Wednesday, January 16, 2008

All The Way Down by Masanori Morita

Synopsis: He is a drunk, a gambler, a wife abuser, a father and a boxer. Divorced and with his neck on the line, he fights what could be his last fight in the ring. All he has to do is take a fall in the fifth round with one minute remaining from his opponents right and wait for the count, and all of his debts will be forgotten and his life spared.

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Well although you might know by now where this manga is going and how it’s going to end it doesn’t matter. Yes, you got that right, it doesn’t matter. Why? Because since page one of six you already know what will happen. The important thing here is the main character that with a sudden thought he proves that he is no ones pet to play with. Morita Masanori accomplishes this by telling you in a concise way what you need to know about the main character, well almost everything since he has no name.

Although the art reminiscences American comics rather than Japanese comics (manga), the amazing use of shades and light with the distinctive trademark of a more serious tone rather than a teen-like atmosphere that most American comics have, was more than enough to let me know this is manga. A few of the things that caught my eye since page one: the color, the proportions and the facial expressions that emphasized anger, contempt, disagreement, pain and the classic look that says: You are pathetic.

I would like that it lasted longer, six pages aren’t enough to satisfy my needs to know a character, I was given certain information and while it made it work, it didn’t made it shine. And maybe, just maybe, the ending would have been more shocking, if I only had known the main character more.

If you have spare time to read 6 pages, five minutes, then get this one, it won’t hurt you and you get to see amazing art plus a what-could-have-been a compelling story. And as a personal plus, I liked it how it shows the life of many boxers that get the boxing fever and start corrupting and poisoning their lives and the ones around them.

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