Opus

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THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS AND SHOULD ONLY BE READ AFTER READING OPUS

So, assuming you just ignored that warning, I'll say again that I will be spoiling the ending of Opus fully in order to discuss it, so readers be wary. If you just want a recommendation from me, this is it. Go and buy Opus on Amazon or wherever you can. It's a great read and completely worth your time, especially if you enjoy Kon's other work. The purpose of this review is to give readers some food for thought about the ending, and perhaps change how they felt about it if they were ... disappointed or unsatisfied.

My experience after finishing Opus mirrored that of finishing Neon Genesis Evangelion. Although both had troubled endings, I found myself satisfied with the result regardless. Both of them also later received an "actual" ending, though the ending to Opus wasn't available until very recently and doesn't undo the ending readers were left with in 1996. What's bound to anger many people is that there is no actual "end" for the characters. Just who is The Masque? Is everything eventually set right in Resonance and Nagai's world? What happens to the characters after Nagai finishes his manga? We'll never truly know, but I personally thought the current ending sent an interesting message about the relationship between author and creation. Much like how Nagai can't finish Resonance, Satoshi Kon was unable to finish Opus, and this comes to an interesting climax when Nagai confronts Kon in manga form. It purposely leaves the narrative to Opus and Resonance incomplete, but it strengthens the message that an author doesn't necessarily have complete control over their work. Although Opus focused more on how an author doesn't have complete control in terms of character and plot progression, the end shows us that sometimes the author doesn't even have control over finishing their own story. Nagai doesn't finish Resonance, Kon doesn't finish Opus, and the two clash over this fact in the final chapter. Although it's still a bit disappointing that we'll never know how Resonance and Opus were originally intended to end, the ending we got was far from a bad one and should hopefully leave the viewer thinking about the relationship between fiction and reality, which is ultimately what Kon originally intended.

We all know Satoshi Kon by his anime works and greatly appreciate those. Some of us may know he drew manga before making his anime debut. I knew it, too, but until now I have never read any of his manga. Now, with Opus, I've got around to doing so and I must say I wish this had been turned into a movie.

Opus is about a manga artist who draws this action manga where the main characters are telepaths and/or can use raw power as a weapon. It's supposedly a great story full of suspense, but currently, the artist is in a slump and struggles ... to produce a coherent ending. So he decides to go out with a bang and kill one of the main characters, a teenage boy, along with the villian. Problem is, said teenage boy is NOT AMUSED by this and decides to take the matter in his own hands. Subsequently, the author gets sucked into his own manga and continues to struggle to save the world he created, only this time the stakes are much higher.

Opus is unmistakably a piece of meta fiction. The moment the author finds himself in his own manga it's less about the actual story and more about the relationship between creator and creation - whether the life the characters lead is truly their own, whether or not the author has the right to decide their every step and ultimately, whether or not they are free. Thing is, they do not sit in a parlor and chat leisurly about this, they are still in the middle of a story and that's what makes it a fun read.

It's not all dialogue either, the visuals also highlight how the creator works. There is this one scene where there is an unfamiliar setting with strange buildings and the creator is like "Hey, I didn't draw that". Immediately, the buildings fall over like a cardboard cutout and it's revealed that they are rather on the small side and are inhabited by tiny creatures that have vaguely human shapes and are all drafts and the creator is like "Oh, maybe I SHOULD have put more work into background details". This also becomes an important plot point further into the story where it's the only makeshift landmark they have.

But that's not all. We all know how detailed Kon's works are and how the art style approaches realistic but is still cartoonish enough and that is used to full effect here, turning some situations surreal, like one guy who literally rises from a sheet of paper and the viewing angle is from the side so it appears like he's coming out of the desk (and that's when I wish this had been a movie, the surreal side of things would have had so much more emphasis when in motion). And it's the same art style that we see in the animated works - people with realistic proportions, normal faces, a realistic approach to things, all this. Interestingly enough, this doesn't lead to immersion, you are at all times aware that you're reading a graphic novel. This is also helped by the fact that there are no two-page spreads whatsoever, everything that happens on one page stays on one page. It's also the same for panels, they are mostly strictly limited to their borders, only rarely does a scene break the panel border. The distance between the reader and the work that this creates is a double-edged sword though, you can't enjoy this as much as you probably want to.

