I can completely comprehend why even Japanese adults read manga - with plot line such as 'Ode to Kirihito'; it is addictive. It is a pity that I do not have Part 2 at hand yet.

The story of 'Ode to Kirihito' begins with a mysterious medical puzzle - a disease called 'Mow Mow', in which man devolves into a dog before dying. Japanese doc Dr. Osmai Kirihito goes down to the dilapidated, ancient village where this disease exists. Only he is unaware how dark events lay is journey, how he would be a victim himself of conspiracy and fate.

His journey has, in fact, just begun.

Books traverses through fascinating different worlds, dark twists and a amazing repertoire of characters. There is an ambitious doctor who would leave no stone upturned to prove himself right or his greed; a best friends whose motives often carry shades of grey, a nymphomaniac, a helpless nun caught in scary quagmire, a ruthless, weird, freak-show owner and several other cogs that show up in the story sometime. The book also has references to racism and also how, in some places, Japanese were regarded as part of fair, Caucasian race.

A very fast-read story, mostly because there are too many surprise turns and you constantly want to know where Dr. Kirihito's story will end. ( )

My third Tezuka this week, a different series this time. Ode aan/to Kirihito follows the discovery of and research into a mysterious illness. The patients slowly turn into doglike creatures before they die. Dr. Osanai Kirihito goes in search of the cause and finds it, but it quickly becomes clear that not everyone cares if the truth comes out.
In some ways this book is the opposite of MW, in that in this story te authorities are trying to stop the good guys, whereas in MW the main character was evil and the authorities were good. ( )

Geweldig verhaal, meeslepend verteld. Dat zijn we onderhand van Tezuka wel gewoon na Boeddha, die andere schitterende reeks van zijn hand. Dank overigens aan de vertalers die deze spannende misdaadstory voor ons westerlingen toegankelijk maakte.
En nu maar wachten op deel twee. ( )