Forum - View topicJason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Old Boy
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here-and-faraway
 Posts: 1529 Location: Sunny California |
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I thought the ending to the manga was a complete let down. If a story offers a great ride, but has a clumsy resolution, I'm usually pretty forgiving. But what triggers Goto to get locked away is so incredibly lame that to this day I still feel bitter for having bought the series. When I got to the reveal, it felt like the author was flipping me off.
I guess the fact that I got so angry says something about the power of Tsuchiya's storytelling. The series has a solid start and even though some pretty implausible things happen, I was engrossed. But the ending.... Unforgivable. I'm curious about the movie's ending. It seems like it stuck with you in a good way.
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Animerican14
 Posts: 963 Location: Saint Louis, MO |
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Hey! This series was among my summer manga reading this year (thank you, local public library!). I enjoyed it for sure, and agree with how engrossing it was. The art was also very good! But... yeah, the ending's not easy to reconcile with. Maybe after 8 suspense-ridden volumes, I was expecting something kind of "epic". Instead, it kinda felt a bit anticlimatic; I think I actually had to double-check a few times to see if volume 8 was truly the last volume ("That's it!?") . In the context of it being a "small" and more "personal" story, perhaps it was among the more fitting ways to end.... but even so, Kakinuma's's reasoning for his pesecution of Goto still felt somewhat underwhelming/lame, and hasn't particularly stuck with me. Also, the little epilogue seemed to end with a hook for a non-existent continuation, what with spoiler[Goto's ominous nightmare and him declaring something along the lines of "This war is still not over." And so the adventure continues...
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The film sounds like a cool, more visceral alternative. Hope either the libraries around here in Saint Louis or up at TSU has the movie... knowing their respective tastes, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Last edited by Animerican14 on Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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FaytLein
 Posts: 1260 Location: Williamsburg, VA |
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I have to admit, I've been looking forward to this column more and more these days, as I wasn't really a manga guy, but I've yet to be disappointed by the recommendations (though my wallet hates me even more these days because of it.) And now I have another one to seek out. Thanks for the great columns, I'm really enjoying it.
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14889 |
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And the Hollywood adaptation will be based on this.
Can ya blame them if they make changes? |
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Generic #757858
 Posts: 1354 |
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Agreed completely. The series started out great, but around the halfway point the plot just started to become increasingly convoluted and way too unrealistic (not to say it was realistic before, but at least I could suspend my disbelief) and the final revelation was so incredibly petty that the whole thing became just ridiculous, which wasn't helped by the fact that it was played completely straight and serious. A disappointment. Oh well, at least the art was good... |
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Gilles Poitras
Posts: 480 Location: Oakland California |
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Easily one of my favorite manga.
Great art and a good suspense story. The obsession of the man who had Goto locked up is one that has lurked in his mind for years and his wealth allows him to carry out his task. Goto refused to be devoured by an urge for vengeance, which accounts for the relative lack of violence in the story and greatly contributes to the tension. I also greatly enjoyed seeing the neighborhood on the East side of Shinjuku Station depicted so well. I even cringed when Goto vomited on the steps of Hanazono Jinja. |
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simside
 Posts: 29 |
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I thought that the Old Boy movie was so good that I couldn't bring myself to read the original manga, because I was afraid the ending was changed for the movie. And I'm the type of person who will seek out even the worst backwards manga adaptation if I liked anything about the movie/anime.
I also really, really liked Astral Project, flaws and all. I was thrilled when I learned that Old Boy was written by the same person, but even that didn't convince me. My favorite part of the movie is that horrible ending, and to find the ending of the manga is not only much different, but very disappointing, is the kiss of death for me. |
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
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I have to admit, I prefer the movie ending too. Although in a way, the manga ending is even more depressing (in a sad/existential rather than horrifying/awful way)... but even so, there are several plot holes in the end which are frustrating. |
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mrsticky005
Posts: 133 |
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Is there anyone else besides me who actual prefers the manga ending? I think if you take a deeper look at the manga ending
you'll see it really isn't lame at all. The thing you have to understand was that the bad guy is three things 1. EXTREMELY JEALOUS 2. EXTREMELY PRIDEFUL. 3. EXTREMELY LONELY The bad guy wanted to be like the good guy. Some people think the bad guy was in love with the good guy but I think this is just yaoi fans wanting the manga to be a yaoi manga. From my perspective the bad guy clearly hated the good guy's guts. But even so, the bad guy wanted to be like the good guy and why not? The good guy was basically Mr. Perfect. It may be hard to understand if you are a Mr. or Mrs. Perfect but not everyone is blessed with perfection. People idolize those who are better than them. The bad guy idolize the good guy. He wanted to be the good guy. The bad guy hated who he was because he was a nobody. Again if you are Mr. or Mrs. Perfect you may not understand the feeling that some people have of wanting to actually matter. Think of how many people wish for fame and glory. It's because they want people to recognize them and remember them. Very few people wish for an empty funeral. People are social creatures and no man is an island. So it should come as no surprise that the bad guy who didn't really matter would be so envious of the good guy who was the life of the party. So as you can see the bad is extremely jealous and lonely. When the bad guy sang a song in class and was laughed at by everyone he was embarrassed. But when the good guy cried for him he was completely humiliated. So why did the bad guy make such a big deal out of it? Pride. Here we have this lonely and pathetic bad guy who envies the perfect in almost every way good guy. The good guy then cries at the bad guy. The bad guy sees this as an act of pity. Pity crushes a person's pride. A great example of this is Gon Freeccs from Hunter x Hunter. When Hisoka punched him in the face in the Hunter Exam it was more than just getting punched in the face it was that Hisoka pitied him and made a mockery of him. Gon wanted nothing more than to get revenge and punch Hisoka back. That is pretty much how the bad guy felt. Except unlike Gon the bad guy is far more twisted in his revenge scheme. Gon just wanted to punch Hisoka because he's simple minded. The bad guy however wanted to make the good guy suffer. However the good guy was able to maintain his cool. Seeing how he could never succeed in his revenge and could never be like the good guy the bad guy kills himself. Put simply the good guy shamed the bad guy and the bad guy then kills himself rather than face his defeat. It's an awesome ending in my opinion because the bad guy's motive is actually very understandable once you get it but yet you can still see the error of his ways. And the good guy stays consistently awesome because of his strength of will. |
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