Hands down, this book has to be the weirdest book I've read in a long time and also my favorite read so far this year. It follows a man named Yozo Oba from boyhood and into the first decades of adulthood. From childhood, he finds it difficult and stressful to interact with others. His father, a politician, has high expectations of his family, as does society. He also suffers sexual abuse by two of his household's staff members. To cope with the latter issue and to get out of being respected (thus freeing himself of expectations?), Yozo plays the role of the clown. A series of unnecessary tragedies follow this set up.

I usually wouldn't read an adaptation of something I haven't read. In this case, it was the only Junji Ito book I could get from the library immediately. And having never heard of the original, I felt it was unlikely I would read it any time soon. This made me want to read the original, so I'm glad I strayed from my usual course this time.

From what I can tell, this isn't a straight adaptation. For example, this manga version opens with someone (presumably Osamu Dazai, the author of the original) committing suicide the way he did in real life when he finished the novel. The novel has been seen as the author's suicide note, so that kind of deviation added something to the story that I think paid respects to the author as well. ( )

This reimagining of No Longer Human is beautiful, haunting, and desperately anguished as only Junji Ito can do. In terms of concept, execution and quality, this deserves no less than 5 stars. I personally give it 4 because the end is more hopeless than I can bare.

The original story is a lot more firmly planted in reality, and Junji Ito took that story and added much magic and ghostly horror to it. The attention to detail is not only enchanting, but touching; Particularly so in the way the characters resemble real people in Osamu Dazai's life.

As horrifying and miserable as the end to this graphic novel is, there isn't a thing I would change about it. It all fits in the story that Junji Ito set out to tell. ( )

4.25

I have long had Osamu Dazai's "No Longer Human" on my list of books to read. When I saw that Dazai's autobiographical story was adapted by Junji Ito, I knew I had to have it, and immediately placed it on my Christmas Wishlist.

The story of Yozo Oba is one of masochism, of contempt, of strength found in solitude, of acquiescence to those that wish to use or abuse him, and of his own unprincipled actions. The story is even more lamentable and haunted when placed side by side with the masterful art of Ito. Great examples of this are the carefully placed color panel, as well as his depiction of the purging of Yozo Oba's ten misfortunes.

While I appreciated the art, the story was often very difficult to read. Oba is both a pitiable character as well as a frustrating one, and the subject matter is incredibly dark. The best way to describe it is like attempting to wade through sadness molasses.

I do not recommend this book to anyone suffering from depression. ( )

An unpleasant and unappealing semi-autobiographical iteration of the artist as a tortured soul is adapted into a quasi-horror manga by Junji Ito filled with dread and supernatural flourishes. I haven't read the original novel, but my understanding is that Ito has taken many liberties, including the insertion of original author Osamu Dazai as an actual character.

Dazai's stand-in, Yozo Oba, seems to suffer from trauma and impostor syndrome due to childhood molestation and daddy issues. To compensate he becomes a class clown and womanizer in attempts fit in with other people -- from whom he feels separate and whom he hates and fears. He carves his way through the lives of others leaving suicide and murder in his wake, periodically attempting suicide himself. He alternates between living off a family allowance, being a kept man, and a life of poverty as a struggling manga artist and aspiring painter. He dabbles in Marxism and relationships but tends to betray everyone, really only committing to alcohol and drugs.

Eventually the narrative is reduced to hallucinations and an extended dream sequence as Oba becomes increasingly unhinged.

But Junji Ito draws the hell out of it with his trademark gore, grossness, and phantasmagoria. ( )

Oddly, this is not the only manga adaptation of Osamu Dazai's novel. It is the only adaptation you will need, but it is not necessarily easier to read than the original. It is 600 pages of interrelated scenes, and masterful, atmospheric artwork, which require just as much concentration as any piece of Japanese literature. Junji Ito tackled heavy, mature themes for this one, and departed from his usual scare tactics to introduce us to the deep storytelling and psychological strain characteristic of the important novelist.

Far denser and more consistent than Ito's other long works (Tomie, Uzumaki, and Gyo) it resembles his adaptation of Frankenstein in some ways. It is of course dark and somber, creepy and lurid, demented and nightmarish. Only by reading thousands of pages of his work was I able to come to a decision on how I felt about Junji Ito's method. In short, I grew to love it over time. The subject matter of No Longer Human is some of the most difficult imaginable. We are faced with the demons of the human heart over and over, through the reprehensible actions of one of the least likable main characters of all time. I've read other Dazai works, and from what I can tell, his themes are not always quite this pessimistic. It is about the loss of what makes us human - our compassion for others. Only by subsuming the selfish urge to constantly fulfill our unreasonable desires can we become truly human. It takes effort to look past the horrid behavior of the characters and see the underlying message.

Using the text from the translation of the novel by Donald Richie, this is a fairly faithful adaptation. And a literary one. Junji Ito appears to have taken the subject seriously and set out to craft a nuanced, complex portrait of a man, surrounded by the mostly well-meaning women, through which he discovers the appetites and weaknesses in himself, that lead to his ruin. It is a painful story at times, but human weakness, death, anger and jealousy are all profoundly important aspects of our species. Dazai posits that humans cannot define themselves except in relation to other people. Many of his views might be considered old-fashioned today, but the deep understanding of some of the fundamental aspects of humanity can still be widely appreciated. This is not a work for children, and perhaps young adults will also have to struggle to detach themselves from the surface level lust, grit and angst of the graphic novel. Being an adult offers experience, in my opinion, which at least in my case, allows me to regard a work of art as a product of a life lived and transposed. It wasn't until I aged that I felt experience entering into art. Talent is one thing, experience is another. There is a wide range of experience here, even if the emotions verge on the animalistic. ( )