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オールドボーイ [Old Boy] #5-8
Oldboy Deluxe Edition: Book Two
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 8, 2026
2.5 stars!
Never has a series I’ve read gone from ‘Wow, where is this going’ to ‘Is that it?’ so quickly. Kakinuma’s motivations are so paper thin and unconvincing and it all gets wrapped up in a single chapter after a lot of interesting buildup.
Disappointing ending.
Never has a series I’ve read gone from ‘Wow, where is this going’ to ‘Is that it?’ so quickly. Kakinuma’s motivations are so paper thin and unconvincing and it all gets wrapped up in a single chapter after a lot of interesting buildup.
Disappointing ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2026
This is the kind of man who paid three hundred million yen to have you locked in a room for ten years. To think up something that dark... he's probably had every success of the worldly kind... Been able to satisfy all his desires of wealth, status, perverse sexual inclinations.
I have long sought out the individual volumes of Oldboy, having previously picked up the first three. However, they are rare beasts in English and I have not managed to track down volume 4. Imagine my surprise when I saw the brand new deluxe edition, book one, in Liverpool's flagship Waterstones. I have patiently waited for book two, so that I could read them both back to back, and with the second book now in my possession, it was time to in.
The story follows Shinichi Gotō who was kidnapped, by forces unknown, and kept in a small cell with only a television for company. Mysteriously released after 10 years he now has a singular focus. To find those responsible and to discover the reason for his incarceration.
Helped by a waitress, Eri, with whom he starts a relationship of sorts, Gotō must seek out old friends to uncover clues about his captivity whilst playing a game of cat and mouse with his nemesis.
This concluding book was a major letdown. Anyone who has seen the film will have noticed the differences in book one, including the duration of his captivity, but now the story fully diverges and really doesn't deliver the same level of gut punch that you get from the film. It feels completely tame in comparison and actually felt slow and drawn out. I have to knock this down a lot and it only gets 3 stars.
I have long sought out the individual volumes of Oldboy, having previously picked up the first three. However, they are rare beasts in English and I have not managed to track down volume 4. Imagine my surprise when I saw the brand new deluxe edition, book one, in Liverpool's flagship Waterstones. I have patiently waited for book two, so that I could read them both back to back, and with the second book now in my possession, it was time to in.
The story follows Shinichi Gotō who was kidnapped, by forces unknown, and kept in a small cell with only a television for company. Mysteriously released after 10 years he now has a singular focus. To find those responsible and to discover the reason for his incarceration.
Helped by a waitress, Eri, with whom he starts a relationship of sorts, Gotō must seek out old friends to uncover clues about his captivity whilst playing a game of cat and mouse with his nemesis.
This concluding book was a major letdown. Anyone who has seen the film will have noticed the differences in book one, including the duration of his captivity, but now the story fully diverges and really doesn't deliver the same level of gut punch that you get from the film. It feels completely tame in comparison and actually felt slow and drawn out. I have to knock this down a lot and it only gets 3 stars.
April 15, 2026
One of the most anti climactic endings I’ve read. After such a great build up in vol 1, this felt like they were just killing time and needlessly expanding the book for such a weak pay off.
Glory be to Park Chan Wook that he saw this and knew he could make something vastly superior in every aspect.
Glory be to Park Chan Wook that he saw this and knew he could make something vastly superior in every aspect.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews