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MW Books

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MW Books

This is the story of the two survivors of an "accident." In the early `60s, the United States stashed away on a tiny Japanese island, with Japanese cooperation, of course, some deadly gas (Tezuka calls it "MW,"--hence the title)--we really did---but in Tezuka's manga some leaks out, killing all 800 inhabitants of the island. The survivors, Iwao Garai, 15, and Michio Yuki, 9, are protected from the gas because they are sheltered in a cave. When they come out the next morning, it is to an island of the dead: men, women, children, birds and beasts--every sentient being. The gekiga (a manga for adults, which MW is, in spades) tells us about the rest of their lives, (almost...) beginning 15 years later. We find out about the events on the island in flashbacks.

What happened to the rest of the gas? (The cover-up has of course been enormous.) And what will Garai and Yuki (now, respectively, a Catholic priest and a loan executive at a Tokyo bank) do about it? Garai is haunted by his memory of the dead, and Yuki is simply a madman: he inhaled some of the gas, which gives him occasional attacks of bad health, but worse, it warped his brain, robbing him of every speck o conscience, so that he takes great joy in using, kidnapping, torturing and killing people. We find out his reason--just as insane as the acts themselves--in the second third of the manga. Yuki always confesses his crimes to Father Garai, who--and we don't understand why, at first-- never tells on him.

Yuki and Garai have (since when?) an uneasy homosexual relationship (Yuki is Tezuka's only true homosexual main character). It's very hard to hate our arch-villain Yuki: he's cute as a button , very smart, has a great sense of humor, and really loves Garai (although he loves nobody else on earth). Garai--until the second part of the manga, when he begins to develop a backbone--is a rather poor creature, although he's a big, handsome fellow, not being able to honestly follow any part of his heart. But it must be difficult to be in love with God and a sociopath at the same time. He lies to his father confessor, the police, Yuki, and himself. Of course Yuki lies to evrybody.

There are many fascinating characters in this manga: the reporter to whom Garai finally tells the story of the island, the public prosecuto0r, who has a face like a misshapen dinner plate, but whose brain is in fine order, Yuki's brother, an onnagata (a man who plays women's parts in Kabuki theater), who looks as much like Yuki as the second pea in a pod. Mistaken identity is common in Kabuki; it occurs here too. Some of Tezuka's best drawing is here--the faces of the dead in the reporter's article, Yuki's disquisition on...Garai's day. There is all you could wish for of political corruption, self-sacrifice, ugly violence, sadness, humor, anger, and occasional very kinky sex (which I have not mentioned). The ending is worthy of the darkest Hitchcock.

The translation (from the French I read) is occasionally disappointing, The French is softer in tone, but--is the French, or the English closer to the original Japanese? I don't know. Sometimes the drawing is too stark. (It'a 30 years since the serialization....what are we looking at?) Perhaps ....an "18+"would be more appropriate than a "l6+" as a rating. The sex is not explicit, nor is the plot just an excuse for it, but a few scenes would be shocking to some, and there is the occasional use of the right word in the wrong place at the wrong time (being used to American films, this really surprised me). I wouldn't want to keep anyone from reading it, but more conservative human beings might see the equivalent of an "X"-----and think, "I think I'll sit this one out."

Product details Unknown Binding ASIN B003U7SZKM

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MW Books Reviews

I gave this as a gift to an ardent Tezuka fan and his face was glowing. Thanks,
I feel conflicted about Osamu Tezuka's MW. On one hand I enjoyed the intriguing plot and the way he was able to use the comic medium to display such horrific crimes. These acts would have been very difficult to display in any other medium. The story is also an interesting statement on the conventional expectation that in the end crime does not go unpunished. I think a lot of my negative reaction to the work was an agitation that the main character would get away with his many crimes which included rape and child murder. The story also acts as a critique of the US military presence in Japan and anxiety about chemical, nuclear weapons.

These qualities made the story very slow going to read. The main active agent in the story is so repugnant that following his evil exploits becomes tiring rather quickly. Tezuka walks a fine line in the story between turning off a reader and keeping them interested in the plot. Ode to Kirihito had a more conventional plot and could be said to have a tied up in a more expected way but I enjoyed the story and although it had violence it wasn't near the level of MW. So I feel torn with the vote because I admire Tezuka for making such a strong statement with the piece but my enjoyment of it was not on the level of some of his other works. I would give it a 5 for the artwork and a 3 for plot so 4 is the average.
I'm so used to Osamu Astro Boy that he can create a story like this was quite a surprise. Highly recommended this especially if you are into thrillers. Not for kids.
The story was decent. Great for its era but nothing amazing compared to what is out now. Osama Tezuka, one of the great mangaka good to have at least one of his works in your collection. Little displeased with the condition of the book, but that’s the shippers fault not Tezukas or s so 4/5 for me.
Great manga, really interesting story, given the time it was written in it's nice how blatant Tezuka was with his characters sexuality. Even these days you won't always find comics willing to say and show so much.

