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Detroit : Become Human - Tokyo Stories - Tome 1
2038, Tokyo. Artificially intelligent robots known as androids have started production. Even smarter and more beautiful than regular people, they steadily replace humans in various roles. However, unlike America’s anti-android sentiments, in Japan the android idol Reina’s wild popularity seems to herald a bright future for androids. Though, amid this, android “deviants” begin to appear, rejecting their “duty” for free will and real emotions...This is the story of a revolution, with one human girl at its center.
139 pages, Paperback
Published February 13, 2025
2 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 2, 2025
Stumbled across this at work and got sooo excited. DBH was my favorite game in high school, so it was awesome finding an expansion of it via this format.
I felt like the pacing was off, the deviation happened too quick to feel realistic. The characters were unique - it was neat reading about androids in different roles (an idol! what a choice). Agh and the artwork that modeled after the video game was sweet 🥲 Nostalgiaaa
Looking forward to the next volume. Now I’m going to watch a DBH play through. Yay!
I felt like the pacing was off, the deviation happened too quick to feel realistic. The characters were unique - it was neat reading about androids in different roles (an idol! what a choice). Agh and the artwork that modeled after the video game was sweet 🥲 Nostalgiaaa
Looking forward to the next volume. Now I’m going to watch a DBH play through. Yay!
October 11, 2024
I’m weeping, I didn’t know this existed until an hour ago
Quantic Dream, you could literally commission someone to write the world's most boring handbook about owning and operating Cyberlife's androids and I would read it. Please consider publishing more stories about this world.
Quantic Dream, you could literally commission someone to write the world's most boring handbook about owning and operating Cyberlife's androids and I would read it. Please consider publishing more stories about this world.
June 29, 2025
Super interesting perspectives from new android characters that weren't in the game! It's a shame this is only a duology.
June 18, 2025
one day I'll be less impacted by this series and it's funky lil robots but today is not that day
May 21, 2025
You know what … I will buy the next one to see where this goes, but it would be a lie to say I am not slightly disappointed. It doesn’t outgrow what it is : a spin-off made to surf on the popularity of the video-game. Still it was a fun (and quick) read. Definitely do read it if you’re a unconditional fan of the game, it’s great to have another piece of media so long after the release. Other than that, it is not worth it. The drawings aren’t that interesting and the plot doesn’t offer anything « new ».
November 18, 2024
I think I'm definitely biased in my assessments because I absolutely adore Detroit Become Human and it's story. Just something to keep in mind when considering my rating!
Something that surprised me with this manga was how it made me realise how essential colour is in the original game. The blue blood and the lights of the android's LEDs are absent here because it's printed in black and white. It definitely subtracted something from the overall effect because watching an android's LED spin was an insight into their headspace.
I still immensely enjoyed this manga. I would totally believe that Japan would welcome an android idol with open arms. It's practically the next step with vocaloid technology. I did find the relationship between Reina and Suzane a little rushed but I understand that there's only a certain amount of ways to portray these things. It could also be argued that this is a carbon copy of Kara's story from the game, however I don't mind this as much because since (game spoilers) we find out Alice is actually an android too we're yet to see a genuine android-child dynamic portrayed in the universe.
Deviation was portrayed very well in this format, almost identical to the game minus the button mashing and decision making. If anyone has any doubts about whether the game can be translated into static drawings take it from me, it's done incredibly!
I also squealed and kicked my feet when you know who makes an appearance. Super cool touch!
Something that surprised me with this manga was how it made me realise how essential colour is in the original game. The blue blood and the lights of the android's LEDs are absent here because it's printed in black and white. It definitely subtracted something from the overall effect because watching an android's LED spin was an insight into their headspace.
