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Sisa Empat Nyawa: Tatsuya Endo Sebelum Spy × Family
Koleksi manga pendek ganas dan menampilkan sisi gelap dunia karya TATSUYA ENDO sebelum karya ‘SPY x FAMILY’.
Kisah seorang gadis muda yang bertarung untuk terus kekal di sekolah pemburu upahan.
Seorang puteri yang melarikan diri dari Empayar Bulan setelah rampasan kuasa.
Pemburu penyihir kejam yang membunuh dengan pedang penghisap darah.
Sekumpulan musketeer jalanan yang menjejaki perompak bersenjata.
Ikuti karya awal TATSUYA ENDO, pencipta siri popular ‘SPY x FAMILY’. Kembara empat wira kental yang tak dijangka ni dengan kekuatan, kekuasaan dan kecantikan sejati. Saksikan bagaimana diorang mengharungi cabaran demi mempertahankan apa yang diyakini!
Kisah seorang gadis muda yang bertarung untuk terus kekal di sekolah pemburu upahan.
Seorang puteri yang melarikan diri dari Empayar Bulan setelah rampasan kuasa.
Pemburu penyihir kejam yang membunuh dengan pedang penghisap darah.
Sekumpulan musketeer jalanan yang menjejaki perompak bersenjata.
Ikuti karya awal TATSUYA ENDO, pencipta siri popular ‘SPY x FAMILY’. Kembara empat wira kental yang tak dijangka ni dengan kekuatan, kekuasaan dan kecantikan sejati. Saksikan bagaimana diorang mengharungi cabaran demi mempertahankan apa yang diyakini!
210 pages, Comic
First published September 4, 2009
About the author
Tatsuya Endo
60 books1,960 followersTatsuya Endo (遠藤達哉 Endou Tatsuya) is a Japanese mangaka.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 12, 2026
Early works of Tatsuya Endo, so far the artwork is only so-and-so and the panels always look overcrowded.
The artwork and the character design is nothing to write home to. Yuck!
The second story:
I like the idea of a Moon Empire in the Princess Kaguya myth retelling.
Fuck, when an injured young woman is lying unconscious, the guy's reaction is trying to kiss her? That's fucking gross.
The Witch Craze story...it honestly looks like a copy of the Witch and the Beast.
One of the few good things I can say about this collection is I can see the author's improvement after I read his Spy x Family series
The artwork and the character design is nothing to write home to. Yuck!
The second story:
I like the idea of a Moon Empire in the Princess Kaguya myth retelling.
Fuck, when an injured young woman is lying unconscious, the guy's reaction is trying to kiss her? That's fucking gross.
The Witch Craze story...it honestly looks like a copy of the Witch and the Beast.
One of the few good things I can say about this collection is I can see the author's improvement after I read his Spy x Family series
June 10, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC of this book to read and review.
While I LOVE Spy X Family, I did not love this. Of the four stories included, three were all "GRRL POWAH!" re: the MC h was forced to fight the patriarchy trying to kill her and take what was hers. Three of the four, not the same three, had violent female MCs with bad attitudes.
None of these rang my bell, but I can see those who are interested in this author's work wanting to read this. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't in the mood for the stories and characters in this when I read it.
2, not my cup but might be yours, stars.
While I LOVE Spy X Family, I did not love this. Of the four stories included, three were all "GRRL POWAH!" re: the MC h was forced to fight the patriarchy trying to kill her and take what was hers. Three of the four, not the same three, had violent female MCs with bad attitudes.
None of these rang my bell, but I can see those who are interested in this author's work wanting to read this. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't in the mood for the stories and characters in this when I read it.
2, not my cup but might be yours, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2025
Four seperate stories by Endo...all worthwhile..including a Blade of the Moon Princess story before it became serialized
June 14, 2025
Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.
These short story collections are an interesting look to see how mangaka have progressed in their creative journey. There are two stories that are extremely similar to one another and probably shouldn't have been included in the same collection, but that was a weird editorial choice. From this collection and Endo's other published work, it is clear that he prefers to write female main characters who have special powers and are a bit badass.
