currency and currencies backed by rare metals, and molecular biology will be more distracting than useful, and readers who demand fully-realized characters should steer clear.
Like most of Tezuka's work for older audiences (Phoenix, Adolf), there are moments of startling brutality, and the tone attains the same somber, apocalyptic dread that characterizes much of his later work (and indeed, much of post-1970 shonen manga). The protagonist is a cipher characterized almost entirely by his two-fisted alcoholism – as Popeye is to spinach, Gohonmatsu is to hooch, right down to its universal problem-solving attributes. I seriously haven't seen alcoholism this fierce since I last watched Leaving Las Vegas, and it's a little unsettling how much it's played for laughs. Even Tezuka was dissatisfied (according to Frederick Schodt's excellent, concise foreword) with how flat Gohonmatsu turned out, and unfortunately I agree more with Tezuka's harsh self-assessment than Schodt's more generous take. The story requires a more complex antihero than Tezuka pulled off here – much more interesting are the story's two main villains, the mysterious Zephyrus and her assistant Monte Christos (a name that is itself almost a spoiler).
There are some brilliantly daft ideas in the story, which is basically a serpentine revenge story, told with frequent digressions to show how the characters' actions affect the larger world. Unfortunately, Tezuka seems at times to be uncertain whether he's addressing an adult or a child audience, and this means that a few of his more novel twists are undercut by oversimplification. The plotting is occasionally hysterically compressed – anyone familiar with Scott McCloud's idea of closure will be amused to watch how frequently flipping pages will move the story across several years and thousands of miles, without so much as a "Later..." in the corner of a panel. If the layouts weren't so beautiful, and Tezuka so willing to go for broke in his composition (a sly reference to Tadanori Yokoo is far from the only incorporation of psychedelia into the story), the bare-bones presentation would be a problem. Not only that, Tezuka's style doesn't lend itself to portraying the naked human form (rarely have I seen more perfectly spherical breasts), nor does his cartoonish style do him any favors when he tries to address questions of race by introducing non-white / non-Japanese characters. As it is, this is not going to be something you're going to read more than once for the plot, which is a queasy mix of Jane Eyre and Moonraker. The art, however, is frequently amazing, and there are some layouts in here that are as good as anything Tezuka ever produced.
Who's going to want to read this? Fans of Tezuka, of course, and anyone who found Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life compelling; students of Japanese modern history; and students of manga's development, particularly those who are interested in the dialog between gekiga and more mainstream manga (and Tezuka's own complex feelings about gekiga). Casual manga fans and people whose experience of Tezuka is limited to Astro-Boy or Black Jack may find this to be rough sledding. Thorough knowledge of the difference between fiat currency and currencies backed by rare metals, and molecular biology will be more distracting than useful, and readers who demand fully-realized characters should steer clear.
September 28, 2022
Este es el comic que se me ha hecho mas flojo de Tezuka. Creo que es muy largo para la historia que cuenta. Hay momentos brillantes pero va metiendo tan diversos personajes que creo que hay bastante paja que no te centra en la historia.
Dibujo correcto estilo Tezuka, personajes interesantes peo historia muy larga, para mi gusto
Dibujo correcto estilo Tezuka, personajes interesantes peo historia muy larga, para mi gusto
June 19, 2022
- Art: beautiful, especially when the story is about women whose beauty can shake the whole world. Nice emotional expression of characters and high attention to small details: such as the eyes of the women characters, the evil and angry look of the men like the Japanese commander, and a good use of the white and black color to represent good and evil, the known and the unknown, and so on.
- Characters: cool, sometimes can be related to characters in Greek mythology as the character creation (both their appearance and character I think) might be inspired by them.
