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geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'Henshin' is the Japanese word for transformation, and Ken Nimura gives us 13 stories of various kinds of transformations. Some are more subtle than others, and quite a few are interwoven.
We meet a man who wants a mysterious cat that lives near him in spite of the stinky "gifts" the cat leaves behind. We meet a young quiet girl living with her uncle, and a salaryman who gets stranded when he misses the last train, and a couple young boys with strange powers. There are bullies, and aspiring writers prone to only creating existing ideas, and a group of strangers having a picnic in the woods while a watermelon cools in a stream nearby.
The stories are a bit weird to my Western sensibilities, but I still liked most of them. There is a bit too much focus on cat poop for my taste. The art feels a bit loose and sketchy, but I liked it quite a bit. I especially loved the cats with their sleek, fluid movements as they slink around. It's a nice collection of strange stories, and I like how they somewhat interconnect. Recommended if you're looking for something different.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
We meet a man who wants a mysterious cat that lives near him in spite of the stinky "gifts" the cat leaves behind. We meet a young quiet girl living with her uncle, and a salaryman who gets stranded when he misses the last train, and a couple young boys with strange powers. There are bullies, and aspiring writers prone to only creating existing ideas, and a group of strangers having a picnic in the woods while a watermelon cools in a stream nearby.
The stories are a bit weird to my Western sensibilities, but I still liked most of them. There is a bit too much focus on cat poop for my taste. The art feels a bit loose and sketchy, but I liked it quite a bit. I especially loved the cats with their sleek, fluid movements as they slink around. It's a nice collection of strange stories, and I like how they somewhat interconnect. Recommended if you're looking for something different.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
albertico66's review
5.0
Wonderful collection of short stories showcases Ken Niimura's artwork (simple lines with lots of expressions - hard to accomplish)
franuary's review
4.0
Ken Niimura’s Henshin (Japanese for “transform”) is a grouping of odd little manga stories compiled into one extremely quirky collection. There’s an incredible breadth of topics covered within the volume; storylines include contract killing, pet care, group suicide, immigration, superheroes, and life-long friendship. As the title suggests, most stories involve some element of change, although I have to admit that I wasn’t able to connect the theme to each of the stories in a concrete way. Still, I found Henshin delightfully weird.
My favorite sections of the book were those in which Niimura wrote comics about his day-to-day life. These reminded me of a longer version of the one-page author’s notes often found at the end of a collected volume of manga. Niimura’s sections focused on fairly banal tasks (writing, getting a cat, cooking), but his charming storytelling and self-deprecation made them stand out among the more fantastical elements in the other stories.
I would recommend Henshin for readers into Japanese culture, including manga and anime fans, but also to any readers looking for something truly strange and unconventional.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Image Comics and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
My favorite sections of the book were those in which Niimura wrote comics about his day-to-day life. These reminded me of a longer version of the one-page author’s notes often found at the end of a collected volume of manga. Niimura’s sections focused on fairly banal tasks (writing, getting a cat, cooking), but his charming storytelling and self-deprecation made them stand out among the more fantastical elements in the other stories.
I would recommend Henshin for readers into Japanese culture, including manga and anime fans, but also to any readers looking for something truly strange and unconventional.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Image Comics and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
alboyer6's review
3.0
A collection of graphic short stories that, though some have a sci fi/fsy element to them, are a bit of a window into Japanese culture. This isn't a title I would recommend to die hard Bleach or Ouran High School Host Club but to people who enjoy all sorts of different genres with in the graphic novel format. The illustrations always seemed to fit the text and story and kept me wanting to turn the page for the next story in the collection and ended up reading in one sitting instead of putting down after each story like I had intended. A good graphic novel on the more literary end.
Galley courtesy of publisher and Netgalley.
Galley courtesy of publisher and Netgalley.
radicaledwardiv's review against another edition
5.0
Loved Henshin! I am a fan of his previous illustration work on I Kill Giants and this one was nothing short of amazing. Really enjoyed the mix of super serious and cute / funny short stories, definitely would recommend it.
trapdoor's review against another edition
4.0
thirteen short stories (often with a fun twist)
i liked it
i liked it
markwillnevercry's review
3.75
Nice and short. Favourite stories: 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 13. Wish there were no poop jokes.
dajna's review against another edition
3.0
Caruccio, è una sequenza di storie buffe e/o improbabili. Stante la passione per i gatti del protagonista, e il suo amore per il gatto invisibile che gli fa danni in casa, non potevo non apprezzarlo.
gcamelopardalis's review
2.0
I bought this book for like 5 bucks at the comic shop because I liked the art and the back cover sounded interesting - a series of vignettes set in modern Japan.
Yeah... So about the only part of this I enjoyed was the ending bit about cats? And even the cat story was so full of poop that I was just like...why...
The art was nice but this is such a Gross Man(tm) book. Like it's not edgy to make a bunch of poop jokes. Nothing in this really made sense, either.
Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm missing some massive cultural context here, considering this is a translation from a Japanese author. I have no idea.
Yeah... So about the only part of this I enjoyed was the ending bit about cats? And even the cat story was so full of poop that I was just like...why...
The art was nice but this is such a Gross Man(tm) book. Like it's not edgy to make a bunch of poop jokes. Nothing in this really made sense, either.
Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm missing some massive cultural context here, considering this is a translation from a Japanese author. I have no idea.