| | |  | STUDIO GHIBLI LIBRARY | Home » » » Tekkon Kinkreet / Black & White | | | | | | | Description: | | 2008 Eisner Comic Winner! Street urchins Black and White have skyscraper-sized chips on their shoulders, but are fiercely loyal to each other. Black is especially quick to avenge any slight against his dim-witted pal. The result? The citizens of Treasure Town are afraid of them, the police are afraid of them--even the local yakuza gangsters are afraid of them! But when the crime boss known as the "Rat" returns to Treasure Town, it looks like there's gonna be a rumble... The violence in this unique European-influenced manga title is more mindful than it seems at first glance, and the subtle relationships between its unique cast of characters are marked by surprising poignancy. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Taiyo Matsumoto | | Paperback:
| 624 pages | | Publisher:
| VIZ Media, LLC | | Publication Date:
| September 25, 2007 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1421518678 | | Product Length:
| 10.1 inches | | Product Width:
| 7.2 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.34 inches | | Product Weight:
| 2.74 pounds | | Package Length:
| 10.1 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.2 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.7 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.7 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 18 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 18 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 A masterpiece.Sep 22, 2007
By Luca Vitale
This might be the best graphic novel ever written, and I don`t say that lightly. It`s a shame that it doesn`t have a wide circulation in Europe and US. It`s pretty much impossible to compare to anything else, Tekkon Kinkreet it`s the most lyrical and at at the same time the most anti-conformist comic you`ll ever read. Think Miyazaki, Tank Girl and Takeshi Kitano all wrapped up in one story that is so good it hurts. Just get it, if you like indie comics chances are this is your new favorite one.
9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Gorgeous, absorbing graphic narrativeMar 08, 2008
By zinegrrl
"xa"
During a trip to Japan recently I came across the film version of this book, which had just won many awards. When I learned it was based on a graphic novel, I scoured the bookstands here in the US for it to no avail. Luckily Amazon had it (along with the English-subtitled movie). Tekkon Kinkreet is a richly engaging graphic narrative, its visual language referencing French comics but with the horizontal, angled paneling of more traditional Japanese Manga. Though it's about two scrappy kids, this is most definitely NOT a comic book for children: it's full of violence and references to the seedy underworld of the city (gangsters, strip clubs, etc.). Though those things would usually turn me off, I found this to be a completely absorbing narrative. Beyond the violence it elegantly explores the issues of gentrification, friendship, identity, and change. The film's great too, but you should definitely read the book first. Totally different visual styles going on. Great stuff. Check it out.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Simple Story, Amazing Art Work!Sep 09, 2007
By W. Xia
What a great book! The art work is like nothing I've seen...The story is simple but heart felt, and the characters easy to identify with. While I can tell that the translation took a lot away from the original ( I can read some Kanji characters, and I could see some of the left over original text was more incorporated into the artwork), it still kept to the mood and the atmosphere pretty well.... I read this book in 4 hours because it was so hard to put down.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
charming, poignant fairy taleOct 29, 2011
By B. Marshall
I was captured by the heart and compassion of this simple tale. It's violent in a fairy tale way, reflecting the real violence of human cultures that abandon their young. It's a very male story, but holds together despite that, as boyish imaginations transform their world, wistfully plunging between bravado and black depression. The art and story together create a magical-realist and consistent world that is forever crumbling, like ours, as we struggle through youth and age doing the best we can with what we have. Recommended.
Also recommended is the anime (with soundtrack by Plaid) which I saw after reading the book.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Absorbing, but the anime is betterSep 14, 2009
By Parka
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R15Z1LXGFJARZ5 Tekkon Kinkreet was originally published as a Japanese manga in 1993. The title is a pun on "Tekkin" and "Concrete", the Japanese term for reinforced concrete.
Just four years before creating Tekkon Kinkreet, Taiyo Matsumoto had traveled to France for artistic research. The style of art in this book was heavily the French comics he studied there. It's a mixture of French line art with Japanese manga paneling.
The story is about two orphans, Black and White, who live in the fictional Treasure Town as they take on the yakuzas trying to take over the city. They are street kids, known as the Cats. Black is violent and sees it his responsibility to take care of his seemingly innocent brother White. Oh, and these boys can fly, literally.
Just as the names of the kids suggest, this theme is on the light and darkness. It's about how the kids relationship with people around them, having to find the way in their own lives on the streets, most oftentimes ending with violence. It is a gritty tale about friendship and change. There are no heroes in this book.
I actually bought the book after viewing the Blu-ray version of the anime. The adaptation is quite faithful. In fact, I was underwhelmed by the comic since the anime featured some pretty spectacular background paintings. The manga is a distilled version of that in terms of art and style. You should read the book first before watching the anime.
The story is simple, really, narrative absorbing. Overall recommended.
(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
See all 18 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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