Loose Senki: Old Boy

Mar 24, 2020

NosyMuggle

Mixed Feelings

Just to say: the Korean version of the movie is definitely better.

Old Boy is a manga that started with a great premise: a man was imprisoned for ten years by a mysterious person. He is then released and has to find out who did this to him and why.

It started really good. The ways he used to track the steps of the mysterious man were really innovative and cool. Nevertheless, while I was reading it, it seemed to me that the author started the story without an idea on how to end it, so he was just dragging the story ever further. It took 8 ...

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Apr 13, 2013

steven90925

Recommended

A man finds himself imprisoned for a reason unknown to him for ten years before he is released. He keeps himself sane by acknowledging one logic of the situation - that he is still alive. With his past behind him and nothing to lose, his only goal is to find a man who has kept him imprisoned all this time.

The world of manga, much unlike its brother in the western culture (i.e. comics), is undoubtedly plagued with fictions that do no better than to establish a rather conventional story, a rather predictable set of characters, and art that is well refined but nothing reflective ... of the real world. With Oldboy, however, the rules of convention are left completely neglected. There is nothing enticing about Oldboy as a manga at the first glance. Characters are just people dressed in normal clothes and with no dramatic expression on their faces. Little amount of action takes place in relation to the whole manga. The setting mostly takes place in Tokyo - again, nothing extraordinary.

What makes this manga unique within its first chapter from other mangas is the concept behind the whole story. The idea of a man being imprisoned for ten years where he was well-fed, provided a room with full bathroom and TV, plus monthly haircut service, as part of the act of a vengeance is truly extraordinary. On top of that, this was done at an expense of 300 million yen (roughly = 3 million US dollars), all paid by the perpetrator. Could he not have sent an assailant after a person whom he clearly loathes and have him murdered? Or even tortured? Why imprison him at a place that have costed him 300 million yens to pay for... especially with the intent of releasing him some time later?

One of the unfortunate drawbacks of the manga is that it's too long. The motive behind the story is truly captivating and intriguing, but, even with all the fascinating characters, their development and interactions in between, it takes simply too long for the truth of it all to unravel. However, the sheer volume of the events that take place before the truth is revealed is not without purpose. All the events leading up to the final moment of truth do contribute to the ultimate impact of the motive behind the antagonist. There is an underlying theme in this manga that is as thought-provoking as it is melancholic. What is it that keeps us going in the world of superficial people, unfairly played games and the ultimate demise that is as forthcoming to all of us as a clock clicking towards the next minute? No one is safe from the imperfection that prevails in our world, and Kakinuma - the antagonist - in particular has a surprisingly heartfelt story to tell. Then, at the core of it all, is Gotou, a man who is honest and empathetic to the point of them being a flaw to his character.

Where this manga truly thrives is its subtle dramatization of the characters and the relationships they build throughout. Unlike the heroes and the bad guys of most conventional mangas, the characters here are not immune to the flaws of humanity: the greed and carelessness that comes with our self-preservative intents; the vulnerability to establishing meaningful relationships; and - among the most damaging quality of humanity - the ability and the sense of obligation to care. These characters are no different from people who we may encounter in our lives, and are as respectable, flawed, and despicable as our friends and foes alike are.

Oldboy is a manga of highly realistic characters that have found themselves within the grasp of an unbeatable nemesis to humanity. It is frustrating, dark, and depressing, but it is also touching and also surprisingly sympathetic. The underlying atmosphere of melancholy is haunting and well established through not only the story, but the never-exaggerated, subtle portrayal of characters and the settings. This truly is a triumph in both the world of manga and literature. 9/10.

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Jun 11, 2017

BlueKite

Mixed Feelings

Old Boy had an interesting start. With the premise that it offers, it’s easy to get absorbed in its story. The mystery it presents early on is done well enough to be gripping. Violence is promised, with its very crisp action sequences. The execution is good with its captivating paneling of scenes. The art is well done, albeit character designs could’ve been done better. Yet, it started to fall apart halfway with its villain growing ever present by the chapter.

One main problem it has is pacing. When it comes to mysteries, it’s often natural for a slow yet steady buildup that is heightened by cliffhangers. ...

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Nov 16, 2010

Rasco

Recommended

Preliminary (62/79 chp)

A man that has not felt the warmth of a women for ten Years! ;)

Gotou Kidnapped imprisoned in a small room, for ten years He was stuck in this small space, For what reasons? Eating the same thing every day for a decade; only thing he has is a T.V.

Not interest you yet. Like letting a bird out of its cage.

Not knowing who to trust, coming back to a world that has changed a spectacular story where a man must step up his game and find the one who imprisoned him, Revenge is on his mind, curiosity is on his mind. Now ...

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Oct 29, 2012

truisms

Mixed Feelings

A psychological thriller, Old Boy deftly addresses concepts of isolation and vengeance while managing to, for the most part, carry suspense. It definitely has strengths, in particular the characterizations which are interesting and for the most part realized. It explores the psyche of both the protaganist and the villain, both outliers from most of society, in a way that is compelling, and makes both of them relatable and sympathetic. Where this manga suffers, though, is the pacing and the story. While the concept is certainly interesting, in the end it feels almost anticlimatic: the buildup is there to be unleashed, with diverse elements being unraveled ...

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Apr 14, 2013

SirSoySauce

Mixed Feelings

The Korean movie Old boy based on this manga is a millions times better. I mean this manga has a great premise; a man is locked away for 10 year for reasons that are unknown to him and then is suddenly released without being told why. The story follows his search to find out who was behind it so he can get his revenge. But it doesn’t really take it anywhere.

The start of the series is fantastic. It has atmosphere, it’s really pulpy and film noire. It’s interesting to see the mystery unravel and to see how Gotou deals with the situations he’s in. Some ...

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Aug 21, 2021

BZRKR

Mixed Feelings

A lot of people like me will have probably gone into this manga having watched Park Chan Wook's Oldboy (2003), arguably one of the greatest thrillers of all time with one of the most shocking twists to hit the big screen - also based on this manga of the same name.

Unfortunately those lofty expectations are almost never met. Understandably there are many flourishes the film has that the manga cannot compete with: on a technical aspect the film is basically flawless (the one shot hallway fight scene comes to mind). Even taking this into account however, or disregarding the films rendition completely, the manga still ... has wide missteps.

Firstly, the beginning. In the manga Goto (the MC) is almost instantly out of his imprisonment. He seems like he is completely unfazed, apart from appreciating his new found freedom. It's almost like he hasn't just spent the past ten years with just a TV for company. Additionally, we never get so much as a glimpse of his life in prison. The most we understand is that he almost immediately focused on working out and got ripped. With the manga being 8 volumes long, surely some of those chapters could have been devoted to his time in prison? Contrast these details with the films depiction of the prison time, of which we get much more of. We see Oh Dae-Su (the film MC) fall into despair, begging his captors to be released, masturbating to whatever women he can lay eyes on on his TV, attempting suicide, essentially going crazy. I understand that the two characters can obviously be different: Tsuchiya, the mangaka, may have wanted to create a more macho and strong protagonist which admittedly fits better with the noir/gekiga style the manga falls under. However this doesn't change the fact that the film's protagonist is infinitely more interesting as you can sympathize with him, but above all his character's plight is more believable. The manga chooses to make the protagonist laid back, he finds it hard to think who would hate him enough to do this. Meanwhile the film protagonist is a deplorable drunkard-womanizer prior to his imprisonment, who finds it hard to decide on who his captor could be because so many people hate him anyway. In my opinion the latter makes for a much more captivating story.

My second issue is with how comical it is that Goto almost does nothing to find out the reason he was held captive , instead the plot is pushed along by hints and clues that are never found by Goto himself but are rather handed to him on a silver platter by a side character or even the antagonist himself. This adds to another gripe which is that the antagonist never really comes off as threatening, he "handicaps" himself to help Goto but does basically nothing to threaten people on Goto's side. This, coupled with many plot conveniences make the read un engaging at times, especially coming off of the movie which is much more brutal; where the stakes are much more clear; where the consequences of Goto's actions are actually felt in character deaths.

*SPOILER SECTION*
My final issue has to do with the ending and the twist, so please stop reading if you haven't watched the movie or manga. In the manga it turns out that the antagonist imprisoned Goto because he was the only person who ever saw his loneliness, as Goto cried once in elementary school while watching him sing badly in class. This is a pretty poor excuse for a motive in context, made worse by the fact that Goto, after meandering his way through the story still doesn't reach this conclusion himself, the antagonist has to tell him. The manga essentially blue balls you right until the last chapter. Admittedly the motive isn't necessarily bad as it brings to mind interesting thoughts on loneliness; both the antagonist and Goto are solitary characters, and in that moment they may have understood each other more than anyone else in their lives ever would again. The humiliated antagonist may have retaliated out of spite, for being acknowledged by a popular kid who had no idea the suffering he went through. Maybe this is why he imprisoned Goto, to force him into his own loneliness? I can't be sure, because this revelation comes too late in the story and is forgotten almost as soon as it is mentioned. This is an interesting topic but is, in the end, too esoteric for its own good; the premise is wasted on it - there is simply no logical reason to subjecting someone to a ten year imprisonment for something so benign.

In the film on the other hand, it is revealed that the antagonist had sex with his sister, the MC witnessed this and unintentionally caused a rumor to be spread in school around this, eventually leading the antagonist's sister to suicide. In retaliation, the antagonist coerces Oh Dae-Su into having sex with his estranged daughter unknowingly via hypnosis, thereby subjecting him to the same suffering he had. (Who would have thought, the Japanese version isn't actually the one with incest, lol). Straight away this reveal is all the more disturbing, interesting and worth the wait - but most of all it gives a believable purpose for Oh Dae-Su's imprisonment, since his daughter had to grow up for the plan to be enacted. This reveal ties up the film neatly, meanwhile the manga finishes with plot threads still left unanswered. Why did the manga antagonist hypnotise Eri into loving Goto and vice versa? Why did he hate the teacher as well, enough to try and drop a brick on her? Whatever happened to the secretary? We don't know.
*END OF SPOILER SECTION*

I know I've slammed the manga quite a bit but there are some saving graces. For one the art and panelling are great, really bringing home the noir atmosphere present in the Tokyo nightlife. In some respects I may have liked the manga more had I not been aware of the film. The manga has a slower pace, and characters spend most of their time brooding or ruminating alone, or talking with one another whilst at bars drinking. This is why it is 8 volumes long, when if you were to cut the fat it would probably be 6. I can value this as a creative decision, but it just doesn't hold a candle to the films faster pace, wicked action and infinitely more engrossing plot.

The film essentially took the pieces of what could be a great story from the manga and made a phenomenal one out of it. I would still read the manga as it has aspects to appreciate, but the film will ultimately always be the better depiction.

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Jun 23, 2017

A__J

Recommended

So... what to tell about "Loose Senki: Oldboy"?
First of all wanna say that I started to read this manga after I watch two movies of the same name(Korean one and American one).

Manga itself is well graphed, the art itself is great, you just look at it and already fell the atmosphere of Tokyo during the nightime etc. Characters are well-written, even though not all backgrounds were shown and told about. Plot from the begining makes you question the situation our hero is in; creates one big intrigue that leads to the almost good end.

I stongly recommend to read this manga to those of you ...

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May 5, 2018

prat_man

Recommended

You lock up a man for 10 years, then release him all of a sudden, then play a psychological game with him to screw up his head as he tries to understand why this happened to him sums up Old Boy in a nutshell.

Boy, this manga was enjoyable. I had seen the critically acclaimed Korean live adaptation a year before reading this. What the manga excels at is character development, the dark and detailed artwork, the gradual build-up of suspense (which kinda felt similar to Naoki Urasawa's story telling style).

What the manga lacked was a better ending. The main reasons for the antagonist's motivations ...

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Sep 5, 2021

teraphIl1000

Recommended

I had no idea that the modern cinematic classic Old Boy was adapted from a manga, of all things, so when I learnt that yesterday I just had to check it out and (old) boy, am I glad I did!

Old Boy is an enigmatic, brilliant thriller; a slow burn of a story that ensnares and fascinates the reader at every turn. The plot and characters are just great, both relatable and formidable; I particularly loved Goto, the main character, as well as his relationships with Dojima and the other major players of their twisted "game." The art is very good, with a timeless, adult feel; ...

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Mar 1, 2021

Curiouswanderer

Not Recommended

Preliminary (30/79 chp)

Yknow I really really wanted to like this old skool manga so much because I was looking for the damn movie everywhere and it wasn’t on Netflix and I heard a few anitubers talk about it. The opening were promising, with a man trying to find out why he was imprisoned by the mafia in an odd room and why he was set free? The man was actually treated nicely as well as the Mafia giving him 1000 yen. He then meets a girl from a noodle shop and the two hit off. That's where I began to lose interest in the story; I ...

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