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A review by samreads12
Ichiro by Ryan Inzana
2.0
Summary: Ichiro is a boy adrift in this world. Raised by his Japanese mother in New York City, his American father taken by war before Ichiro ever knew him, Ichiro finds it difficult to figure out where he fits in. A trip to Japan leaves Ichiro with his grandfather, a stranger to him in a country he does not know. And then one night Ichi gets dragged down a hole by a monster. When he wakes up, he isn’t in Japan anymore. In fact, he isn’t in the mortal world. Ichi has entered the domain of the gods. (goodreads).
Review: What immediately caught my eye was the artwork. When it comes to graphic novels and manga, the artwork has to be pleasing to eye or else I don’t read it.
I thought the premise was interesting. A Japanese-American teenager returns to Japan with his mother. He is left in the care of his grandfather who shows him around Hiroshima City. While staying with his grandfather he’s dragged down a hole by a magical raccoon.
However, at the end of this story I was left with a feeling of unfinished business. I didn’t feel a sense of closing or ending so I’m not sure if Ichiro’s story is going to continue.
In his journey through the other world he encounters gods and beings I’m not sure had any real purpose. There was a juxtaposition between the story Ichiro’s grandfather tells him and the story the God of War tells him. In the end, I believe the reader can take away the lessons the grandfather and the God were trying to relay.
This book is obviously a coming-of-age story although a little stretched thin. I did like the relationship between Ichiro and his grandfather and the stories/advice the grandfather tells Ichiro.
When it came to the artwork I thought it was spot on and incredibly clever. There are characters who speak English and Japanese. Inzana used color to distinguish which language was being spoken (Japanese - yellow, English - white). Now, I don’t know if the colors were chosen for stereotypical reasons. I thought it was interesting that red was the main color used through out the text. Yellow, white/black, and green were also used frequently (if you disregard the opening story).
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Quotable Quotes: “…The United States thought the atomic bomb would end war. The destructive force of the bomb is an almost god-like power. Now many countries have nuclear weapons, strong enough to destroy the earth many times over. No weapon can end war…just as no weapon has ever started one — they are tools of men, and a tool such as the atomic bomb should have never been used. In the end, we are all just ants…staring at the sun.” - grandfather sato
Recommended For: anyone interested in japanese folklore/mythology, graphic novels or artwork, coming of age stories
Review: What immediately caught my eye was the artwork. When it comes to graphic novels and manga, the artwork has to be pleasing to eye or else I don’t read it.
I thought the premise was interesting. A Japanese-American teenager returns to Japan with his mother. He is left in the care of his grandfather who shows him around Hiroshima City. While staying with his grandfather he’s dragged down a hole by a magical raccoon.
However, at the end of this story I was left with a feeling of unfinished business. I didn’t feel a sense of closing or ending so I’m not sure if Ichiro’s story is going to continue.
In his journey through the other world he encounters gods and beings I’m not sure had any real purpose. There was a juxtaposition between the story Ichiro’s grandfather tells him and the story the God of War tells him. In the end, I believe the reader can take away the lessons the grandfather and the God were trying to relay.
This book is obviously a coming-of-age story although a little stretched thin. I did like the relationship between Ichiro and his grandfather and the stories/advice the grandfather tells Ichiro.
When it came to the artwork I thought it was spot on and incredibly clever. There are characters who speak English and Japanese. Inzana used color to distinguish which language was being spoken (Japanese - yellow, English - white). Now, I don’t know if the colors were chosen for stereotypical reasons. I thought it was interesting that red was the main color used through out the text. Yellow, white/black, and green were also used frequently (if you disregard the opening story).
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Quotable Quotes: “…The United States thought the atomic bomb would end war. The destructive force of the bomb is an almost god-like power. Now many countries have nuclear weapons, strong enough to destroy the earth many times over. No weapon can end war…just as no weapon has ever started one — they are tools of men, and a tool such as the atomic bomb should have never been used. In the end, we are all just ants…staring at the sun.” - grandfather sato
Recommended For: anyone interested in japanese folklore/mythology, graphic novels or artwork, coming of age stories