Apollo's Song - Osamu Tezuka

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago at Mar 27 22:05

I admit that I’d never “got” Tezuka. Sure, I’d perused my local library’s graphic novel section often enough, reading Metropolis, Ode to Kirihito, and Phoenix: A Tale of the Future. Still, I couldn’t fully comprehend what all the fuss was about. Then I read Apollo’s Song. First published in 1970, Apollo’s Song is the story of Shogo Chikaishi, a sadistic, love hating teenager whose psychological issues stem from an estranged childhood. Brought into the mental ward of a hospital, Shogo begins a series of visions (that soon become reality) in which he is forced to love one woman eternally, “but before the two are united in love, one shall perish.” The only gripe I had with this manga is the misogyny that is not uncommon among Tezuka’s works. I understand that th...Read more

Rating : 9/10

Posted : 2 years, 4 months ago at Aug 5 21:37

I'd give it a ten out of ten if it didn't make me so depressed and convinced falling in love was a bad idea.

Out of all of Tezuka's works this is perhaps my favorite and while I wrote at the top that I was convinced falling in love was a bad idea I realized later on that it's not a bad idea at all and it's something that's within human nature itself. I think Tezuka was also trying to explain this in this book. Either that or he was trying to write a contraceptive.

And honestly, if that amazing first chapter with the talking semen doesn't strike your fancy then I don't know what to say to you. I mean a NY magazine apparently enjoyed it.

Rating : 9/10