Story: The only thing that I do not quite like and understand is the destruction of the order of the world. The world order will be destroyed and a new world will be built, but the new world also functioned in some kind of order, so the order still exists. There will always be good and evil, and the scheme of demolishing the world order as an act of revenge is kinda foolish (but I think revenge is foolish in that way). Besides, if the economy collapse, will not the people surive build a new economy with the creation of goods and services? And for example, in the new world, if power is a crucial factor to determine who is right and who is wrong (just like when people tried to gang up to steal the booze), that our main characters giving properties to a slim and powerless man seems nonsensical and illogical for me.
There is also the part of living happily without money and possession, but that is a long story. The kind of life where we reject all possesion and money seems to be tempting, but it is a very physically hard and dangerous life. Imagine what would happen if you had no money, food, or shelter to live in today world. And is wealth creation which provides convenience and safety for human a bad thing? Well, that is left for the readers to find out.
In my opinion, every authors have his or her own formula for success. For Araki (the author of JoJo), the formula might be:
Success (or doing the things that only he can do which bring him fame and money, even though those might not be his primary aims when he create a manga) = unique art style + romantic, manly characters and values + fighting + bizzare situations and powers. This kind of formula might be the same for many other authors (for example Eichiro Oda - the author of One Piece) but the details vary. And for our God of manga, Osamu Tezuka, his formla might be:
Osamu Tezuka = Post-world-war + the rise of materialism + the nature of human + good and evil + some other philosophical stuff. The content is very thick when it is created by someone living in such a turbulent time and witnessing many conflicts of the old and new era.
But anyway, it was fun to read the manga and to see some hilarious, comical traits of early manga. These traits are true to the original name of this unique type of art form: comic.
- Characters: cool, sometimes can be related to characters in Greek mythology as the character creation (both their appearance and character I think) might be inspired by them.
Story: The only thing that I do not quite like and understand is the destruction of the order of the world. The world order will be destroyed and a new world will be built, but the new world also functioned in some kind of order, so the order still exists. There will always be good and evil, and the scheme of demolishing the world order as an act of revenge is kinda foolish (but I think revenge is foolish in that way). Besides, if the economy collapse, will not the people surive build a new economy with the creation of goods and services? And for example, in the new world, if power is a crucial factor to determine who is right and who is wrong (just like when people tried to gang up to steal the booze), that our main characters giving properties to a slim and powerless man seems nonsensical and illogical for me.
There is also the part of living happily without money and possession, but that is a long story. The kind of life where we reject all possesion and money seems to be tempting, but it is a very physically hard and dangerous life. Imagine what would happen if you had no money, food, or shelter to live in today world. And is wealth creation which provides convenience and safety for human a bad thing? Well, that is left for the readers to find out.
In my opinion, every authors have his or her own formula for success. For Araki (the author of JoJo), the formula might be:
Success (or doing the things that only he can do which bring him fame and money, even though those might not be his primary aims when he create a manga) = unique art style + romantic, manly characters and values + fighting + bizzare situations and powers. This kind of formula might be the same for many other authors (for example Eichiro Oda - the author of One Piece) but the details vary. And for our God of manga, Osamu Tezuka, his formla might be:
Osamu Tezuka = Post-world-war + the rise of materialism + the nature of human + good and evil + some other philosophical stuff. The content is very thick when it is created by someone living in such a turbulent time and witnessing many conflicts of the old and new era.
But anyway, it was fun to read the manga and to see some hilarious, comical traits of early manga. These traits are true to the original name of this unique type of art form: comic.
June 19, 2021
"Adult" themes mixed with youthful energy works super well for Tezuka. This is definitely one of his most enjoyable comics. A lot of his longer stuff has me forcing myself to continue reading, but I wanted to keep going through this one.
March 1, 2017
This one sat on my shelf for quite some time before I read it, because it's huge and intimidating. This was one of Osamu Tezuka's first works for a mature audience, and it has a variety of things which may offend modern readers. In the notes for the book, it's pointed out that nearly 50 years ago, when this was written, the audience was assumed to be a fairly small one, and one in which the stereotypes used in the book were a cultural shorthand, rather than offensive and annoying. Still, he had been using some of these for years, and it seems that by that point, he might have learned better.
