Mujina into the Deep, vol. 1

MUJINA INTO THE DEEP #1

by Inio Asano

Mujina es una joven con un trabajo muy particular: catana en mano, se encarga de derrotar a cualquier objetivo que se le presente mientras patrulla las bulliciosas calles de la gran metropolitana de Tsukumo.

La edición limitada incluye un bloc de notas, 4 postales, 4 marcapáginas y un shikishi con un mensaje del propio Asano.

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Comics, Seinen, Fiction, Action, Japan

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2023

About the author

Inio Asano (浅野いにお, Asano Inio) is a Japanese cartoonist. He is known for his character-driven stories and his detailed art-style, making him one of the most influential manga author of his generation.
Asano was born in 1980 and produced his first amateur comics as a teenager. His professional debut happened in 2000 in the pages of the magazine Big Comic Spirits. Since then, he has collaborated with most of the major Japanese magazines of seinen manga (comics for a mature audience). Among Asano's internationally acclaimed works are: the psychological horror Nijigahara Holograph (2003-2005); the drama Solanin (2005-2006); the existentialistic slice-of-life Goodnight Punpun (2007-2013); the erotic A Girl on the Shore (2009-2013); the sci-fi Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction (2014-2022).

Reviews

[Sarah (menace mode) · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing about Asano is he’s always gonna have his ‘friendless porn-addict incel with a heart of gold’ main character fr

[crowsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this series so far. On the one hand, this is only the first book in the series. Asano's art is at the top of his game. There isn't necessarily anything different from any of his other published work in tone or penchant for social commentary. But this feels.... more mean spirited?

Again, it's hard to know without reading more/the ending. But writers have to walk an extremely fine line when writing about modern "woke culture" without coming off as curmudgeonly old boomers. 😒

There is definitely an attempt here to write a story that is broader and more appealing to general audiences than his usual cult following. I'm wondering how much of that is nerfing his writing skills and what's just him being left behind by the times.

*Sigh* Time will tell, I guess.

[jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

"we live in a society" ass edgelordbait garbage

[Chandra Summers · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art style in the one is amazing, but that’s about the only thing I enjoyed.
The explicit content felt like a bit too much fan service for me. The use of the word “normie” and Covid-19 were the nails in the coffin for me.
Art style ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Piña McPíñez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo nuevo de Inio Asano es violentisimo y lleno de sexo pero bueno, es Inio Asano, a ver cuánto tarda en destrozarnos emocionalmente. Por ahora me ha gustado.

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asano vuelve a la cf de DDDD para hablar sobre clase, capitalismo y relaciones entre personajes "marginales". La historia, a priori más sencilla, parece comenzar a carburar aunque es pronto para valorarla. El dibujo, sin embargo, sigue a su máximo nivel.

[Juan Carlos malik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia cargada de violencia sexo y crítica a una sociedad donde los derechos humanos ya no existen. De las obras más duras, crueles que le he leído a Inio Asano.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those who are not well versed in Japanese culture, “mujina” is an old Japanese term referring to both the Japanese badger and the Japanese raccoon dog (tanuki), causing confusion. When it comes to folklore, mujina are frequently depicted as yōkai that shapeshift and deceive humans. You can see the latter description in the world depicted in the latest serialized series, Mujina Into the Deep from Inio Asano, a master of which you would call the depressingly dramatic manga.

Please click here for my full review.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's too early to judge the substance, but I like the premise, and apart from the antagonist, who is far too crazy to be credible and interesting, the rest of the cast is fine. The atmosphere is bleak and depressing, hinting at a dystopian society that treats its elders and outcasts in a way not appealing to say the least.
Contrary to his usual style, Asano has ventured into action manga, and I must admit that he has impressed me with his well-crafted and easy-to-follow action scenes.
At this stage, let's be clear, it's a bit all over the place, but we should be able to trust Asano to pull it off in the long run.

[TheVegetarianAntichrist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich mochte die Idee von der Story sehr: eine Gruppe von Bürgern, die keine Menschenrechte haben und daher verschiedene Auftragsarbeiten erledigen müssen, um sich irgendwie durchzuschlagen. Der Zeichenstil ist wirklich sehr krass.
Die Story habe ich dann aber leider nicht wirklich verstanden. Blieb relativ oberflächlich und so wirklich relevantes passierte erst auf den letzten paar Seiten. Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob ich den zweiten Band kaufen werde.

[Taurus Reader (bigpileofbooks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

What a "busy" book.

On one hand, the author tried to explain a lot of characters, the plotline, also the explicit content. But I guess he forgot to explain the world-building itself.

[Aaron Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Nothing to shout about

[Annie thebooksengine · Rating 5 out of 5]

estoy dentrísimo

[Max Freese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dumb and "edgy for the sake of being edgy", but the artwork and character design is amazing.

[Rosa BR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una sociedad en la que las personas pueden perder sus derechos completamente. Me parece una idea interesante y de momento el tomo me ha gustado. Con las cosas que odio de Inio pero es que el chaval si no mete pr0stitución parece que no es feliz.

[Niche · Rating 1 out of 5]

Counterculture rooftop assassins

Mujina are people that can renounce their rights and no longer be bound by laws... something something counterculture sexploitation flick vibes and child assassins. They also have special shoes that let them jump high and wall run.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what to think about this. I am kinda interested in how the story continues and at the same time unsure how I feel about the nudity and sexual tone present in the first volume. Might decide after reading the second volume if I want to read this series to completion.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so Inio Asano's Mujina into the Deep Volume 1? Man, this manga is a trip. It's bloody as hell, seriously depressing, and yet somehow, it's also strikingly beautiful to look at. The premise is wild: you've got this dude, Terumi Morgan, who runs a small-time game company, and his life slams into a Mujina, this ninja-like girl, real name Ubume, after they both get caught up in the aftermath of a rockstar almost sexually assaulting a young girl. I know, right? It's completely fucking insane.

This first volume throws a lot at you. It's bloody, violent, sexual, and just plain sad all at once. As far as I know this is Asano's first foray into action, and visually, it's absolutely fantastic. It's undeniably weird, and I'm not entirely sure where the story is headed, but damn it, I'm 100% invested in seeing where Yuma and Mujina go from here. Definitely a 4 out of 5 for me.

[Constantin Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein interessanter Start in die neuste Reihe von Inio Asano. Wie auch in den vorherigen Werken des Autors, stehen auch in MUJINA INTO THE DEEP Fragen von Politik, Ethik und Moral im Vordergrund. Diesmal schreibt und zeichnet Asano eine dystopische Zukunft, in der die Menschen ihrer Rechte im vollen Bewusstsein sind, und diese auch einfordern. Andere Menschen wiederum, die sogenannten Mujina, haben ihre Rechte wiederum vollständig abgelegt und leben in einer scheinbar grenzenlosen Freiheit auf den Dächern Tokyos, frei von Ordnung und Gesetz. Die drei Hauptcharaktere nehmen jeweils unterschiedliche Standpunkt zu den Mujina ein, die in der Politik und den Medien kontrovers diskutiert werden und die Frage aufwerfen, was tatsächliche Freiheit ist.

[Berry Eno · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don‘t know any other mangas by this author so I wasn‘t prepared for the (at least in my opinion) massive amounts of explicit sexual content in here. I thought this would be a sci-fi story about a dystopian world setting where one can loose and/or give up his civil rights to be part of the community and bankshed from local streets, hospitals etc. I am sure that ist what the series will be about, but just this 1st vol on it‘s own didn‘t deliver enough world building for me to really be invested in the plot.
The art style is really beautiful.
I will definitely continue the series though. The setup and especially the last few pages are very promising for the future plot, but the 1st vol itself could have been better tbh.

[Michelle Graf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media for the ARC.

I really like the art style. It's very crisp and detailed, perfect for the fight scenes. I did feel like sometimes it was graphic for the sake of shock value. I expect some violence and gore since this is focused on mercenaries in a dystopian Japan, but that, along with the nudity, felt a little excessive.

[Dominik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zeichnungen wie immer von Asano 10/10, Glaubwürdige Dystopie, Plot und Charaktere wirken bodenständig und vielversprechend. Bin gespannt wie es weitergeht aber Band 1 holt einen direkt mit allem ab was man von Inio Asano kennt. Bisschen weniger NSFW-Content wäre an manchen Stellen eher angebracht imo aber ich verstehe wieso es so eingesetzt wird.

[Maz Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

es gris. me tiene dando vueltas la idea de los derechos humanos y la excesiva vigilancia que conlleva con las tarjetas, los monitorización. la sociedad ya está echa un asco y permite mil mierdas, así que cada grupo social está peor que el anterior. me interesa saber cómo irá la coincidencia de la prota.

[Johnny il.cacciatore.di.libri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primo numero spettacolare! Inio Asano dimostra al mondo di saper disegnare e scrivere anche storie con una forte componente action! Componente che fonde abilmente ad una storia dal forte significato politico e sociale!

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Oyasumi Punpun during a formative time in my early college years so I'll always have a soft spot for Asano, even when he's not throwing heaters. After a full volume of people talking about mujina I still don't get what their deal is. Good art, though.

[Fanny · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5

comme d’hab, tfaçon j’aime pas cet auteur mdr jcomprendrais jamais pq c’est soit disant un génie pour bcp (pour les hommes surtt💀)

[Eduardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy buen dibujo y personajes marcados. Pero aunque se le dé muy bien a Asano adentrarse en la oscuridad de las personas a través de la sexualidad y demás creo que ya tiene demasiadas obras que siguen el mismo camino, de momento un poco decepcionante, porque es más de lo mismo pero peor.

[chuchinski chucho · Rating 3 out of 5]

está entretenido y curioso (no entendí nada pero te quiero mucho inio asano)

[Juan Francisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uff me ha dejado algo frío. El dibujo es increíble, sí, pero la historia no me acaba de enganchar. Parece que se trate de un historia profunda con temas importantes y "adultos", pero si escarbas un poco se queda algo hueco. Quizás lea el siguiente, quizás no. Todo dependerá de si mi biblioteca lo trae xd.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

can't tell if i'm just not interested, or if i'm just not in the mental space for a weird ass Inio Asano story lol.