Reviewed for Booklist Magazine.
Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12
These short story collections are an interesting look to see how mangaka have progressed in their creative journey. There are two stories that are extremely similar to one another and probably shouldn't have been included in the same collection, but that was a weird editorial choice. From this collection and Endo's other published work, it is clear that he prefers to write female main characters who have special powers and are a bit badass.
Reviewed for Booklist Magazine.
Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12
March 3, 2025
This is a collection of four stand-alone stories by Tatsuya Endo before he found fame with Spy x Family. They were all action-packed and imaginative, with female leads that were very, very angry.
Each story was inspired by something. First was a western set in a school of bounty hunters. Second was a sci-fi inspired by a classical Japanese story, third was set in an authoritarian society with witches, and the last was gender-bent three musketeers in a sort of modern society. Stories were pretty similar though; the first and the last practically the same, even according to the artist himself.
The art was very different from SxF. It was small, dense and small-panelled. It didn’t change much as the time progressed, and the characters, especially the leads, looked very much alike. The author told after each comic, that three of the four comics were drawn in a last minute panic, and maybe that shows in the art. The only exception is the last, which looked more familiar, but in the afterword the artist said the original was so bad that he’d redrawn it for this volume. So that expains the art.
As a whole, the stories were a bit over the top and not terriby interesting. But it was fun to see where Endo came from.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Each story was inspired by something. First was a western set in a school of bounty hunters. Second was a sci-fi inspired by a classical Japanese story, third was set in an authoritarian society with witches, and the last was gender-bent three musketeers in a sort of modern society. Stories were pretty similar though; the first and the last practically the same, even according to the artist himself.
The art was very different from SxF. It was small, dense and small-panelled. It didn’t change much as the time progressed, and the characters, especially the leads, looked very much alike. The author told after each comic, that three of the four comics were drawn in a last minute panic, and maybe that shows in the art. The only exception is the last, which looked more familiar, but in the afterword the artist said the original was so bad that he’d redrawn it for this volume. So that expains the art.
As a whole, the stories were a bit over the top and not terriby interesting. But it was fun to see where Endo came from.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
October 26, 2025
1. PERMAINAN BARAT
Tema Wild Wild West tapi watak utama pakai ceongsam. Kontra sangat tu. Cerita ni terlalu syok sendiri, watak utama perempuan yang terlalu kuat tak terkalahkan dan dianggap cantik oleh beberapa antagonis. Lelaki pula lemah dan gatal berhidung belang yang sukakan perempuan watak utama yang cantik berdahi licin. Penceritaan yang agak kebudak-budak perempuanan untuk demografi shonen.
2. PEDANG PUTERI BULAN
Watak perempuan dan lelaki dalam cerita ni lebih kurang je dengan cerita kat atas. Bezanya dari segi tema. Cerita ni diolah dari cerita rakyat Jepun, Kaguya-hime sang Puteri Bulan. Ceritanya ada dijadikan siri Blade of the Moon Princess tapi saya tak berminat pun dengan sambungannya sebab tak menarik sangat cerita dan watak2 dia.
3. WITCH CRAZE
Cerita yang ni pula diolah daripada legenda Raja Arthur. Kisah pasal ahli sihir dan pemburunya. Menarik juga. Saya pun minat dengan legenda ni kalau diadaptasikan macam dalam drama bersiri British, Merlin. Jadi, kalau cerita ni ada sambungan pun ok juga.
4. PMG-0
Cerita yang diolah daripada karya Alexandre Dumas, 3 Musketeers. Budak pompuan bernama Tania yang menjadi anggota Musketeers (macam polis) selepas dia kehilangan ibubapa. Dia ni serba serbi hebat tak terkalahkan dalam pertempuran jarak dekat. Orang tembak pun tak pernah kena dia melainkan bosnya yang tembak. Tapi bosnya tembak guna peluru getah je la, kalau tak 3-4 mukasurat dah habis cerita ni sebab heroin dah mati.
