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nolansmock's review
4.0
A high-paced, pulpy, supernatural thriller from the creator of 'Akira', a series I still haven't read despite it being the most recommended manga of all-time, but I recently found it at a reasonable price and wanted to read an earlier work leading up to it. Its style and storyboarding are remarkable. It feels like watching a movie (and apparently a few times it almost became one; I just read a story about how it almost happened with David Lynch -- wowww) something like 'Poltergiest III' or 'Scanners', and the high-rise setting is catnip to me. What it lacks in character development it makes up for in being a tight, gritty, genre exercise. I can't believe this was written four or five years before 'Mai: The Psychic Girl', a conceptually similar series that feels very dated today and never reaches the levels of darkness and creepiness of 'Domu', a story that is light years ahead of its time, both artistically and thematically, a horrifying allegory about the chaos of mental health going on unchecked, socially and institutionally.
theseventhl's review
4.0
So this is really good. It's horrifically bloody and violent and involves children but anyone who likes Otomo's work and wants to trace a direct line between the beginning of his career and the work that would eventually define him, Akira, this is the book to read. You can really see a lot of the trademark ideas and styles that will be a part of or will be expanded upon in Akira. Also the art is so technically and visually amazing. Stumbles a bit at the beginning but once the major players meet, it's a real force.
lordbrainless's review against another edition
3.0
Tres estrellas, porque aunque me ha gustado, me faltan cosas para poder darle 4.
Una de ellas, es que durara más, a pesar de que son 240 páginas, la lectura es rápida y se lee en nada. Otra de las razones por las que querría que durara más es porque, para mi gusto, algunas cosas pasan demasiado rápido, y me gustaría un poco más de elaboración.
El arte, aunque algunos paneles son muy bonitos y detallados, en general es un poco estático, con backgrounds muy vacíos.
Y la historia, interesante y buena, para mí le falta un poco más de desarrollo, y aunque entiendo la visión del autor, me gustaría que ciertas cosas no se dejaran en el aire o sin explicar.
El final, por ejemplo, podría haber sido un poco menos abierto.
Aun así, me ha gustado y probablemente lo relea en un futuro.
Una de ellas, es que durara más, a pesar de que son 240 páginas, la lectura es rápida y se lee en nada. Otra de las razones por las que querría que durara más es porque, para mi gusto, algunas cosas pasan demasiado rápido, y me gustaría un poco más de elaboración.
El arte, aunque algunos paneles son muy bonitos y detallados, en general es un poco estático, con backgrounds muy vacíos.
Y la historia, interesante y buena, para mí le falta un poco más de desarrollo, y aunque entiendo la visión del autor, me gustaría que ciertas cosas no se dejaran en el aire o sin explicar.
El final, por ejemplo, podría haber sido un poco menos abierto.
Aun así, me ha gustado y probablemente lo relea en un futuro.
kidclamp's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book.
A series of strange murders leads police to begin investigating what should be your typical apartment building. As the police get closer to finding the killer, they discover that the murders and this building are anything but typical. The books build up to an all out psychic war between two powerful persons, filled with blood and gore and destruction.
The plot is fairly simple and there aren't really any big surprises. but the carnage and destruction is so over the top, in a good way, and lovingly depicted that the book is worth the payoff. Written by the same author as Akira, but I think this one might be my favorite of the two.
A series of strange murders leads police to begin investigating what should be your typical apartment building. As the police get closer to finding the killer, they discover that the murders and this building are anything but typical. The books build up to an all out psychic war between two powerful persons, filled with blood and gore and destruction.
The plot is fairly simple and there aren't really any big surprises. but the carnage and destruction is so over the top, in a good way, and lovingly depicted that the book is worth the payoff. Written by the same author as Akira, but I think this one might be my favorite of the two.
kenlaan's review
4.0
I don't read a lot of manga, and I especially don't read a lot of supernatural horror manga, and so I don't really have the vocabulary to express my thoughts on this, my first completed book of 2022, very well.
Domu: A Child's Dream takes place in a large apartment building where the tenants keep dying: whether as victims of murder, suicide, accidental death, or what have you. The police are investigating but can't find much to link the victims, apart from the fact that each of them have an item of importance to them that goes missing upon their deaths.
This was obviously a pretty dark read, but I found it very compelling. It reminded me in some ways of the game Control, though a lot more grim.
Like I said, I'm struggling to talk about this, but suffice it to say, while I wouldn't want to read things like this frequently, I found it very compelling. I've never read Akira before, but I'm interested given that Katsuhiro Otomo is much more well-known based on Akira than this.
Domu: A Child's Dream takes place in a large apartment building where the tenants keep dying: whether as victims of murder, suicide, accidental death, or what have you. The police are investigating but can't find much to link the victims, apart from the fact that each of them have an item of importance to them that goes missing upon their deaths.
This was obviously a pretty dark read, but I found it very compelling. It reminded me in some ways of the game Control, though a lot more grim.
Like I said, I'm struggling to talk about this, but suffice it to say, while I wouldn't want to read things like this frequently, I found it very compelling. I've never read Akira before, but I'm interested given that Katsuhiro Otomo is much more well-known based on Akira than this.
vertaren's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
autumn_dannay's review
5.0
Brilliant. The movement in this book is incredible. Better than Akira, and I LOVE Akira.
akemi_666's review
1.0
Even more politically, sociologically and psychologically vapid than Akira.
Infantile regression combined with isolation equals violence. Yeah sure whatever. How about situating the aggressor's identity to a social group and history? Fragility and violence are worthwhile topics to explore, but this depoliticised psycho-thriller shit is just bereft of meaning.
Infantile regression combined with isolation equals violence. Yeah sure whatever. How about situating the aggressor's identity to a social group and history? Fragility and violence are worthwhile topics to explore, but this depoliticised psycho-thriller shit is just bereft of meaning.