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Alive
GEN Manga is Indie Manga from the Tokyo Underground .
GEN Manga was made to give fans an exclusive look at real doujinshi, otherwise known as indie manga, that they had heard about, but until now, unable to get their hands on. In its essence, doujinshi is manga traded among other manga artists. Manga for manga lovers!
Seemingly mundane events twist with an unusual presence of the unreal as the psyche of ordinary people is explored. Depression, time, and thought are redefined. Alive is a collection of melancholy love stories saturated with sadness. Characters struggle to connect with one another but never quite succeed. They are essentially alone. Enter a world that is dark and disturbing ― suicide is constantly contemplated and feelings of guilt, inadequacy, and suppressed sexuality surface as identity itself becomes a terribly fragile thing.
GEN Manga was made to give fans an exclusive look at real doujinshi, otherwise known as indie manga, that they had heard about, but until now, unable to get their hands on. In its essence, doujinshi is manga traded among other manga artists. Manga for manga lovers!
Seemingly mundane events twist with an unusual presence of the unreal as the psyche of ordinary people is explored. Depression, time, and thought are redefined. Alive is a collection of melancholy love stories saturated with sadness. Characters struggle to connect with one another but never quite succeed. They are essentially alone. Enter a world that is dark and disturbing ― suicide is constantly contemplated and feelings of guilt, inadequacy, and suppressed sexuality surface as identity itself becomes a terribly fragile thing.
284 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 4, 2014
Love and heartbreak, ambition and depression, growing up, growing old, and dying - the struggle between dreams and reality and the endless search for happiness. These are universal themes, all explored in Alive by Hajime Taguchi.
Gen Manga is, like Max Factor, the manga of manga artists! These are underground indie manga (doujinshi) traded between manga artists, and who doesn’t want to read comics that the artists themselves consider great? Alive is a fantastic collection of short stories that definitely don’t jibe with mainstream manga - they’re introspective, brooding, and criticise modern society - totally at odds with bestsellers like Dragon Ball, One Piece and Naruto.
A number of stories focus on the pains of adulthood, the idealisation of innocence and wanting to remain a kid or return to the womb and be reborn. A boy tells his guidance counsellor he doesn’t want to grow up because adults are dirty. A girl gets her first period and thinks she’s dying. A woman lies in a small, warm bathtub, imagining herself in the womb again. A boy and a girl run away to live atop the roof of the tallest apartment building, believing they could live together alone forever. A man and a girl dig a giant vagina-shaped hole, enter it naked, and emerge, seemingly changed.
Other stories focus on love in various forms. Like a woman whose partner of three years leaves her with a note and a box of cookies - she eats the cookies and reminisces about her relationship. A man goes through a bad breakup and buys a life-sized doll of a woman, unable to forge new relationships with women. A man breaks up with a heavy-smoking woman and, in her absence, buys a pack of cigarettes and lights them in his flat, the smoke reminding him of her presence.
Surrealism is pleasantly worked in as well, like a girl with spectacles which blur out anything she doesn’t want to see, a talking frog wanting to be named, and the bizarre story of a climber who discovers the truth of his world when he climbs the giant wall that encloses his town.
The stories as a whole could be looked upon as superficially melancholic but there’s a lot of hope to be found in them. The characters encounter difficulties in their lives, the story explores them, and they emerge at the end with renewed purpose, better for the experience. They go through an arc, put down by circumstances but rising by the end.
And it’s not like Taguchi is unaware of the kind of stories he’s creating - he does throw in some humour here and there, like in the story of a desperate man, unhappy with being a grown-up and deciding upon suicide. He goes to the woods to die and tries to recapture some happiness by dancing frantically only to fall over a root and have an ant laugh at him!
Or the story of the boy and girl who run away to live on the roof ending with the boy standing in traffic wanting to be run over only for a driver to tell him to get out of the way. “Why won’t you hit me, are you telling me that I have to live?” the boy sobs. “No,” says the driver, “but if I hit you I’d have to through the court system.”
The stop-start of the short story collection means it’s not ideal for reading in one sitting and not all of the stories are effective but for the most part these are outstanding original comics.
The problems of modern life, Japanese or elsewhere, and the pains of the human soul are memorably delved into with these stories, told with enormous skill and imagination by Hajime Taguchi. It’s easy to look at these stories and think they’re just sad tales and nothing more, but they’re actually very upbeat in unexpected, abstract ways. Many of the characters are suicidal but they don’t die, they choose life, and that’s the message of Alive - life, with all its pain, is worth it. And so is reading this book.
