Ode to Kirihito Vol. #1

By Jarred Pine     October 17, 2006
Release Date: October 24, 2006



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Osamu Tezuka
Translated by:Camillia Nieh
Adapted by:

What They Say
It may or may not be contagious. There seems to be no cure for it. Yet, Monmow Disease, a life-threatening condition that transforms a person into a dog-like beast, is not the only villain in this shocking medical thriller.

The Review
As Elvis Costello sang so smoothly into my iPod, there's nothing funny about "peace, love, and understanding". This one is a must read.

Packaging:
Holy Omnibus Supreme!! In a move that I wish was more supported by other publishers, Vertical packs all 800 and some odd pages of the entire Ode to Kirihito story into one package that is priced at a steal. You get four books worth of material for the price of two-and-a-half. And don't think that the savings are taken out of the overall quality. The print reproduction and sharp and crystal clear, complete with book flaps and an obi-style wrap around the front cover. All of this outweighs the flopping of the book, which in the end will hopefully put this important book into the hands of the mass audience where it belongs.

Art:
After experiencing Tezuka's Disney-influenced artwork in titles like Astroboy, Kimba, and Buddha, I went into Ode to Kirihito wondering how he could apply his more cartoon-ish trademark to the rougher gekiga style. While character designs may be dated, the artwork is some of the more detailed and polished material that most manga coming out today. Backgrounds are plentiful, character designs distinct and expressive, and the layouts are quite cinematic. Tezuka even delves into more the psychedelic with odd sequences that highlight some of the characters' fallings into insanity.

Text/SFX:
SFX are translated with overlays that are done quite well. The English script reads very cleary and matches the material, even during the more dense sections filled with medical terminology. There is care taken to also distinguish dialects of some of the characters in a very readable and understandable manner.

Contents (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Ode to Kirihito is a heavy book. No, I'm not just talking about the super omnibus, 830 page sized book itself, but the content contains more substance and springboards for deep discussions than most 20+ volume, 4000 page serials could muster. Before Black Jack there was Dr. Osanai Kirihito, whose journey across the world while afflicted with a skeletal deforming disease serves as a reflection on the decay of humanity and the forgotten teachings of all religions.

While the word "Kirihito" is a play on the word "Christ", you won't find an exploration of Christianity or Christ himself for that matter. Instead, Osamu Tezuka crafts a tale that reminds everyone the true goal of religious teachings outside of the doctrine and self-serving conflicts--the importance of understanding. Told in the traditional gekiga ("dramatic pictures") style, Kirihito is part medical thriller and part spiritual reflection.

On the surface, Tezuka puts his medial degree to the test in crafting a spiraling story following rival doctors as they race to find the cause of a mysterious disease named "Monmow", which causes deformities in the human body that resemble a dog. When M University Director Dr. Tatsugaura finds his claims of a viral infection being challenged by young upstart Dr. Kirihito, Tatsugaura makes a political play to remove Kirihito as an obstacle to being elected as the Chairman of the Japan Medical Association (JMA). Kirihito is sent to the small rural village where the disease was first identified, thrown into the mouth of the lion with the hopes that Kirihito will contract the disease himself, which he in fact does. Now it is up to Kirihito to find out the true cause of this spreading affliction, as he travels across three continents, before Tatsugaura is fraudulently elected at the next chair of the JMA.

While the always twisting and turning medical thriller makes for a good enough read in and of itself, it's what Tezuka does surrounding this unfolding plot that turns this title into a masterpiece. In true gekiga style, Tezuka creates flawed, uneven characters that are products of their environments rather than the simple hero and villain archetypes found in not only his other works, but manga in general. While Kirihito is mistreated by abhorrent characters, Tezuka carefully builds a story around them that creates a feeling of understanding, not necessarily compassion which I think is an important distinction. Man is not a beast by nature, but rather will act like a beast because he was raised to be one. By understanding this truth, Kirihito himself grows from a self-serving doctor into a man with a responsibility to help those who have suffered like himself.

Kirihito's journey is less about finding a cause, but rather more about re-teaching oneself about what it means to be human. Kirihito is kidnapped, beaten, turned into a freak-show, and overall treated like the dog in which he resembles. The themes of racism are thick, and not just the simple black and white form of hatred, but rather how racism is a nasty, perpetual cycle that affects so many areas of all societies. For example, while the world may be searching for a cure for Monmow, for self-serving reasons mind you, they are ignoring communities of immigrants and outcasts who have been suffering from similar ailments for quite some time.

Because of the realistic gekiga storytelling, Tezuka takes these observations to a place that hits much closer to home, rather than a collection of allegories and visual metaphors like Phoenix. Kirihito is raw and in your face; you can place the actions and sceneries of the story into the surroundings of your own life. For myself, I couldn't help but draw correlations with the ongoing AIDS epidemic and how it has developed over the years. Like Monmow, AIDS was, and still is, a disease relegated to the poor, the blacks, the gays, and all other members of a "lower" culture of people as proclaimed by those who feel superior. It was proclaimed by religious zealots as "God's punishment" to those who had sinned. The quest to find the cure became more important than treating those who were already suffering. I find it all quite fascinating, especially given that AIDS came into the spotlight at least a decade after Tezuka gave birth to this title.

Comments
Ode to Kirihito might just be the most important, and at times the strangest, manga that I'll not just read this year but quite possibly ever. While the medical thriller aspects of the story will entertain, it is what Tezuka does outside and between the lines that have and will continue to leave quite the strong impact on myself. Using the gekiga style, Tezuka creates a world that is close to home, will sock you in the face, and make you reflect on your own life and surroundings. Despite the references to Christ and Christian imagery, Ode to Kirihito is not a religious manga but rather a reminder about the true important teachings outside of the doctrine and moral decay for all religions.

Ode to Kirihito is a classic masterpiece whose themes and messages ring just as true today as they not only did 30+ years ago when Tezuka gave birth to this title, but the hundreds of years before its creation as well. This isn't just a must read for all manga fans, but for society as a whole as well.