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Velveteen & Mandala
The world of Velveteen & Mandara is a dystopia. Tokyo where the youth used to waste their time search for answers, is now barren. For a pair of teens who still live along the outskirts of town, Velveteen and Mandala, Tokyo is a nightmare that can only compare to the nightmare that is slowly tring to take over the metropolis.
These two teens are the last line of defence for a nation in ruins. Armed with a fully-operational tank the pair must fight off the zombie hordes while they catfight each other for food, entertainment and maybe even the affection and attention of the opposite sex. They have nothing to lose in this world except their humanity, but then again who are the zombies in this world? Are they the undead or are these two teens who must live among them even still human?
These two teens are the last line of defence for a nation in ruins. Armed with a fully-operational tank the pair must fight off the zombie hordes while they catfight each other for food, entertainment and maybe even the affection and attention of the opposite sex. They have nothing to lose in this world except their humanity, but then again who are the zombies in this world? Are they the undead or are these two teens who must live among them even still human?
344 pages, Paperback
First published November 26, 2009
5 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Jiro Matsumoto
43 books36 followersJiro Matsumoto (Japanese name: 松本次郎) is a Japanese manga artist most known for his work on Freesia. Much of his manga is explicit in nature, frequently containing copious amounts of sex and violence. His debut work, story called "Little Feet", was a quasi-winner in '92's Tetsuya Chiba Prize.
He has a transgender sister, who's also a mangaka, Matsumoto Taro.
He has a transgender sister, who's also a mangaka, Matsumoto Taro.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 6, 2011
Kudos to Vertical for publishing this. While most of the companies that publish manga in the US pick mainstream action and slice-of-life titles, usually series that have an anime adaptation, Vertical opts for more out-there material. And this is as out-there as you can get without a trip to Omicron Ceti. Really, this is R. Crumb territory. If there was ever a movie adaptation, John Waters would have to direct.
The story is set in a world on the cusp between apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic. It may be the future or it may be an alternate past. Japan is at war with someone, though it's not clear whom -- there are B-52s in the air over Tokyo all the time, but all we see them drop is dead bodies and furniture. The bodies fall along the river in Suginami Ward, where if they're not disposed of promptly, they'll come back to life and attack people. But this isn't a zombie story. The resurrected corpses aren't mindless monsters; they act just as they did in life, having idle conversations with each other about movies and mahjong ... and occasionally trying to devour the flesh of the living.
The river is under the protection of the Super, an odd man appointed by the ward to kill the zombies before they can wander into populated areas. How odd is the Super? Well, he walks around wearing just a shirt like an anatomically correct Porky Pig.
Velveteen and Mandala are two girls bored of school and air raid drills, so they run away to the river and become the Super's zombie-slaying assistants. All three characters are mentally unstable. Velveteen is the most sane, though that's like "the least skeevy member of The Jersey Shore." She at least as some tenuous connection to reality, whereas Mandala and the Super are dwelling in Cloudcuckooland. Mandala, for example, is apt to spend entire hours just repeating the words, "tape recorder" over and over again.
At first the story seems to be episodic, with the girls wandering from one bemusing incident to another, often fighting with each other and the Super with cartoonish violence that has no consequences, but a plot does emerge as we learn more about the world, the zombies, and why these three people are there. In the process, many of the early events take on new, ironic meanings. This is definitely a story where you'll find yourself flipping back to reread scenes in light of new information.
In many ways this book is reminiscent of the science fiction New Wave in the '60s and '70s, and I can well imagine a prose version of the story appearing in What Again, Possibly More Dangerous Visions.
That being said, a word of warning to anyone thinking of rushing out to buy this book: that John Waters reference I made earlier was not for nothing, nor is the cover blurb which describes the story as, "a sublime mixture of Hayao Miyazaki, Evangelion, and scatology." This is a very gross, black comedy, with some of the humor verging on dead-baby territory. For example, there's a scene where Mandala asks Velveteen if she's a virgin, and Velveteen proceeds to describe some of her sexual encounters. Mandala then scoffs, "I knew it. You've got it wrong. That isn't sex. That's a trick to ward off bad dreams. My dad says so. And that's why, since I was a kid, I've asked my dad for that trick every night." This pronouncement is then followed by three full pages of Velveteen simply staring at Mandala in disbelief. This is followed shortly by a scene as offensive as anything Gaspar Noe has ever put on film, in which Velveteen, having eaten a spoilt bentou is shown being graphically ill -- and I do mean graphically -- and then assaulted by zombies in a way ... well, let's just say, I've seen some debate about whether zombies could ever be treated in a manner similar to Lestat or Edward Cullen. Jiro Matsumoto comes down firmly on the side of, "Yes," but everyone in the audience will come away shouting, "No!"