Speaking of enjoyment, as many good ideas as there are and as well as they are put together into one coherent work, it's not as enjoyable as it could be. One reason is the aforementioned distance, one other reason are the characters. They are alright for what they are; they are lively, they are fun to watch. But they aren't developed equally. The teenage boy from before, for example, may be a main character, but he turns out to be not much more than a mouthpiece to produce some lines about morality. The villain is presented like this super-powered guy who might be a little too much for everyone to handle, but he is barely even there, only towards the end does he appear out of nowhere to shake things up. And the only character who's actually fleshed out somehow is the woman. Yes, that's all intentional, we are supposed to see how flawed and irresponsible the author is, but we have to watch these characters the entire time. They could have developed through the course of the manga, especially now that they are acting on their own, but no, they mostly stay the same.

And another thing: the manga ends right at a cliffhanger. This is due to the publishing magazine going out of business. Usually an author who gets hit by this sort of things tries to move on to another magazine, but Kon here was already involved with his first anime at that time, so Opus fell flat. One thing lead to another, more anime got made, so there was really no time for Opus - and then Kon died. Apparently he was working on a new chapter which has been published as a rough sketch (that's all they had), but even that doesn't wrap things up. And it's a damn pity, because this really affects your experience. You WILL be disappointed once you get to the end and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

So in the end, it's a good manga and had the potential to be great, but it's not as enjoyable as it could have been. Still worth your time though, especially because it's done by Satoshi Kon. So go read this if you don't mind meta fiction and are prepared to be left hanging.

Opus – Spoiler Free – Not Recommended

TLDR
Story – 3/10 – 3 x 0.275 = 0,825
Art – 6,5/10 – 6,5 x 0.2 = 1,3
Characters – 3/10 – 3 x 0.225 = 0,675
Enjoyment – 4/10 – 4 x 0.3 = 1,2
Total: 4 -> 4

Story – 3/10
... Opus started out with an interesting premise but with a terrible execution.
Opus is a manga by Satoshi Kon, an animator by nature. It is one of his few manga works.
The story follows the protagonist – Chikara, a mangaka – that was literally swallowed by his own work of art – an action manga. The story then follows the interactions between the mangakas and the characters that he made.
While the beginning is somewhat interesting and engaging, Opus has the gift of ruining this in the first few chapters. It becomes a confusing mesh of events with no real connection between them.
When evaluating the story, one must also keep in mind that it is unfinished and thus has no true ending. One “final” chapter has been released, but it doesn’t conclude the story in any way.
Moreover, the story doesn’t seem to be the main topic of the manga, as he focuses more on the relationship between the mangaka and the characters he created. Again, it all ended too soon to be of value.

Art – 6,5/10
The art is not poorly executed but falls short of being impressive. The character design is average as well, although functional. The cadence of the panels isn't particularly well-accomplished. The backgrounds have some degree of quality in them.

Characters – 3/10
The characters are mid at best, although it is hard in such a short and unfinished manga to create compelling characters. The main character – the mangaka – is interesting, as well as the main character of the manga – Satoko –, but the rest of the cast is a mess. There are characters but they play no role whatsoever.

Enjoyment – 4/10
The manga definitely had potential, but it just didn't deliver. We are left with a sub-par story with a good premise but a bad execution. I can’t see how, aside from the legion of fans that Satoshi Kon rightfully has due to his animes, can Opus be of any interest to anyone. It is just an unfinished story going nowhere – at least, from what we saw. It could have some interest in the question between the author and his creations, but that would depend on how it evolved. It may be interesting if you are reading everything from him but not much else. And, in that regard, Tropic of the Sea does a much better job. Unfortunately, it deserves a not recommended.