Customer Reviews

Apollo's Song

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Various elements and transitions in this story were very overly simplistic. Tezuka's art style, while very captivating and possessing a very unique quality all its own sometimes detracted from key emotional moments. Also, I wonder if it is the quality of the translation that loses a lot of the meaning behind the scenes and actions -- the context.

But, the ideas that he covers -- the philosophical and very mortal issues of love, existence, and death are very poignant. The protagonist Shogo is a very interesting character that both attracts the reader with the struggles of his own trauma, and repulses through some of his actions.

Ultimately, this story, through a succession of different stories within that do not always find the unity or smoothness they seek (though again are very interesting and poignant ideas) deals with the human condition of eros and thanatos -- love and death as the universals of human life and how we find the meaning between them.

It also briefly deals with reincarnation, and makes mention divinity, but the main focus you'll find is on the allegory of Apollo and Daphne as the eternal human experience. But in the end, how you perceive the ending will all depend on your own perspective. For, as Tezuka seems to ask us, are we doomed to repeat our actions, or do we learn from each repetition? You decide, and enjoy.

Osamu Tezuka is called the father of manga and anime, and consequently, nearly all of animation in some form or another.

It's great to see another one of his works make it to American shores, and in such a respectable manner as well. "Apollo's Song" follows Shogo Chikaishi through many eras and time periods, parodying the story of the Greek god Apollo and his love, daughter to the river god, Daphne. It's difficult to give a summary, because -- well, it just shouldn't be done. This is an epic on (nearly) the scale of an ancient Greek history, and is drawn with a distinctive style that has become synonymous with the name Tezuka (or maybe "Astro Boy" to the American fans).

Tezuka seems to enjoy his philosophies, and they are certainly clear on several levels. This is worth noting - that a comic artist is able to create such emotion from such "cartoon" faces. At the same time, however, it also shows some of the past generation's faults; there are numerous occasions where women are treated badly (and this isn't just something experienced with this one publishing of his, trust me) and there is also some near-propaganda with some of the early chapters focusing on Shogo as a Nazi private.

All in all though, this is a fine edition to any comic fan's library, especially those who know the name, or those who wish to know more about Tezuka. He often says more with his pages that hold no text; his drawings have been called mechanical, but I have nothing but the opposite to say - they speak volumes louder than any size font. His characters nearly always have flaws, but I think that's why he's remembered -- for creating a style, as well as wonderful stories like this to envelope inside of it.

Recommended.

I loved Apollo's Song! I am a fan of Osamu Tezuka's works. I've read his Buddha & Phoenix series. Apollo's Song is as good as Buddha. A THICK graphic book of over 500 pages long filled with great artwork and story! As not to ruin the story, it moves slowly throughout the whole book all about life and death. It seems that Osamu is fascinated with life and death as it is in most of his books. A great great read!! You won't be disappointed! I'm looking forward to his next one, titled MW out in October of 2007!

This is an excellent Manga. Furthermore, I think it has a good chance to appeal to readers who enjoy more western graphic novels but struggle with esoteric themes found in a lot of Manga. There is something very literary about this story that contrasts with much of the other manga Ive been exposed to. File with "Fun House," "American Born Chinese" and other more personal story arcs before lumping it with "Battle Royale" or "Lone Wolf and Cub." Despite this charactization, Apollo's Song is not a biography by any means (Im getting sort of sick of autobiographical comics).
"Apollo" is basically a collection of several smaller stories that fit within a larger framework, and it holds together well both ways. It is a strong title and certainly one of the best comics of 2007 (at least here in the US, where it is finally appearing!). I think readers of mature graphic novels will be quite happy with this lengthy read.

Young Shogo, deeply disturbed, is unable to appreciate love or tenderness, so much so that he becomes a cruel abuser and killer of animals whenever he sees them cuddling or happy. He resents and despises all of humanity, especially his mother. Eventually he is picked up for treatment and cures are attempted. In therapy, he dreams, but some dreams are not what they seem. His dreams take him through space and time. He learns to love, but death follows him everywhere, time after time after time. As the jacket blurb asks: "Is it better to have loved and lost if the heartbreak must recur eternally?" The author leaves that for us to decide. Copiously illustrated.

Osamu Tezuka truly is the god of manga. The attention to detail is simply staggering, and he produced his hundreds of thousands of pages of manga over the decades the long, hard way. Sometimes, when reading his work, one simply must stop and marvel at the art, even during the most engrossing of tales.

Apollo's Song, given to me by a friend, is quite epic, whether examined alone or alongside Tezuka's other works. It features, of course, Tezuka's unmistakable comic drawing style, combined with a dark, deep story about eternal punishment. The contrast in the story and its presentation is itself something truly amazing, and it must be seen to be fully appreciated.

What happens to a man who hates the very concept of love? What must he endure in order to open up to the idea that even a troubled, abused fellow such as he can learn to truly love someone? What happens to our tortured anti-hero is nothing short of brutal, and never-ending. How he wound up being the sort of person he became can't truly be blamed on him, yet he receives retribution everlasting for rejecting love itself.

Shogo's journey is at times sweet, at times violent, and at times even peppered with hope, but is always a struggle. This story is a tragedy on a truly epic scale, stretching from the past well into the future, with the only constants being his name, his appearance, his punishment... and the face of one specific woman. The remaining details all change, yet his travels are very much a spiral, leading him downward into the bottomless.