Kesimpulannya peneraju utama untuk keempat-empat cerita adalah wanita yang ganas, panas baran, keras kepala dan sangat kuat, oh dan cantik...? (walaupun lukisan bentuk muka perempuan2 tu tak lawa pun hahaha ape2 je lah nok).
Tema Wild Wild West tapi watak utama pakai ceongsam. Kontra sangat tu. Cerita ni terlalu syok sendiri, watak utama perempuan yang terlalu kuat tak terkalahkan dan dianggap cantik oleh beberapa antagonis. Lelaki pula lemah dan gatal berhidung belang yang sukakan perempuan watak utama yang cantik berdahi licin. Penceritaan yang agak kebudak-budak perempuanan untuk demografi shonen.
2. PEDANG PUTERI BULAN
Watak perempuan dan lelaki dalam cerita ni lebih kurang je dengan cerita kat atas. Bezanya dari segi tema. Cerita ni diolah dari cerita rakyat Jepun, Kaguya-hime sang Puteri Bulan. Ceritanya ada dijadikan siri Blade of the Moon Princess tapi saya tak berminat pun dengan sambungannya sebab tak menarik sangat cerita dan watak2 dia.
3. WITCH CRAZE
Cerita yang ni pula diolah daripada legenda Raja Arthur. Kisah pasal ahli sihir dan pemburunya. Menarik juga. Saya pun minat dengan legenda ni kalau diadaptasikan macam dalam drama bersiri British, Merlin. Jadi, kalau cerita ni ada sambungan pun ok juga.
4. PMG-0
Cerita yang diolah daripada karya Alexandre Dumas, 3 Musketeers. Budak pompuan bernama Tania yang menjadi anggota Musketeers (macam polis) selepas dia kehilangan ibubapa. Dia ni serba serbi hebat tak terkalahkan dalam pertempuran jarak dekat. Orang tembak pun tak pernah kena dia melainkan bosnya yang tembak. Tapi bosnya tembak guna peluru getah je la, kalau tak 3-4 mukasurat dah habis cerita ni sebab heroin dah mati.
Kesimpulannya peneraju utama untuk keempat-empat cerita adalah wanita yang ganas, panas baran, keras kepala dan sangat kuat, oh dan cantik...? (walaupun lukisan bentuk muka perempuan2 tu tak lawa pun hahaha ape2 je lah nok).
May 17, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media for the ARC.
Tatsuya Endo has a specific type of protagonist in most of his stories, and I'd include Spy Family in this generalization. They're all powerful female characters, with a strong moral code, but also a strong flaw; be it laziness, battle-hungry, naivety, this serves as both comic relief and a way for the big bad to underestimate them. It works better in some stories than others. My favorite was the witch-hunter story, and I hope that gets developed into a full series one day. The Kaguya retelling was already adapted into a 5-volume series, so I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility.
Tatsuya Endo has a specific type of protagonist in most of his stories, and I'd include Spy Family in this generalization. They're all powerful female characters, with a strong moral code, but also a strong flaw; be it laziness, battle-hungry, naivety, this serves as both comic relief and a way for the big bad to underestimate them. It works better in some stories than others. My favorite was the witch-hunter story, and I hope that gets developed into a full series one day. The Kaguya retelling was already adapted into a 5-volume series, so I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility.
July 9, 2025
I’ve watched SpyxFamily season 1 and I really enjoyed that. So when I was in my local library, I came across this. As it’s from the same author as SpyxFamily I knew I had to give it a shot.
To be honest I was bored half way through reading this. The stories felt very samey at times, it felt like it was aimed at a particular audience which I am not a part of. I can see people in that audience enjoying all of these.
The last 2 stories landed a little better with me, especially the last one as I had more fun reading that. However I am glad I read it so I could see early works by Tatsuya Endo. I won’t be coming back to this anytime soon though.
To be honest I was bored half way through reading this. The stories felt very samey at times, it felt like it was aimed at a particular audience which I am not a part of. I can see people in that audience enjoying all of these.
The last 2 stories landed a little better with me, especially the last one as I had more fun reading that. However I am glad I read it so I could see early works by Tatsuya Endo. I won’t be coming back to this anytime soon though.
