Tokyo Zombie [Paperback]

Yusaku Hanakuma (Author), Ryan Sands (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

Tokyo Zombie is a horror-comedy manga about two blue-collar factory workers (who happen to be jiu-jitsu experts) dealing with a zombie uprising in Tokyo. When the story begins, Fujio and Mitsuo are dreaming of training in martial arts overseas and becoming famous. When they accidentally kill their overbearing boss, they decide to cover up the evidence and bury him at a man-made garbage mountain known as DARK FUJI. Unfortunately for them, the tons of rotting garbage have been contaminated with industrial waste... Which, naturally, transforms the bodies of the dead into ravenous, flesh-eating zombies. Fuji and Mitsuo try their best to survive in this horrific new landscape, but the hapless pair become separated after an idiotic mistake involving potato chips and a stray dog. Skip to a few years later. Post-apocalyptic Tokyo has become a feudalistic society, in which the rich have enslaved the lower classes, who toil in the walled city for protection against the zombies. To alleviate boredom, the rich have created gladiator death matches, pitting zombies against slaves. Fuji and Mitsuo meet up under strange circumstances in the ring of one of these death matches. All hell breaks loose when the two are reunited, and the sanctuary city of the rich comes under fire from a revolutionary pig farmer and a motorcycle gang of roving bandits. Tokyo Zombie was originally serialized in the cutting-edge manga magazine AX from 1998 to 1999. Many years before the film Shaun of the Dead introduced Western audiences to the zombie comedy genre, Hanakuma's send up of Romero zombie films and post-apocalyptic survival story was already a cult classic in Japan. Now English-speaking audiences will have the chance to check out the genre-mashing tale that started it all. Hanakuma's "heta uma" (Literally "Bad, but Good") drawing style punctuates the gory but hilarious depiction of a Tokyo overrun with zombies. This is mixed with a dynamic and authentic depiction of actual martial arts, sourced from Hanakuma's own years of training and competing as a professional martial artist. In addition to the success of the cult manga, Tokyo Zombie was also adapted into a hit film directed by Sakichi Sato and starring cult film stars Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer) and Sho Aikawa (Dead or Alive), with a cameo from famed horror manga artist Kazuo Umezu.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Yusaku Hanakuma is a Japanese illustrator and cartoonist, and was born in 1967 in Tokyo. He studied art at Chiyoda Art Technical College and the premier Setsu Mode Seminar in Tokyo. He is the winner of numerous manga awards, including the GARO Magazine Nagai Katsuichi Award and the 13th Annual Award for Excellence. Hanakuma is famous as a practioner of the heta uma style (literally, "Bad, but Good") of kinetic and grotesque illustration. He has released numerous hit titles in Japan, most of which feature his hapless characters AFRO and HAGE (baldie). He is also a skilled martial artist.

Ryan Sands is a longtime manga nerd living in San Francisco and working in Silicon Valley, and edits the zine Electric Ant and the horror manga site Same Hat.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Last Gasp (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0867197013
• ISBN-13: 978-0867197013
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,046,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rah! Rah!! Rah!!!, August 20, 2008

By 

Caramel Milk Tea (Somewhere, Out There) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tokyo Zombie (Paperback)

This manga rox! Anyone who is a fan of zombies, Japan, dogs, blood sports, pig farming, afros, Mt. Fuji and bringing down the upper class, this one's for you! Rah! Rah!! Rah!!!

5.0 out of 5 stars "I'm pig surfing", May 14, 2011

By 

Caleb T - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tokyo Zombie (Paperback)

I first fell in love with the movie and wanted this. My reaction to it? Very Satisfied, Veeery Satisfied.
Wrestling,Zombies,Violence,Comedy,Chips,Calpis,Pig Farmers- its all there

It was originally released in 98-99' so guess what that means? Thats right! It doesn't rip off of Land of the Dead. And as far as the movie adaptation goes, Its actually very different from the film in various ways which is a good thing because then the film doesnt take away from the people who haven't read the manga yet.

story: Fujio and Mitsuo are factory workers who do little work and instead Mitsuo trains Fujio in the ways of jiu-jitsu. When Fujio accidently kills someone from the main office they're off to Black Fuji where zombies start to arise!

To put it plain & simple, it's great. Its all toungue-in-cheek. Many people who read manga like Naruto or Bleach will probally hate it because they won't "get it". Which makes it all the more funnier.

Thank You Mr. Hanakuma for this gem, BANZAI!

1.0 out of 5 stars Possiblly the Worst Comic of All Time., March 23, 2011

By 

Brizdaz (Brisbane,Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tokyo Zombie (Paperback)

It looks like something I use to doodle in my maths book back in school...and probably makes about as much sense,too.
Only a true Zombie could like this book...but once they find some brains,they'll wonder what ever attracted them to it,in the first place.