Manga Review: Metropolis

[Floating_Sakura]

Title: Metropolis
Author: Osamu Tezuka
Published: Dark Horse, 2003, USD 13.95
Reviewed by: anitra

"Metropolis" details the further adventures of Mr. Mustachio the detective, a character that stars in other Tezuka manga. In this adventure, many mysterious things happen in the dense city of Metropolis: dark spots are discovered on the surface of the sun, with consequences not only for electronics but living organisms; Dr. Lawton, a scientist studying the creation of artificial life from the cellular level, finally makes an artificial person whom he names Michi; and the dangerous Red Party gang, headed by Duke Red, is manipulating everything behind the back of the law. The Metropolis police chief summons internationally renowned detectives, including Mr. Mustachio, to investigate and capture Duke Red and his gang of criminals.

The English adaptation is decent and straightforward, but, like "Lost World", it is careless. There are several typographical errors, a couple of transposed bubbles, and an entire page that was not mirrored, with all the text in the wrong bubbles. The volume is of typical size and quality; the images are clear and focused, not grainy, as in "Lost World".

The art in this volume is similar in style to that of "Lost World," but quite a bit more mature in execution, with more background scenery and a greater feeling of three-dimensionality. The storytelling style is also more fleshed-out and less schematic, with well-paced intrigue and suspense, at least at first. According to Tezuka's notes in the back, the finished draft of this story was too long, and he had to cut out significant portions of it. It's unclear to me how he rated his own success at this, but to me it really shows. The last quarter or so of the book is very rushed indeed, and it loses the emotional coherence of the first half.

"Metropolis" suffers on every level from this abridgement: I lost interest in the plot, I didn't care about the characters any more, and the theme, which explores the destructive potential of technology, devolved to facile moralizing. Admittedly, that theme is not as new now as it was then, but any really well-executed story will still be interesting after fifty years, regardless. Ironically, this gives it a simplified air, as if it were written for children, though it was written particularly for adults.

"Metropolis" displays to a certain extent the skill of its creator, who clearly at that point had the foundation of good storytelling using the manga idiom of the time. I expect that his later works, unfettered by inexpert deadline-approaching abridgement, will be worthwhile; but to me "Metropolis" just doesn't hold together well enough. Fans of Tezuka won't want to be without it, but someone who hasn't read his work should start with something else.

There is, incidentally, a recent movie version of "Metropolis" (Sony Pictures, 2002; official site; IMDB entry). Not having seen it, I cannot comment on its quality or compare it with the book.