Gen Manga is, like Max Factor, the manga of manga artists! These are underground indie manga (doujinshi) traded between manga artists, and who doesn’t want to read comics that the artists themselves consider great? Alive is a fantastic collection of short stories that definitely don’t jibe with mainstream manga - they’re introspective, brooding, and criticise modern society - totally at odds with bestsellers like Dragon Ball, One Piece and Naruto.
A number of stories focus on the pains of adulthood, the idealisation of innocence and wanting to remain a kid or return to the womb and be reborn. A boy tells his guidance counsellor he doesn’t want to grow up because adults are dirty. A girl gets her first period and thinks she’s dying. A woman lies in a small, warm bathtub, imagining herself in the womb again. A boy and a girl run away to live atop the roof of the tallest apartment building, believing they could live together alone forever. A man and a girl dig a giant vagina-shaped hole, enter it naked, and emerge, seemingly changed.
Other stories focus on love in various forms. Like a woman whose partner of three years leaves her with a note and a box of cookies - she eats the cookies and reminisces about her relationship. A man goes through a bad breakup and buys a life-sized doll of a woman, unable to forge new relationships with women. A man breaks up with a heavy-smoking woman and, in her absence, buys a pack of cigarettes and lights them in his flat, the smoke reminding him of her presence.
Surrealism is pleasantly worked in as well, like a girl with spectacles which blur out anything she doesn’t want to see, a talking frog wanting to be named, and the bizarre story of a climber who discovers the truth of his world when he climbs the giant wall that encloses his town.
The stories as a whole could be looked upon as superficially melancholic but there’s a lot of hope to be found in them. The characters encounter difficulties in their lives, the story explores them, and they emerge at the end with renewed purpose, better for the experience. They go through an arc, put down by circumstances but rising by the end.
And it’s not like Taguchi is unaware of the kind of stories he’s creating - he does throw in some humour here and there, like in the story of a desperate man, unhappy with being a grown-up and deciding upon suicide. He goes to the woods to die and tries to recapture some happiness by dancing frantically only to fall over a root and have an ant laugh at him!
Or the story of the boy and girl who run away to live on the roof ending with the boy standing in traffic wanting to be run over only for a driver to tell him to get out of the way. “Why won’t you hit me, are you telling me that I have to live?” the boy sobs. “No,” says the driver, “but if I hit you I’d have to through the court system.”
The stop-start of the short story collection means it’s not ideal for reading in one sitting and not all of the stories are effective but for the most part these are outstanding original comics.
The problems of modern life, Japanese or elsewhere, and the pains of the human soul are memorably delved into with these stories, told with enormous skill and imagination by Hajime Taguchi. It’s easy to look at these stories and think they’re just sad tales and nothing more, but they’re actually very upbeat in unexpected, abstract ways. Many of the characters are suicidal but they don’t die, they choose life, and that’s the message of Alive - life, with all its pain, is worth it. And so is reading this book.
January 28, 2015
3,5/5
I must confess that I had a hard time attributing a star rating to this book.
While reading the first few stories I felt really disconnected from the manga and whenever I put it down, I wasn’t that eager to pick it up back again. That usually isn’t much of a good sign.
However, this is the kind of book that grows on you and that you definitely must keep reading in order to fully apprehend the intention of the author. I mean, what at least I thought was his/her intention (I’m sorry but as I couldn’t find any information on the author, I’m not sure if they’re male or female, and as I’m not much familiar with Japanese I can’t figure that out from their name).
After that bumpy start, and as I kept reading, I started to see a pattern theme throughout the stories, even though the characters and plots were different (but with some similarities, which was a problem, but I’ll get to that in a bit). This manga is a compilation of stories of people who are lost, depressed and utterly alone in a world full of people and where time goes by ceaselessly. The extreme and desperate actions they make are a cry for help, a search for meaning, an intention to give their life a purpose, even if that means to walk towards death and self-imposed oblivion.
The art may seem simple, nothing noteworthy or “remember able”, but I believe that an artwork like that, in this context, is extremely helpful, because it translates the mundane in these people’s lives. It reiterates the fact that they’re common people, just like their neighbours, just like any other human, even though on their own world they’re crumbling slowly but without return.
All in all, it’s a really nice manga. Enjoyable because it will make you think about your own existence, it will make you reflect about your own daily life choices, it will make you look at other people and realise that what they look on the outside may not fully translate what they go through in their inner realities. It’s very cohesive and every story serves the purpose of translating the demise of human beings living in the midst of a postmodern society.
What made me subtract 1,5 stars to the rating was the fact that there were similar characters in different stories and that the artwork also translated those similarities. This fact can cause some confusion in the reader, especially when the reading isn’t made in a breath from cover to cover. The other little flaw is that none of the stories actually stands out or stays with the reader. The manga as a whole will make you think, but there isn’t a character that can be said to be “remember able”.
I must confess that I had a hard time attributing a star rating to this book.
While reading the first few stories I felt really disconnected from the manga and whenever I put it down, I wasn’t that eager to pick it up back again. That usually isn’t much of a good sign.
However, this is the kind of book that grows on you and that you definitely must keep reading in order to fully apprehend the intention of the author. I mean, what at least I thought was his/her intention (I’m sorry but as I couldn’t find any information on the author, I’m not sure if they’re male or female, and as I’m not much familiar with Japanese I can’t figure that out from their name).
After that bumpy start, and as I kept reading, I started to see a pattern theme throughout the stories, even though the characters and plots were different (but with some similarities, which was a problem, but I’ll get to that in a bit). This manga is a compilation of stories of people who are lost, depressed and utterly alone in a world full of people and where time goes by ceaselessly. The extreme and desperate actions they make are a cry for help, a search for meaning, an intention to give their life a purpose, even if that means to walk towards death and self-imposed oblivion.
The art may seem simple, nothing noteworthy or “remember able”, but I believe that an artwork like that, in this context, is extremely helpful, because it translates the mundane in these people’s lives. It reiterates the fact that they’re common people, just like their neighbours, just like any other human, even though on their own world they’re crumbling slowly but without return.
All in all, it’s a really nice manga. Enjoyable because it will make you think about your own existence, it will make you reflect about your own daily life choices, it will make you look at other people and realise that what they look on the outside may not fully translate what they go through in their inner realities. It’s very cohesive and every story serves the purpose of translating the demise of human beings living in the midst of a postmodern society.
What made me subtract 1,5 stars to the rating was the fact that there were similar characters in different stories and that the artwork also translated those similarities. This fact can cause some confusion in the reader, especially when the reading isn’t made in a breath from cover to cover. The other little flaw is that none of the stories actually stands out or stays with the reader. The manga as a whole will make you think, but there isn’t a character that can be said to be “remember able”.
November 29, 2014
One of the better Gen Press manga translations has many different short stories, mostly with the theme of wishing – wishing for a way out, for a relationship, for a rebirth or change in life. So someone has to climb an immense wall keeping their village from the rest of the world, someone else seems to be digging to Brazil to get what he wants out of life, and others just fail miserably in their day to day transactions and cannot escape the routine of birth, school, work, death. At times the switch from one story to another is far too jarring, and the artwork doesn't ease the transition as well as it might, but there's a weight to these pages, and the melancholia really does come across courtesy of the medium (short bits of dialogue, many silent panels, thoughtful and internal interior monologues), meaning this is a book well worth a look.
August 30, 2016
Artful if marginal variation in style makes ALIVE an interesting single-author compilation to read through. It's a quick read, probably 2.5 hours max.
The material is heavy, though: domestic violence, sexual violence, depression, suicide. It's all there, and usually packaged into small and poignant vignettes that don't give you much time to process what's going on.
Taguchi's storytelling is very direct and doesn't waste any space, which is refreshing. Although there's zero breaking in-between each of the eight or so vignettes (some of them are untitled, for that matter), the collection is, generally speaking, an unvarnished observation of contemporary Japan's social ills through the lens of those who suffer from them most.
The material is heavy, though: domestic violence, sexual violence, depression, suicide. It's all there, and usually packaged into small and poignant vignettes that don't give you much time to process what's going on.
Taguchi's storytelling is very direct and doesn't waste any space, which is refreshing. Although there's zero breaking in-between each of the eight or so vignettes (some of them are untitled, for that matter), the collection is, generally speaking, an unvarnished observation of contemporary Japan's social ills through the lens of those who suffer from them most.
March 22, 2017
A collection of very matter-of-fact stories - almost clever, and not quite memorable. The art isn’t great, and the transitions between stories are way more confusing than they should be.
So Alive isn’t one of the best mangas I’ve ever read - but it is worth reading. Some stories do a really good job of capturing that particular quiet melancholy. Depressing, but not unpleasantly so.
Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
So Alive isn’t one of the best mangas I’ve ever read - but it is worth reading. Some stories do a really good job of capturing that particular quiet melancholy. Depressing, but not unpleasantly so.
Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
June 7, 2014
I decided to pick this up in a bookstore because I'd never heard of the publisher or the artist. It was worth the chance I gave it. Nothing super polished in here, and some of the stories feel a little immature at times, but all of it is understandable and familiar. Humanity, alive.
November 5, 2016
I picked this one up from the library. It's reminiscent of Red Snow in that it's a presentation of the everyday in Japan, this a more suburban setting. Like Red Snow, the stories center on themes of sex and home life. Honestly, the stories aren't all that enjoyable or unique, it's just a presentation of cultural ideas about women and sex that you may have seen in other manga. The first story's comparison of a married woman to her Japanese fighting fish was just a bit too on the nose for me, maybe it seemed a little pretentious becauss the format here is small, so there's not a ton of room for establishing that allusion in a well paced way. I did like learning about red rice's significance in the second story.
December 18, 2021
I’m a bit surprised at all of the low scores, but I enjoyed this one a lot. It’s a collection of 20 or so short stories, all that center the idea of loneliness, human connection, and grief. The stories aren’t groundbreaking, but they’re incredibly human. Even though they deal with heavy topics, a decent amount of the stories are pretty positive.
The layout is sorta weird, when a new story starts sometimes the title isn’t there or it shows a page into the story. But each of the characters look unique enough that it’s easy to tell that it’s a new story.
The layout is sorta weird, when a new story starts sometimes the title isn’t there or it shows a page into the story. But each of the characters look unique enough that it’s easy to tell that it’s a new story.
August 30, 2017
Some of the stories were really nice, but more often than not they were depressing and had odd to freaky elements in them.
August 4, 2018
enjoyed the final short story (Alive.2) and the wall story
March 11, 2022
Did I lose out to gravity? No...
November 14, 2023
This is a bunch a short, weird comics about relationships and loneliness. I really liked it.
October 19, 2014
'Alive' is a manga comprised of Short stories, all of a normal nature, but most have a twist. This book is from Gen Manga which is an indie manga publisher printing manga from the Tokyo underground.
Themes of depression, violence, fear of love, isolation and aging all run through the book. There is a story about a girl who gets a new pair of glasses that obfuscate things she doesn't like to look at, which makes math class and homework a bit hard to do. There's the girl who's decided to drop out of society and live in a shelter on the roof of her building, which works well until a storm comes. There is the man with the life-sized doll who doesn't want real relationships, or does he? There are themes of loneliness and isolation. Some stories are funny, many are poignant.
Some stories do tend to trail off, so it was a bit tough to figure out where one ended and another began. Sure, the characters changed, but it was hard to tell if it was a story change, or a scene change. Some stories have titles, but many don't so this added to the confusion. Overall I liked it. The nice thing about a collection like this is if a story isn't working for you, there's a new one in a few pages.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Gen Manga Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Themes of depression, violence, fear of love, isolation and aging all run through the book. There is a story about a girl who gets a new pair of glasses that obfuscate things she doesn't like to look at, which makes math class and homework a bit hard to do. There's the girl who's decided to drop out of society and live in a shelter on the roof of her building, which works well until a storm comes. There is the man with the life-sized doll who doesn't want real relationships, or does he? There are themes of loneliness and isolation. Some stories are funny, many are poignant.
Some stories do tend to trail off, so it was a bit tough to figure out where one ended and another began. Sure, the characters changed, but it was hard to tell if it was a story change, or a scene change. Some stories have titles, but many don't so this added to the confusion. Overall I liked it. The nice thing about a collection like this is if a story isn't working for you, there's a new one in a few pages.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Gen Manga Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
July 23, 2017
SEE THE ORIGINAL REVIEW ON MY BLOG: http://thebookaddictsblog.blogspot.pt...
I have been having a real adventure reading graphic novels and mangas lately, and this was no exception.
This is another Gen Manga production, but I enjoyed it a lot more than Sorako. It was still about normal people, but it had an tiny something of surreal and it made of this a very good read.
The stories had no logical sequence, but in this one that was okay, because there wasn't a main character: it combined a lot of people, living their everyday lives... and discovering that life isn't always as our narrow vision imagines it.
Although it was quite weird and, I'd say, eccentric, it was still emotional at times and I felt it dealt with themes we don't often see in literature, serious themes. And because of the themes handled in Alive, as well as the way it dealt with them, I think it was an extremely bold book. Very, very graphic, I would not recommend this to younger readers, but I found it to be an extraordinarily brave way to write a manga about such matters.
Finally, I reckon there is more to this than what it looks like on the surface. It was an intense and profound story to existencial levels and I think I still have a lot to discover beyond the beautiful illustrations used in here.
I have been having a real adventure reading graphic novels and mangas lately, and this was no exception.
This is another Gen Manga production, but I enjoyed it a lot more than Sorako. It was still about normal people, but it had an tiny something of surreal and it made of this a very good read.
The stories had no logical sequence, but in this one that was okay, because there wasn't a main character: it combined a lot of people, living their everyday lives... and discovering that life isn't always as our narrow vision imagines it.
Although it was quite weird and, I'd say, eccentric, it was still emotional at times and I felt it dealt with themes we don't often see in literature, serious themes. And because of the themes handled in Alive, as well as the way it dealt with them, I think it was an extremely bold book. Very, very graphic, I would not recommend this to younger readers, but I found it to be an extraordinarily brave way to write a manga about such matters.
Finally, I reckon there is more to this than what it looks like on the surface. It was an intense and profound story to existencial levels and I think I still have a lot to discover beyond the beautiful illustrations used in here.
August 4, 2014
I'm a fan of different types of manga. Let me explain. The majority of what I see on the shelves at the books stores near me are Shonen and Shojo. Both of which I enjoy, but as I said they are the main display and don't leave much room for anything else. Probably because they sell the most.
With that said, I've come to notice the manga that I really like is in a sense obscure. Not that it's in limited print, but only that it's not common for me to see.
My examples are: 7 Billion Needles, Solanin, and (oddly enough) just about anything done by Osamu Tezuka.
This is why Alive caught my attention. It wasn't something I would normally see. The artwork wasn't showy and there wasn't a typical plot per say. So that piqued my curiosity.
In that regard Alive didn't disappoint. It was different, though to be honest, it wasn't that great.
The majority of the stories seemed rushed most likely due to page restraints, and there wasn't anything that stood out among them.
My final thoughts on this are, if you want something different, go for it. Just don't expect too much. Also the art isn't bad, but it isn't really that good either.
----------------------------
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With that said, I've come to notice the manga that I really like is in a sense obscure. Not that it's in limited print, but only that it's not common for me to see.
My examples are: 7 Billion Needles, Solanin, and (oddly enough) just about anything done by Osamu Tezuka.
This is why Alive caught my attention. It wasn't something I would normally see. The artwork wasn't showy and there wasn't a typical plot per say. So that piqued my curiosity.
In that regard Alive didn't disappoint. It was different, though to be honest, it wasn't that great.
The majority of the stories seemed rushed most likely due to page restraints, and there wasn't anything that stood out among them.
My final thoughts on this are, if you want something different, go for it. Just don't expect too much. Also the art isn't bad, but it isn't really that good either.
----------------------------
FIND ME:
www.twitter.com/brownmarbles
www.youtube.com/thebookhito
October 7, 2014
I’ve recently started finding a real liking in Manga and Graphic Novels, and I was intrigued by the description of “Indie Manga from the Tokyo Underground”. It is described kind of like “raw” Manga, the type shared among Manga artists.
The best way for me to describe it is that it is akin to a collection of short stories. Although sometimes, not even that – sometimes skits, moments.
Note to self: when a Manga’s blurb warns you that it is going to be depressing, it’s not hyperbole.
Some of the stories were just lovely. A little bit depressing but so… gripping. RAW, I guess. Some of the stories were just random though. I think everyone will find at least one story in this collection that they can connect to. Although I really enjoy short stories, this Manga unfortunately did not really work out for me. It seemed disjointed and I struggled to connect – much like many of the characters, I suppose.
I think long-term Manga fans who really understand the art and the culture of it might appreciate this a lot more. I am glad I read this but I’m not sure that I will necessarily read more GEN Manga.
[Received an eARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley]
The best way for me to describe it is that it is akin to a collection of short stories. Although sometimes, not even that – sometimes skits, moments.