Leaving those out, my biggest problem with the story was the main character. Imagine Little Abner as a drunken asexual, and that those two defining characteristics are somehow what makes him the hero. I think that the story that he wanted to tell was an interesting one, and parts of it work. Parts of it, however, do not.
Not great, but still worth reading because of its place in the history of manga.
Leaving those out, my biggest problem with the story was the main character. Imagine Little Abner as a drunken asexual, and that those two defining characteristics are somehow what makes him the hero. I think that the story that he wanted to tell was an interesting one, and parts of it work. Parts of it, however, do not.
Not great, but still worth reading because of its place in the history of manga.
February 2, 2013
Absolutely brilliant, he was way before his time. If I ever teach a Graphic Novels class, this is going to be required reading.
April 26, 2024
Osamu women empowerment
2024
2024
November 13, 2020
Swallowing the Earth is a flawed, but nonetheless interesting work by a feverishly experimental artist who is pushing his art into new directions.
The story was serialized in 1968, a time of great cultural shifts, and marks Tezuka's transition from children's artist to manga innovator.
Ultimately, Swalling the Earth is a revenge story that mixes social, political, and sexual themes into a satire of capitalism and consumerism. I can see past Tezuka's use of racial stereotypes as that was a product of Japan's cultural isolation and Tezuka's ignorance. I personally found it much harder to get past the antics of the main character, Gohanmatsu Seki, who eats, drinks and breaths booze throughout the book.
The antagonist is Zephyrus, the world's most beautiful woman and the 'leader' of a band of evil sisters who vow to execute their mother's final wish: to destroy human civilization. They invent Dermoid Z, a form of synthetic skin and donate it to an industrialist. The worldwide success of a product that allows everyone to look like anyone they want, ultimately disrupts the social fabric of society.
Tezuka takes the story in different directions, but the best parts are the more or less self contained-chapters that deviate from the main narrative and tone. Chapter 12, for example, reminded me MW and The Book of Human Insects.
Don't skip the introduction by Frederik L Schodt. It really helps to understand the historical context of the time in which it was created.
The story was serialized in 1968, a time of great cultural shifts, and marks Tezuka's transition from children's artist to manga innovator.
Ultimately, Swalling the Earth is a revenge story that mixes social, political, and sexual themes into a satire of capitalism and consumerism. I can see past Tezuka's use of racial stereotypes as that was a product of Japan's cultural isolation and Tezuka's ignorance. I personally found it much harder to get past the antics of the main character, Gohanmatsu Seki, who eats, drinks and breaths booze throughout the book.
The antagonist is Zephyrus, the world's most beautiful woman and the 'leader' of a band of evil sisters who vow to execute their mother's final wish: to destroy human civilization. They invent Dermoid Z, a form of synthetic skin and donate it to an industrialist. The worldwide success of a product that allows everyone to look like anyone they want, ultimately disrupts the social fabric of society.
Tezuka takes the story in different directions, but the best parts are the more or less self contained-chapters that deviate from the main narrative and tone. Chapter 12, for example, reminded me MW and The Book of Human Insects.
Don't skip the introduction by Frederik L Schodt. It really helps to understand the historical context of the time in which it was created.
July 11, 2022
Avaler la Terre nous présente un récit de vengeance, doublé d’un complot de fin du monde, qui offre de l’action et du suspens mais aussi beaucoup de sensualité et d’humour. C’est une série ambitieuse que Tezuka considère comme parmi ses oeuvre les plus importantes. Hélas! Ce genre de manga n’attire pas les foules — heureusement qu’il y a des éditeurs qui en reconnaissent l’importance historique et ont le courage d’en faire la traduction — donc un grand merci à FLBLB! Malgré la complexité du récit et le style caricatural, c’est un excellent manga, agréable et intéressant à lire. Une oeuvre de Tezuka mérite toujours d’être lue.
Lier mon commentaire complet sur https://clodjee-blog.com/2022/07/11/a...
Lier mon commentaire complet sur https://clodjee-blog.com/2022/07/11/a...
November 20, 2019
I quite liked this story, having reccently finished Tezuka's Book of the Human Insects I pleased to find this story more entertaining. I also think this allowed for a more informed reading experience, as I had spent time reading about the historical context for what it means to be a women in Japan around the time period of this book being published. This somewhat feels like the precursor to the Book of the Human Insects for there commentary on the world and Japan comeing to grip with empowerment of women stemming from the previous lack of men during the Two World Wars. I'd recommend this book I know I'll certainly revisit it
April 9, 2021
Waste of time. Main character was awful and ruined the plot (if you can call it that). He ignores every character and says the word "booze" more than any other word. Why would anyone be interested in him was beyond me.
"Apollo's Song" was infinitely better. I'm going to try one more of Tezuka's work just in case this was merely a dud.
"Apollo's Song" was infinitely better. I'm going to try one more of Tezuka's work just in case this was merely a dud.
February 18, 2023
A mysterious woman named Zephyrus seems to bring men to their doom. The only thing in her way Gohonmatsu Seki, a hard drinking hero. This is ambitious story. According to the introduction the most ambitious to date for Tezuka. I think it works. The end is a satire since it destroys society in an interesting way.
Read
July 19, 2022Art is nice and it’s a lot of work. Just couldn’t get into it.
August 17, 2019
In un mondo avido e maschilista, interamente votato al profitto e al sesso, le misteriose e affascinanti sorelle Zephyrus portano avanti una loro spietata e (auto)distruttiva vendetta contro l'umanità intera. Saranno il rude candore di Gohonmatsu, un giovane indifferente al denaro e ai piaceri della carne, e l'inopinato sbocciare di sentimenti amorosi in una delle Zephyrus, a incrinare l'elaborata macchinazione, sino all'apocalittico finale.
Il graphic novel di Osamu Tezuka è un atto d'accusa contro le maschere (nella vicenda i travisamenti rivestono un significato essenziale; ndr) che nascondono la vera umanità. Le atmosfere del fumetto sono debitrici, anche in chiave parodistica, ai film di spionaggio tanto di moda negli anni '60-'70: complotti, inseguimenti, scazzottate, alcolici, belle donne, location internazionali, edifici ultralussuosi, scenari futuribili.
Il fumettista giapponese è considerato il "dio del manga". Autore di centinaia di pubblicazioni, anche in questa Tezuka dimostra tutta la sua abilità: le vignette sono infatti estremamente dinamiche e varie, e i disegni ricchi di dettagli vivaci (tanto realistici quanto grotteschi).
Il graphic novel di Osamu Tezuka è un atto d'accusa contro le maschere (nella vicenda i travisamenti rivestono un significato essenziale; ndr) che nascondono la vera umanità. Le atmosfere del fumetto sono debitrici, anche in chiave parodistica, ai film di spionaggio tanto di moda negli anni '60-'70: complotti, inseguimenti, scazzottate, alcolici, belle donne, location internazionali, edifici ultralussuosi, scenari futuribili.
Il fumettista giapponese è considerato il "dio del manga". Autore di centinaia di pubblicazioni, anche in questa Tezuka dimostra tutta la sua abilità: le vignette sono infatti estremamente dinamiche e varie, e i disegni ricchi di dettagli vivaci (tanto realistici quanto grotteschi).
August 27, 2009
VERY sixties, both in theme and approach to the material presented. That's the writing, concept and topics covered.
Hard SF, everything happening is behind the scenes and you only know as much as is considered for your own good. You, as a regular Joe, only know so much and you never really knew what was going on behind the scenes. Catastrophe is happening left, right and center - and why?
Someone's got an axe to grind.
The world is coming to an end, and it's all the work of a few dedicated individuals.
