The Fable Omnibus 1

ザ・ファブル [The Fable] #1-2

by Katsuhisa Minami

Ele é uma lenda entre os criminosos do Japão. Ele é Fable, um homem temido, capaz de fazer o serviço sujo que for necessário para a máfia japonesa. Mas, após inúmeros serviços concluídos com sucesso, este mesmo homem foi obrigado a se tornar um cidadão comum, morando de favor com sua "irmã". Aprendendo a ser uma pessoa normal, adotando um bichinho de estimação e apreciando as coisas simples, ele vai tentar levar uma vida ordinária. Se a máfia permitir, é claro. Como um homem treinado para matar poderia passar despercebido?

Genres: Manga, Crime, Humor, Comedy, Graphic Novels, Contemporary, Comics

416 pages, Paperback

Published April 9, 2024

About the author

Associated Names:
* Katsuhisa Minami (Engish)
* 南 勝久 (Japanese)
* คัทสึฮิสะ มินามิ (Thai)

Reviews

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uhhhh surprise of the year?

The Fable tells the story of a Hitman who is a ace killer. He's also sometimes kind of dumb as fuck, and laughs at really dumb tv shows, but when it comes to killing and surviving? He's a pro.

This is some prime black comedy, dark ass shit at times, with laugh out loud moments and some really unique and solid art. Love the story of Akira (the pro) who goes to try and live a normal life with Misaki, basically his helper but now under new identities has to become his sister. This is a story of starting a simple normal life, including even adopting/buying pets?

If like darker, but still funny, stories with a fresh feel check out The Fable. Worth every penny.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that struck the right balance between serious crime drama and off-putting/dry humor that makes it fun. The Fable himself is thankfully very competent, despite his lack of manners or life outside his job. His Handler is a mess herself, but bless her heart for having to put up with him. This all is setting the stage for the adventures to come, and it's well depicted. Consider me on board for whatever comes next.

[Knigoqdec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Беше пределно ясно, че заглавия като "Легендата" ще си останат нишови и нетърсени дори когато получат аниме адаптация. Беше пределно ясно и това, че в България подобните ще имат поне двама зрители/читатели и единият от тях ще съм аз :D
Донякъде е ясно защо "Легендата" не впечатлява особено много зрители, а също така и читатели. На първо място е в реалистичен стил, който мнозина ще сметнат за грозничък. Също така е и история за мафията, за хладнокръвните убийци, улични побойници, лекетата от тъмните ъгълчета на обществото. Подобни заглавия са обречени на това да бъдат смятани за истории с лекета за лекета. Е, нека и аз съм си леке тогава...
Хуморът на "Легендата" е обран, горчив, особено черен и трудно поносим за мнозина. Изисква се особена настройка, за да понасяш подобни истории с известна ведрина. В началото Сато, главният ни герой, е отдалечен, сив, човек не е склонен да му се довери. Реално си мисля, че ако вече не се познавахме от аниме адаптацията (доста точна между другото), даже можеше и да не си допаднем сравнително дълго време. Разбира се, отбелязвам си факта, че е нормално човек с такава професия и такъв живот да не е подходящ за живота извън познатите му рамки. Точно затова оценявам високо усилията, които все пак полага. С времето се поотпуска за света, дори да е с мъничко. А всичко, което му се случва, е като цяло нелепо, но нелепо по реалистичен начин, поради което именно всъщност е... ами, забавно :D

[Benjamin]

Was in a reading slump and started this series because the cover was intriguing. Bought the second volume but haven’t finished that one yet.

[Luis Rios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where to start? This book was sold to me as “what you thought the way of the househusband was going to be”.

Was that accurate? Not really…. Did it disappoint me? Not really….

Think of it this way, the yakuza/gang lifestyle from “the way of the househusband” and the exciting life of both Yor and Loid from “Spy x Family” got thrown into a blender and this is the weird smoothie that came out.

I was expecting a little more violence and gore (and maybe that’s my problem, not everything is dark as hell). I also wasn’t expecting the interesting and weird existential scene between Akira/Fable and the Captain(Takeshi Ebihara)… what does life really mean to us?

I also love anything that involves animals, let’s not forget the adorable pet bird he has, captain!

Definitely excited to see what the next volume has in store for me.

Less than I expected, but also a little more than I did?

LR

[Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

can’t believe i waited so long to start this but it’s just as good as people said it was. now time to buy all of it yay!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately-paced underworld comedy about a gifted hitman whose boss orders him to lie low for a year until the heat from the last big job cools off. Sheltered by a yakuza boss ex-client alongside his long-suffering handler, pretending to be a brother & sister, he struggles with the order not to kill anyone for a whole year, even though a suspicious yakuza lieutenant keeps 'testing' him.
The hit-man, though gifted at his job, is thick-witted when it comes to basically everything else, enjoying nothing but his work, bad slapstick tv, and working out in the nude, relying on his handler to smooth the way in social situations, so this undercover-year is his chance to discover life outside that. His handler is happy to take this as her chance at boozing and finding romance, though years of looking after her clueless charge have left her with odd tastes. And the yakuza boss's right-hand man thinks they're bad news and wants to secretly run them out of town.

The art style is realistic but falls into the old manga cliche of "protagonists = attractive, bad guys = unattractive" (therefore pretty people can't be bad guys, and ugly people must be bad), which some might find annoying, and the only woman in the story does get objectified (spied on by a guy who masturbates to the surveillance footage).
This story might appeal most to fans of crime fiction looking for a lighter tone of story in a gritty-crime setting, but it wasn't really my thing. I didn't hate it, but I won't look for vol.2.

Content concerns: violence (gun violence, street-fights), murder, swearing, alcohol, deliberate recreational drunkenness, nudity, voyeurism, masturbation (non-graphic, but treated as a running gag)

[Floriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Letto fino al volume 6. Storia piacevole, ma mi aspettavo qualcosa di più.

[Amélie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga was quite fun and original. It had an interesting concept: A Yakuza who's ordered to lay low and live a "normal" life for one year. It reminds me of 'The Way of the Househusband' in the sense that the main characters are/were in the Yakuza and now live "normal" lives.

The story had a good flow, with the two main characters adapting to a non-gangster life, and it also had good humour. The Fable/Sato and Yoko were likeable and the Yakuza members helping them each had their own appeal/quirks.

The story isn't fast paced but I didn't find it slow either, because of the kind of story it is where you're following the characters' day-to-day lives. To me, it was interesting seeing what they did every day, and I wasn't looking for action or something big to happen. Think of 'The Godfather' where it's about the Corleone family members' day-to-day lives rather than about gangsters going after one another with action happening every two seconds.

I've enjoyed it and I recommend this series to everyone!

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As if I didn’t already have enough series on my plate, I’ve gotten hooked on yet another one.

The protagonist is a genius assassin with a flawless record, known simply as Fable. After completing numerous successful jobs, he’s ordered to take a year-long break and go completely off the grid. Now, he faces an unexpected challenge: adapting to a normal life.

This manga is an absolute blast—a perfect blend of intense action and humor. Beneath Fable’s cold, professional exterior lies a surprisingly good heart. His kills are purely business; there’s no pleasure in the act.

If you’re a fan of badass characters like John Wick, this is a manga series I highly recommend.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of like In Bruges, HBO's Barry, or any number of post-Tarantino 'I'm a hitman but I'm quirky with it'-type stories.

No real overarching narrative stakes/character motivations have been set up by the end of this first omnibus, which is a little baffling. But also watching this guy chill, work out, and buy a parrot is a fine enough way to spend time.

[Colton Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most unique manga I've ever read. The way he draws realistic anatomy to make it look like just drawn over photographs is so great. It works so well with both it's dramatic action scenes AND it's gut busting comedic scenes. The story is also interesting, and as someone who's read the whole series and it's sequel Second Contract, I'm excited to start collecting the whole series

[Shelby Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devoured the whole omnibus in one sitting; the set-up RULES! Love Fable/Sato, Yoko and Captain(s), but everyone filling out this fictional prefecture in Osaka is so insanely fleshed out and great. Gimme a hitman on a break in the care of a small time Yakuza organization, anytime, and I’m sure it’s my bread and butter, but the translation is VERY funny and easy to sink one’s teeth into.

[Colin Riddell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kinda feel that this first issue was alright. It had some funny moments but I didn’t really get the same vibe that GTO gave or any other adjacent manga.

Anyways it was still good! Just not up to the hype that I anticipated it. I’ll still check out the second book.

3.5/5 Stars

[Dan P · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is exactly what I was hoping for but didn't get with Way of the Househusband. the difference I guess is that it's still squarely seinen but also doing comedy, instead of straight comedy satire. fantastic comic, cannot recommend enough

[Nijah✊🏾 · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is an interesting take on a assassin that is ordered to take a one year sabbatical from killing. he has to learn to live the life of a "normal person" and all he's ever done is be a killer. there's comedy and killing, that's all you need

[Patrick Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good manga, love the crime aspect but also dark comedy. I hate how Goodreads only has solid star ratings. I would give this probably a 4.25 to 4.5 really enjoyable manga and reads really fast. I read this whole two volume omnibus in one sitting.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.

[Edi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fire Ass Manga. Hell yeah 👍

[Calico Palico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleeper hit. Thought the first two or so chapters were horrible but significantly improves and has a very touching climax at the end of the volume.

[Dereck M]

Oh, Jackal…
Workin’ hard out here too, huh?

P.238

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read!

[Krish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird...but I like it

[Grg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Fable's obsession with that bad stand up comedian. It's so pure.

[Cherie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Nehemiah Bekele · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading this in paperback IS SO SATISFYING

[Gurvan Cressan · Rating 5 out of 5]

akira sato est tellement cool

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7

[Iago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obra maestra

[Rafaél · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story about a murder sevant who is the best at murder and just about the worst at virtually everything else, and he is forced to live a normal life for a year.