Adolf ni Tsugu
Message to Adolf

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Message to Adolf – Spoiler Free – Recommended

TLDR
Story – 10/10 – 10 x 0.275 = 2,75
Art – 8/10 – 8 x 0.2 = 1,6
Characters – 10/10 – 10 x 0.225 = 2,25
Enjoyment – 8/10 – 8 x 0.3 = 2,1
Total: 9 -> 9

Braving oceans, I shall be a corpse, waterlogged. Braving mountains, I shall be a corpse, grass to feed.
... -Message to Adolf

Story – 10/10
Message to Adolf is a heavy story in all senses – it has death, sexual abuse, torture and the very Holocaust. It is also excellent in its execution, although quite dense. Little can be said to make justice to its quality. Message to Adolf is also probably Tezuka’s heaviest manga, where we accompany the life story of three Adolfs: Adolf Kaufmann – a German-Japanese –, Adolf Kamil – a Jew –, and Adolf Hitler – the Führer himself.
The story begins during the 1936 Olympic Games in the person of Toge, a journalist, and slowly introduces the other characters from this point onwards. It ends in the 80s, in Palestine/Israel, also with Toge. Geographically, the story is played out between Germany and Japan for most of the story and in Palestine/Israel in the final stage of the manga.
As the story slowly develops, more characters are introduced, although in a fashion where everything is logical and makes sense in the narrative. There are also no leaps of faith, and the story is highly coherent. The story is also densely packed and filled with dialogue. This, however, doesn’t affect the readability, as the dialogue makes sense in its context.
It is also filled with mentions – for obvious reasons – of the Second World War, as we also accompany the developments of the conflict in both the European and Pacific theatres. The incremental rise and decline of Nazism and Nationalism in Germany and Japan play as the background of the story, as the very fates of the characters are tied to the development of World Politics – in this sense, some of the characters are but the pawns in a larger scheme of things, where race, nationality, friendship, ideology, and war become intertwined.
This story is character-driven, following mostly the lives of the three Adolfs and Toge in this intense, saddening, and even gut-wrenching story. The influence of the war is also depicted in the fate of the characters, where the darkest aspects of the war are also represented on both a macro and micro scale.
In short, Message to Adolf is a beautifully complex, albeit linear, excellent story about the effects of the War on common people from multiple backgrounds, where hate, division, and indoctrination shape the lives and fates of the characters.

Art – 8/10
The art style of Message to Adolf is typical of a Tezuka manga. This is to say that it is cartoonish, but highly functional. Also, the cadence of the panels is also wonderfully made, making the story, although dense, easy to follow. The character design is also quite well done, making them easy to tell apart. The backgrounds are also cartoonish, although the representations of the war and torture are somewhat graphic in their nature.

Characters – 10/10
The story revolves around three Adolfs, as they form the basis of Tezuka’s story, even though every character is of some importance. It is also, therefore, a very character-driven story, and quite well so, as both the story and characters are excellent. Although the characters are in some sense the personification of indoctrination and ideological zeal (Kaufmann), the personification of innocence and friendship (Kamil), and the personification of lunacy and pure evil (Hitler), it must nevertheless be said that all of them suffer modifications in their individual character arcs that make them complex and beautifully well-made. Kaufmann, for instance, didn’t become a full-hearted nazi right from the beginning, nor is he contradiction-free: Kaufmann is a highly complex character – definitely the most complex of the three Adolfs – that surpasses simple characterisations.
The minor characters in Message to Adolf are more than just figurines, as they assist, intervene and play a role in the main story (and minor subplots, although there aren’t many).
The characters are dense and complex and have distinct personalities of their own.

Enjoyment – 8/10
Message to Adolf is an excellent manga and probably one of Tezuka’s best works. Its story and characters are terrific and are a delight to read. The art functions quite well and fulfils its purpose. Although it is only four volumes long, one must keep in mind that the manga is dense and ridden with dialogue, feeling like they are larger than what they actually are. It is nevertheless a classic – and rightfully so – and, in certain aspects, a true masterpiece from the Godfather of Manga himself. It more than deserves an enthusiastic recommendation.

So this is the first work of Tezuka Osamu that I've read and it was great.I was not clueless of Osamu's storytelling ,as I've seen the Dororo anime and it was amazing, if you ask me.

The story and its characters are probably the strongest aspect of this manga .The beginning takes place in Japan,some years before ww2 starts.The protagonist is a japanese reporter named Toge Sohei who gets mixed up with some documents proving that Hitler was a Jew.The whole story is a hunt for these documents by others and Toge trying to protect them.Later on another character takes a leading role and that's Adolf ... Kaufmann who is half japanese and half german.After some events he ends up being sent to Germany to become a nazi and his character gets a 180 degrees shift gradually.There were many memorable people in this story and were irreplaceable and important.

Well one problem that I had with the manga was the kinda outdated art .It's not like that I consider it bad or sth ,but it was probably the thing that I enjoyed less and it was the reason I sometimes thought ''eh I'm not in mood to read Adolf today''

Overall ,the manga is damn great with amazing storytelling and a great plot .If you are okay with outdated art-style, then I would definetely recommend it .Also I need to say that I would love a modern anime adaptation to it ,like the one Dororo had ,because not only it will get more people into the Godfather of manga ,but it will also be a pretty good experience watching a modern Adolf ni Tsugu

Serviceable, fair, decent. a real lukewarm affair. 'Message to Adolf' seeks to be an epic of a comic, and while achieving that to some success it is ultimately underwhelming.

A big part of this springs from the fact that the core premise, the reason we're to be so invested in this story, what is meant to get us hoked, is so terribly uninteresting. It evokes zero emotion. Combine that with a bit of a boring cast and a series of events that leave no lasting impression and you have this comic.

Of the three Adolf's, only one is really interesting in any sort of way and ... it is really frustrating to see him make some very illogical decisions. The rest of the cast is similarly flawed but their greatest flaw is fading to irrelevance. As you read through, because of the little time you have with them you really couldn't care less about the greater majority of them.

The same could really be said for the storey. As I've already said, the initial premise is boring and while it is developed decently(I have my own problems with the execution) there is never a reason to care. After the first couple of chapters it really does become a chore to read through this. This happens, That happens but it really has no effect on the reader.

As previously stated, this isn't a bas comic and may very well end up as somebody's next favourite. I just do not believe that it succeeds in reaching the goals it sets for itself and think that it is rather underwhelming and disappointing in that regard.