This manga was made during a time when sex education was no longer taboo in Japan, and is not hesitant to take advantage of the new freedom this allowed the medium. This isn't one of Tezuka's family-friendly works. There's blood, there's nudity and enough else you don't want the young 'uns seeing. It's filled with plenty of immensely unlikeable characters supporting two very flawed, but ultimately likable people whose sad story has backdrops as brutal as the Holocaust.

Apollo's Song isn't for everybody. But for those who like solid story and the inimitable crafting and style of Osamu Tezuka, it's a must-read.

I could not put down this compelling graphic novel by Osamu Tezuka, who has been called the godfather of Japanese Manga comics. Tezuka uses the story of Shogo, a bitter young man who cannot love to ponder the issues of love, environmental destruction, cloning, and the question of what is humanity itself. I have not read such a powerful graphic novel in a long time. In a way, it is incomparable because of its lofty aims, complex characters, yet fast pace.

Above all else, Tezuka is a master storyteller. He only gives you brief moments to ponder the deeper meaning and issues, because with lightning speed he pulls you forward. His art is cinematic, blazing a trail for generations of comic artists and moviemakers after him. He really moved me emotionally with this story, feeling at times pity, anger, and empathy with his characters.

This is a wonderful thought-provoking gem of a book.

Osamu Tezuka is well known for his innovative comic style, wacky mixture of seriousness and humor, and unabashedly epic plots. Dubbed by many the "god of anime," Tezuka is a creator of multi-layered worlds, filled with a fantastic variety of characters. Yet, taking a panoramic perspective on Tezuka's oeuvre, it becomes clear that although he is a master of his creations there are a few works that seem to shine with a particular light. Apollo's Song is one of these rarities.

The story begins with a bang. The reader is plunged into a surreal, anthropomorphic depiction of millions of clone-like sperm as they run headlong toward their goal, the Queen Egg. The lone victor is lifted up into the arms of his Queen as their two bodies fuse into a new whole. The others wither and die. Tezuka announces their union with this side strip.

"The embryo: a miniature of evolution, an organism's past and future, its end and beginning. It is the mark of love, truth, and sincerity between man and woman, male and female. Nature divides us into male and female; we come together to create offspring for posterity. As long as the world exists, men, women, and the children they bear will repeat this endless drama, day after day..."

Tezuka has set a somewhat sentimental stage for the mythic tale he is about to unravel.

Like the chorus in Greek drama, Tezuka uses his prologue to foreshadow and frame the coming story, painting classical ideals onto the microscopic realm of modern science. Apollo's Song is made from just such juxtapositions, each playing against the other to form both the tension and the movement of the story.

The story flows. Shogo Chikaishi, the young protagonist, finds himself apprehended and taken to a mental hospital for his psychotic obsession with killing any living thing that shows signs of love. A victim of his mother's abuse and abandonment, he cannot bear the thought of kindness of any kind. The doctor of the mental hospital orders that he submit to shock therapy in order to cure his intractable psychosis. While unconscious he is transported to a Greek temple where he encounters a goddess, who proclaims his destiny is to "love one woman again and again. But before the two are united in love one shall perish. Even in death, thou shalt be reborn, to undergo yet another trial of love." Thus begins Shogo's journey through time, eternally returning to suffer a new variation on his fate. From Nazi Germany, to the futuristic world of synthetic humans, Shogo and his love struggle to fulfill their unfulfillable fate in fantasies so vivid that they are indistinguishable from Shogo's dreams.

Tezuka's mastery of storytelling and illustrating is evident in even the earliest of his books. He showed an aptitude for drawing at a very early age and was encouraged to follow his talent. Apollo's Song continues in this same continuum, but there is a distinguishing characteristic to this graphic novel. The drawings are loose, the story line is less inhibited or constrained by stereotypical structures, the compositions and cells flow dynamically into one another. All of these reinforce the message of the narrative. Everywhere in the book are written the signs of a playful freedom. Some cells team with the joys of mark-making. Patterns abound. It is this effortless enjoyment that reverberates throughout the book. Apollo's Song radiates because it is equal parts the dance of Dionysus.

The story ends as it began. In circles of ironic design Tezuka allows the endless rebirth of the human struggle to play out its eternal cycle of variation, while moving on to write the eight volume epic, Buddha. Apollo's Song remains one his most vivacious works, pushing through expected boundaries in order to give a modern voice to mythic truths.

Not the best I've read from Tezuka, but still a good manga. There are some genuinely great moments like the introduction or the World War II sequence, but I found the ending a bit disappointing and unfulfilling. Nevertheless, this could be a nice introduction to the work of Tezuka. 5 stars for the cover design.

After seeing an exhibit of Tezuka's original pages last fall, I was eager to dive into one of his more mature works. I've read a handful of volumes of "Astro Boy" before, and while I can appreciate them, I'll admit that I wasn't exactly blown away. "Apollo's Song" is one of the books that excerpts from were displayed, and since it was only one volume (versus the 10 or so of "Buddha"), that's the one that I went with. Granted, that one volume is 500 or 600 pages long, but it's still not a stack of books up to my waist.

"Apollo's Song" is a story of a recalcitrant youth whose extraordinary cruelty leads a higher power to doom him to relive a scenario (albeit in different settings) where he falls in love with a woman (she always looks the same), only to have her taken away from him as soon as he truly falls for her. As this situation repeats, the desperation of the main character becomes overwhelming. I found myself being really emotionally affected by the story, which doesn't happen all that often, and it really stuck with me. For those who haven't read Tezuka's work before (he's considered the Jack Kirby or Walt Disney of manga), it does take a little time to get used to his drawing style, but for me it did become transparent after a few pages. After only really being familiar with his all-ages, lighter work, "Apollo's Song" was a welcome shock to me.