Ichi the Killer (Omnibus) Vol. 1

by Hideo Yamamoto

The ultra-violent tale of a broken killer and his yazuka nemesis that inspired the infamous film. By the author of Homunculus and HIKARI-MAN.Ichi may seem like a spineless weakling--but when the tears start flowing, a terrifying transformation takes place. Driven to his mental breaking point, Ichi becomes an unstoppable force of carnage, unleashing a torrent of violence on his next target. When his destructive path collides with Kakihara, a sadomasochistic yakuza boss with a penchant for pain, it ignites a bloody spiral of chaos, depravity, and unimaginable brutality.
From the legendary creator of Homunculus and HIKARI-MAN comes the groundbreaking manga that inspired Takashi Miike's cult classic film--a shocking exploration of wrath, vengeance, and the dark corners of the human psyche.

Genres: Manga, Fiction

424 pages, Paperback

Published July 29, 2025

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

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extreme violence...torture...sadomasochism...misogyny...rape...think I will stop here. The concept of different yakuza groups fighting over territory is interesting; but this is extreme by any measure. A close friend who is really into manga tells me that I am looking at books like this from my own cultural perspective...fair enough...still extremely disturbing.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review soon!

[Aaron Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man if you want some screwed up stuff this is the thing to buy. Ichi is one messed up fella and well hell the whole crew he is with has its own issues too. I have to admit though I have been wanting a banging Yakuza manga for a long time. The Fable is good too but it isn't as graphic and hardcore as this is, plus it is ending soon.

[Justin Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brutal and disgusting…I can’t wait for the next omnibus.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fascinating work insofar as it deals with incredibly dark themes (why are we attracted to the things we like? are all men fallen/depraved?) in a relatively banal, manga-style way. it's not dark and artistic the way something like berserk is - where betrayal is central to everything, but it is grand, heroic betrayal out of the old myths, not this kind of penny-ante, erection-driven stuff (of course, this is a deliberate point made here by the artist, such heroism is impossible in a book like this) - and the art is, if anything, worse and uglier than gory masterpieces like that or fist of the north star.

hideo yamamoto's interests are clearly the grossout payoff scenes - tongues being sliced off, needles in skin, even more horrific sexual content than is usually seen in r to x-rated mainstream manga (though believe me, this is small potatoes next to a hubert selby story like tralala, the work of william burroughs, and so on).. that said, Takashi Miike's movie adaptation (which I saw ages ago, and mostly enjoyed) is likely the best kind of treatment (and among the best, under the circumstances, commentary on directionless hypermasculinity in the early-2000s world) you can give this confused mess, better by far than the source material, which isn't so much bad as surprisingly flat for what it is. recommended with various caveats.

[Kelly I · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not expect to like this book. And maybe even 'like' is the wrong word. It definitely held my interest and along with Vol. 2 had me thinking about Ichi for a few days after I read them. Very, very dark depictions....a friend of mine said she would never read it. That of course, piqued my interest.

I was hooked within the first few pages. I expected to see more of Ichi in Vol. 1, glad he featured more in Vol. 2. But once I had read it I could really feel the theme of bullying in all its extremes coming through. Especially interesting was to see Ichi's reactions to the abuse and bullying.....tears, killing, arousal. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it and the reasons behind it.

Definitely a book to read if you can go past the graphicness and look at it for its themes and characters. If I can (considering the Bible is also on my bed side table), anyone can!

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

73%

I liked this more than Homunculus so far, to be honest. Whenever Kakihara comes onto the page, you know he’s about to do something wild haha. I liked his storyline a lot more than Ichi’s so far; Ichi’s storyline is a lot weirder and lowkey more messed up. Ichi is also kinda hard to root for, but I suppose that’s not the point with his character - although that doesn’t make his scenes with Sarah any easier to stomach.

Definitely messed up, definitely not to everyone’s tastes especially if the disturbing themes don’t work for you, which is perfectly understandable. I like the gang war stuff and Kakihara though, and I’m hoping Ichi at least kills the husband guy in the future or something.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ichi….Number 1? Definitely Number 1 F***ed Up!

[Joe Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good, but also gross. Very gross!

Check it out, if you like gross things that are compelling.

[Joshua Pambid · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️

It’s all you could ever want in a hard boiled crime story. Beautifully bleak, numbingly violent. Makes you feel bad in the good ways.