Knocked off one star because the publisher flipped the pages so it would read like a western book and that effects placement of speech bubbles, making some conversations hard to follow, and the general flow of the action. Would be 5 stars with a corrected printing cause honestly, that's the only downside to this book.
MW is the third single-volume "adult" Tezuka manga to be published in the US by Vertical Inc. Fans of those previous volumes-- Ode to Kirohito and Apollo's Song-- will definitely enjoy MW. It's a lurid thriller with serious undertones, sex and violence in Tezuka's cartoony style and the same astounding command of the comics medium that Tezuka makes seem effortless.

The harder question is whether general readers-- readers of novels who enjoy the intelligent graphic novel here and there (like Persepolis, Watchmen, MAUS, etc)-- should check out MW. I remember reading Tezuka's Adolf back in the early 90s when it was released by Viz and was seriously taken aback by Tezuka's odd combination of a cartoony style and casual sex and violence, his weird blend of serious subject matter and slap-dash storytelling. It's something you just have to accept with Tezuka, but once you get used to it, you can appreciate the many wonders in Tezuka's serious works their originality, their commitment to entertainment, even titillation, and, as mentioned already, his superhuman command of the comic book form.

Just like an old Disney film, there's a suspension of disbelief, an acceptance of the rules he plays by, but once you get past those, each of Tezuka's serious works is as jam-packed with originality, action, characters, and ideas as the greatest Disney classic.
This is the story of the two survivors of an "accident." In the early `60s, the United States stashed away on a tiny Japanese island, with Japanese cooperation, of course, some deadly gas (Tezuka calls it "MW,"--hence the title)--we really did---but in Tezuka's manga some leaks out, killing all 800 inhabitants of the island. The survivors, Iwao Garai, 15, and Michio Yuki, 9, are protected from the gas because they are sheltered in a cave. When they come out the next morning, it is to an island of the dead men, women, children, birds and beasts--every sentient being. The gekiga (a manga for adults, which MW is, in spades) tells us about the rest of their lives, (almost...) beginning 15 years later. We find out about the events on the island in flashbacks.

What happened to the rest of the gas? (The cover-up has of course been enormous.) And what will Garai and Yuki (now, respectively, a Catholic priest and a loan executive at a Tokyo bank) do about it? Garai is haunted by his memory of the dead, and Yuki is simply a madman he inhaled some of the gas, which gives him occasional attacks of bad health, but worse, it warped his brain, robbing him of every speck o conscience, so that he takes great joy in using, kidnapping, torturing and killing people. We find out his reason--just as insane as the acts themselves--in the second third of the manga. Yuki always confesses his crimes to Father Garai, who--and we don't understand why, at first-- never tells on him.

Yuki and Garai have (since when?) an uneasy homosexual relationship (Yuki is Tezuka's only true homosexual main character). It's very hard to hate our arch-villain Yuki he's cute as a button , very smart, has a great sense of humor, and really loves Garai (although he loves nobody else on earth). Garai--until the second part of the manga, when he begins to develop a backbone--is a rather poor creature, although he's a big, handsome fellow, not being able to honestly follow any part of his heart. But it must be difficult to be in love with God and a sociopath at the same time. He lies to his father confessor, the police, Yuki, and himself. Of course Yuki lies to evrybody.

There are many fascinating characters in this manga the reporter to whom Garai finally tells the story of the island, the public prosecuto0r, who has a face like a misshapen dinner plate, but whose brain is in fine order, Yuki's brother, an onnagata (a man who plays women's parts in Kabuki theater), who looks as much like Yuki as the second pea in a pod. Mistaken identity is common in Kabuki; it occurs here too. Some of Tezuka's best drawing is here--the faces of the dead in the reporter's article, Yuki's disquisition on...Garai's day. There is all you could wish for of political corruption, self-sacrifice, ugly violence, sadness, humor, anger, and occasional very kinky sex (which I have not mentioned). The ending is worthy of the darkest Hitchcock.

The translation (from the French I read) is occasionally disappointing, The French is softer in tone, but--is the French, or the English closer to the original Japanese? I don't know. Sometimes the drawing is too stark. (It'a 30 years since the serialization....what are we looking at?) Perhaps ....an "18+"would be more appropriate than a "l6+" as a rating. The sex is not explicit, nor is the plot just an excuse for it, but a few scenes would be shocking to some, and there is the occasional use of the right word in the wrong place at the wrong time (being used to American films, this really surprised me). I wouldn't want to keep anyone from reading it, but more conservative human beings might see the equivalent of an "X"-----and think, "I think I'll sit this one out."