Adolf, Vol. 3: The Half-Aryan [Paperback]

Osamu Tezuka (Author, Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (October 22, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569311331
• ISBN-13: 978-1569311332
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #990,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, March 23, 2001

By 

grendelkhan (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adolf, Vol. 3: The Half-Aryan (Paperback)

Osamu Tezuka is known as the 'God of Manga' in Japan. This story shows why; the flow of the narrative is so easy, the book reads like a movie. He uses cartoony characters to tell a well-developed, intriguing tale of pride, courage and betrayal in Germany and Japan during World War II.

The story centers around three Adolfs. One is the infamous Nazi leader. Another, Adolf Kamil, is a German Jew raised in Japan who becomes part of a spy ring. The last, Adolf Kaufmann, is a German boy who is swept up into the heart of the Nazi Party...

A caveat: despite its somewhat lighthearted, cartoony appearance, the story contains nudity, numerous beatings, and several killings. It touches on the Holocaust. While not light reading, it's deeply moving.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moral Dilemmas in Nazi-Germany, February 17, 2005

By 

Gagewyn (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adolf, Vol. 3: The Half-Aryan (Hardcover)

At the start of The Half-Aryan, ex-reporter Toge is no longer being watched by the police. He is off the hook but also very distressed because he knows that the secret documents, over which his brother was killed and for which he was harassed by the Japanese police, have been destroyed. But then Toge discovers that Miss Ogi is still alive and that she has also rescued the documents, which prove that Hitler has Jewish heritage and which will therefore undermine the Nazi party. So part of the story follows Toge and Miss Ogi through Japan as they try to find someone who can publicize the documents.

But the bulk of this story follows Adolf Kaufmann, a half Japanese half German boy raised in Japan who is now attending school in Germany. It is his third year there and he has stopped thinking about his friends back in Japan, including Adolf Kamil, a Jewish German boy living in Japan. Non-Jewish Adolf is motivated by what is around him and isn't idealistic as he used to be. He does take a Jewish girlfriend and try to help her and her family out, but mostly because she is his girlfriend and because she has some Asian in her and so reminds him of Japan. He reads and understands and believes in Mein Kampf, but still exchanges letters with Jewish Adolf (who meanwhile has met up with Toge and Miss Ogi to continue the Japanese side of the story).

This book focuses more on developing characters than spy stuff. There is plenty of action, especially since WWII is now going on. Knowing the background from other books in the series will help in reading this, since by now some subplots are starting to emerge with background characters. Still this book stands well on its own and you don't have to have read the other books in the series to be pulled into this story. Much of the hype around this series makes it sound dry and educational. It isn't dry. I'm sure that I learned something from seeing a telling of WWII from a Japanese perspective, but regardless this is a good story.

I highly recommend this book and series. Keep in mind that there is lots of violence. In this one, for example, non-Jewish Adolf participates in a mass excution of Jews as part of his Hitler Youth training. So don't give this to your fourth grader to teach them history.

5.0 out of 5 stars Tezuka at usual perfection, September 22, 2010

By 

Nathan J. Miller - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Adolf, Vol. 3: The Half-Aryan (Paperback)

The third volume of the Adolf manga by Osamu Tezuka. The twist and turns keep the suspense going throughout the volume and the suspence builds as the secret gets passed around waiting to be revealed. Only recommended if you have managed to get your hands on the first two volumes and enjoyed them for this volume is more the same.