Gyo

bollier Nov 8, 2010

8

If you are looking for a manga that is strange/macabre, then Junji Ito is your man.  Gyo is just one example of his work that shows us that even the most ludicrous ideas can be truly interesting if done correctly. STORY: 7/10The basic premise of Gyo is that fish mysteriously obtain insect-like legs and start overrunning Japan. Tadashi and his girlfriend, Kaori, must survive this insanity while trying to find the source of it and end it. As mentioned before, this idea is very strange, but Junji Ito does a magnificent job of making it work.  The first volume does have some moments, however, that are notably a little silly, such as the main characters being attacked by a shark with legs.  It is in the second volume in which things get truly frightening.  I won't spoil anything, but what occurs in this volume will truly make your skin crawl.  Finally, the ending is a little...strange, but I guess it really fits the general feel of the manga. ART: 9/10The art is where this series shines.  Everything in this series has an eerie feel to it, which fits in beautifully with the story.  It takes a lot to make walking killer fish seem like at least a semi-serious, and Junji Ito does a great job of this.  The art is clean and crisp, and adds a lot to the story.  CHARACTERS: 7/10The characters in the story fit well, yet seem a little flat.  Kaori, for example is shown to have a sensitive nose as well as a jealous streak, and that is basically all the characterization she gets.  Tadashi pretty much sets out to protect Kaori, and that is as far as he goes.  Another character, Doctor Koyonagi, is your typical scientist obsessed with solving the mystery of the walking fish, and despite his stereotypical nature, he does add some flair to the series.  None of the other characters truly stand out as amazing, yet their interactions are interesting enough to fit in the story without detracting from it. Gyo is a very interesting read.  The story maintained my interest throughout both volumes, despite generally uninteresting characters, and for that, I give it a solid 8/10 overall. 

nathandouglasdavis Oct 31, 2020

4

This manga is built around seeing people struggle against a completely hopeless situation, where nothing can be done. Perhaps I'm too hope-prone, but I didn't feel the story did a good enough job of showing that their options were depleted. If Tadashi was able to break one of the legs using a dresser, wouldn't military-grade weaponry and tactics have been able to easily crush these things? Not to mention the simple technology of a "wall" that seemingly wasn't even attempted. The point is that if I don't feel that their options were actually depleted, then the sense of hopelessness the manga is trying to create won't resonate and the story will fall flat. Of course, the story still has the weird and creepy aspect of fish with legs, the somewhat scary aspect of sharks chasing people on land, and the disgusting aspect of people with bloated and blistered bodies being spitroasted with tubes. And those aspects keep the story pretty engaging, but the oddities alone can't make the story strong. Also, I didn't really care for any of the characters--none of them felt fleshed out or memorable, and some of their interactions were just annoying. The chins jutted out, and there was an overemphasis on wide-mouthed emoting.

chii Nov 29, 2010

9

No love for bloaty girlfriend! Flying bag stink fish! Shark goes GASHUNK! You can never have too many legs! The bonus stories attatched at the end are AWESOME! "This is my hole! It was made for me!"