I still immensely enjoyed this manga. I would totally believe that Japan would welcome an android idol with open arms. It's practically the next step with vocaloid technology. I did find the relationship between Reina and Suzane a little rushed but I understand that there's only a certain amount of ways to portray these things. It could also be argued that this is a carbon copy of Kara's story from the game, however I don't mind this as much because since (game spoilers) we find out Alice is actually an android too we're yet to see a genuine android-child dynamic portrayed in the universe.
Deviation was portrayed very well in this format, almost identical to the game minus the button mashing and decision making. If anyone has any doubts about whether the game can be translated into static drawings take it from me, it's done incredibly!
I also squealed and kicked my feet when you know who makes an appearance. Super cool touch!
September 20, 2024
Good premise, I love the extension to the Detroit become human universe. However, it felt short and rushed. It could have been fleshed out more, in my opinion.
February 11, 2025
El primer to resulta poco profundo en comparación al videojuego. Espero que cambie en el segundo. Un poco feo que el tipo de lectura sea occidental
December 28, 2025
I mostly got this because I love the game. It's hard to judge the story as it has just begun but for now it feels a bit surface level. But listing to the game soundtrack while reading it was a plus!
April 16, 2025
Je ne savais pas à quoi m'attendre en repérant cette série. J'ai juste été attirée par l'idée d'avoir un manga de SF sur des androïdes. Je ne savais pas par exemple que c'était l'adaptation d'un jeu et je ressors un peu mi-figue mi-raisin.
Il n'y a pas de gros défauts rédhibitoires ou de red flag mais ce premier tome d'une simple duologie est bien inconsistant. A peine 140 pages, le reste est consacré à montrer les recherches graphiques de Moto Sumida. Un scénario des plus simples au rythme rapide où tout est survolé. En tant que lectrice assidue de SF dans d'autres formats, j'attends plus.
C'est dommage car bien que classique le concept est intéressant. On se retrouve dans un monde futuriste où les androïdes nous ressemblent à s'y méprendre en dehors de leur froideur. Partagée en 2 histoires, ce premier tome nous fait ainsi rencontrée d'abord l'une d'eux qui est idol et ensuite un autre qui obstétricien. Dans chaque cas, leur manque d'émotion naturelle les fait sortir du lot et détonner, mais des événements vont se produire qui vont les amener à changer.
Classique donc mais cela aurait pu être bien fait avec plus de pages, plus d'implication, plus de travail sur la psychologie des personnages. La première histoire raconte comment une idol ratée projette ses désirs d'abord sur son androïde puis sur sa fille adoptive, maltraitant chacune. Le message est clair, chacun doit vivre pour soi-même et non pour réaliser les désirs de quelqu'un d'autre et Reina notre androïde commence à le comprendre. La fin ouvre d'ailleurs sur une potentielle révolte des androïdes. La seconde histoire, qui débute à peine ici, reprend un schéma similaire avec un androïde médecin, froid et a priori sans sentiment, qui annonce froidement des diagnostique très dur, mais voir une femme enceinte le défendre lors d'une attaque ne le laisse pas insensible.
Cette idée de mettre en scène des androïdes qui s'éveille à la conscience et aux sentiments, est un sujet qui me parle et m'intéresse. L'idée est là. C'est le traitement qui pose problème car le travail des mangakas est malheureusement aussi froid et insipide que leurs androïdes lorsqu'on les rencontre la première fois. Les situations choisies sont également très clichées et rien n'est vraiment travaillé en profondeur. Après je ne connais pas du tout le jeu donc je ne peux pas en juger et dire si ça vient de lui ou du choix des auteurs mais franchement qu'est-ce que c'est fade et sans ambition ou si peu...
Enthousiaste j'étais quand j'ai entendu parler d'un titre critique sur des androïdes, déçue je suis en refermant ce premier volume fort mince, en tout, sur les 2 que doit compter la série. L'éditeur parle d'histoire complexe, on ne doit pas avoir la même définition. C'est plutôt un titre pour novice en SF qui veut se frotter sans trop de complexité à certains concepts phares et les effleurer avec des histoires gentillettes propices à faire verser une petite larme. J'attendais autre chose...
