Asadora! is the newest series by esteemed mangaka Naoki Urasawa, who is also the creator of many other well-known and celebrated series, such as 20th Century Boys and Monster. Like a lot of his work, Asadora! is full of mystery and highlights the plight of everyday people that, though ordinary, do remarkable things. While it showcases his masterful touch and style and has similar themes, Asadora! is different from anything he’s done before thanks to its tone and feel.

Asadora! starts out foreshadowing future events to come in Tokyo, but quickly flashes back to 1959 to tell us the story of Asa and her life in the town of Port Nagoya and the people that live there. There she lives with her large and still growing family. Since she is one of many children, the townspeople constantly call her by the wrong name. As a result, she feels not only forgotten by her own family but by the town as well. The only person who calls her by the right name is Shōta, who is in junior high and is training to run in the Olympics.

With her mother in labor, Asa runs through town to find a doctor in the midst of a typhoon. While on her way, she crosses paths with former pilot turned burglar, Kasuga. She tries to stop him on her own, but a series of events leads them to join forces.

Asadora! is a mysterious, monster story, but it's also very historical as well since it's set in post-war Japan and explores the effects that war still has on the characters in this story. And this is not just showcased by those who’ve been to war themselves, but also those from the younger generations who are indirectly affected by it as well. You have Kasuga, who was a pilot in the war and now struggles to make ends meet, but you also have characters like Shōta, who’s being pressured by his brothers and father to achieve the dreams they didn’t get to fulfill because of the war.

The characters introduced in Asadora!’s first volume is one of its biggest strengths; Each has stories of their own that are extremely well told, but how they interact together and how their issues and stories influence one another is even more expertly conveyed. There’s a lot of depth to the people in Asadora!. They’ve already overcome, or are still overcoming, a lot on their own, but they are going to have to come together yet again to face the hardships that are to come in the wake of a natural disaster.

While heavy issues and elements are explored in the first volume, the overall tone of the series remains bright thanks to Asa and her endless compassion for others. She sees the best in people no matter what they’ve done and helps them see the good within themselves that, while buried, was there all along. Because of her and her interaction with the characters, there are a lot of touching scenes in the series that make it a joy to read.

Another highlight of the series is Naoki Urasawa’s artwork. I have to mention how incredible the colored pages in the beginning look, but the black and white pages are strong as well. The textures featured throughout the panels in the buildings and landscapes are beautifully done. The expressions these characters have really bring their personalities and emotions to life, which made me that much more connected to them. There are panels that really make an impact visually but emotionally as well, and this is a strong reason as to why Naoki Urasawa’s work never ceases to amaze me.

Asadora!’s first volume featured a story that was full of hardship, but it also saw people rising up to be the best they could be. The mystery that is threaded throughout makes the series intriguing, but it’s also heartfelt due to the stories of its characters as well. While I’m still not quite sure as to where this one is headed, the first volume set it up in a way that made me invested in its story and it revealed just enough to keep me interested. There are sure to be a lot of twists and turns along the way and I’m excited to see how this one develops and continues to surprise me in the volumes to come.

Thank you to Netgalley, Viz, and Naoki Urasawa for a copy of Asadora!, Volume 1 in exchange for an honest review!

Review Link: https://animecollective.com/asadora-manga-review/

Asadora! Volume One tells the story of a young girl named Asa Asada.

Asadora! Volume One
Written by: Naoki Urasawa
Publisher: Shogakukan
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: January 19, 2021

The manga opens with a creature attacking Tokyo in the year 2020. The exposition in these early pages say that Asadora! is the story of a nameless girl and the fearless life she lived from the postwar years to the present day.

From here, the story goes back in time to the Port of Nagoya in 1959. A young girl named Asa Asada, one of 11 children in her family, is trying to get to the doctor so he can go to her home to help deliver sibling #11 before a typhoon hits. As she runs home from her errand, she runs into her friend, Shota, who is being pressured by his family to become a professional runner. As she’s trying to get home, Asa is kidnapped because she is mistaken for being the daughter of the doctor.

However, it turns out that Asa’s kidnapper, Kasuga, isn’t an evil man. He’s just a man in need of money in order to afford the pilot licenses he needs in order to do the work he wants to do. Kasuga used to be in the Japanese military during the war, and he flew planes. Asa and Kasuga strike up an alliance after it’s discovered that the typhoon has caused a lot of damage to Asa’s hometown.

Throughout this volume, Asa shows how brave she is through her interactions with Kasuga, as well as how she helps execute a plan to distribute food and water to the townspeople who are trying to survive after the storm.

While most of the volume focuses on Asa, there is a scene that focuses on her friend, Shota, and how his father and brothers are pressuring him to become an Olympic runner. Shota’s family members are depicted as being quite despicable, between how they survived the storm because they’re training with Shota and believing Shota has been chosen by God when blood falls on his forehead from the sky. These attitudes definitely fit in with characters who are trying to push their own dreams and desires onto someone else who really doesn’t want to pursue those goals.

After reading Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection, I was very curious to see what Urasawa could deliver in a manga series. So far, Asadora! has not disappointed. Asa is a very endearing character, and I also found Kasuga to be a character who more depth to him than simply being a kidnapper. And I found the interactions between Asa and Kasuga evolved naturally as the situation around them changed. So far, Shota appears to be a minor character who has a connection with Asa, but perhaps he’ll start playing a bigger role in future volumes of Asadora!

With something we see at the end of this volume, it appears it’s our first clue as to how the opening scene in 2020 will ultimately fit in with the story that’s currently being told. Hopefully future volumes of Asadora! will drop more of these kinds of clues.

I liked the art in this volume quite a bit. It felt like Urasawa went to a lot of effort to put detail into the panels, especially the ones depicting the flooding that takes place in Asa’s hometown. I also appreciated that each character has a distinctive look to them, and that I can’t confuse who is who due to their designs.

Overall, I think that Urasawa is off to a strong start with the first volume of Asadora! As a reader, I’m invested enough in the main characters that I’ve been introduced to, and I want to find out more about what’s going to happen to them and how the series will progress.

I have a feeling that readers who are already familiar with other works by Urasawa will not be disappointed by what they read in Asadora! Volume One.

Asa is one of twelve siblings and the one that people forget the most. Despite this, she’s trying to help her family and others where she can. When her mother goes into labor as a typhoon descends on Japan, she heads out in search for a doctor. Asa ends up getting kidnapped which may be the best thing that’s ever happened to her in a round about way. This is just the start of her adventure.

The hook for Asadora!: Volume 1 has to do with a giant monster. It’s right in front in the description of the book and we see its effects in 2020 in the opening pages. That’s about the only mention of this creature we get in this volume as the vast majority takes place in 1959. The thing is, I didn’t even notice this until I finished the book. That’s how good creator Naoki Urasawa’s story is. The giant monster is a distant second when compared to Asa’s compelling tale.

As enjoyable as Godzilla movies can be, I often lament how there’s not much of a story there, especially for the humans. What can these people do against or with these giant monsters? They’re like ants. Asadora! solves that problem by putting tons of character development in this first volume.

Although the monster doesn’t really appear in this volume, there are several ominous moments and strange sounds heard from afar. You have to wonder when this creature will make its presence felt. These roars come from far off in the distance and serve to stop everyone in their tracks when they spread across the page.

Urasawa is a master at character work. You get an immediate sense of each personality at play based on their design. You know right away that Asa is a plucky, yet frustrated youngster with an attitude. She’s also adorable and it’s easy to get wrapped up in her life from the first time you see her.

Every single detail in Asadora!: Volume 1 contributes to the plot in some shape or fashion. Each piece of dialogue leads to something. This makes it such a great book to re-read as you might find additional details that led to a bigger moment down the line that you missed the first time around. This is expert level storytelling.

I picked up Asadora!: Volume 1 with the promise of a giant monster, but I stayed for the fantastic and riveting story about a young girl trying to help people despite all the obstacles that get in her way. It puts a human face on a kaiju story. This volume creates a strong foundation for what is shaping up to be a fascinating and compelling tale. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Although it's not strictly a post-war story, Asadora's first volume is steeped in the trauma of WWII, primarily in how it affected the everyday people and the soldiers who came home. The main characters are one of each: Asa is a ten-ish year old girl who feels like the invisible person in her large family and she's mistakenly kidnapped by a former fighter pilot who has fallen on hard times since he came home lacking a civilian pilot's license or the money to procure one. When he snatches Asa off the streets (mistakenly taking her for a doctor's daughter), the two end up unlikely compatriots in the devastation Typhoon Vera wreaked on Nagoya in September of 1959. (Images of the inundated port show that Urasawa definitely did his research.) Both of them find meaning in their work to help the survivors, which may or may not include Asa's family, as multiple plot threads begin to slowly come together - the cry of a mysterious animal, the treatment of veterans after the war, and the upcoming Olympics all seem to hinge on the rescue efforts that Asa and the pilot kick off. Even though I'm not sure where this is going it's fascinating, and I'm looking forward to seeing the full picture take shape when viewed from above.

Asadora! Volume 1 is written by mangaka Naoki Urasawa and is published by Viz Media. What drew me to the title, initially, was the cover art that reminded me of the artwork of one of my favorite mangaka Inio Asano with its hyper-realistic artwork on polaroids. All I knew about Asadora! Volume 1 was that our main character gets kidnapped while a typhoon occurs. However, what I encountered was an insightful manga that explores the ideas of poverty, natural disaster, and war.

This book starts off with our main protagonist Asada running around town with her friend. She’s only a small girl, but she already understands her place in the world. She is one of 5 children, with a sixth child on the way. Urasawa does not write Asada to be a sad or tragic character, instead, she speaks matter of factly. She recognizes that her parents don’t have time for her and instead of dwelling, she takes control of her life and what she does. However, this puts her in a dangerous spot as she is trying to get home in time while her mother goes into labor. A typhoon hits her small town of Nagoya, Japan. Right before the typhoon hits, Asada gets kidnapped.

Given that the blurb for Asadora! Volume 1 mentions she was kidnapped, I would have expected the story to follow a traditional kidnapping thriller. Instead, Urasawa invites readers into a human drama filled with intricate detail and intense poignancy. This kidnapper mistakes Asada for a rich person’s daughter and was expecting to use her as a ransom for money as he is extremely impoverished. He doesn’t want to be a criminal, and cannot afford to be one either, but describes how he’s run out of options. As Asada and he are trapped in a building together after the typhoon, Urasawa provides backstory on an army pilot in World War II. This hints that our story takes place in post-war Japan with the rise of the baby boom.

The focus on the kidnapper’s backstory is never about glory, fame, or how many Americans were killed but rather about camaraderie. He laments on how he never wanted to be involved in the war but just wanted to be a pilot. When he was in the war, he just wanted to make it out alive. There’s something so fragile and insightful about this fact that makes Asadora! Volume 1 a look into survival.

The artwork as the story progresses is beautiful, even while depicting tragedy. The typhoon has virtually drowned their hometown. House is completely underwater. Asada doesn’t know whether or not her parents are alive. While readers know that this story takes place in 1959, Urasawa’s art style feels chic and modern with clean lines and photo-realism that places readers right at the center of the story. While there is nothing inherently exciting about his character designs, his set design is breath-taking. He does not need to write about the people’s pain and suffering but is able to use his artistic ability to deliver impactful story beats. Facial expressions, detailed pieces of people’s houses, baby clothes floating in the water is enough to key readers into how natural disasters can wreak havoc on a town.

What continues to be the strength of Asadora! Volume 1 is his characterization. Asada does not know whether or not her family is alive and is able to convince her kidnapper to use his wartime experience to deliver aid to the people of her town. She does not want to cry or break down because it doesn’t do anyone any good. It’s this tenacity and strength that is both heart-warming and also extremely disheartening. In the face of adversity, at such a young age, her selflessness puts her emotional needs at the back burner as she traverses through an event she has yet to understand or process.

Throughout the volume, the small inklings describing the post-war effort and how it has affected families, the economy of small towns, and people’s attitudes towards one another. Whether it is the reluctance to share resources, the distrust to helping others you think are lost causes, or penny-saving for the end of times, it showcases Urawsa’s strength as a storyteller. He is able to depict so much simply through his artwork and small dialogue. Panels are never cluttered and his lettering is easy to follow and read making Asadora! Volume 1 a manga you can quickly consume in one sitting.

While I was expecting an intense thriller, I have come out with nothing but awe at this quietly brilliant work from mangaka Naoki Urasawa. Asadora! Volume One demands that you follow Asada through her adversity and root for her along the way in post-war Japan.

The art style on the cover and the genre of 'Historical Fiction' made me a bit skeptical to read this, but I'm really glad I did since this was a really heartwarming read.

Following Asa Asada and her unassuming role as our main protagonist, we journey with her as she is kidnapped and ransomed, trapped with her ex-kidnapper-slash-everyday-man during a typhoon, and eventually proves that even though you may be unassuming, and may not be in an important role, you can still make a huge difference to your community.

This is a series brimming with humanity through the unlikely duo of a child and her kidnapper. Both characters are engaging and sympathetic despite their backgrounds and insecurities – Asa, a young girl coming from a family of twelve, feels insignificant, from citing her mediocre name to even going so far as to say “I bet no one has noticed I’m gone” after getting kidnapped; Kasuga, an older man who kidnaps Asa for ransom, was once a World War Two captain of a Type 1 Attack Bomber now relegated to a bum out of luck, needing money to make a living again. What I think stands out most is how both protagonists go out to make an impact in their otherwise disparate situations. I love seeing Asa persistently push for help and aid those affected in the typhoon while Kasuga goes out of his way to show that he was – and still is – a hero of the sky. Asa and Kasuga’s chemistry yearn for significance amidst obscurity – both bicker about the situation at hand and continue to instill hope in each other. This is especially true when both awake to see a devastated town. A tearful Asa confronts Kasuga’s hopelessness not with inspiration, instead, teetering despair - “Didn’t you get your crew back from the war alive? And now you’re giving up? Is that what heroes do? Am I gonna give up?” Kasuga gently lays his hand on Asa’s shoulder and reassures her “yeah…I’m a hero…” This writing evokes a cry for help and this volume gently asserts optimism in a wasteland. And just when the reader thinks this story can have its conclusion, there is more to the disaster than meets the eye. In other words, there is the prospect of a continuing series. "Asadora" cuts deep in the emotional jugular with scalpel-like precision, and I trust Naoki Urasawa's hand in weaving the narrative.

The cliffhanger had me hooked. I need to know what happens next. Overall, great story about human survival.

Asa is kidnapped on the way home after retrieving a doctor for her pregnant mother. The thing is, no one notices she is missing. It might have something to do with Asa being one of twelve children and her being kidnapped in the middle of a typhoon. Her kidnapper isn't as he appears either. He kidnapped her because he believed she was the doctor's daughter and he could get a large ransom for her return. He needed the money to get a pilot's license. He is a war hero who flew bomber planes. He releases Asa in the middle of the typhoon and they ride it out in a shipping container. When they emerge, nothing is as it was. They steal a plane to drop food and water to survivors and while flying see a giant footprint. Maybe the typhoon wasn't a typhoon after all.

It’s a little bit difficult to give a robust review to just the first volume of Asadora! Not only because it is just laying groundwork for the series, but because this is a Naoki Urasawa book. If you are familiar with any of his other series such as Monster or 20th Century Boys, you know that his series have lots of twists and turns and even the focus and flow of the series can turn on its head when you least expect it. Even with all of that though, this was a solid opening volume and not only gets the reader firmly grounded in this new series, but gives us some of those comforting Urasawa clues that we are going to be in good hands going forward. Like much of his other work, we can already see themes of aging, childhood, and familial expectation shaping up. And like in series such as 20th Century Boys, we are given the time period clues to let us know the frame we will be starting in. There is only a brief opening on 2020 before bringing us back and spending the bulk of the volume in 1959 and introducing us to Asa Asada. But that brief glimpse lets us know that it won’t be long before we are spending time either in 2020 or leading up to that particular point in time.

So, solid first volume. Now it is just the waiting game to dive into volume two, which I for sure will be doing.

Thanks to Netgalley and Viz for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.