Wild Adapter Volume 1 (v. 1) [Paperback]

Kazuya Minekura (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wild Adapter | Publication Date: January 30, 2007

Makoto Kubota wandered through life, not taking things too seriously or looking too deep within himself. His job as the head of the Izumo Group's youth gang kept him pleasantly occupied with yakuza wars, mahjong and assassinations...Until the day he stumbled upon a strange drug called Wild Adapter that produces bizarre side-effects--including death. Forever changed, Kubota becomes entangled with a drifter named Minoru Tokito, and the two form an unlikely companionship that draws them deeper into the mystery of Wild Adapter... From the creator of Saiyuki comes a manga in the film noir tradition, full of intense action, wild assassins and mysterious, amnesiac strays.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Famed for the manga Saiyuki, Minekura offers up more boys' own wild adventures in this series. High school mah-jongg gambler Makoto Kubota is drafted as the new head of the junior division of a Yakuza syndicate. His duties: keeping the area clean of infringing outsider Yakuza organizations. After befriending Nobuo Komiya, another member of the junior chapter, Kubota learns of a new street drug called "wild adapter." Strange, supernatural elements are alluded to as users of this new drug transform into part-animal and then die. In this first volume, Minekura introduces a handful of characters and different scenarios that tie together while some loose ends act as a primer for the next volume. Wild Adapter is part mystery with a strong homoerotic subtext; it's rated 18+, most likely for the bits of female nudity (a few scenes take place in brothels) as well as the mature content—drug trafficking, gambling. Minekura's gritty style will resonate with seinen (older male) readers, making a good read for anyone taken by Yakuza ideas of redemption, devotion, dedication and man love but uninterested in the sexual aspects of actual boys' love. (Feb.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598169785
• ISBN-13: 978-1598169782
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,178,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gritty Manga Drama, April 1, 2007

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wild Adapter Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

A lot of Manga titles stick to tried and true genres such as martial arts, fantasy, or Sci-Fi, which makes Tokyopop's Wild Adapter, that much more refreshing. This is a gritty, urban drama, taking place within the inner circles of the Yakuza, the Japanese version of the Mafia. It also has one of the more interesting anti-heroes ever seen in a Manga title, the mercurial Makoto Kubota. Kubota is a teenager whose skill at Mahjong gambling parlors, and aloof attitude, gains the notice of a local Yakuza leader, Sanada, boss in the Izumo syndicate.

Sanada recruits Kubota to be the leader of a Yakuza youth group although these youths aren't out helping old ladies cross the street. They are selling drugs and paying shakedown visits to local brothels, and making sure the rival Tojou syndicate stays off their turf. We learn little about Kubota initially, other than some mysteries hinted at regarding who is father was and why Sanada made him a youth boss so quickly.

Kubota is an intriguing character. He has an air of superiority to him that angers some yet also brings him great admiration from his subordinates. He seems to carry little for everyday needs and pleasures. Women certainly don't interest him and yet he is not gay...It's more like he's above such earthly needs. He's perfectly happy going to the local 7-11 to try the new flavor of ice cream as soon as it comes out.

Despite his gangly, 80's new-wave band member appearance, Kubota is extremely dangerous. He single handedly takes out four members of the rival gang after they beat up his friend. Yet we see only Kubota leaping to the attack, and then the end result. Clearly creator Kazuya Minekura is keeping the secrets of his character very close to the vest. We also learn that Kubota's uncle is a well-known detective and yet seems to have little problem with his nephew's underworld activities.

The "Wild Adapter" of the title turns out to be a new designer drug that has hit the streets and is literally turning those who take it into raging beasts. When his friend Komiya dies from a savage beating, Kubota makes a decision that will change his life forever.

Wild Adapter took me by surprise because you usually don't see this level of character and plot development in a lot of Manga titles, especially in the opening volume. The book is rated M for 18 years of age and older due to violence, nudity, and strong language.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrifying, February 1, 2007

By 

tami "pinkboxcutter" (chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Adapter Volume 1 (v. 1) (Paperback)

Wild Adapter predates Saiyuki or Bus Gamer, but it's hardcore. The latest Minekura work to be published in the US comes shrink-wrapped for a good reason. The sex, language, and violence are very graphic. But that's standard fare in "M" rated books. What makes the book borderline obscene--and disturbingly, uniquely brilliant--is not its imagery, but its power to make mere ideas intensely chilling.

Kubota, the protagonist, joins a yaukza youth gang. Motive? Unknown. Personality?...Also unknown. Even the other characters acknowledge his poker-faced apathy for their cut-throat world of drugs, whores, and guns. Why then, can he viciously dismember rivals, switch to being childish, and be accomodating to perversion and cruelty, all the while keeping a mild expression? Kubota embodies mystery. But like the rest of the cast, you don't question his actions. You believe in his ability to look naive, act casually merciless, and be serenely terrifying without a hitch. He is unquestionably sane, but disconcertingly immune to humanity. His internal dialogues (musings on death and bestiality) edges on the pathological, but are frighteningly lucid. Tokito is the other main character of the series, but as the first book is told prologue style, there's more focus on a underling of Kubota's. Komiya too has his fascinating complexities, but in a far more human sense.

Minekura's art is always good and suited to the settings she creates. The back describes it as being in the "noir tradition," which is absolutly correct. The drawings themselves are well done, but beauty is not the point; the grittiness, grimness, and gravity you feel from them is.

Wiild Adapter is all about things being a little twisted, so its approach to carnality and drug abuse and death are unconventional. It's a messed up, unsettling world for sure, but it'll suck in anyone who has the guts for it.