The story is set in a world on the cusp between apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic. It may be the future or it may be an alternate past. Japan is at war with someone, though it's not clear whom -- there are B-52s in the air over Tokyo all the time, but all we see them drop is dead bodies and furniture. The bodies fall along the river in Suginami Ward, where if they're not disposed of promptly, they'll come back to life and attack people. But this isn't a zombie story. The resurrected corpses aren't mindless monsters; they act just as they did in life, having idle conversations with each other about movies and mahjong ... and occasionally trying to devour the flesh of the living.
The river is under the protection of the Super, an odd man appointed by the ward to kill the zombies before they can wander into populated areas. How odd is the Super? Well, he walks around wearing just a shirt like an anatomically correct Porky Pig.
Velveteen and Mandala are two girls bored of school and air raid drills, so they run away to the river and become the Super's zombie-slaying assistants. All three characters are mentally unstable. Velveteen is the most sane, though that's like "the least skeevy member of The Jersey Shore." She at least as some tenuous connection to reality, whereas Mandala and the Super are dwelling in Cloudcuckooland. Mandala, for example, is apt to spend entire hours just repeating the words, "tape recorder" over and over again.
At first the story seems to be episodic, with the girls wandering from one bemusing incident to another, often fighting with each other and the Super with cartoonish violence that has no consequences, but a plot does emerge as we learn more about the world, the zombies, and why these three people are there. In the process, many of the early events take on new, ironic meanings. This is definitely a story where you'll find yourself flipping back to reread scenes in light of new information.
In many ways this book is reminiscent of the science fiction New Wave in the '60s and '70s, and I can well imagine a prose version of the story appearing in What Again, Possibly More Dangerous Visions.
That being said, a word of warning to anyone thinking of rushing out to buy this book: that John Waters reference I made earlier was not for nothing, nor is the cover blurb which describes the story as, "a sublime mixture of Hayao Miyazaki, Evangelion, and scatology." This is a very gross, black comedy, with some of the humor verging on dead-baby territory. For example, there's a scene where Mandala asks Velveteen if she's a virgin, and Velveteen proceeds to describe some of her sexual encounters. Mandala then scoffs, "I knew it. You've got it wrong. That isn't sex. That's a trick to ward off bad dreams. My dad says so. And that's why, since I was a kid, I've asked my dad for that trick every night." This pronouncement is then followed by three full pages of Velveteen simply staring at Mandala in disbelief. This is followed shortly by a scene as offensive as anything Gaspar Noe has ever put on film, in which Velveteen, having eaten a spoilt bentou is shown being graphically ill -- and I do mean graphically -- and then assaulted by zombies in a way ... well, let's just say, I've seen some debate about whether zombies could ever be treated in a manner similar to Lestat or Edward Cullen. Jiro Matsumoto comes down firmly on the side of, "Yes," but everyone in the audience will come away shouting, "No!"
October 11, 2011
Vertical remains an awesome publisher. This book... I'm not really sure how to feel. At first, I thought I hated the art. By the end of the book, I thought it was perfect for the subject matter. I'm not sure that I really understood the setting or the world, maybe because I missed it, maybe because the author felt it was unimportant. Either way, it was the relationship between the two main characters that really drove the book for me. I found it disturbing, sad, gross, and oddly compelling. I've read it twice, though I don't think I would recommend it to others.
Btw, there is a scat + rape scene in this book that is about as vile as anything I've seen in comics, so bear that in mind...
Btw, there is a scat + rape scene in this book that is about as vile as anything I've seen in comics, so bear that in mind...
September 15, 2012
I don't knew what I just read
April 16, 2019
Drawing style and story were nice and interesting, but I'm not sure if I appreciate the pornification of rape -kinds of vibes. Lucky that was only a small part of this otherwise interesting random thing. I like the self-critique of the author -trope that you see in manga sometimes. That was fun.
March 13, 2024
This is a very crazy and twisted story that will keep you scratching your head trying to make head or tails out of it until the very end. Then once you have finished you will still be shaking your head asking yourself WTF did I just read. You will never truly understand the world and what is going on because it leaves more unanswered questions than answered ones.
May 22, 2021
Honestly, this book left me with too many questions at the end for me to have enjoyed it. Here are my major gripes:
The ONLY way this is “like Miyazaki” is that Miyazaki’s works are referenced. Nothing about this is the magic and whimsy and lesson of a Miyazaki anything. This is just pretty much scat and zombie rape porn, thinly veiled under “cool dystopian manga”. If you want to have a read yourself, and come out confused and having seen gratuitous shitting butthole, have at it, but don’t expect a Junji Ito or anything, and especially don’t expect a Miyazaki.
