SMUGGLER (アフタヌーンコミックス)

by Shōhei Manabe

借金の返済のために高利貸しから紹介されたバイトは、「運送屋」。運ぶのは死体や法律に触れるもの。役者志望のフリーター・砧涼介（きぬたりょうすけ）が踏み込んでしまった世界は、たった一度のミスすら命に係わる死と隣り合わせの世界だった。ところが涼介は、捕まえた暗殺者「背骨」を“運搬中”わずかばかり彼に心を許したせいで、彼を逃がしてしまった！　「アフタヌーン」’00年5月号から8月号まで連載された、話題の新人作品!!

Genres: Manga, Seinen, Comics

238 pages, Kindle Edition

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.