Tokyo Zombie
by Yusaku Hanakuma
Published: 2008 (first Japanese series 1998)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror, Zombies, Grapic Novel
Paperback: 164 pages
Rating: 5
Inspiration: my challenges R.I.P., Helluva Halloween, Japanese Literature and Weekly Zombies (check out this week's zombie reviews and blogosphere finds)
A horror-comedy manga about two blue-collar factory workers and jiu-jitsu experts who deal with a zombie uprising in Tokyo. When the story begins, Fujio and Mitsuo dream of training in martial arts overseas and becoming famous. When they accidentally kill their overbearing boss, they bury him at a man-made garbage mountain known as Dark Fuji, where tons of rotting garbage have been contaminated with industrial waste which, naturally, transforms the bodies of the dead into ravenous, flesh-eating zombies.
Fuji and Mitsuo try their best to survive in this horrific new landscape, but the hapless pair become separated after an idiotic mistake involving potato chips and a stray dog. A few years later, post-apocalyptic Tokyo has become a feudalistic society, in which the rich have enslaved the lower classes, and created gladiator death matches, pitting zombies against slaves, and Fuji and Misuo meet again.
Zombification: Black Fuji mountain which is a waste dump that became toxic
Zombie mode: feral, but some were captured and controlled
My thoughts:
In-a-word(s): uber-zombie
This is the basis for the movie version so it is not too different (my review of film). Beware, there is a warning on the cover "Adults Only" for some explicit scenes. You will not see the bubble-eyed bubbly gals in this manga.
Like the movie, the emphasis between the haves and have nots in a zombie world is portrayed.
Like the movie, the emphasis between the haves and have nots in a zombie world is portrayed.
Overall, the story comes across well in manga form. But, watch the movie for embellishment.