The ONLY way this is “like Miyazaki” is that Miyazaki’s works are referenced. Nothing about this is the magic and whimsy and lesson of a Miyazaki anything. This is just pretty much scat and zombie rape porn, thinly veiled under “cool dystopian manga”. If you want to have a read yourself, and come out confused and having seen gratuitous shitting butthole, have at it, but don’t expect a Junji Ito or anything, and especially don’t expect a Miyazaki.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2013
I'm not going to pretend to fully understand all that was happening in this book. It felt like a delusion, but I don't think it was. I really enjoyed it though. Great, weird manga that is disturbing and fun. TAPE RECORDER!
August 21, 2024
I really like the episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast with Busta Rhymes. There's a gas leak in the studio, driving everyone insane, and hjinks ensue. What I like about it is that there are moments where Space Ghost seems legitimately insane and dangerous. It's one of the few times that a piece of fiction has given me that instinctual, gut reaction.
Velveteen & Mandala made me feel the same way. It's intense, insane, and frightening on a deeply atavistic, fight or flight level. It's explicit and scatalogical and all that, but it's not just for shock value. I'm as tired of edgy try-hards as everyone else, but it's all part of the whole here. It's not for everyone, but it can be a worthwhile experience for those who try it.
Velveteen & Mandala made me feel the same way. It's intense, insane, and frightening on a deeply atavistic, fight or flight level. It's explicit and scatalogical and all that, but it's not just for shock value. I'm as tired of edgy try-hards as everyone else, but it's all part of the whole here. It's not for everyone, but it can be a worthwhile experience for those who try it.
July 3, 2017
Intentionally confusing, but the feel and the imagery really stayed with me.
It is, at times, terribly gross. There are a lot of panels that show their bodies gratuitously.
I found the characters very relatable and even likable. It was compelling, I wanted to know more about this strange world and what would happen next. The jarring flash-forwards fit in perfectly, the body horror wasn't overwhelming. I did feel like "the author must be a huge pervert" but at least he was able to make it into art and entertain people with it.
I do recommend, but only if you like confused and dark seinen stories. It reminded me very much of Tideland.
It is, at times, terribly gross. There are a lot of panels that show their bodies gratuitously.
I found the characters very relatable and even likable. It was compelling, I wanted to know more about this strange world and what would happen next. The jarring flash-forwards fit in perfectly, the body horror wasn't overwhelming. I did feel like "the author must be a huge pervert" but at least he was able to make it into art and entertain people with it.
I do recommend, but only if you like confused and dark seinen stories. It reminded me very much of Tideland.
February 21, 2018
I just finished this book and I don't really know what to think about it. It was good but a lot of weird stuff happened and some stuff that happened I didn't understand. I did enjoy the art style of this manga as it really suited the story and complimented it, I also liked two main characters and their interactions with each other was what really drove this story for me. The plot of the story felt missing and the world wasn't really built and felt incomplete.
Overall I did enjoy this book and there were things that I really did like but there were also quite a few things that I did not enjoy.
Overall I did enjoy this book and there were things that I really did like but there were also quite a few things that I did not enjoy.
July 14, 2024
Bat shit insane and disgustingly awful, but with a lot of redeeming qualities. These include (in no particular order): (1) The lovely artwork, (2) The dark humour, and (3) The developing friendship between Velveteen and Mandala which culminates in Mandala's possible death. I'm not exactly sure which parts of the story are real and which are figments of Velveteen's imagination, but I'm sure that Matsumoto intended this ambiguity for the reader.
In summary: recommended if you are looking for something different and shocking, but not for the faint of heart.
In summary: recommended if you are looking for something different and shocking, but not for the faint of heart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2020
This book left me feeling very uncomfortable, and not many do. It has an almost suffocating feeling about it. It is an interesting depiction of how post-apocalyptic living might affect ones mentality, and the dynamic between the two girls is believable. The porny feeling of the rape-scene was extremely unnecessary and kind of ruined it for me.
November 3, 2018
I liked this more than I thought I would. It's gross, weird and the art is cool. The book makes a full circle and completes the plot. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but very interesting and thought provoking.
October 2, 2025
TW talk ahead. Yeah this didn’t need to be made at all. Why show panty shots of a minor? What do you mean there’s a scat + rape scene? This doesn’t need to be anything at all. I’m sure the author had good intent, but it just comes off in poor taste.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2017
Also known as "Becchin to Mandara".
I found this to be very moving.
I found this to be very moving.
February 12, 2020
Reminder to myself to read this again as I only remember the fantastic visuals, nothing of the plot.
May 31, 2021
tape recorder
September 9, 2022
very comfy
January 10, 2024
My best friend recommended this to me? And I don’t know what I just read? But I liked whatever it was.
July 17, 2024
Nuts. Gave me some stuff to ponder but mostly it was just trying to shock.
August 3, 2024
I didn't like it but I appreciate that the author put a lot of effort into it
July 14, 2025
Jiro Matsumoto è il re della follia, lo dimostra sia con la sceneggiatura che con i disegni. Nessuno dipinge la pazzia meglio di lui
August 13, 2021
Super short review here as I don’t have too much to say.
This is very eccentric. There are some interesting bits but it is all over the place and incoherent in parts. Is this due to translation issues? Maybe.
I had to force myself through it. The beginning is solid but it really goes crazy. Not a manga I would recommend but like anything cult/oddball, I’m sure it’ll find its fans or has them.
This is very eccentric. There are some interesting bits but it is all over the place and incoherent in parts. Is this due to translation issues? Maybe.
I had to force myself through it. The beginning is solid but it really goes crazy. Not a manga I would recommend but like anything cult/oddball, I’m sure it’ll find its fans or has them.
November 2, 2013
Having just read this, I'm not entirely sure what exactly was going on. I bought this because I'd heard it was about the zombie apocalypse, and two girls surviving out on the edges of Tokyo. But I don't even know if that was the case, because both girls had serious mental issues, were abused and taking medication, so how much of this was even in their heads?
Velveteen lives in a tank in this parkland area on the edge of Tokyo and Mandala... not sure where she lives. Anyway, they're chums of a description, although they're often fighting. There's been some kind of war, Tokyo was bombed, and there are zombies about in this parkland; as well as these wierd looking imp things that look like those things out of Princess Monoke. There's a super, a guy who wanders around in a shirt and no pants (British pants, not American pants) who is in charge of cleaning up the zombies and looking after the area. The girls work for him sometimes.
This is a very wierd book, even aside from the basic set up. It is also properly graphic; a bit euwk in places to be perfectly honest. I don't need to see people's rear ends in such detail, thanks! This isn't for the feint hearted, and there is some graphic sex - rapes and general unpleasantness, so this isn't a nice read. Uncomfortable and bizarre is a better description.
Velveteen lives in a tank in this parkland area on the edge of Tokyo and Mandala... not sure where she lives. Anyway, they're chums of a description, although they're often fighting. There's been some kind of war, Tokyo was bombed, and there are zombies about in this parkland; as well as these wierd looking imp things that look like those things out of Princess Monoke. There's a super, a guy who wanders around in a shirt and no pants (British pants, not American pants) who is in charge of cleaning up the zombies and looking after the area. The girls work for him sometimes.
This is a very wierd book, even aside from the basic set up. It is also properly graphic; a bit euwk in places to be perfectly honest. I don't need to see people's rear ends in such detail, thanks! This isn't for the feint hearted, and there is some graphic sex - rapes and general unpleasantness, so this isn't a nice read. Uncomfortable and bizarre is a better description.
December 23, 2016
3 or 4 stars
I never know how to feel reading this manga, so it's hard to rate. It's coarse and strange and experimental and... adult, in both meanings of the word. As in, there is a pretty graphic rape scene. Plus a scene in which the main character due to food poisoning (they weren't lying about the scatology bit on the back cover). These images don't last long, maybe one or two panels, but they stay with you, making this hard to recommend to just anyone. Still, I'm glad I own this.
I never know how to feel reading this manga, so it's hard to rate. It's coarse and strange and experimental and... adult, in both meanings of the word. As in, there is a pretty graphic rape scene. Plus a scene in which the main character due to food poisoning (they weren't lying about the scatology bit on the back cover). These images don't last long, maybe one or two panels, but they stay with you, making this hard to recommend to just anyone. Still, I'm glad I own this.
September 28, 2015
Disturbing at times, and I don't like how quite a few manga keep claiming (in the summaries) to be "the next Miyazaki"...just be yourself and just let your art and story be you and be individual....but yet...at the same time...this was very beautiful and, not to be vulgar, a mind-fuck. But I mean that in the best way possible. I checked this book out from my local library, and I plan on someday buying my own copy.
March 25, 2016
Jiro Matsumoto took dystopian issue on manga into another level and blended all together with schizophrenic characters, experimental and sometimes absurd paneling, sexual grittiness, and absolute nihilism. For the fans of fucked up stuff.
Want to read
October 4, 2011Reviewing for Booklist
November 27, 2011
What an odd story. There's a lot of prurient stuff in here (lots of it involving poop) that adds nothing to what could have been a much better story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews