Comics / Manga

Old Boy Volume One

By Hervé St-Louis
July 9, 2007 - 08:01

Old Boy is the story of a man, his name is not important, who was kidnapped for ten years and locked in an in-between floor in a building in Tokyo. His only companion was a television set and his will to prevail. Released in a park by his captors, the man has to rebuild his life, but first, he has to find who had him arrested and locked him away. The man responsible for his predicament has, as much interest in him.  This series is for mature readers only due to some nudity.

This is a slow story that seems like it will take place over several volumes. The story goes through some flashbacks but is well constructed and provides good characterisation for the main character. The protagonist’s girlfriend seems like a little bit easy but without her, there would not be any foil for him to share his thoughts and plot his revenge. This story is not about explosions or the usual action book. In fact the sex scenes seem to have been inserted just to satisfy the testosterone requirements of readers. They were not necessary. I’m intrigued by where this story is going, as of course, we are far from seeing a resolution in this volume. It’s a book that I will have to follow. I’m intrigued.

The artwork is good and a mix or realistic backgrounds and strong character designs. Many of the characters share the same facial features, so in the many close ups, it can be difficult to differentiate them at first. The most annoying thing, and adept Manga readers will laugh at this, is that the book must be read from right to left. It’s not the first time that I read a Manga like that, but I guess I’m just too much of a dumb American.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12