Note to self: when a Manga’s blurb warns you that it is going to be depressing, it’s not hyperbole.
Some of the stories were just lovely. A little bit depressing but so… gripping. RAW, I guess. Some of the stories were just random though. I think everyone will find at least one story in this collection that they can connect to. Although I really enjoy short stories, this Manga unfortunately did not really work out for me. It seemed disjointed and I struggled to connect – much like many of the characters, I suppose.
I think long-term Manga fans who really understand the art and the culture of it might appreciate this a lot more. I am glad I read this but I’m not sure that I will necessarily read more GEN Manga.
[Received an eARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley]
October 21, 2014
*Read thanks to Net Galley*
First Manga I've read, ever. It took a minute to get in the rhythm of reading it backwards from a normal graphic . I don't like reading what a graphic is going to be about because it's normally better,to me, to go in knowing nothing. I didn't know this would be short stories, and as you get into the book, it became a slightly uncomfortable read. Having been the first Manga I don't know if what was in this was normal/ in all manga's or just a few. I will give manga's another shot. Over all it wasn't that bad, just not what I was expecting. Still alright though.
First Manga I've read, ever. It took a minute to get in the rhythm of reading it backwards from a normal graphic . I don't like reading what a graphic is going to be about because it's normally better,to me, to go in knowing nothing. I didn't know this would be short stories, and as you get into the book, it became a slightly uncomfortable read. Having been the first Manga I don't know if what was in this was normal/ in all manga's or just a few. I will give manga's another shot. Over all it wasn't that bad, just not what I was expecting. Still alright though.
February 24, 2016
I randomly picked this manga from NetGalley. And once again, I found that this kind of manga pretty amazing. The short stories with unique plots and problems is the typical of this indie manga. The theme mostly about depressed. Some of them also so surrealist which I love it a lot. Maybe this what people called noir manga, but I don't have a clue. If you want to read something unusual, this manga could be a try.
October 12, 2014
I'll be honest, the art wasn't that good and that always takes me out of the story if it's a visual piece.
The stories are slice of life, coming of age stories that felt a little flat. I was neither intrigued or connected to the characters.
All in all...meh.
Recieved from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The stories are slice of life, coming of age stories that felt a little flat. I was neither intrigued or connected to the characters.
All in all...meh.
Recieved from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 15, 2014
This would be first manga book and it did not disappoint, it was a very quick read. It shouldn't take the average reader very long to get through. I did not think the material would be heavy, the book featured violence and mental illness. The storytelling is very direct, there is no time wasted, this is what I really liked about the book.
March 19, 2015
Short story: Japan is weird, guys. These are short stories about isolation. Oh so Japanese. I basically feel like you could go "ooh weird Japan" about this but that's not really the point, so if you think that, well, stinks to be you. It's pretty good. It is hard and scary and dangerous to really feel things. Japanese or not. Yerp.
October 3, 2014
It's too full of sad stories for me to like it that much. Still okay for otaku and manga lovers.
È troppo pieno di storie triste perché mi piaccia poi tanto. Comunque va bene per gli otaku e gli amanti dei manga.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND DIAMOND BOOK DISTRIBUTORS FOR THE PREVIEW!
È troppo pieno di storie triste perché mi piaccia poi tanto. Comunque va bene per gli otaku e gli amanti dei manga.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND DIAMOND BOOK DISTRIBUTORS FOR THE PREVIEW!
December 8, 2014
****An ARC of Alive by Hajime Taguchi was generously provided to me via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.
Not really my favorite because I don't really like this kind of genre, especially in manga. But overall I enjoyed the illustrations, pretty smooth and good.
Not really my favorite because I don't really like this kind of genre, especially in manga. But overall I enjoyed the illustrations, pretty smooth and good.
June 29, 2016
I liked this book. I really enjoyed some of the short stories, and some I just thought were okay. That's why I give this 3 stars. It's a pretty good book, but I'm not dying to talk to people about it.
Also it's not a depressing as I thought it would be, but that's a plus for me!!
Also it's not a depressing as I thought it would be, but that's a plus for me!!
October 9, 2014
This was a collection of short manga stories. Some of them were interesting and some were just plain boring or strange (in the bad way). I struggled to finish this even though it was a quick read.
June 6, 2015
A few interesting stories with dark tones. But not enough development to feel a connection with any characters. Still an entertaining read.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews