Yoshihiro Tatsumi remains comparably obscure even in Japan, said alone in the Western hemisphere, but he remains one of the most influential manga and comic authors. The Darker and Edgier turn away from the Animation Age Ghetto for manga can be credited to him to a considerable degree, his gritty and pessimistic yet realistic stories give a valuable portrait of the mood of post-war, pre-boom Japan.
Unlike Osamu Tezuka, he doesn't rely on World of Ham to generate intensity but with the passive-aggressive mood of his stories. Also unlike Tezuka, he's a gifted illustrator who can perfectly adapt his gritty vision of Tokyo to paper. Tatsumi writes comics that are on the same level as classic literature without any doubt. His stories haven't aged a day and are still perfectly readable and intense today. Being a master storyteller, Tatsumi can give his characters debth even in the shortest vignettes. His greatest collection might be The Push Man and other Stories, that give a spot-on evaluation in stories as short as 8 pages.
Stories about failure, depression, hopelessness and characters falling to vice aren't popular in the forced good mood of popular culture. His epic autobiography A Drifting Life focusses on his journey to a respected writer and how he helped creating the gekiga genre ("dramatic pictures") as early as in 1957. The dean of Japanese alternative comics.
One of the best Mangaka
This review will be shameless Gushing About Writing You Like.
Yoshihiro Tatsumi remains comparably obscure even in Japan, said alone in the Western hemisphere, but he remains one of the most influential manga and comic authors. The Darker and Edgier turn away from the Animation Age Ghetto for manga can be credited to him to a considerable degree, his gritty and pessimistic yet realistic stories give a valuable portrait of the mood of post-war, pre-boom Japan.
Unlike Osamu Tezuka, he doesn't rely on World of Ham to generate intensity but with the passive-aggressive mood of his stories. Also unlike Tezuka, he's a gifted illustrator who can perfectly adapt his gritty vision of Tokyo to paper. Tatsumi writes comics that are on the same level as classic literature without any doubt. His stories haven't aged a day and are still perfectly readable and intense today. Being a master storyteller, Tatsumi can give his characters debth even in the shortest vignettes. His greatest collection might be The Push Man and other Stories, that give a spot-on evaluation in stories as short as 8 pages.
Stories about failure, depression, hopelessness and characters falling to vice aren't popular in the forced good mood of popular culture. His epic autobiography A Drifting Life focusses on his journey to a respected writer and how he helped creating the gekiga genre ("dramatic pictures") as early as in 1957. The dean of Japanese alternative comics.