Togari, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Yoshinori Natsume (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Togari | Publication Date: July 10, 2007

Tobe is a ruthless killer from medieval Japan who's been suffering in Hell for 300 years. After what seems like an eternity, he's finally given a chance for redemption--armed with the magical wooden sword Togari, he's sent to modern-day Tokyo to destroy 108 malevolent demons in 108 days. However, these demons must be vanquished without causing harm to their possessed human hosts. Will the baffling ways of the modern world and his own criminal tendencies make Tobe's quest against evil an unwinnable war? Fast-paced action seasoned with a touch of moral philosophizing make this series a must read for all!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This entry into the demon hunter genre is the story of Tobei, a feudal-era ne'er-do-well damned to hell for his transgressions, but he's offered a way out; if he can collect 108 sins roaming the land of the living in corporeal form in the present day—known as Toga—within 108 days, Tobei's own sins just may be pardoned. All of that is set up in the first nine pages, and from there the story wastes no time getting down to the action. With the mystical Togari cudgel as both his weapon and receptacle for collected sins, a butt-naked Tobei begins his mission in earnest, doling out the violent, speed line–laden carnage expected within the genre. With a talking dog to keep an eye on him and the culture shock of finding himself in the modern world, Tobei merrily beats a bloody swath through his quarry and takes the reader on an exhilarating ride into sheer chaos while wasting little time on such considerations as plot, characterization or even basic logic. The occasionally murky illustrations move the story along at a rapid pace, and the reader could do far worse for brain-optional manga kicks. (July)
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About the Author

Award-winning manga artist Yoshinori Natsume made his debut in 1995 with UTENSHOYUKI in Shonen Sunday Super. TOGARI and his more recent series KUROZAKURO, both originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday, have been translated and are popular with fans throughout Asia and Europe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; 1 edition (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421513552
• ISBN-13: 978-1421513553
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,452,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 108 SINS IN 108 DAYS, July 3, 2007

By 

Sesho "www.sesho.libsyn.com" (Pasadena, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Togari, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Tobei has been tortured in Hell for 300 years now for committing horrible atrocities while he was alive, but he's never repented for the crimes against humanity that he committed. In fact, he's more defiant than ever. Lady Ema, kinda like the warden of Hell, offers him an out. She gives him 108 days to collect 108 sins, or "Toga". Toga are sins which have taken corporeal form in the shape of various monsters which are able to possess humans. Tobei is given "Togari", a wooden sword which can be used to defeat Toga. If he can complete this mission in the allotted time, Tobei will be pardoned and freed from Hell. One of the catches to the deal is that he cannot harm any humans, even if they are being controlled by Toga. He can only attack the Toga itself. If he goes against this edict, his head will fall off and he will die. Yes, even though he can take a lot of damage, he can still die, and if he does, he goes back to Hell for an even longer tenure.

Togari reminded me of a cross between Inuyasha and Bleach. Inuyasha because Tobei, just like Inuyasha, wishes he was more evil than he really is. Even though both put up a gruff exterior, they really have a big soft spot in their hearts. This applies less to Tobei, but when he saves a young high school girl named Itsuki from a serial rapist killer, he might just have found his first friend in his entire life and death. Obviously, something horrible happened to the guy in the distant past to give him such an attitude. Just like with Bleach's Hollows, the designs of the Toga are pretty laughable, but are a TAD better than Bleach's downright goofy monster designs. In an afterword, the author even says he WANTED to make the Toga designs a little funny. To me, if you do a series like this, at least make the monsters scary-looking. I don't expect Togari to get much better or worse than this first volume and it seems to be squarely locked into the demon bashing of the week mentality with very little chance to deepen. Still, it's an ok read.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good horror, October 26, 2008

By 

Graphic Novel / Manga Reader "ownstoomanybooks" (Land of the Palm Trees (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Togari, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I've only read volume 1 of Togari. I will continue to read the whole series which is 8 volumes long. I will revise my review later.

I won't waste space describing what the story is about since that's already said in the reviews.

For now, the first volume so far reminds me of the Variante series. If you like Variante, you will like this. They both are the same type of horror and killing with some gory in it. The artwork is pretty good, clear and easy to look at. I like the storyline as well. It gets me interested to see what happens next...

I like it so far that I will read the other volumes.



Update: November 6, 2008. Finished all 8 volumes of Togari. It is very good, well written & drawn. The ending was a bit abrupt, not what I expected but nevertheless good. It's a good series to read, a page turner!