Customer Reviews

Tekkon Kinkreet / Black & White

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This might be the best graphic novel ever written, and I don`t say that lightly. It`s a shame that it doesn`t have a wide circulation in Europe and US. It`s pretty much impossible to compare to anything else, Tekkon Kinkreet it`s the most lyrical and at at the same time the most anti-conformist comic you`ll ever read. Think Miyazaki, Tank Girl and Takeshi Kitano all wrapped up in one story that is so good it hurts. Just get it, if you like indie comics chances are this is your new favorite one.

During a trip to Japan recently I came across the film version of this book, which had just won many awards. When I learned it was based on a graphic novel, I scoured the bookstands here in the US for it to no avail. Luckily Amazon had it (along with the English-subtitled movie). Tekkon Kinkreet is a richly engaging graphic narrative, its visual language referencing French comics but with the horizontal, angled paneling of more traditional Japanese Manga. Though it's about two scrappy kids, this is most definitely NOT a comic book for children: it's full of violence and references to the seedy underworld of the city (gangsters, strip clubs, etc.). Though those things would usually turn me off, I found this to be a completely absorbing narrative. Beyond the violence it elegantly explores the issues of gentrification, friendship, identity, and change. The film's great too, but you should definitely read the book first. Totally different visual styles going on. Great stuff. Check it out.

What a great book! The art work is like nothing I've seen...The story is simple but heart felt, and the characters easy to identify with. While I can tell that the translation took a lot away from the original ( I can read some Kanji characters, and I could see some of the left over original text was more incorporated into the artwork), it still kept to the mood and the atmosphere pretty well.... I read this book in 4 hours because it was so hard to put down.

I was captured by the heart and compassion of this simple tale. It's violent in a fairy tale way, reflecting the real violence of human cultures that abandon their young. It's a very male story, but holds together despite that, as boyish imaginations transform their world, wistfully plunging between bravado and black depression. The art and story together create a magical-realist and consistent world that is forever crumbling, like ours, as we struggle through youth and age doing the best we can with what we have. Recommended.

Also recommended is the anime (with soundtrack by Plaid) which I saw after reading the book.

I am pretty picky with the manga I read, because in general I think the stories are just crap... and the art is often times... well generic boring manga (at least most of the stuff that makes it to America). But Black and White is truly a gem. The line work in the art is so beautiful and contoured and slightly haphazard. It is hard to imagine a better style of art to tell this dark and childish story. It is whimsical and violence rolled into a big katamari of wonderful manga!!

So if you are the type who occasionally dabbles in manga and are on the fence about this, then: definitely check this one out.
And if you already love manga, well then also read this because it is awesome.

If you love sequential art, give this one a try. It's a unique and touching story, exploring the question of what love brings out in us (both the good and the bad.)

Summaries of this book make it seem simplistic, but there is a lot here. The art, and the story, are messy, violent, sad, and beautiful. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's a shining example of what sequential art can be.

I came upon the Manga after watching the film, but I have to say it didn't disappoint one bit. It's a jam-packed adventure. You're immediately thrust into the action as things start to stir in Treasure Town. While no two characters are as captivating as Black and White themselves, the book is set up in such a way that as you go along you discover the various characters' past histories and perhaps the reason behind their conflicts. It's a power struggle for the city by the Police, thugs, the Yakuza and a new greater threat, with the two boys dead center of all the action. There are a lot of bigger themes one could write about from Black and White, but the basic conflict of friendship and devotion against all odds made it one of the most riveting books I've read in some time. If you need a departure from Marvel for a little while to discover something else, I'd say you can't go wrong with Tekkon Kinkreet.

Black and White refers to the characters of the manga and yes, it IS B&W, left to right, in English.
Great manga, can't wait to watch the anime which seems to be even better.

This is one of those special books that pulls you into a special world and before you know it the ride is over and you have to go back to yours. It's great in every sense of the word.

Black and White is a masterpiece in form and content.

The graphics rendered in black and white are a superb visual experience. A point of interest is that the figures are not your conventional manga style. The author has an unique - raw and very detailed - style.

The narrative is clear, easy to follow in the sense that reading flows very smoothly and the layout is not marred with panel dyslexia. The storyline is not as simple as it may seem as there are some very unexpected twists and turns. Rich and dense, violent at times, Black and White's story is one like no other. Think Ranxerox w/o the drugs, Tank Girl without the Sex, Tarantino, Twain...

Another review has accurately mentioned that this is not a bilingual edition. On occasion, some of the background lettering is Japanese, but all dialogues are in English.