A pretty typical start for a series by Naoki Urasawa, full of foreshadowing of coming developments, intriguing characters, and sudden turns in the story. A prologue has us in the middle of some disaster in 2020 Tokyo that has a large horned figure looming over the city like we're in a Godzilla movie, but then events immediately flash back to 1959 and we're in an O. Henry story with a young girl caught up in a case of mistaken identity, and then we veer into historical fiction and watch the fallout from the very real Typhoon Vera.
Without reading any publicity or internet info about the book I'm having trouble defining what Urasawa is trying to accomplish here, but I'm definitely coming back for more. English This starts out in 2020 with a huge fire in Tokyo, and a Godzilla like minster silhouetted in the fire. Then,it immediately turns back to 1959 when there was a huge typhoon.
Seams random, but lets see what happens!
I love Asa and how mature and self possessed she is. I'm not a huge fan of Kasuga but he does grow on you through the story.
That ending!! I'm so excited to see where this goes!
Check out my YouTube channel for bookish videos and monthly wrap ups! English I’m so interested in where this manga is going. In 1959 Japan, a young girl is kidnapped by a former fighter pilot right before a typhoon hits their harbor city. The blurb says “there’s more to her kidnapper and this storm than meets the eye” and by the end of the volume we know more about the former than the latter. (The story does somewhat hero-ify the kidnapper for his military service in WWII, so be aware if that's not something you can read past.) How is the storm connected to the weird animal cries that various characters have been hearing? Why does the book start with a flash of a giant creature rampaging through Tokyo in 2020? It’s been a while since I’ve read a series that takes its time like this to dig into its characters and set up its mysteries, and I’m here for it. English 4 Stars
And here begins the journey to another of Urasawa world's. I hope it to become another legendary work. Art work is as always beautiful, the mc little girl is beautiful. Looking forward to another volume ! English This book is about this young girl Asa and as she is going through her day looking for a doctor as her mother is giving birth and then meets a man Shota and while running with him gets kidnapped and we meet the man Kasuga and learn he is not a bad guy but then a typhoon hits so he and Asa have to hide in a warehouse to survive it and we learn of Kasuga's backstory and he is not that bad but when they see the aftermath of the typhoon they have to team up and save people and what all awaits them further and the challenges ahead but then the consequences of it.
This was a great volume and just shows the aftermath of disasters and how in the middle of it there are some people still trying to rescue some people but at great personal cost and its such a great deep character work about a girl who doesn't lose hope and sees the best in people, about a man who is looking for redemption and of people and how they help others when such things occur. Its a metacommentary on humanity and the affiliated costs with it.
But then in 2020 some monster may have attacked or something? Its a great mystery and is told over two timelines and like Urasawa's previous works is deep and personal and has a lot of foreshadowing about big things and revelations to come and I love the artwork as always. English
REVIEW á TEXASBEERGUIDE.COM ´ Naoki Urasawa
Although it's not strictly a post-war story, Asadora's first volume is steeped in the trauma of WWII, primarily in how it affected the everyday people and the soldiers who came home. The main characters are one of each: Asa is a ten-ish year old girl who feels like the invisible person in her large family and she's mistakenly kidnapped by a former fighter pilot who has fallen on hard times since he came home lacking a civilian pilot's license or the money to procure one. When he snatches Asa off the streets (mistakenly taking her for a doctor's daughter), the two end up unlikely compatriots in the devastation Typhoon Vera wreaked on Nagoya in September of 1959. (Images of the inundated port show that Urasawa definitely did his research.) Both of them find meaning in their work to help the survivors, which may or may not include Asa's family, as multiple plot threads begin to slowly come together - the cry of a mysterious animal, the treatment of veterans after the war, and the upcoming Olympics all seem to hinge on the rescue efforts that Asa and the pilot kick off. Even though I'm not sure where this is going it's fascinating, and I'm looking forward to seeing the full picture take shape when viewed from above. English By the creator of 20th century boys and Monster.
Need I say more?
Buy it.
But this is really good. A girl trying to do her best and be a hero meets a old disgraced pilot as they work together after their city goes under water to send some relief. The heartfelt moments work really well, the art is amazing, and that cliffhanger is so jarring I'm so eager to read the next volume.
As always, Urasawa delivers. A 5 out of 5. English This is the third book by Urasawa that I've read and I'm really coming to love his quirky, heartfelt stories with a hint of the fantastic. He clearly cares about people and community and human potential and giant monsters, and this story has all of the above in just the right amounts (plus a huge heap of tragedy). His art style is somehow simultaneously realistic and caricatured, which keeps you a bit off kilter (or maybe it's the kids who are more realistic and the adults who are caricatured, which is an interesting thematic marker). It's hard not to root for all of the characters. The start of the story is totally different in tone from most of the book so it will be really interesting to see where this goes. Recommended!
**Thanks to the artist, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. English Asa, the youngest in a large family living in 1950s Japan, is sent out in a storm to find the doctor, because her mother is about to give birth.
She surprises a bumbling burglar, who mistakes her for another girl and decides to kidnap her. Turns out the kidnapper/burglar is an ex fighter pilot from WW2, who has largely been forgotten and ignored. Asa tells him who she is, and that she is convinced that no one will come to look for her. Then the storm really starts to rip.
When their town has been devastated, Asa convinces the pilot that they have to do something to help the people.
I don't read a lot of manga, but it is fun to try and find what my niche is, as it were, and I think I have found it! Really fun, beautifully expressive art, made this a book I really enjoyed, and I was only slightly sad it ends on a cliffhanger - but I'll just have to read the following volumes.
(Kindly received an ARC from Viz Media through Edelweiss) English A minha primeira leitura ao contrário! Foi uma experiência engraçada e gostei da menina Asa. Houve algumas partes que não me entusiasmaram muito pois parecia que a história não avançava, mas penso que mais por culpa do meu estado de espírito na altura do que pelo mangá em si. Nos últimos capítulos já gostei mais de ver os esforços da Asa e do ladrão para ajudarem a população após a passagem do tufão. Uma experiência a repetir e uma história a acompanhar esta da menina Asa. English
When Asa’s mother goes into labor yet again, Asa runs off to find a doctor. But no one bats an eye when she doesn’t return—not even as a storm approaches Nagoya. Forgotten yet again, Asa runs into a burglar and tries to stop him on her own, a decision that leads to an unlikely alliance. Asadora!, Vol. 1
