Smuggler

by Shōhei Manabe

When Ryosuke Kinuta, a struggling young actor, owes too much money to loan sharks, he is forced to smuggle the bodies of murdered victims for the mob, but when he allows a captured rival to escape, the price he must pay gets horrifically high.

Genres: Manga, Seinen, Comics

Library Binding

First published August 24, 2000

About the author

Shōhei Manabe (真鍋昌平) is a veteran manga-ka with numerous titles under his belt, including his worldwide best seller Ushijima the Loan Shark, which has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide and was the winner of the 56th Annual Shogakukan Manga Award. Two of Manabe's manga have been made into motion pictures, including the acclaimed manga Smuggler, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival 2011.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A down and out actor who owes money to the Yakuza is offered a choice...join a 'disposal team' and get rid of bodies to pay back his debt! Very creepy story that is both shocking and original. Can see this as a movie - someone should really look into it! Could really see this as a movie; a very unusual concept that could be expanded on!

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brutal crime drama about a debtor who gets caught up in the business of some unpleasant assassins. It's the kind of manga where people get their heads kicked clean off. It's essentially a hard-R crime flick in book form. It's worth reading in part because it actually is self-contained in this volume, and has a fairly satisfying conclusion at that.

[Patrick Flannery · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a weird combination of things

[Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really love the art here but the rest of it is pretty thin… no ichi the killer

[Ender Campoverde · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting Manga portraying organized crime and a more innocent mind observing it. Very good.

[Xilks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read, I wasn't sure exactly what the main plot was or who the main character were since the story bounced back and forth quite a bit. Also, having finished this book, I'm not exactly sure where the next book would be headed and if more random stories from a "transporter" would really be something I'd invest my time into. Lastly, the art was pretty interesting. Unique compared to many of the typical manga styles I've seen before. I offered an additional star toward the rating for the art.