Kokou no Hito
The Climber

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The saying ‘’A picture paints a thousand words’’ is truly exemplified by this manga. While the amount of dialogue in-series isn’t exactly low, the main character speaks rarely throughout the whole manga; yet that is its biggest feat. While manga, like anime, is a visual medium, most works don't utilize their visuals to full extent, only going as far as to present scenarios in a very bare-bones and basic manner. That's where Kokou no Hito shines, as it manages to tell the story solely through its astonishingly utilized visuals - be it the visualization of psychological struggle or metaphorical imagery that adds a symbolic layer ... to the scenarios that our protagonist faces.

I think it should first be mentioned that expecting a traditional sports manga when going into it is a mistake; the series is more akin to titles like Ping Pong, where the actual sport takes a backseat to the exploration of the cast. Yet Kokou no Hito is different in a way, since the whole manga focuses on Mori Buntarou’s mentality, and his alone. Our protagonist is shy by nature, and soon after transferring schools, he gets into mountain climbing - this is a rather traditional setup, but that’s not all there is to it.

Initially, Sakamoto Shinichi was responsible for the artwork whereas Yoshiro Nabeda was responsible for the writing - a fairly common constellation for serializations; but due to, at least to me, unknown circumstances, Yoshiro Nabeda left the project after volume 3, and Sakamoto Shinichi was now not only the illustrator, but the author as well. I believe this worked to the series’ benefit - the first two volumes were rather clichéd in their structure, but once Sakamoto Shinichi took over the writing, the series evolved; turning over from a traditional sports series to an atmospheric, introspective character study.

That’s where the visuals get important - while in most cases, characterization is done through dialogue and actions, Kokou no Hito does it through the art; since Mori fails to talk back to people due to his shyness, and is reluctant to talk in general, his personality and mindset are brought forward solely by metaphors. Instead of just blandly showing us his inability to reply, his thought process is visualized; to provide an example, in an instance where a character stubbornly demands Mori’s keys, Mori fails to deny the request and simply stands there, awestruck - yet what is actually shown to us is Mori pointing a remote at her trying to metaphorically “turn her off”, followed by him sitting on the floor writing possible replies on notes. This impressively conveys his struggle to find the right words and him wanting to escape the situation. And yet Mori, in reality, just stands there doing nothing. This was just one of numerous examples, and the series truly makes successful use of this technique. Kokou no Hito also utilizes its art to create a fitting atmosphere - be it landscape shots from the mountain-top to create a sense of irrelevance and scale or small moments like Mori breathing in fresh air and simply feeling alive. Although it is perfectly utilized, the atmosphere creates an issue within the series - since the writer changes, the tone of the series alternates rather abruptly; this causes the transition from volume 3 to 4 to be rather jarring, and can break the built up immersion in the previous volumes, although I personally am able to overlook that since once you get used to the new direction it takes, it becomes a way more captivating series.

The change in author also caused several subplots to be scrapped, and some characters that were planned to be relevant later on were treated very poorly by the plot; this feels especially odd considering the level of insight the series gives Mori and its thematic exploration, creating a stark contrast between the very well crafted and almost amateurishly written sides of the series. That does not mean the series goes downhill though, as it manages to create several compelling subplots and exciting twists - since this series is about mountain climbing, an inherently dangerous activity, there are bound to be fatalities, and the way the series portrays the cruel apathy of nature is truly chilling; people die on several occasions throughout the series, yet those deaths are not dramatized in the slightest, rather, they are presented to be natural events, which makes those moments even more haunting and depressing. This ties really well into the series’ theme of human irrelevance to nature, how small and meaningless we are in the grand scheme of things. The manga addresses this in an intriguing way, presenting the mountain and the act of climbing as both a strenuous and demanding, yet desirable and fulfilling thing; throughout his journey Mori faces many challenges and cruelties in the mountains, yet he never backs down, always chasing one peak after another - he doesn’t have any concrete reason, the only thing he knows is that it gives him a sense of liberty, being isolated from the humans he does not get along with.

The aforementioned ties profoundly into the series’ symbolism, most notably the meaning of the mountain and the rope. Whereas the mountain’s symbolic meaning is vague, the rope’s is pretty simple and straightforward - human connection. Once you link ropes with a climbing partner, your life lies in their hands and theirs in yours. If one falls, both die; severing the rope means severing your connection to another human, and that theme is poignantly presented in Kokou no Hito. The mountain’s meaning deserves more focus than I can give in this review.

A big criticism this series often receives is the underwhelming sidecast, especially in comparison to the phenomenally characterized protagonist; while this criticism isn’t necessarily wrong, I feel like it’s missing the point of Kokou no Hito - it’s an autobiographical work through and through, detailing the life journey of Mori Buntarou, so I do not see why a sidecast with more focus is necessary. I agree though that a few characters could have been handled with more care, especially Yumi and Miyamoto. What is often forgotten is that Kokou no Hito did have a few side characters that, while only having a short appearance in the series, were handled in an absolutely brilliant way, perfectly showcasing what the series can achieve in terms of atmosphere and thematic exploration.

Another aspect I want to address is the conclusion - Kokou no Hito has probably the most impressive final act I have witnessed in media; the narrative shifts completely, switching between the last climb and the memories and thoughts of our protagonist, giving it a very unchronological and confusing feel. Indeed, many people need a reread of the last two volumes to fully grasp what's presented, but this makes for one of the most absorbing and cathartic conclusions I have seen, being simultaneously inspirational and cathartic.

Yes, this series is flawed, but I truly believe that its positives more than overweigh its shortcomings; it’s insightful on a very personal level, detailing the life of a fully fleshed out and explored protagonist, while presenting themes that are relevant to all of us. Kokou no Hito is a journey, for the protagonist and the reader alike, and it’s a journey I would love to embark on time and time again. It fully absorbs you into the mountains, making your crave for fulfillment yourself, and that is the greatest feat a work of art can achieve.

Recommendations:
-Oyasumi Punpun for capturing the same emotional beats
-Neon Genesis Evangelion for an anime that is similarly structured in narrative and has a strikingly similar protagonist
-Ping Pong for another psychological/sports series that conveys similar thematics

Its a sort of coming of age story, that is to say, we watch as this young aimless boy becomes a man through the many trials and tribulations he faces, through the mountains he climbs and the people he meets. From the inception he is ostracized from those around him (largely by his own accord) who has no clear goals in life. As fate would have it, he is bullied into climbing, and in turn he develops a deep love for it. Death, betrayal, disloyalty and sacrifice follow Mori on his passage to adulthood and Kokou no Hito is able to present the harsh ... realities of life. Suffice it to say, this is far from a heartwarming story, at every turn in Mori Buntarou's life he meets adversity and every interaction with those around him acts as character defining moments which are often not for better but for worse.

This isn't simply a story about mountain climbing, which seems to be a common criticism. While largely prevalent, climbing acts as a means of escape for Mori. Atop these mountain peaks Mori is finally able to escape society and reality as each climb not only acts as a physical crucible, but a psychological one. All of which slowly, yet inevitably, leads to the maturation and growth of Mori who by the end of the series has taken a complete 180 out of his introvert shell. In the end Mori no longer climbs to escape reality because he has come to terms with it, because there is now something not on the peak, but on the ground waiting and calling for him.

At heart, Kokou no Hito is an intricate story that exhumes a very realistic setting. Despite being on the extreme side of this scale, there should not be a single point in this story where one could consider something unrealistic or unfeasible. The painstaking amount of detail the mangaka - Sakamoto Shinichi - puts into this story guarantees this. From mountain climbing to the characters on the ground, Kokou no Hito delivers a very realistic and detailed notion of the harsh realities of life. The romantic side of the narrative beautifully juxtaposes this harsh world. Instead of retreating to the top of mountains, relying on mountains for a brief reprieve, he is able to find a place on the ground to belong. The detail Sakamoto puts into Kokou no Hito can be seen in every chapter. Despite the story having jumps in its time frame, everything is explained meticulously. Mori is shown at work and his work-life is explained continuously, all of which is an attempt for Mori to save money to climb the mountains he loves. Not only this, but the detail in describing the many mountain climbing techniques and limitations gives even the ignorant reader - such as myself - a base of knowledge and understanding as to why and how everything happens. These are only small examples of the detail Sakamoto puts into the entire series.

Similarly, the art is truly majestic, which is very important in a series like this. The detail put into every aspect of the manga's art is a sight to behold. Whether it's the double page art spreads of the beautiful mountains or the characters themselves, every aspect of the art is detailed and unique offering a very easy way to immerse the reader in the story. The biggest aspect being the arts realism which compliments the fact that this is a realistic narrative. Characters are drawn perfectly, they are not ripped behemoths nor are they weak boys, they are drawn realistically and they are, for the most part average yet unique. No two characters look the same. Similarly, the climbing utensils and equipment all look realistic. Of course, the mountains and weather are no exception. Mountains are drawn to perfection with excruciating detail and the snowy biomes and weather are masterfully drawn. Kokou no Hito has some of the most beautiful and detailed art in any manga I have read.

As previously mentioned, this is a coming of age story and as such a very large emphasis in regards to characters resides with Mori Buntarou himself. He is a character with phenomenal depth, development and backstory. For the most part, this provides us with sense and reason to every action Mori makes. We understand why Mori is socially withdrawn, we learn why he wants to climb and we understand why he begins to open up as the narrative progresses. Many characters inevitably die, in either a literal or metaphorical sense. That is to say, while some characters simply die others die in the sense that what they believed in and what they aspired to do has died and they are no longer what they once were. Regardless of how characters die, it presents us with a very realistic approach. These deaths end up being tests of Mori's strength and resolve. By the end of the manga it is beautiful to see how far Mori developed, which is really what the series is about. While the main focus resides on Mori, other characters are developed for better and for worse. As mentioned, some of these characters meet a literal or metaphorical death. It's understandable how they can be criticized but regardless of how they develop, their outcomes and actions are equally realistic despite being on the darker side of realism. While they are used to develop Mori they are more than that, often reaching tragic outcomes these characters represent what happens in life without the resolve to do what they dreamed to do.

Ultimately, Kokou no Hito is not your typical sports manga. It is a dark story about growth and maturation. It is a story with its emotional ups and downs which are both juxtaposed beautifully. It is important to note that the manga does not glorify any actions or outcomes within the series, it illustrates a painfully realistic scenario where life is full of consequence and hardship. It is a story that shows while dreams can be achieved, a herculean resolve is often required and even still there is a price to pay. However, that isn't to say there's no light at the end of the tunnel. But above all else, it is a story that isn't simply about mountain climbing, knowledge and passion of climbing is not a requirement to appreciate this manga.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

The feeling of fulfillment comes in many forms. For young Buntarou Mori, rock climbing quickly became a passion and a reason to enjoy life, as well as a fulfilling sensation. Who would have thought that the sport of rock climbing could make such a deep and interesting story?

Story: 9/10
Shinichi Sakamoto did an absolutely wonderful job of mixing sports with drama and a hint of some psychological and romantic aspects. It's a more serious manga, yet you're presented with story full of moments where you want to cry happily for the characters fulfilling their accomplishments, smile at the seemingly rare adorable scenes, and laugh at some ... of the more comedic characters. The best thing about the drama is that it's not just melodrama that you can find in any old shounen series. There's no antagonist out to destroy the world and make life hard for Buntarou. Nope, this is just a simple tale of a boy who came to find something to live for...but it's so much more than that.

Art: 10/10
As with other seinen manga, art is really crisp looking and not over-the-top. Buntarou isn't some big ol' macho guy full of testosterone, nor is he a girly looking dude with fabulous hair and a pretty face. He simply looks like an average man (okay, well maybe his hairdo is still kind of crazy, but this is a manga after all). The female characters aren't depicted as petite little things with D-cup boobs-- they accurately portray an average woman's body. Backgrounds and the like are wonderfully detailed yet still keep a realistic aspect.

Character: 9/10
It was kind of hard for me to rate this section, to be honest. The main character that I felt really was able to develop was Buntarou, but he's the only one. The supporting cast (Hajime, Masao, and Yumi) are all important but their characters never really undergo any huge developments. Then again, I can see why; after some certain events happen, they're not really necessary at all in the story anymore. Even though only Buntarou received development, I feel like Shinichi did what he felt was best for this manga considering the story DOES revolve almost solely around Buntarou.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I'm a sucker for seinen manga, although the idea of rock climbing as the main point of the story put me off a bit at first. I'm really glad I overlooked that and still decided to give it a try, because now Kokou no Hito places 2nd in my top 10 favorite manga. Everything about this manga is phenomenal, which is why I sat down and immersed myself in the story so easily. I struggle a lot with concentrating, and thus am wary of getting into series that have more than 20ish chapters, but I definitely don't regret my decision to get into this manga.

Overall: 9.5/10 (rounded up to 10/10)
Please give Kokou no Hito a try, regardless of what your tastes are. Whether you're a fan of rock climbing or not, I believe you can come to enjoy this manga for the drama/psychological aspects as well. If the genres don't make or break a series for you, it still has some of the best character development I've seen in awhile, and the art is pretty to look at if all else fails.

Kokou no Hito is about Mori, a young, very angsty and lifeless man who initially transfers to a new high school. In 1-2 chapters Mori is goaded by a classmate into climbing up the school building and seemingly in a trance, he does so, almost killing himself in the process as he climbed up a small pipe 4 stories up. After being scolded heavily and slapped in the face by Onishii-sensei, he is encouraged to take up climbing and take part in a local contest, of which he initially refuses but ends up going through a series of events. Mori realizes rather unconciously, as he ... is a very dense youth (not stupid mind you), that he feels alive by climbing and takes it up almost religiously and out of nowhere, as if climbing was meant for him all along. This dude also makes some funny faces sometimes. Mori then decides to take up climbing not really professionally, but as if its the only thing that matters in the whole world. Moving on-

Alot of things happen in and out of climbing to these characters, as there is a cast of sorts. It's very realistic, there is zero nonsense in how they interact and how events transfold between them. "That makes no fucking sense" will never be said to describe anything here. In fact its so surprisngly serious in parts it may completely take you off guard, as if you just got in the face with some of the stuff. It's pacing is all over the place, which is PERFECT for this type of story, as life does not always go fast or slow. Good atmosphere, basically. Now you may be thinking that this kind of story is not entertaining, as you are not a supposedly overly pretentious reader who needs everything to be dramatic and realistic and etc. HOWEVER you would be surprised how entertaining someone climbing rocks is. It is. I say beforehand I enjoy every manga I review but I very much doubt others would disagree with me on this for the most part, but don't let my perceived minor uncerainty shake you just try it for yourself its bretty good.

So the characters are fantastic, the plot is a very human drama about life and death, moving on, things of that nature. It's hard to swallow, it very much is. That's another adjective that you can use to describe the entire manga, "heavy." Everything is heavy in this manga. Even the art style is heavy. Elaborating on that the art is very good

It's very difficult to make the review standout so I think most of the time at the end of these I will right a paragraph that is a thinly veiled "read it read it read it" statement. I loved reading this and if you are in the mood surely you will as well, I don't really believe that someone is only an "action reader" etc. rather you just have to be in the right mood for certain stories. This is one of the best manga I have ever read. I found it by clicking the random button at batoto lol

This is not a typical sports manga. There is no friendship, no team spirit, no working towards the same goal. It's more psychological than sports.

The goal of climbing is not to beat the opponent, it is to reach the top of a mountain. That is usually done in a team of two or more people, so you would expect some team dynamics at least, but that is not the case with Kokou no Hito. The protagonist Mori Buntarou climbs alone and over the span of the story you learn about his past and why he pushes everyone away and isolates himself.
It starts like ... any normal sports manga would. We have the amateur climber Mori who has great potential, we have the rival, we have the love interest, we even have a school climbing club. That all changes after a certain event that will show the real tone of the manga. Everything that can go wrong goes wrong. It tries to have so many harsh realities about life that it comes off as unrealistic sometimes, because they come out of nowhere and there is no explanation or foreshadowing for them. It tries to shock you and to make that effect stronger the author uses a lot of time skips. And I mean A LOT. Sometimes it is just a few days, but it can go up to years that just get skipped. It works a few times, but when you use time skips that often the characters suffer under it. It can seem annoying and can ruin the enjoyment of scenes, but there is a reason behind it. The time skips are the main reason the manga keeps you invested in it. When the story reaches a point where it seems boring or slow, the time skips hit hard and keep you on the tip of your toes wanting to read as fast as possible to know just what the hell happened in the time that was skipped. But time skips are not the only device used by the author. He uses a lot of transitions, metaphors, allusions and literal passages from poems and books. He tries to express extreme feelings of joy and euphoria in very weird and memorable ways and uses a lot of obscure art to back that up. The one that I liked the best was when the sun was rising over a mountain that was climbed by a character. To show just what he was feeling in that moment the author drew an orchestra that followed the sunrise with its performance. It was a new experience for me and really improved the manga.
http://imgur.com/a/qJ2js

But back to the characters. Because of the time skips characters change and characters that were introduced in previous chapters just disappear. The author tends to make his characters change completely in the blink of an eye. That is one of my biggest gripes with the story. It is unreasonable how the characters develop, because you are not there when they do. It is supposed to shock you, but you just cannot make a connection with the characters and thus do not care about their changes. The character that was developed the best is Mori, but even he suffers from that problem.

Well in conclusion I have to say Kokou no Hito is no ordinary manga. Its use of stilystic devices remind of a poem and really made the manga for me. If not for them I would have given it a 6-7/10, because of the sudden time skips and changes in characters, but as it is it deserves a 8/10. I highly recommend it if you are tired of usual sports manga and want something with more focus on the mind of the protagonist and with a more realism and mature themes.

"You are alive!"
That's the feeling it's all about.

I picked this manga by pure coincidence. When I read the first chapter I was like: "Climbing? Gimme a break! Boring..."
This is also the reason why I decided to write this review. You don't have to like mountains to like this manga. Moreover, after reading it, chapter by chapter, you start to understand this passion (climbing) a little.

Story:
Kokou no Hito (The Climber) is an uncommon manga about Buntarou Mori, a high school transfer student, who discovers his passion for climbing mountains.
(Sounds odd, doesn't it? I thought so too, but I gave it a try and it sure ... was worth it.)
On first day in his new school, Mori is being cajoled by his classmate into climbing the school building. In one moment, while reaching the top, our hero experiences a completly new feeling - he feels that he is alive.
I dont want to write spoilers so saying anything more just wouldn't work.

Art:
The whole art was really good in my sense, especially the backgrounds. There are some great dynamic action panels and also a bunch of nature-exposing pages. I really liked the way that artist showed emotions and expressions too, they were really vivid.

Characters:
I will make myself clear. There aren't many characters in Kokou no Hito. In fact, they aren't really great too. The ones, whose are worth mentioning are the main protagonist and maybe some of people that appear in the late chapters.
Therefore I will say something only about Butarou Mori.
The main hero is an antisocial and gloomy type of person. He prefers doing all things alone, including climbing. At first you may not like him, but while reading on, you become used to his character and start seeing his reasons.

Enjoyment:
I couldn't stop myself of reading. In consequence, I read all 52 chapters in one day. Saying that, what more can I say about my enjoyment? It was really good and I'm sad it is still incomplete.

Overall:
On the whole, Kokou no Hito was like a fresh breeze in the sea of other mangas I read. It was something completly different from what I have seen so far. If you want to read something new too, I advise you to try this one.

Overview:
Amazing manga, it is a coming of age that depicts a lifelong obsession of a man to always climb higher as an alpinist.
Kokou no Hito is the most profound and beloved manga I have ever read. It discusses how one's life is impacted by social anxiety, depression, and mental health in general. Even though this manga occasionally contains tragic scenes, it is still very artistic.

Story:
Kokou no Hito, or The Climber, is the tale of a man who seeks to climb. It quickly becomes apparent, though, that this isn't only about climbing; it's also about Mori Buntaro's struggle with society and loneliness. As a result, what ... starts as a tale about a bashful and antisocial youngster develops into a melancholy tale about mountains and the effort to climb them that seems incredibly genuine.

Art:
The artwork brilliantly complements the series' symbolism, making it easy to recognize real life from symbolic acts or gestures most of the time. Whether it's Mori's worn-out and frostbitten face or the breathtaking panorama of the K2 mountain, the artwork in this series is incredibly breathtaking. Through his artistic approach, Shinichi Sakamoto gave this manga a heart and soul.

