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Wolf
Naoto heads for the city to find the father who abandoned him as a child. He is determined to get vengeance. But he finds out it won�t be that easy. Dad is a champion boxer. Naoto must train to face his own father for the Japan feather weight title.
450 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 21, 2015
A young jerk called Naoto wants to beat up an older jerk called Kurozaki because he’s the deadbeat father who abandoned him and his mother when he was a kid. They’re both boxers and the book contrives for the two fighters to work their family issues out in the ring despite their two decades+ age difference. Let’s get ready to bullshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!
Shige Nakamura’s Wolf is part of the Gen Manga line which touts itself as publishing outsider comics that wouldn’t appear in the mainstream. Except Wolf seems to be exactly the kind of rubbish that appears in mainstream manga. Bad physical comedy, a dumb bimbo character with big tits who’s only there to smoosh the main character (a male obviously) into them when he, erm, needs it, standard depictions of action – it’s all here!
The only difference is the lack of a single character worth caring about. Our lead is Naoto but he’s an angry dickhead nobody could possibly want to see succeed. Kurozaki is the other main character who’s an even bigger dickhead who you just want to see get beaten repeatedly. And then there’s the one-dimensional cast whom you couldn’t mistake for characters. It’s also way too long for the simplistic Rocky-esque story it’s going for.
Once the action starts up in the ring, the story becomes mildly interesting. Nakamura renders the fights well so you can tell what’s happening and how a fight progresses so it’s exciting to see. That’s the only positive this book’s got going for it though.
The ending is a disaster. Not only does it do the same thing as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator - only ineffectively - it also has the two male characters brought together by severely hurting one of the few female characters, Naoto’s mother/Kurozaki’s wife. Gail Simone’s “woman in a refrigerator” theory continues to prove its relevance.
When Gen Manga first appeared on Netgalley, the offerings were great. Now they’re putting up shite like this and dogs in schoolgirl outfits... I don’t think I’m gonna request any more manga from that site when they’re this bad. Moody young male teens might enjoy Wolf – I wouldn’t say it’s worthwhile for anyone else.
Shige Nakamura’s Wolf is part of the Gen Manga line which touts itself as publishing outsider comics that wouldn’t appear in the mainstream. Except Wolf seems to be exactly the kind of rubbish that appears in mainstream manga. Bad physical comedy, a dumb bimbo character with big tits who’s only there to smoosh the main character (a male obviously) into them when he, erm, needs it, standard depictions of action – it’s all here!
The only difference is the lack of a single character worth caring about. Our lead is Naoto but he’s an angry dickhead nobody could possibly want to see succeed. Kurozaki is the other main character who’s an even bigger dickhead who you just want to see get beaten repeatedly. And then there’s the one-dimensional cast whom you couldn’t mistake for characters. It’s also way too long for the simplistic Rocky-esque story it’s going for.
Once the action starts up in the ring, the story becomes mildly interesting. Nakamura renders the fights well so you can tell what’s happening and how a fight progresses so it’s exciting to see. That’s the only positive this book’s got going for it though.
The ending is a disaster. Not only does it do the same thing as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator - only ineffectively - it also has the two male characters brought together by severely hurting one of the few female characters, Naoto’s mother/Kurozaki’s wife. Gail Simone’s “woman in a refrigerator” theory continues to prove its relevance.
When Gen Manga first appeared on Netgalley, the offerings were great. Now they’re putting up shite like this and dogs in schoolgirl outfits... I don’t think I’m gonna request any more manga from that site when they’re this bad. Moody young male teens might enjoy Wolf – I wouldn’t say it’s worthwhile for anyone else.
January 11, 2015
'Wolf' is a Gen Manga title that I enjoyed quite a bit. There is a little uneven storytelling, but overall, it's pretty good.