Combine that with goofy artwork that makes you think of Donald Duck in full rage, and you've got the experience of this book.
Some of it is expressive (there's one embrace that just takes your breath away), but the bulk of it is simply cartoonish. There are words in the introduction asking you to suspend judgment on the artwork style as it was done to mimic what the mainstream of the time was doing - but even that can make this hard to wrap your head around.
It's also very sexy. And violent. Sometimes, both.
Defintely not for children.
Hard SF, everything happening is behind the scenes and you only know as much as is considered for your own good. You, as a regular Joe, only know so much and you never really knew what was going on behind the scenes. Catastrophe is happening left, right and center - and why?
Someone's got an axe to grind.
The world is coming to an end, and it's all the work of a few dedicated individuals.
Combine that with goofy artwork that makes you think of Donald Duck in full rage, and you've got the experience of this book.
Some of it is expressive (there's one embrace that just takes your breath away), but the bulk of it is simply cartoonish. There are words in the introduction asking you to suspend judgment on the artwork style as it was done to mimic what the mainstream of the time was doing - but even that can make this hard to wrap your head around.
It's also very sexy. And violent. Sometimes, both.
Defintely not for children.
May 15, 2013
By Tezuka's standard, this is not his best work. This book is Tezuka's answer to the emerging gekiga scene that is getting massive attention at the time. He feels that it is time to jump into the bandwagon,so he made Swallowing the Earth. However,like any other newcomer, he fell a bit short. The plot is messy and rushed,at some point you will be a bit lost. You can feel Tezuka is trying too hard to accommodate his style into this new environment,which is weird.
Even though I didn't really liked the book, I would suggest every avid Tezuka fans to try and get a hold of this book. DMP did a great job reproducing this piece for western audiences, especially the cover design.
All in all, this book will give you an introduction of Tezuka's ventures into the mature scene. You can also check out his other mature works like MW,Barbara,and Ode to Kirihito. So,enjoy?
Even though I didn't really liked the book, I would suggest every avid Tezuka fans to try and get a hold of this book. DMP did a great job reproducing this piece for western audiences, especially the cover design.
All in all, this book will give you an introduction of Tezuka's ventures into the mature scene. You can also check out his other mature works like MW,Barbara,and Ode to Kirihito. So,enjoy?
October 1, 2010
Naked Ladies!
Not your best, Tezuka. Story was shoddy and couldn't be made up for by a flurry of good ideas and wacky inventions. The synthetic skin as a means to social unrest concept WAS great and made for some transcendent moments, but not enough was done with it. The pretty ladies driving people crazy through wild LSD-fueled sex in hopes of destroying civilization were awesome, but their philosophy was not complex enough.
The making money meaningless was great! Yeah, that was just got great.
Also there were way more boobs than usual for Tezuka. Fun.
But yeah. With those tenets, how could it not be fantastic? I'm not sure, but it seemed a little out of Tezuka's range, and he didn't put everything into it that he is so capable of. Alas. Reboot, please.
Not your best, Tezuka. Story was shoddy and couldn't be made up for by a flurry of good ideas and wacky inventions. The synthetic skin as a means to social unrest concept WAS great and made for some transcendent moments, but not enough was done with it. The pretty ladies driving people crazy through wild LSD-fueled sex in hopes of destroying civilization were awesome, but their philosophy was not complex enough.
The making money meaningless was great! Yeah, that was just got great.
Also there were way more boobs than usual for Tezuka. Fun.
But yeah. With those tenets, how could it not be fantastic? I'm not sure, but it seemed a little out of Tezuka's range, and he didn't put everything into it that he is so capable of. Alas. Reboot, please.
