Togari, Vol. 1

Togari #1

by Yoshinori Natsume

Tobe is a ruthless killer from medieval Japan who's been suffering in Hell for 300 years. After what seems like an eternity, he's finally given a chance for redemption--armed with the magical wooden sword Togari, he's sent to modern-day Tokyo to destroy 108 malevolent demons in 108 days. However, these demons must be vanquished without causing harm to their possessed human hosts. Will the baffling ways of the modern world and his own criminal tendencies make Tobe's quest against evil an unwinnable war? Fast-paced action seasoned with a touch of moral philosophizing make this series a must read for all!

Genres: Manga, Horror, Action, Fantasy, Supernatural, Graphic Novels

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Yoshinori Natsume 夏目義徳 Natsume Yoshinori, born August 23, 1975 in Hiroshima, Japan is a Japanese manga artist.

He created Togari and authored the prestige format Batman manga mini-series Batman: Death Mask,in April 2008. As of January 4, 2013, he is currently working on a shonen manga for Grand Jump called White Tiger.

Reviews

[Hagar Youssef · Rating 2 out of 5]

OKAY. At first, I thought: what the hell? You send a man -who's been tortured in Hell for 300 years- back to Earth AND ask him to collect 108 sins in 108 days? His sword, Togari, gets as strong as the evil in the person who uses it? Are you serious? You wanna correct evil on Earth by inducing evil in someone else? Turns out, Tobe, the main character, was tricked by those who are supposed to correct his sins. AGAIN, isn't trickery a sin, too? Which brings up a lot of moral topics and questions.

I like the idea, so far. However, the plot needs to get more interesting. It's not intriguing at all. I'll give it one more chance and see what happens ..

[Hanii Aburame · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stick of sin.

An evil (I have my own thoughts on that but,) boy made to suffer 300 years for his crimes is given a second chance in the terms of a wooden stick. Tobei needs to use togari, the sin eating stick, to collect 108 sins in modern-day Tokyo for his own sentence to be pardoned, and free to roam the world once again. Sounds easy right?

This volume was hard for me to put down. With each page I just wanted to know more about Tobei, his former life, how this stick works, why are corporeal sins given a cool name like Toga, and why for 300 years didn't Tobei have clothes in the underworld.

Some things I've found out, like why the name Toga and how the stick works, but the rest can only come in time and reading, that is something I am definitely going to enjoy. The world is fascinating to me, and the art has a vintage feel to it.

The art is intricately detailed with dark bold lines, yet soft and sketchy at the same time, a beautiful combination. And I love the cover, it almost looks like it was painted on canvas.

I definitely recommend this to fans of older series that appreciate the older artwork, but anyone who has a taste for action and rough and tumble characters will definitely like this, and can't wait to know more, like I do.

Check out my bookstagram! @Witchy_Bookish_Otaku

[Cholera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un peu déçue, surtout après avoir relu Mars... Toujours intéressant, avec des dessins noirs et blancs qui reflètent bien l'horreur et la confusion, une histoire originale, des personnages inattendus et des retournements rarement vus. Par contre... pas mal de réactions sont des clichés, surtout au début et l'effet comique ne me fait pas vraiment rire. Je me souviens que ça s'améliore, il va falloir que je relise la suite...
Not that good, especially after Mars. Still interesting, with black and white drawings for confusion and gore, an original story, and a lot of surprises. But... cliché cliché cliché. Cartoonish characters probably meant to make me laugh but don't. Hope it gets better, don't remember exactly...

[Shin Donghae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pada volume I ini pengenalan yang singkat dan berlangsung cepat. Tobe seorang pendosa, diperbolehkan bebas dari neraka (lengkap dengan semua deraan siksanya) asalkan mengumpulkan 108 dosa (berbentuk Toga) dalam 108 hari di dunia. Berbekal Togari, ditemani Ose, perjalanan Tobe di kehidupan kedua dimulai.
Belum memperlihatkan karakteristiknya sebagai seinen, terkesan terburu-buru hingga kesan utk jilid ini menjadi kurang baik :))

[David Doel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting much of this manga, but was pleasantly surprised. The art isn't the best, but the story makes up for any shortcomings in the art. And, the bonus pages give a nice glimpse into the work of a mangaka.

I only have volume 6 left in this series; I hope I don't suffer too much for missing 4 intervening volumes.

[Adestya Wahyu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Togari menceritakan seorang Pendosa bernama Tobe yang hidup di Zaman Edo di Jepang. Terkurung di Neraka selama 300 tahun
Tobe diberi kesempatan oleh Petinggi Neraka untuk mengumpulkan 108 Dosa dalam 108 Hari menggunakan Tongkat Kayu bernama Togari.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumped up to 4 Stars for Tagari, Vol. 1

Thoughts Regarding Plot

At first I was reading this as something to pass the time and thinking "this is probably not something I am going to continue to read" due to the average art style and a story line I didn't think I would be into... and then I hit the page with the one stunningly well done picture and Tobe's evil self is totally reveled and I was suddenly hooked! The rating went from 1 to 3.5 in the span of a few pages.

*Spoiler Alert starts now*

Tobei is not a nice guy. Not really. He had a rough life and adapted into a mean, murdering, twisted, young man. He was sent to Hell to repent for his sins so his soul could be cleansed and the cycle started anew. But Tobei regrets nothing and would not submit. He tried to escape multiple times, so the beings that run Hell give him an option, collect 108 Sins in 108 days with a special wooden sword and be redeemed, or spend eternity is Hell being cruelly punished for his sins.

Tobei is sent back to Earth in Japan after roughly 300 years in Hell. He is practically dropped off at the feet of his first Sin collection. Sin appears as an entity that is attached to, or standing just behind, a man. They're usually monstrous looking of course. The first Sin he collects is attached to a man who has been sexually abusing young women and then killing them for his own enjoyment. Tobei inadvertently saves the life of a young lady (already forget her name) who's father was a cop.

Everything is different for Tobei, and in the pursuit of other Sins he comes to realize just how different everything is...

In Conclusion

I know most people aren't very impressed with Togari, but it amused me. It's an interesting (and different) idea that I will continue to read until I no longer find it interesting.

Library Status

I'm thinking about adding it to the list of potential buys.

[hujanlia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this manga has a great idea of a story, but unfortunately the author failed to make the plot thrilling and interesting to level of the idea itself.

(And I think the manga has to be more than just 8 volumes, but you know how popularity effects a title of manga back there in Japan ^^')
Yoshinori Natsume-sensei you've done OK, but you should've done better XD

[Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a man call Tobie that got killed when he was 16.He went hell and was there for about 300yrs.He finally got released but the person who released him told him you have to get 108 sins within 108 days.Everytime tobie makes a sin himself his neck gets cut.

[Rini · Rating 2 out of 5]

a bit interesting but i still haven't really intrigued yet

[Dậu's · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dropped this series after 1st volume because of the complicated plot.

[Kyi Night]

this was a pretty interesting idea, i enjoyed the shading of the artwork . It lent a creepy feel to the comic