Message to Adolf, Part 1

Holy tattooed ta-tas, Tezuka fans! Vertical has done it well again, re-releasing this epic from Tezuka in two hardcover volumes, instead of 8 trade paperbacks. The themes of suffering and redemption that Tezuka is known for are all present, with some of his best paneling and characters (you really hate to see a few die) out of his so-called "star system" (a fictional universe of characters that frequently play lead roles). Lamp, here a vile gestapo hard ass, is of particular note, as is Detective Akabane, played by the tight-cheeked, cross-eyed Ham Egg, in one of his cruelly funny roles. The story is played back for you by reporter Toge, who wields information given to him by a Jewish student that could destroy Hitler's credentials and topple the Aryan empire. We see all 3 Adolf's are dead by story's end--that is, within the first couple of pages, I'm not spoiling anything. So at least Tezuka doesn't lie to you about how cruel he'll be to his "actors" in this one. Can't wait for V.2.!

I love the work of Osamu Tezuka. This manga has a serious tone but his drawing still has the flamboyant Tezuka style. The plot has the cinematic story telling feel to it. I like his character drawings which look comical. It’s a well written story and I definitely recommend it.

It was package greatly. The story/stories are beautiful

This is my first review on Amazon, and my first review for anything in a long time, so please bear with me.The summary presented by Amazon is very accurate. This manga is the story of three (rather different) men named Adolf; a reporter, Sohei Toge, in search of information about his brother's murder in Germany; and a secret about Adolf Hitler that, if exposed, could drastically alter the course of history. This first volume, comprising roughly half of the series, begins at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and brings readers through to the months following the German invasion of Poland in 1939. The background of the story--the escalating anti-Jewish sentiment among Germans and increased emphasis on patriotism in Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War--provides an excellent setting in which to meet our main characters, and to see their lives intertwine with each others, though they don't all know it.The art is quite good, particularly the backgrounds. Everything from forests to cities to vehicles are drawn with detail. The characters are well drawn, if occasionally on the more cartoonish side, though that aspect can be attributed to Tezuka's style and history of drawing manga for all ages. The only real shortfalls of the story, in my opinion, are the frequency of Toge-centric chapters (despite the character referring to himself as a 'secondary character'), the lack of chapters focusing on Adolf Kamil, and the tendency of every female character to become instantly attracted to Toge.My other issue stems from the artwork being mirrored to allow publication in the English left-to-right reading format. While the 'flipping' of the book is a good thing, in that it encourages people who may not read manga otherwise to pick up this series, it causes a number of inaccuracies in the art. As a result, cars drive on opposite sides of the road, a German copy of 'Mein Kampf' appears to read right-to-left, and Nazi party members salute with their left hands instead of right. What really took me out of the book occurs when Toge is shot: the text is faithfully translated to refer to his injured left shoulder, however the mirroring of the artwork leads to his right arm being injured.All in all, this book is a very good, thrilling read, despite it's few flaws and some occasional cliches of the political/espionage-themed drama genre. Aside from the oddities caused by the mirroring of the book, Vertical's edition is very neat and a nice hardcover, which I am happy to have on my shelf. If I could have given a 4.5 I would have, but there were enough little things that led me to bump it down to a 4, instead of up to a 5. I would still highly recommend this to anyone interested in WWII fiction, Osamu Tezuka,and manga or graphic novels in general, and especially to those like me who missed out on the first English release. It's not perfect, but still great, and an important work in the catalogue of a true master of the medium.

Readers who are familiar with this author may call out various "flaws" in the writing, characters or art.I had the good fortune to know nothing about this author when I took this book out of the library because the cover caught my eye and I enjoy graphic novels.So this review is for readers like me who are not familiar with Tezuka's work.Quite simply, this is work is an extraordinary feat of creativity. I am astounded that one person could have devised such a complex, remarkable story, and also conceived and executed the illustration.While I can't vouch for the accuracy of all the historical detail, the core elements will resonate with anyone with familiar with the general narrative arc of WWII.A wonderful work really. I look forward to reading more of Tezuka's work.

I was told by a friend that this Vertical translation in two volumes was superior to the (out of print) five volume VIZ Media translation I already had. While I did not make a direct page by page comparison between them, I did note the lack of any chronology of actual historical events in this translation. The VIZ Media translation has at least one page of such chronology in every volume. Offhand, I cannot say that these add much to the story itself, as I did not even bother to read this 1st of 2 volumes that lack it. I thus have not bothered to buy volume two. My rating is only in regards to that lacking feature, since I already have the complete story in five volumes.The story itself is one of international intrigue, which involves three men, all named 'Adolf,' one being Hitler, another being a Jewish boy living in 1930s Germany along with a third, who initially was his best friend of mixed German-Japanese parentage. It shows how the hatred that the Hitler Youth planted in the one boy had destroyed his friendship with the other boy. While there are many other elements to this saga, it would be too much to detail them here.So, anyway, there is evidence that Adolf Hitler has a Jewish ancestor. Possession of this evidence & the attempt to possess it is strewn throughout this story. Who would have thought that the History Channel would actually uncover real evidence supporting this claim, decades after Tezuka wrote about it?

If you like history and manga, you should read this. The overall tone contrasted this mangaka's goofy/silly art style rather nicely.

Sets one up for much reflection on character development. Very enjoyable.

The art was mirrored for this edition. After receiving it and turning its pages, the impression left is that i do not own the real book drawn by Tezuka, but a cheap and poor version.My advice: skip it and wait for another edition.

It's a very classical manga and is very interesting

a somewhat naive account of a possible occurrence that could have taken place written during a period of regret by the losers, and a skewed version of the facts by the winners.

You can never go wrong with Tezuka, a mix between a thriller and a spy game this book gives you an amazing insight of what happened in Japan trough WW2. The japanese invasion of Manchuria, the jewish exodus to Japan and much more.It's a great story about war, and the way it affects peoples lives and in this book two children in particular.Buy it, it's one of the best works by Tezuka, and remember if you buy this one you better get volume 2!