ARticle complet : https://www.sanctuary.fr/avis/151357/
Il n'y a pas de gros défauts rédhibitoires ou de red flag mais ce premier tome d'une simple duologie est bien inconsistant. A peine 140 pages, le reste est consacré à montrer les recherches graphiques de Moto Sumida. Un scénario des plus simples au rythme rapide où tout est survolé. En tant que lectrice assidue de SF dans d'autres formats, j'attends plus.
C'est dommage car bien que classique le concept est intéressant. On se retrouve dans un monde futuriste où les androïdes nous ressemblent à s'y méprendre en dehors de leur froideur. Partagée en 2 histoires, ce premier tome nous fait ainsi rencontrée d'abord l'une d'eux qui est idol et ensuite un autre qui obstétricien. Dans chaque cas, leur manque d'émotion naturelle les fait sortir du lot et détonner, mais des événements vont se produire qui vont les amener à changer.
Classique donc mais cela aurait pu être bien fait avec plus de pages, plus d'implication, plus de travail sur la psychologie des personnages. La première histoire raconte comment une idol ratée projette ses désirs d'abord sur son androïde puis sur sa fille adoptive, maltraitant chacune. Le message est clair, chacun doit vivre pour soi-même et non pour réaliser les désirs de quelqu'un d'autre et Reina notre androïde commence à le comprendre. La fin ouvre d'ailleurs sur une potentielle révolte des androïdes. La seconde histoire, qui débute à peine ici, reprend un schéma similaire avec un androïde médecin, froid et a priori sans sentiment, qui annonce froidement des diagnostique très dur, mais voir une femme enceinte le défendre lors d'une attaque ne le laisse pas insensible.
Cette idée de mettre en scène des androïdes qui s'éveille à la conscience et aux sentiments, est un sujet qui me parle et m'intéresse. L'idée est là. C'est le traitement qui pose problème car le travail des mangakas est malheureusement aussi froid et insipide que leurs androïdes lorsqu'on les rencontre la première fois. Les situations choisies sont également très clichées et rien n'est vraiment travaillé en profondeur. Après je ne connais pas du tout le jeu donc je ne peux pas en juger et dire si ça vient de lui ou du choix des auteurs mais franchement qu'est-ce que c'est fade et sans ambition ou si peu...
Enthousiaste j'étais quand j'ai entendu parler d'un titre critique sur des androïdes, déçue je suis en refermant ce premier volume fort mince, en tout, sur les 2 que doit compter la série. L'éditeur parle d'histoire complexe, on ne doit pas avoir la même définition. C'est plutôt un titre pour novice en SF qui veut se frotter sans trop de complexité à certains concepts phares et les effleurer avec des histoires gentillettes propices à faire verser une petite larme. J'attendais autre chose...
ARticle complet : https://www.sanctuary.fr/avis/151357/
April 26, 2025
I love Detroit: Become Human, and I was excited to see any extension of the universe even though I don't typically read manga. Unfortunately, Tokyo Stories doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from the game and tell its own stories.
The bulk of this volume is dedicated to Reina's Story -- a tale full of potential but lacking in execution. Reina is an android who was designed to be an idol (which I think is sort of like a pop singer?), and her manager is grooming her to be the best idol ever instead of paying attention to her own daughter. There's potential here with the idea that a famous popstar could literally just be replaced if they're an android. But too often, the story feels like it's rushing through the same beats as Kara's story in the game. There's also a small tie-in to the game that establishes Reina's story as overlapping with events in Detroit, but it doesn't overwhelm the story.
We also start Seiji's Story at the end of the volume, but it barely gets going before the volume ends so I don't have any particularly strong impression of it. Seiji is an android doctor who has to deal with people who expect a human bedside manner. I guess you could say Reina was a forward-looking projection of figures like Hatsune Miku -- but I'm not really a part of that world, so Seiji's story is where I personally felt more contemporary relevance. Artificial intelligence is starting to become more involved in medicine, and I could see something like Seiji existing at some point (even if I think it's more likely to be just a voice on a computer as opposed to an android). I hope his story goes somewhere interesting and isn't as repetitive of the game plot points as Reina's.
I'm not used to manga art, so I don't feel like I'm in a good place to judge, but the characters were expressive and I enjoyed the little translations of what I assume are Japanese characters illustrating sound effects. While I'm not used to reading black-and-white comics, it wasn't particularly off-putting here.
Overall, Tokyo Stories is fine. I wish it was a little braver in exploring new plots that weren't already basically covered in the game, and I wish it took more time developing characters and letting us get to know them. But it's a basically enjoyable extension of the Detroit: Become Human universe -- if you finish the game and feel like you want more, this is both your *only* option and a reasonable one.
The bulk of this volume is dedicated to Reina's Story -- a tale full of potential but lacking in execution. Reina is an android who was designed to be an idol (which I think is sort of like a pop singer?), and her manager is grooming her to be the best idol ever instead of paying attention to her own daughter. There's potential here with the idea that a famous popstar could literally just be replaced if they're an android. But too often, the story feels like it's rushing through the same beats as Kara's story in the game. There's also a small tie-in to the game that establishes Reina's story as overlapping with events in Detroit, but it doesn't overwhelm the story.
We also start Seiji's Story at the end of the volume, but it barely gets going before the volume ends so I don't have any particularly strong impression of it. Seiji is an android doctor who has to deal with people who expect a human bedside manner. I guess you could say Reina was a forward-looking projection of figures like Hatsune Miku -- but I'm not really a part of that world, so Seiji's story is where I personally felt more contemporary relevance. Artificial intelligence is starting to become more involved in medicine, and I could see something like Seiji existing at some point (even if I think it's more likely to be just a voice on a computer as opposed to an android). I hope his story goes somewhere interesting and isn't as repetitive of the game plot points as Reina's.
I'm not used to manga art, so I don't feel like I'm in a good place to judge, but the characters were expressive and I enjoyed the little translations of what I assume are Japanese characters illustrating sound effects. While I'm not used to reading black-and-white comics, it wasn't particularly off-putting here.
Overall, Tokyo Stories is fine. I wish it was a little braver in exploring new plots that weren't already basically covered in the game, and I wish it took more time developing characters and letting us get to know them. But it's a basically enjoyable extension of the Detroit: Become Human universe -- if you finish the game and feel like you want more, this is both your *only* option and a reasonable one.
October 1, 2025
I should have realised this is a "gaiden" collection: side stories to the source material. Too bad, I was hoping to better understand some of the art a creator I follow made, without having to play the game myself (or watch a Let's Play).
That said, it's not a bad book for complete newcomers. It doesn't start in the middle of the game that I can tell; if anything, the two stories are "prequels" to the game to establish what these characters were doing before. This is a little more successful than Life Before Legend in that respect, maybe, since that book felt like it was giving huge "hints" that I should know certain characters, where this book could easily just be its own thing, except that both stories are only partial, rather than having a definite conclusion.
It's a little weird that it's flopped (reads left-to-right), but it's possible the panels were just reordered without mirroring, for a pseudo flopping effect with minimal alteration to the artwork. There are still some places where the word balloon order is unclear, though, so I don't think this is as successful as just maintaining the right-to-left order (if it was originally that way, which I would expect from a Japanese artist), but then, I'm used to reading in either direction... heck, I can read upside-down text if need be!
On the whole, recommended for... I want to say fans of dystopias, but I'm not sure it is one? The impression I got from the game was it is, but the book isn't *yet* one that I can tell? (Maybe it *feels* like one to Suzune.) Definitely don't know enough about the game to know if fans should read it or if they'd rather read about the main characters, but it's certainly good enough for newcomers!