Character:
The main character, Mori Buntarou, is the focus of this manga, and the writer has done a fantastic job with his development. The secondary characters are all engaging and seem extremely realistic, have their unique personalities, and make a positive contribution to the plot.

Conclusion:
To mature readers, especially those with open minds and a love of visual metaphors, I would heartily suggest this manga. The superb artwork, fantastic character development, gripping plot, and a strong sense of setting all stand out in this exceptional manga. Additionally, the athletic and slice-of-life aspects are well-balanced and work well together.

I think it is worth checking out.

Thank you for reading my review.

|| Manga Review and Recommendation - Ultimate ||

Manga - Kokou No Hito.
Genres - Drama, Sports, Psychological, Seinen.
Authors - Sakamoto, Shinichi

From the title you can guess how much i liked this manga, i surfed through Myanimelist to find good seinen manga and i found this Golden Gem. The Manga takes the story to the deep philosophical and psychological world of Mori Buntarou, who is a Mountain Climber. Life is not easy and therefore for you to enjoy you need to climb the mountain to achieve your dream..a random quote i made. The life of mori Buntarou is explored in this manga from a high school ... student to the Professional Mountain Climber.

Synopsis - On his first day of transferring to a new high school, a loner named Mori Buntarou, is cajoled by a classmate into climbing the school building. Despite knowing that one misstep could send him spiraling to his death, he moves forward, and upon finally reaching the top, Mori experiences a sense of fulfillment. That feeling, which seems to be telling him, " You're alive!" gives birth to an adrenaline for rock-climbing.

Story(9.5/10) - The story is indeed a well adapted and is based on life of the real Buntarou. There is no hint of exaggeration and follows a realistic approach. The basic plot follows a realistic pattern of human life, following from his evolution from Introvert Dreamless boy to Strong Independent Man.

Art(9/10) - From the below pic you can guess, how deep and rich the artwork is and how much details are put forth in each panel.The style of Sakamoto has a very realistic approach and is very unique.

Characterization(8/10) - The Protagonist's personality has been shown perfectly and the hint of changes over time due to his ownself and his surrounding is depicted perfectly. There is a potential romance in the story which also has effect on

Overall(9.5/10) This is one Great Manga and it deserves much more. Sakamoto sensei is one of my fav. mangaka just after Akira toriyama and Takehiko Inoue. It is also in my top ten list and has made a comfortable place there.

Kokou no Hito is my all-time favorite manga. The tragedy of the story is so real and sympathetic that I almost wanted to stop reading, but the art, symbolism, and strength of the main character kept me reading on.

When I originally started reading Kokou no Hito, I thought it would be another high school based manga that developed slowly and would end shortly after the main character graduated, but I was proven completely wrong. This manga isn't about some fictional character who experiences and accomplishes various things in high school; it's about a human being who time after time runs into hardships and ... does his best to overcome them.

The art is amazing, and the author uses a lot of different imagery and symbolism to help us understand each characters personality and how they might be feeling at the moment. Later on in the manga, it becomes poetic and foreboding; it's hard to put into words the complicated emotions this manga makes me feel.

There are three things you should know before reading this:
#1: No matter how badly you want to stop reading the manga because of a sad event that happens, do not. This manga is worth reading till the end.
#2: This manga has some nudity and mature scenes.
#3: A great portion of the manga goes into developing the main character, but by the end you will feel extremely connected to him as if he were a close friend of yours in real life (well, maybe not, but that's how I felt).

I recommend you give Kokou no Hito a chance, even if you don't usually read mangas like this. I was skeptical at first, but grew to love it immensely.

Do take note that the writer changes after the first arc (maybe up until he goes up the first mountain). It turns from a typical sports shonen in the beginning to one of the darkest character studies out there. The work as a whole explores isolation and obsession as a remedy to loneliness and pain.

The work follows the withdrawn, climbing-obsessed recluse Mori Buntarou from high school to adulthood. Contrary to the tone of the beginning, he does not learn the power of friendship, he does not learn to rely on others, but rather the dark side of society continually bare their fangs at this ... pup that wants nothing to do with it, and reinforces that mountains are the only place for a man like him to belong, away from the lights and horrors of humanity. We soon learn that this is not an uncommon sentiment for climbers, and the oxygen-deprived, perilous environments lay bare the fears that every other climber is running from, including Buntarou himself.

Buntarou's inability to communicate really lets the mangaka's art shine as he imagines scenarios rather than communicates them (e.g. physically pausing a stressful situation with a remote control and penning down a lengthy apology, but in reality just running away and locking the door). As he dives deeper into obsession and goes into the oxygen-deprived regions of the mountains, the mangaka is given further chances to shine as the horrific and abstract demonstrations of his psyche are laid bare and beautiful for us to understand without a single word. The climax at chapter 169 flittering between reality and metaphor was one of the most satisfying I've ever seen in any media.

The mangaka employs a subtly brilliant storytelling technique where the story is rarely told in a linear manner, instead told in fragments of recollections while encountering obstacles on the mountain. For example, him taking refuge in a shelter amidst a snowstorm evokes a recollection of an uncomfortable encounter with a female coworker that shouts at him as he locks himself in his apartment. The juxtaposition between the ugliness of humanity and the unadulterated beauty of the mountains seems to further reinforce Mori's sense of belonging among the peaks.

Yet above this complex character study lies a simple story about climbing mountains. The landscapes are beautifully drawn and fraught with danger filling the readers with tension, not knowing which characters are going to die and when. As someone that has done a semi-technical climb in Nepal before, the story's careful consideration of techniques, terminology and just overall realism paints itself as a love letter to mountain climbing.

It is a chilling story with a happy ending. A beautifully told story of a recluse and his very gradual climb against the difficulties of life and society.

Okay.. this is my first review in this platform. I hope this review is not messy and hope it can help you. Also this review probably have minor spoiler, so be careful.

Kokou no Hito–A story that focussing on the climber (just another name for this series, lol... okay, stop this unnecessary kidding).

STORY: 9/10
Without any doubt, I can say this series is peak of climbing fiction that I've ever read in my life. This series has a good basis for objectivity assessment, for example it has a good storytelling, consistent plot, simple but beautiful worldbuilding-thanks to careful execution, thanks to Sakamoto Shinichi. All of these important ... values ​​will form an "atmosphere" in this series—tensioning, life and death situations, how hard is the climbing rail, etc... the atmosphere was so fckn' immeasurable. What makes us grateful is, this series is not try-hard. I mean, this series is honest as it is, when the situation is tense, then this series will also have the tension itself, and when the situation is relaxed (even in climbing conditions), this series doesn't force it to be "mf tense," this is a good point, remembering another series or fiction would force the suspense all the time—and it made me sick ffs. Again, its not try-hard wannabe...

ART STYLE: 10/10
THIS IS SAKAMOTO SHINICHI! The man behind the masterpiece series, Innocent—Innocent Rouge. What is there to doubt about him? I can say that this series has art that is almost on par with other major seinen series, for example like; Vagabond, Berserk, Punpun, Kingdom, Innocent&Innocent Rouge, etc... the art style makes the atmosphere more lively. Detailed depictions of mountains, surreal panels, and dont forget that Shinichi is genius at drawing character expressions... with all these positives, what would you doubt about a author who was even invited by the Louvre Museum in 2016? THERE IS NOTHING TO DOUBT. That's my reason why I liked him.

CHARACTER: 8/10
In addition to a mature plot, good writing and great art style, Kokou no Hito also has interesting character writing. We have Mori "Katou" Buntarou, a self-centered brat that very dedicating for the mountain. He's a well-written character—he's not perfect, he's weak at socializing, selfish and even hard to get along with, but underneath it all, he has a bitter past, so the reasons why he gets fucked up are acceptable (at least for me, he's likeable protagonist). But try to get rid of all that, behind his "bad" nature, he holds 1 interesting view—true, especially if it's not his view of "mountains." Although he is selfish, but he is very dedicated to mountains and climbing, and he's also consistent, due to the fact that he is selfish, so when he says "a," then the answer is also "a," this also applies to mountains, if he says "conquer," then what he did was that, no matter how much it cost, he would still do it. This is an example of a selfish character that I respect (thanks to his dedication to the mountains). 🐐

ENJOYMENTS: 10/10
I really enjoyed every detail in this series—good plot writting, great art style, likeable character's writting, without any doubt, I'm very enjoying this 170 great chapter.

OVERALL: 9/10 (Great)
Yeah, this is a very worthy seinen series. I recommending you to read this manga. It's a wonderful journey about climber who very dedicated to the mountains. 🐐

Finding yourself in life and your place in the world are things that everyone are looking for. For young mori buntarou it is climbing-to be far away from all the bad things in our world, from all the other people.

story:9/10

The story in this manga is not just about mountain climbing. It's about your goal in life, your hardship in life. It offers sports, drama, romance, all in a very mature tone. It's not just climbing on mountains, it's so much more.

Characters:9/10

Although almost all of the characters doesn't get a really big development, they are there for mori to develop as both a character and as ... a climber.
Mori going through a lot and meeting all kinds of people, through them he is able to understand things about himself and about life.

Art:10/10

The art is simply amazing. It took some time for me to get used to the characters faces but the scenery, whether this is the mountain or the city or just a background of people is done very well. Shinichi draws beautifully.

Enjoyment:10/10

I love sports manga. And although, like many others, The idea of manga about climbing seemed weird, I gave a chance to it and loved every moment. The art, the main character who I could very understand him, the story itself... I found myself hours reading it and finish in one go.

Overall:
I hope more people will read this work. If you love sports and drama, you need to give this manga a chance.

outstanding art.. well done.

dont get fooled by the sports tag and think this is your typical "aim for the nationals" type of shounen sports manga. There are no team elements, no friendship that leads to victory and all that cliche stuff. This is a psychological manga revolving around a solitary guy that finds passion in climbing, and mesmerizing yet intimidating mountains that pull you towards them. the art deserves special praise. its exceptional how the settings, character expressions and even visual symbolism are done. one of the best artwork ive ever seen in a manga.
i highly recommend it if you are tired of usual sports ... manga and want something with more focus on the mind of the protagonist and with a more realism and mature themes.

Kokou no Hito is a seinen manga once again with gore images but also a depth on the psychology of the characters.
Released in 2007, 170 scans for 17 volumes, inspired by real events and in tribute to Sir Buntarou. So we start with Mori Buntarou, a very reserved and friendless young high school student, he is transferred to a new class and a classmate comes to provoke him in certain circumstances to climb his school building.
It follows the adventures of Mori in the mountains but not only x)
I can't say much more, the fact that it's inspired by a true story and that the mountains ... are real puts us in total immersion, some technical terms are used in order to really respect the discipline.
There are quite a few characters who are in-depth, whether male or female, old or young, and it's flawless once again for me, which is why I'm offering you this little review, hoping to make you want to take a look.

i guess this is my first time writing a review for anything on this website, and for starters, ive had this manga on my list for a very long time as the few panels i saw drifting around on the internet from said manga had caught my eye, and since then, its been in the back of my mind as ive been wanting to read it for a while. then, finally, i picked it up.

i managed to complete all 170 chapters in a matter of 2 days.

ive never been one for serious "sporty" manga that was obliviously long and showed only the typical ... and standard theme of teamwork and believing in yourself, as what i thought this manga was solely about. however, i was sincerely mistaken.

the main character, mori buntarou was portrayed to be a character who had a inclination for being alone and keeping to himself, as he found that whenever he found people to be with, he would either get blamed or feel like he ruined everything. however, he was someone with a god given talent in being one with the mountains and the feeling of climbing great heights. from there, it was an long and frivolous journey of fighting both the physical reality of things, as well as the emotional. i felt very drawn to mori throughout reading this story and resonated with him with many of the challenges in which he faces.

i think just seeing and recognizing the beauty and inferiority humans have against nature is an eyeopener, especially regarding the beautiful harshness of mountains and while humans have the strong will to see such nature, it is not to say that the odds will be for us. this manga was absolutely incredible, and the ending really struck a cord in me. glad i read such an unforgettable piece of art.

my one bit of criticism is that i wish there were a strong female character that remained consistent throughout the story, while showing her strengths and faults alongside. hana was definitely the only female character i truly liked during the story, as her and her daughter's presence was a very important thing to mori as he ventured through the mountains. however, i'll look over it just this one time since the story as a whole made up for it.

If there is a manga that embodies a spiritual journey, The Climber is it.

It starts off as a pretty straightfoward sports story about a kid, Mori Buntarou, who is a loner in class and suddenly discovers the thrill of climbing.
I was not prepared for the emotional and symbolic trip I was in for when the author Sakamoto gained full creative control some 30 chapters in and continued this manga "solo" after his co-writer left.
What followed was some of the most beautiful, tense and harrowing moments I've seen in a story. Surrounded by nothing but snowy mountains, haunting screams of the wind and Mori's own ... inner thoughts.

This has outright the best visual storytelling and panelling I have ever seen, the way Sakamoto gives life to certain feelings and mind states through visual allegories is simply masterful.

Cannot recommend this enough.

I read this manga across two consecutive days, I just couldn't put it down and I enjoyed every second of reading it. I believe that it is a true masterpiece.

The climber has some of the best art in manga. There is somewhat minimal dialogue across the manga and the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" really applies well to this manga, profoundly through the main character, Mori. Even though they are not focused on, I think that the side characters are pretty good and the character design is really good.

I find it difficult to put what I think about this manga into ... words, but I believe that it shows how corrupt society can be, and that the good people die and the evil thrive and that Mori escapes this through climbing mountains. A true psychological work of art that I would recommend to anyone with eyes. I personally wouldn't want the climber to be animated, I think it fairly obviously wont be, but It's impossible to expect this level of detail to be portrayed well in an anime.

Kokou no Hito is probably one of the most interesting manga I've read in a long time, in the sense that it completely defies any expectations you might have upon reading it for the first few volumes.

In the beginning, it seems like a decent but fairly standard shounen sports story; the main character is a lethargic loner who discovers an aptitude and passion for mountain climbing, he joins the school club, he has a rival, there's a cute sports club manager who seems interested in him, etc. There's nothing necessarily WRONG with it, and it's good enough to get you invested, but if that was ... all there was to Kokou no Hito, it'd be too milquetoast a story to get the critical acclaim it's received from its small cult following.

As it turns out, the manga goes completely off the rails around the end of volume 3/beginning of volume 4 and becomes a completely different type of story altogether. So far as I understand, this is essentially because Kokou no Hito was at first a collaboration, with Yoshiro Nabeda as writer and Shinichi Sakamoto as artist. Around that point of the story, Nabeda left the manga and Sakamoto had to finish the whole story by himself.

You might expect that the manga would crash and burn under these circumstances, since we usually expect that in these kinds of partnerships, the other party is out of his depth and will produce a directionless and frankly weak story. However, in this case, it's very clear that not only did Sakamoto rise up to the task beautifully, his ideas on where to take the story were far superior to anything Nabeda had written or could probably come up with.

