Ohikkoshi

by Hiroaki Samura

Book Overview

Presents a story, which follows the turbulent paths of several twenty-something art students as they fall in love, fall in lust, play in rock bands, ride motorbikes, eat, sleep (together) and try to avoid making life decisions while drunk.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593076223
• ISBN13: 9781593076221
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
• Length: 241 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Unique

Not your tipical story, this is what makes Ohikkoshi so great. It's one of those mangas really worth reading, because the story floats away from stuff you expect to find. The story is the slice-of-life type, with different and great artwork. A title more people should read and know, specially those who misjudges/have wrong conceptions of manga today.

More goodness from Samura

Be warned, this comic is very different from Blade of the Immortal - probably the best known work of Samura. Ohikkoshi is actually an earlier work than Blade, and the art is slightly less polished, though still excellent. The storytelling style jumps around a bit and is full of amusing cultural jokes and references (check out excellent notes by the translator at the end of the book). The main offering is the set of stories about college students (it is probably my favorite in the collection and, like Blade, has amazingly lifelike characters that draw you into the story), with a couple of short strips thrown in to the collection. As always, Samura shines with his sense of humor and unconventional imagination.

Manga can be "Literature"

Read Huff's review for a very good report of the contents of this manga.I would only add that Samura demonstrates the potential of the graphic novel. Art, dialogue, atmosphere, and expressions combine to convey the world of the young adult, poised to embark on each individual's private journey, interacting with companions, and floundering in their attempts. Ok, it reminded me of a time gone past, although most people have less dramatic sendoffs. Reading this manga and others of this caliber serve to remind me what manga can be. The only quibble is that the publisher used inferior paper stock that doesn't reproduce the detail of the art well and makes it harder to see all that the artist captured. On the other hand, many thanks to the publisher for the notes compiled by Kumar Sivasubramanian. They add alot to understanding and enjoying the manga.

Those crazy kids...

The if the modern North American manga industry lacks one thing to go along with all it's finanical success, it's diversity. While genres like shonen and shojo are expanding more than ever, the output of titles aimed at adults seems to be smaller now than it was back when manga was still called "Japanese comics." Luckly for us old-timers, that's changing, and one of the finest examples of that change is Hiroaki Samura's "Ohikkoshi". Samura, best known for his violent period epic "Blade of the Immortal," won the hearts of indy manga fans with this collection a couple of years ago in Japan, and with this collection he is primed to capture the attention of American indy fans. This isn't your typical romantic-comedy especially compared to the examples of the genre available in english. The comedy comes fast and never lets up. Samura's sense of humor is bizarre to say the least, as tributes to death metal and obscure pop-culture references abound. Much of the comedy comes from the brilliantly realistic character interactions. Any man who's ever been on a date with a girl who's "out of his league" will find much to laugh about in the second chapter. Much of the book's appeal comes from this decidingly slice-of-drunken-life brand of humor, and it should be noted that the book will probobly be best appriciated by those who are past their teens. But even without the wacky-brand of humor the book succeeds wonderfully as an ode to youthful love. In 170 pages Samura manages to develop his characters better than most creators do in multiple volumes. These chacters feel remarkably real, and their struggles and stupid mistakes will be all too familiar to many people. From love triangles to broken-hearts, there's a fair amount of drama in the book, but it never becomes overbearing or sappy. It's a wonderful meditation on the life as a young adult, and by the end of the story you'll feel as though every character has grown a little, which makes the book truly touching. If your looking for the next shojo soap opera or samurai gore-feast, you aren't going to find it here. Instead you will be treated to one of the best writen and funniest mangas of the year. "Ohikkoshi" has the same kind of frantic energy and pure heart that makes the indy comic "Scott Pilgrim" so great. Go buy it right now. Buy another one for your hipster friend who thinks all manga is about magical girls and ninjas. This is the kind of genre defying book that we need more of in english.