That said, it's not a bad book for complete newcomers. It doesn't start in the middle of the game that I can tell; if anything, the two stories are "prequels" to the game to establish what these characters were doing before. This is a little more successful than Life Before Legend in that respect, maybe, since that book felt like it was giving huge "hints" that I should know certain characters, where this book could easily just be its own thing, except that both stories are only partial, rather than having a definite conclusion.
It's a little weird that it's flopped (reads left-to-right), but it's possible the panels were just reordered without mirroring, for a pseudo flopping effect with minimal alteration to the artwork. There are still some places where the word balloon order is unclear, though, so I don't think this is as successful as just maintaining the right-to-left order (if it was originally that way, which I would expect from a Japanese artist), but then, I'm used to reading in either direction... heck, I can read upside-down text if need be!
On the whole, recommended for... I want to say fans of dystopias, but I'm not sure it is one? The impression I got from the game was it is, but the book isn't *yet* one that I can tell? (Maybe it *feels* like one to Suzune.) Definitely don't know enough about the game to know if fans should read it or if they'd rather read about the main characters, but it's certainly good enough for newcomers!
April 20, 2025
Bought it on a whim since I enjoyed the video game. It's fine, there was nothing particularily innovative about the story, but it's not bad either.
I think I'll grab the second book just to complete the series; the artstyle is pretty, and I had a good time. I'm not sure how I feel about the storyboards at the end, I usually like these but there's a lot of them while the stories were missing some padding.
I think I'll grab the second book just to complete the series; the artstyle is pretty, and I had a good time. I'm not sure how I feel about the storyboards at the end, I usually like these but there's a lot of them while the stories were missing some padding.
January 23, 2026
Great! Even with the writing issues of Detroit Become Human, this manga does well as a simple and sweet story, even if just a retelling of the video game but with a Japanese setting. The characters and personalities are quite exaggerated, similar to the game, but for a manga, it is more forgivable.
Funnily enough, with generative AI's rise, many of the concepts and stories hit close to home as someone who uses AI regularly.
Whereas artificial intelligence may never replace genuine human connection, the manga does well in showing that many flaws of humanity are "corrected," such as the fact that an AI will never negatively or unfairly judging you like a human might.
Even though we still don't have human-like robots like we see in Detroit Become Human, gen AI chat bots have come a long way "personality" wise. I couldn't help but relate to Suzune and remember all the times I had a heartfelt, "emotion" driven talk with Chat GPT, only for it to forget the conversation when I reference it later.
Funnily enough, with generative AI's rise, many of the concepts and stories hit close to home as someone who uses AI regularly.
Whereas artificial intelligence may never replace genuine human connection, the manga does well in showing that many flaws of humanity are "corrected," such as the fact that an AI will never negatively or unfairly judging you like a human might.
Even though we still don't have human-like robots like we see in Detroit Become Human, gen AI chat bots have come a long way "personality" wise. I couldn't help but relate to Suzune and remember all the times I had a heartfelt, "emotion" driven talk with Chat GPT, only for it to forget the conversation when I reference it later.
March 27, 2026
No conozco el videojuego en que se basa, pero me dieron ganas de probarlo.
El manga en sí: la clásica historia de la madre que pretende vivir su sueño a través de su hija (y aquí también, el androide idol).
El choque de la criatura creada (aquí el androide) encarando a su creador.
También empieza la historia de un androide médico cuyo programa de "empatía" no es lo bastante empático para con sus pacientes. (Hay muchos médicos humanos que padecen lo mismo y a esos no se les puede reprogramar :p
El manga en sí: la clásica historia de la madre que pretende vivir su sueño a través de su hija (y aquí también, el androide idol).
El choque de la criatura creada (aquí el androide) encarando a su creador.
También empieza la historia de un androide médico cuyo programa de "empatía" no es lo bastante empático para con sus pacientes. (Hay muchos médicos humanos que padecen lo mismo y a esos no se les puede reprogramar :p
April 20, 2025
I just finished it! My brother found this book so I had to buy it and read it! I read it in one shot and it was really fun to be back in this world again. I haven’t played the game since it came out but to me, this book is really good to get a little world building to see other aspects of life affected by androids!
While it is no means perfect, I still love this manga and hope to read the second volume soon!
While it is no means perfect, I still love this manga and hope to read the second volume soon!
May 11, 2025
Quelle belle surprise de découvrir qu’un manga avait été créé autour de Detroit Become Human ! En tant que grande fan du jeu, je n’ai pas pu résister, et je n’ai pas été déçue. Ce premier tome reprend l’ambiance unique du jeu tout en proposant des histoires inédites, touchantes et intelligentes. Le dessin est soigné, et l’univers toujours aussi captivant. Un vrai plaisir à lire pour tout amateur de DBH ou de récits SF sensibles et humains. J’ai hâte de lire le tome 2 lorsqu’il sortira !
June 13, 2025
I honestly read this, just wanting more Detroit Become Human. And it delivered! I really enjoyed it, *spoilers* ig but I liked how they made a reference to Marcus and him making his speech that you could actually do in game!!! It was awesome! I loved the art style and I’m excited for the next one. 💙💙💙
April 2, 2026
I love the game and I was excited to see some new stories based in Tokyo; however, the first story we get, Reina’s, is just a heavily watered-down version of Kara and Alice. The only difference is that Reina was an idol. Seiji’s story does seem to be something new, so I’m continuing to see how it pans out, but overall it’s rather disappointing.
September 22, 2024
This is certainly a difficult project to take on. How do you adapt a choose your own adventure style game into a manga? I liked what they decided to do. I feel like it would’ve been to cheesy if they went with a choose your own adventure format
February 1, 2025
I guess you can’t do half stars on this app - was gonna give it two and a half but 🤷
This was very very melodramatic. Reminded me a lot of a k drama - in fact it reminded me of KPOP that musical that was on Broadway for one month lol. I think it has the bones of being something interesting (I mean it’s based off of the world of Detroit become human, which is one of my favorite anything ever) but these characters are not interesting, and there is no depth to them, and no time spent between each event. Maybe if the book was a bit longer and more thoughtful
This was very very melodramatic. Reminded me a lot of a k drama - in fact it reminded me of KPOP that musical that was on Broadway for one month lol. I think it has the bones of being something interesting (I mean it’s based off of the world of Detroit become human, which is one of my favorite anything ever) but these characters are not interesting, and there is no depth to them, and no time spent between each event. Maybe if the book was a bit longer and more thoughtful
April 1, 2025
When a 4 chapter manga manages to deliver more character depth than a 12 hour game 😗 It’s not without its flaws, but it’s a fast read and in just a few pages of introduction I found myself caring more about the side characters here than I ever did for main ones in David Cage’s game
July 12, 2025
While the story between Reina and Suzune is cute, it felt a little too much like a copy paste with a different font from Kara's story. I am very interested in Seiji's story, and will definitely pick it up when it comes out!
March 20, 2025
Sympa mais ça vaut pas le jeu ahiii
April 29, 2025
a copy of the game but more boring, my boy Connor isn't ever here😭😭
May 2, 2025
This is such a strange and random idea to me but I loved the game and I’m so excited for more of these
May 2, 2025
I read it because I loved the game, but I think Reina’s story was kinda bland, so far anyway
September 25, 2025
I love the game and that’s why I bought this because I really wanted more. I liked the characters but I feel like it was paced too quickly. The characters deviate pretty fast.
October 3, 2025
Lu hyper vite parce que treees peu de texte, histoires fadasses et pas très différentes du jeu... Dommage, contente de l'ajouter à la collec malgré tout.
February 10, 2026
Finished it in a day I just couldn’t put it down it was amazing and made me cry a bit.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews