Homunculus (Omnibus) Vol. 5-6

Homunculus Omnibus #3

by Hideo Yamamoto

Nakoshi faced the robot yakuza and the high school girl made of symbols head on--and in doing so, rid them of their monstrous traits. But now those twisted attributes have transferred to Nakoshi! To get closer to the truth about himself and his new, disturbing reality, he confronts the homunculus of the med student who started it all...Ito.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Seinen, Comics, Graphic Novels Manga

682 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 19, 2023

About the author

山本英夫 Yamamoto Hideo , is a Japanese manga artist best known for the manga series "Ichi the Killer" (which was adapted into a live-action film in 2001) and the series, Homunculus (manga).
Recurring themes in his manga are crime, sexual deviations, and psychology.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, the rapist from last volume rescues a cat from a tree so . . . redemption?!?! #fixed

A truckload of hallucinatory art works hard to hide the fact that the majority of this book is just two guys having a long and boring conversation as they play at pop psychology with their various daddy and gender issues. The author exploits transgender issues with as little sensitivity and as much stupid shock value as he did with women's issues last time.

Yeah, I'm done with this garbage.

[Victor The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Homunculus (Omnibus), Vol. 5-6 (My Kindle Review)

Vol. 5 - Nakoshi has begun to grow uncomfortable about his ability to see homunculi following the traits he’s obtained from his two previous encounters and visits Ito about wanting to rid him of it. Their meeting quickly gets more tense as Nakoshi finally reveals Ito’s homunculus side that’s a “little fishy” involving his past and makes an even more shocking decision.

Vol. 6 - The intensity between Nakoshi and Ito gets more serious as they both call out each other for living false lives and that Nakoshi has been hiding things about his past. Later, he and Ito have a very interesting hotel dinner where Ito confronts Nakoshi that his homunculus theory might really be about himself and his own buried past.

A- (91%/Excellent)

[diddybludbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

how can we learn about who we are? Is it by looking inward and introspectively analyzing ourselves or is it by examining other people?

Nakoshi is a extremely captivating character, though this volume was almost just a big coversation between ito and nakoshi, we get to learn many things about them. Nakoshi had changed himself due to insecurities and got caught up in lies making him feel unalive, but ito wants change but isnt allowed to do so because hes scared of what society or his father might think, its a very intresting dynamic and im curious to see more of nakoshis past and maybe see ito change into her/his true self.


This volume explores many metaphysical themes like
the nature of reality, the nature of existence, and its asking who we are as people.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story continues to drift into really bizarre places as Nakoshi continues to navigate the world with a modest drill-sized hole in his skull. Hideo Yamamoto doubles down on some of the more problematic elements from the previous two volumes here, so if that was off-putting earlier it's only getting worse here. But amidst the more tasteless avenues of the story is a deeply unsettling horror narrative that Yamamoto navigates quite capably. What works best for Homunculus is the nonlinear character trajectory for the main character, and particularly with how unreliable of a narrator he actually is. The behavior for Nakoshi and the other players in the series is erratic and even inhuman at times, which adds to this almost heightened sense of dread that works quite well. The story isn't the easiest to follow six volumes in, but the darkly surreal story coupled with Yamamoto's creepy designs continues to make this an engaging enough read.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so intrigued by this story and have absolutely no clue how it will wrap up -

Car guy realizes everything is a put on, he doesn’t even know his own face. The homunculus that he sees are just reflections of his own inner turmoil- he decides the best way to look inside himself is by going on a date with Ito who he dolls up in a nice dress and a wig with split ends.

[Soteralzobooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.1 (biblio)

[Riona Fryer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot safely say this series is fully redeemed in my eyes, but I can say that this volume was an improvement from the horror show that was the last.

Truthfully, I don’t know how much I should let the problematic content play into my reviews- I certainly feel it warrants some docked points, but considering the intent and themes of the story, I don’t know how many.

Here’s the thing: (and this will just be me rambling so bear with me lol)
I don’t believe a story should be condemned for simply featuring uncomfortable or problematic content. A story needs to do what it needs to do to convey its themes in the most engaging and impactful way possible.

The question of whether or not a story should be called out is not about what is featured, but rather about HOW that thing is featured.

The incident in the last volume, for example, could have worked just fine as a set piece- Displaying Nakoshi’s loss of self and narcissistic dehumanization of those he perceives as Homunculi- IF Yukari hadn’t responded positively. Though there’s never any doubt that Nakoshi is a morally grey (at best- at worst he’s flat-out rotten) protagonist, the action he takes is still represented positively by the narrative in this instance. Additionally frustrating is the fact that Yukari being upset or traumatized afterward would have strengthened the cyclical anti-capitalism plot points.

With this volume, the effect is similar. Nakoshi undoubtedly a nasty person, but the net effect of his actions on his victim still appears to be positive, and only there do we find the issue.

I personally cannot judge how exploitative this narrative was of the gender non-conforming experience, and would love to hear the opinions of any trans readers on the matter.

All that said, whether it was right of me or not, I did find a lot to like in this volume. Though the pacing became grating and repetitive after a while, the exploration of identity on Nakoshi’s side was super interesting! I continue to love the artwork and many of the themes! Because the characters are as off the rails as they are, scene setups are consistently engaging and suspenseful! And I’m going to read the next volume becasue the mystery intrigues me!

[Paige Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The finance guy comes across someone whose job he axed. More cool personifications of insecurities but I never exactly predict what they mean or his explanation. I wonder if it's a bit of a translation issue with sayings. Or maybe I don't get what he means by them being a projection of him. Is it his prejudice he has for them that is part true? That makes sense w/ the dr.'s changing form I guess.

I don't believe the dr. just got bored of his experiment. I think he's afraid of finding out nefarious things are at play or that HE could be seen as one of those. Or maybe someone sent him a cease and desist of sorts. Or maybe the "placebo" is half true, but the dr. must also believe in it some w/ all his shocked expressions and binders of similar cases, so how could he be "quickly bored."

His water form makes me think, yeah, he's wishy washy, or putting a reflective shield up, or is moldable like water. The fancy tail guppy is maybe him giving himself away or hatching a bright idea. The non-communication trope can be annoying but I get the MC could be afraid of a whackadoo with a scalpel even if he's at times generous and endearing.

[Nicholas Dehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting with a look into nakoshi’s past and into life in the homeless park then delving into who Ito is, this book is miles better than the previous entry. Ito is a fascinating character and the ambiguity around Nakoshi’s identity is also a highlight of the story, so focusing on them makes for an engaging arc. Additionally, the abstract art styles used in this book especially during the scenes where Nakoshi was interrogating Ito, trying to get to the root of their homunculus, was some I really loved. I also thought that the exploration of gender identity was really interesting. Still a bit shaken and not sure how to feel about this series overall, but this was an entry that I enjoyed a lot.

[Reyne Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the previous omnibus but nowhere near as good as the first. I’m starting to get a little fatigued with this series. I mean much of this book was two shadows talking to each other in a dimly lit room. There is a lot of inner turmoil, but in such a visual medium it leads to a lot of the novel seeming bland and boring. Going forward I hope to uncover more about the homunculus power, and I want it to build on his relationship with those around him. Particularly the younger girl, as I didn’t like how the series ended with her, it felt dirty and gross.

[Lucien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a shame. It’s such an interesting concept and I was loving it. Even the characters being flawed added to it, as annoying as they could be sometimes. But I can’t look over the rape that happens for no reason in this story. It’s sick and perverted. No reason behind it, no need for it, it’s just sick.

[Catherine Resta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly redeemed itself from the second book but not by much. Gave it 4 stars because I really love the art, delving more into Ito as a character, and i love fish so the guppy was the highlight of the book. But i can’t reconcile some of the weird sexual deviations and directions this author goes in.

[Victor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pacing of this is becoming increasingly annoying, imo. The art is creative & well done, but I have to agree with another reviewer here on the apparent "redemption" or at least narrative indifference towards the rapist lead character: not a great plot point, or lack thereof.

[Lewis Bamford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a great story so far after the last volume leaving me feeling disgusted this one really built on the physiological horror aspect of the story and the art in the double pages are powerful overall am really enjoying this series.

[georgiaotaku · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Avery · Rating 2 out of 5]

We will see what the next volume does *shrug*

[Preston Stell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As expected, this transitioned away from subject matter that felt less disgusting to me at when I put down the book. This is interesting, but I don't know if I'll keep going.

[Krissey P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gets crazier every book 🙃 liked this one more than the last!

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Omnibus was a strange turn of events but I still need to know how this is going to end.

[HappyYuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

MUCH BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS OMNIBUS!
However, like the fish this one swims relatively in circles never really coming to anything.

[Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This omnibus was very good. I can’t wait to see where the story is going. On to the next one…

[Billy Callahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than 3-4 but not as good as 1-2. It’s diving deep. I’ll have to give this a reread for this one.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

At least this one didn't go where the last one went. Slight increase in rating but not much.

2.5 Stars

[bell josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

somehow the most tame volumes

[Kimi Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wayyyyy better than the last and the story is actually catching my attention 👀👀👀 but I’ll continue cause now I’m invested.

[aime · Rating 5 out of 5]

still anticipating, but not as stimulating as before *sighs* …

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nakoshi-san, aquaman, fish sticks. ‘Nuff said.

[Kal Hamm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is where everything starts getting put together. all the dialogue with only black silhouettes was a great touch. All the realizations coming together. Loved it!

[GiGi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tries so hard to be profound and philosophical but also wants to say "gotcha" regularly to the reader with its abrupt "twists" that it just ends up being weird, gimmicky and pretentious