Naoto is an angry young man taking a train to Tokyo with a mission to kill a man. On the train, he meets a likeable enough innocent bumpkin named Shota who is also on his way to Tokyo, but he wants to become a sumo wrestler. When Naota gets to Tokyo, he and Shota part ways and Naoto finds himself at a boxing gym and face to face with the man he is there to kill.
Things don't work out perfectly for Naoto, but they kind of do. He finds friends in the gym who think he might make a pretty good boxer. Naoto takes that path so that he can build strength for his eventual revenge.
The tale that unfolds is not unpredictable, but I found it a little heartwarming and I liked it. Shota shows up occasionally, but I was kind of hoping for more of him. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more of him. Maybe he'll make his way to another book. I liked the art and found it easy to read and follow. I've enjoyed the Gen Manga series that I've read so far.
I received a review copy of this manga from Diamond Book Distributors, Gen Manga Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.
Naoto is an angry young man taking a train to Tokyo with a mission to kill a man. On the train, he meets a likeable enough innocent bumpkin named Shota who is also on his way to Tokyo, but he wants to become a sumo wrestler. When Naota gets to Tokyo, he and Shota part ways and Naoto finds himself at a boxing gym and face to face with the man he is there to kill.
Things don't work out perfectly for Naoto, but they kind of do. He finds friends in the gym who think he might make a pretty good boxer. Naoto takes that path so that he can build strength for his eventual revenge.
The tale that unfolds is not unpredictable, but I found it a little heartwarming and I liked it. Shota shows up occasionally, but I was kind of hoping for more of him. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more of him. Maybe he'll make his way to another book. I liked the art and found it easy to read and follow. I've enjoyed the Gen Manga series that I've read so far.
I received a review copy of this manga from Diamond Book Distributors, Gen Manga Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.
March 3, 2015
Awesome! A great father/son, family drama with themes of single parenting and father abandonment centred around a plot focused on boxing. I'm surprised that I read, nevermind loved so much, a sports manga! This was a wonderful story following a teen's search for the father who abandoned him and is mother when he was small, now with feelings of vengeance. It is a serious story with small bits of humour to lighten the mood. This is a large book at over 400 pages and it felt great to read a single story manga instead of a series for a change. There isn't a lot of character development and the characters are mostly stereotypical but the dramatic story plays itself out well and I was held fast to the pages of this one. The art is nothing special here though there's nothing to really mention about it either. The book seems aimed at teen boys and, therefore, would be shounen but with the father/family plot could also very well be classified as seinen which I'm more apt to label it. If there is a Japanese term for serious/dramatic manga then I am unenlightened as to that category. A great read!
March 5, 2015
Why did the Japanese flyweight boxer the Wolf have the determination to succeed in his sport – was it down to him having the urge to be the best, or just to prove himself and beat seven shades of the proverbial fan-hitter out of his absentee father? This manga goes some way to answering that, but doesn't quite succeed where it should – take the two failed attempts at a suitably open, intelligent ending as evidence. It's pretty good though at converting the usual kinetic pages of manga to boxing, with the swooping fists instead of blades and energy forces, but elsewhere where it matters the manga trappings are unfortunately kept – the duck-billed platypus assistant, and the young manageress with boobs like barrage balloons. The Wolf himself, happily, is a much more carefully drawn – literally and figuratively – character. And it did succeed in bringing something I would never actively seek as a story into my line of sight, and I happily stuck with it.
January 8, 2015
Nakamura's depiction of a child, who grows up to initially avenge against his father eventually meeting love and affection on his road to success, is truly heart-warming. The art is truly wonderful and truly flawless. However, the plot reminded me of a cheesy romantic south Indian movie. Nevertheless, the book truly gets the point across that love eventually heals everything.
I thank NetGalley for a review ecopy of this book.
I thank NetGalley for a review ecopy of this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2012
Pretty good boxing manga. The story follows familiar paths, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
November 16, 2015
"A very simple heartwarming story between a father and a son. That's all I can say."
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews