A landmark publishing event of one of Japan’s most famous cartoonists
Shigeru Mizuki is the preeminent figure of Gekiga manga and one of the most famous working cartoonists in Japan today–a true living legend. Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths is his first book to be translated into English and is a semiautobiographical account of the desperate final weeks of a Japanese infantry unit at the end of WorldWar II. The soldiers are told that they must go into battle and die for the honor of their country, with certain execution facing them if they return alive. Mizuki was a soldier himself (he was severely injured and lost an arm) and uses his experiences to convey the devastating consequences and moral depravity of the war.
Mizuki’s list of accolades and achievements is long and detailed. In Japan, the life of Mizuki and his wife has been made into an extremely popular television drama that airs daily. Mizuki is the recipient of many awards, including the Best AlbumAward for his book NonNonBa (to be published in 2012 by D+Q) and the Heritage Essential Award for Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Special Award, the Kyokujitsu Sho Decoration, the Shiju Hosho Decoration, and the KodanshaManga Award.His hometown of Sakaiminato honored him with Shigeru Mizuki Road—a street decorated with bronze statues of his Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro characters—and the Shigeru Mizuki International Cultural Center.
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About the Author
Born on March 8, 1922, in Sakaiminato, Tottori, Shigeru Mizuki is a specialist in stories of yokai and is considered a master of the genre.He is a member of the Japanese Society of Cultural Anthropology and has traveled to more than sixty countries to engage in fieldwork on the yokai and spirits of different cultures. He has been published in Japan, South Korea, France, Spain, Taiwan, and Italy.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths chronicles the last days of a doomed unit of the Japanese Imperial Army in the last days of World War II. In an afterword, Shigeru Mizuki describes the story as "90 percent fact," and because it is drawn from his own experiences in a very similar unit, it is at heart 100 percent true. Like Maruyama, the main character in the book, Mizuki was an enlisted man in a unit in Raibaul, which is now part of Papua New Guinea, and like Maruyama, he lost all his army buddies in the war.
The first half of the book is a tale of steadily increasing misery; The soldiers are poorly fed, suffering from untreated diseases, and forced to work in dangerous conditions. Enlisted men were regarded as less than human by the Japanese army brass, who refer to them as "worms." Nonetheless, their humanity shines through in their vastly different personalities, their memories of home, and their humor. Even the cruel Sergeant Honda, who dispenses blows as casually as orders, shows rare empathy when he gives his boot to Maruyama (who lost his in a gross but funny incident involving a latrine and a rice bucket) and declares his intention to go barefoot. The soldiers may be less than human to their commanders, but they are very much alive to the reader--which makes it so terrible when we see them die horribly, one by one, from jungle diseases, accidents, or just plain stupidity.
As the book progresses, the enemy closes in, and the Japanese commander, Tadokoro, makes the decision that the unit must hurl itself against the Allies in one last suicide charge.... Read more ›
The first half of the book is a tale of steadily increasing misery; The soldiers are poorly fed, suffering from untreated diseases, and forced to work in dangerous conditions. Enlisted men were regarded as less than human by the Japanese army brass, who refer to them as "worms." Nonetheless, their humanity shines through in their vastly different personalities, their memories of home, and their humor. Even the cruel Sergeant Honda, who dispenses blows as casually as orders, shows rare empathy when he gives his boot to Maruyama (who lost his in a gross but funny incident involving a latrine and a rice bucket) and declares his intention to go barefoot. The soldiers may be less than human to their commanders, but they are very much alive to the reader--which makes it so terrible when we see them die horribly, one by one, from jungle diseases, accidents, or just plain stupidity.
As the book progresses, the enemy closes in, and the Japanese commander, Tadokoro, makes the decision that the unit must hurl itself against the Allies in one last suicide charge.... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Full disclosure, I do not like "manga" and actively avoid it both in print and on TV (I do of course realize there are several genres of manga, which is in reality a generic term that we sometimes unfairly lump together here). For that reason I passed on picking up "Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths" several times, a mistake on my part until after a discussion on the Clint Eastwood movie "Letters from Iwo Jima" led back to this excellent graphic novel. For people who are not a fan of comics books, I would classify this more as a graphic novel on the history of World War II from the Japanese perspective.
The main theme of the work is compelling: a group of Japanese soldiers on an island who have been ordered to perform a suicide charge, but through the fog of war aren't killed. In the meantime however, their superiors have already announced their deaths 'for the glory of Japan'. Upon learning of the survival of the men, they are not saved or cared for but are ordered to attack again for no expressly strategic purpose (although the first charge also made little sense) so as not to bring "dishonor" upon all involved. The message: get it right this time and die. Can't you do anything right? Do the officers who order them back join them in the suicide charge? No.
The story explores how each person involved in both attacks uniquely reacts to the situation, from rank soldier to superior to those watching safely from the sidelines.... Read more ›
The main theme of the work is compelling: a group of Japanese soldiers on an island who have been ordered to perform a suicide charge, but through the fog of war aren't killed. In the meantime however, their superiors have already announced their deaths 'for the glory of Japan'. Upon learning of the survival of the men, they are not saved or cared for but are ordered to attack again for no expressly strategic purpose (although the first charge also made little sense) so as not to bring "dishonor" upon all involved. The message: get it right this time and die. Can't you do anything right? Do the officers who order them back join them in the suicide charge? No.
The story explores how each person involved in both attacks uniquely reacts to the situation, from rank soldier to superior to those watching safely from the sidelines.... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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"Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths"
Written & Illustrated by Shigeru Mizuki
(Drawn & Quarterly, 2011)
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Originally published in 1973, this fictionalized comicbook memoir of the Japanese Pacific campaigns of World War Two recounts the battle over the island of New Britain, near New Zealand. Pioneering manga artist Shigeru Mizuki was a combat veteran of the Southern Pacific campaign, and like many Japanese in the post-war era he fervently rejected the intense militarism that led to Japan's disastrous participation in WWII and embraced the nation's newfound postwar pacifism. As such, this lengthy manga portrays the Japanese army as doomed, ineffectual and led by officers who were universally bigoted and inhumane. The presentation is perhaps a bit too one-sided: the American forces appear as an unstoppable, ominous presence against which the apparently bumbling Japanese military has no meaningful defense. While it is true the Pacific war led Japan to ruin, and many huge strategic errors were made that cost them unnecessary losses, it is not an entirely honest portrayal to show the Japanese army as so wimpy and impotent: despite losing the war, they certainly were capable opponents.
Nonetheless, this is a fascinating counterbalance to the now-familiar narrative in the West, of the hard-fought battles in the tropics, and shows that the Allied soldiers hardly had a monopoly on fear and dread as the battles closed in around them. Finally American audiences have a chance to see the other side of the story, and to appreciate the shared humanity of "the other side," who are frequently demonized in American books and films.... Read more ›
"Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths"
Written & Illustrated by Shigeru Mizuki
(Drawn & Quarterly, 2011)
-------------------------------------------------
Originally published in 1973, this fictionalized comicbook memoir of the Japanese Pacific campaigns of World War Two recounts the battle over the island of New Britain, near New Zealand. Pioneering manga artist Shigeru Mizuki was a combat veteran of the Southern Pacific campaign, and like many Japanese in the post-war era he fervently rejected the intense militarism that led to Japan's disastrous participation in WWII and embraced the nation's newfound postwar pacifism. As such, this lengthy manga portrays the Japanese army as doomed, ineffectual and led by officers who were universally bigoted and inhumane. The presentation is perhaps a bit too one-sided: the American forces appear as an unstoppable, ominous presence against which the apparently bumbling Japanese military has no meaningful defense. While it is true the Pacific war led Japan to ruin, and many huge strategic errors were made that cost them unnecessary losses, it is not an entirely honest portrayal to show the Japanese army as so wimpy and impotent: despite losing the war, they certainly were capable opponents.
Nonetheless, this is a fascinating counterbalance to the now-familiar narrative in the West, of the hard-fought battles in the tropics, and shows that the Allied soldiers hardly had a monopoly on fear and dread as the battles closed in around them. Finally American audiences have a chance to see the other side of the story, and to appreciate the shared humanity of "the other side," who are frequently demonized in American books and films.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The other side of the battle field
If you have ever seen a WWII movie set in the Pacific--with beady eyed, cruel Japanese soldiers rushing from the jungle, seemingly immune to the idea that they were charging into... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Zack Davisson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating
Captivating story, quite detailed backgrounds, a page turner.
Looking forward to read more work from Shigeru Mizuki such as NonNonBa
Highly recommended.
Looking forward to read more work from Shigeru Mizuki such as NonNonBa
Highly recommended.
Published 18 months ago by Campos
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read
Onward Towards our Noble Deaths manages incredible feats - its a perfect balance of personal and political. It melds cartoon characters with gritty reality. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Stephen Nyktas
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