Under his pen, Kokou no Hito came into its own and became much more like what you would expect a good seinen manga to be; the story became a far more lifelike and psychological character drama, showing the difficulties of Buntarou's choices and his struggle to become a "solo climber" in life as he is constantly beckoned by the outside world to come back again and again. This is a change that comes in VERY abruptly and feels about as unplanned as it probably was, but in a way, it ends up working out in the story's favor; it is ultimately a tale about life, and life is very unpredictable. A life lived in optimism and innocence and can change very abruptly. In fact, you could say that the manga grew up with its main character, which just makes the story more powerful.

Despite speaking very little, the main character has a surprising amount of charisma that makes you thoroughly invested in what's eventually going to become of him. Unlike a lot of manga where the main character is merely a bland template for the audience to project themselves onto, Mori is a fully realized character who carries the emotional weight of the manga on his shoulders; seeing him grow up, experience life, be tempted, fail, and change, is the heart of the manga.

The rest of the manga's cast isn't necessarily as compelling as Mori, but they pull their weight. The new characters created by Sakamoto are interesting, have their own goals and complexities, and bounce off Buntarou wonderfully, despite how little he speaks. The characters from the first few volumes who do show up again in the story feel so much more like real people than just the simple shounen archetypes they were beforehand, and Sakamoto takes them in completely unexpected directions that feel very genuine.

Of course, it must be mentioned how the art contributes a lot to all of this. In the beginning, the art showed promise, but was pretty rough in a lot of areas; some of the characters looked like they had parts of their skulls missing, the necks were overly long, and the proportions in general were just wonky and inconsistent. Around the same time as Sakamoto took over the manga, the art began to improve at a rapid pace; not only did the characters' designs become more consistent, the art became much more polished, realistic, detailed, and ambitious. It is honestly one of the most beautifully illustrated and aesthetically pleasing manga I've ever read, and it is amazing to see Sakamoto reach the heights of his artistic potential.

It also plays a very large role in Kokou no Hito's storyline, because of Sakamoto's decision to use visual metaphors to depict the characters' psychology and state of mind. Instead of merely telling us that Mori is conflicted, he chooses to draw Mori splitting in two and running in opposite directions, for example. All of these scenes are meticulously drawn and show a large amount of technical skill, which gives Kokou no Hito a distinct identity, increases the reader's engagement, and shows the incredibly strong artistic vision that the author obviously had.

As strong as Kokou no Hito is in many areas, I am remiss to give it a perfect score for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the way the narrative is eventually structured is interesting, but i'm not sure that it was the best way to go about it. Essentially the story becomes non-linear, in that it frequently skips ahead, shows us a little bit of the present, and then goes back again to fill in the blanks. It can leave one a little confused and wondering what exactly is going on when it first starts happening, but readers who are paying attention should be able to figure out what happens when and get the general gist of the story alright.

The more pressing issue is that towards the very end of the manga it feels like there's a bit too much skipped over; there's a specific period of the main character's life that really feels like it should have gotten a bit more time and attention than it did, since the changes that the main character goes through because of it are very big. while i still found the manga very compelling as this was happening, I couldn't help but feel that a bit more time to flesh out this particular period would have gone a long way towards making the manga even better.

Regardless, even with those problems, Kokou no Hito remains one of the most memorable and compelling manga I have ever read. Starting with volume 4 the manga has such an amazing vision, gripping character development, and gorgeous artwork that it's impossible not to be captivated. It is not a work that everyone will enjoy; it doesn't really pull any punches in its depiction of life, as life isn't always a basket of roses. It is in many ways, pretty depressing, and a dense story at that which requires more of a reader's attention than the average manga. But if you a want more challenging, experimental and adult coming-of-age story, you won't be disappointed. I would highly recommend reading it, even if you don't like sports manga, because this isn't your bargain-bin sports manga, it's a work that stands out and became something excellent.

Honestly, I have a mixed feelings while battling through this hell of an adventure. There were some unanswered and I still find that sensei did not fully describe all Buntarou mysteries, which led me kinda confused on some of the parts that was all his imaginations then eventually led to reality. However, I'd say it's an awesome way to tell the story by using Buntarou's imagination perspective, and I believed he is somewhat autistic to begin with. One of my favorite character is Niimi Taku, he got a hell of character development, upmost a very impactful, and I'm glad they befriend in those last moments. ... I love this story, but this piece definetly won't for anyone.


P/S: There will always be assholes in the story

Okay, so I nearly dropped this manga like twice while reading it, yet every time I picked it up I read like 40 chapters in one go. The manga looks amazing and the story can be really engaging.

I liked this manga enough to give it a 9 and write a review for it, but I do need to list out the multiple things that caused me to want to drop it. Firstly, the manga has many timeskips that do, in hindsight, keep the story better paced than it would have been without them, but while reading it can be very very disorienting. This is the ... biggest most major flaw in this story. Since we are only ever following Mori, we see some of the most important parts of his life, and essentially skip over everything else, so we never really properly get to know any character other than him.

Which brings me to the second problem, if you start getting attached to any character other than Mori, be prepared, either you're gonna never see them again, or they are going to come back as a complete asshole with no explanation for how or why that happened.

But even despite all these problems I really enjoyed the manga, it is not a very long read because a lot of the story is told through absolutely beautiful art, with most of the story being told through pictures rather than words. The major reason for giving this a 9 though is that the ending is very satisfying. A bad ending can really bring down the quality of the story but a good one can elevate it, and this is a good ending.