January 19, 2016
This is apparently Osamu Tezuka's first attempt at creating a manga for adults, and while it's not exactly among his greatest works, it's still really interesting, and full of the craziness that he could do so well. It's got a rambling plot about some vengeful women who want to bring down society, synthetic skin that lets people change their appearance, and a simple-minded Japanese drunkard who gets mixed up in all of this. It's pretty nuts, and full of Tezuka's signature slapstick comedy and visual gags, as well as innovative panel layouts and trippy art. I dug it for the most part, but I would probably only recommend it for Tezuka fans. The world could stand to use more of us though, so feel free to check it out and get all weirded out by the God of Comics.
February 13, 2024
Il mondo in una bottiglia è un manga sperimentale del maestro Tezuka, che si pone a cavallo tra il suo periodo più legato ai giovani lettori e quello della maturità. Un’opera sperimentale perché usa diversi linguaggi, dal comico, grottesco e assurdo al filosofico, politico, economico ed esistenziale. Una trama principale che vede al centro un gruppo di sorelle che odiano gli uomini, la legge e il denaro contrapposte a una sorta di Braccio di Ferro giapponese ubriacone, s’interseca con altre esistenze e vicende che sembrano cornici che usano il motivo di fondo per parlarci di altro: disuguaglianza razziale, potere politico e militare, abusi. Non certo l’opera più famosa dell’autore , ma affascinante e a tratti geniale, una vicenda che parte dal fanta-thriller e sfocia nell’apocalittico.
June 13, 2013
Bien qu'il s'agisse encore d'une oeuvre considérable, j'ai été moins impressionné par celle-ci que par celles qu'il m'a été donné de lire auparavant. En tant que l'une des premières oeuvres de Tezuka dans un style plus mature, avec des enjeux plus complexes (lutte et rôle des genres dans le monde), j'ai trouvé que la bande-dessinée est dans un style à mi-chemin entre le style mature et le style comique, avec un résultat bizarre. Un page traite de viol et l'autre met en scène le héros qui donne une dérouillée à des bandits comme un Popeye. Ne pas lire en premier pour s'initier à Tezuka mais tout de même un incontournable du père du Manga dont la versatilité m'étonnera toujours.
November 27, 2013
This book is an early experiment by Tezuka to go from being primarily a children's creator to serving a more mature/adult audience. It mostly succeeds. the basic plot, a mystery woman trying to bring down the world of men, is intriguing and wonky enough to keep you interested.It veers wildly out of control though, which is a little distracting. That said, despite a more mature narrative, Tezuka continues to use the comic book form to create some dynamic, fluid set pieces by never restraining his cartoon-y style. It makes the whole thing work much better so that even when the plot goes for a wander, the art keeps you enchanted.
3.5/5
3.5/5
September 12, 2009
Tezuka's boundless animation and his freedom from conventional plotting is always exciting, and I like here how he juxtaposes psychedelic erotica with the most cartoony slapstick. It bridges the gap between kids comics and more adult fare in a way that is not dissimilar to the American undergrounds.
January 8, 2013
Definitely not Tezuka's strongest work but still a great read. The tone and style changes drastically as the book goes on, starting as an almost comical manga and ending with a whole lot of vitriol. It read like a transitional piece for Tezuka, the missing link that closes the gap between the Astro Boys and the Message to Adolfs.
March 6, 2015
nunca había leído a un Tezuka tan fuerte, tan ácido y tan sangriento. Sí bien Black Jack es un anti héroe, hay pinceladas de humanidad, aquí nuestro ebrio héroe es otra víctima más de un macarbo plan de una feminazis (nunca empleado mejor el término) para traer al mundo al caos
January 20, 2024
Otra genial historia de Tezuka donde Zephyrus, una mujer bellisima se intentará vengar de la humanidad a traves de sus hijas. Un joven borrachuzo parece ser la unica persona inmune a su belleza y quien puede salvar al mundo. Divertido y con mensaje, como casi todos los mangas de Tezuka.
Read
January 25, 2014A mature and erotic of Tezuka's work
August 22, 2016
This story went in all KINDS of weird directions. Tezuka is really great, but his depiction of women often leaves something to be desired. I mean, I guess this WAS the 60s, but still.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 31 reviews