March 8, 2025
Another hit and miss short story collection, I’d say this one was 50/50. Surprisingly, the one I was most looking forward to - the musketeer one - was my least favorite. Blade of the Moon Princess was by far my favorite, and I see in the back of the book that it got turned into a series later. So I’ll probably end up checking that out. Witch Craze was pretty memorable too, but I don’t think I’d want a series. It was good as it was.
January 12, 2026
2.5 stars
Read
April 6, 2026It's an imperfect collection of one-shots, but it's fun to see Endo's earlier work across a range of story ideas and characters.
April 19, 2026
I liked three out of the four. The one I didnt care for was the moon princess one.
July 1, 2026
While these short stories are mostly dated (they are from the 2000s after all) and bear the mark of an unexperienced writer and artist, they were interesting and fun enough!!
Overall, you can tell Endo's artstyle has greatly improved since these short stories. But beyond the art and the character designs, you can see that in the paneling. Here, a lot of the panels are overloaded with informations and details. And the turn of the pages aren't as well thought-out as it is in Spy x Family (where it is also used as a tool for comedy).
In each story, there is a more or less subtle focus (conscious or not) on women/girls and the sexism they face. However, while it seems to be acknowledged, it doesn't really dive-in deeper than that, with all these women being super strong. The roots and consequences of misogyny aren't really explored, and some sexist situations are pushed as "comedy" because of a certain lack of self-awareness on the subject.
Then again, it wasn't that surprising since the short stories in question were written in the early 2000s, when Endo was still quite young. At least, the consistency in having main female characters is notable, even if it's not out of activism.
Western Game:
It was a nice little story. The concept of its worldbuilding was a little confusing and vague, but the themes of violence and corruption are apparent. It is a little dated in its writing of its main (only) female character. It is like 101 feminism from the early 2000s that shows you a badass girlboss who has to fight hard every day because of the patriarchy (she literally gets attacked by men and gets sexist comments like every two pages). It's not very groundbreaking in the way the story deals with it, but at least it's trying (especially for its time)!
Blade of the Moon Princess:
I didn't like this one much. This story would have been pretty good if I didn't HATE Tenji. My god. You have an interesting story about a coup d’état by men trying to overthrow a line of empresses, and this guy is out there ruining the vibes for "comedy" by sexually harassing the main character non stop… She kept hitting him and honestly he deserved worse.
Anyway, cool concept, but the lack of self-awareness when it comes to "comedic" sexual harassment went against the girl power themes of the story. Typical for the early 2000s, but still annoying.
Witch Craze:
I really liked this one!! The relationship between the two main characters was interesting, even if we don't really have time to dive deeper into their personalities. The worldbuilding is compelling and I liked the little girl and the role she had to play. The story was good enough to bring out emotions!
PMG-0:
I really liked this one too! It's a bit heavy on the "drugs are bad" but Tania was a great character. She was fun, but also easy to take seriously. I liked her backstory and motivations, although they were very similar to Western Game.
Basically, nothing groundbreaking, but still quite fun! And it's super interesting to notice how much Endo has improved since these stories, while still keeping some of those core themes.
Overall, you can tell Endo's artstyle has greatly improved since these short stories. But beyond the art and the character designs, you can see that in the paneling. Here, a lot of the panels are overloaded with informations and details. And the turn of the pages aren't as well thought-out as it is in Spy x Family (where it is also used as a tool for comedy).
In each story, there is a more or less subtle focus (conscious or not) on women/girls and the sexism they face. However, while it seems to be acknowledged, it doesn't really dive-in deeper than that, with all these women being super strong. The roots and consequences of misogyny aren't really explored, and some sexist situations are pushed as "comedy" because of a certain lack of self-awareness on the subject.
Then again, it wasn't that surprising since the short stories in question were written in the early 2000s, when Endo was still quite young. At least, the consistency in having main female characters is notable, even if it's not out of activism.
Western Game:
It was a nice little story. The concept of its worldbuilding was a little confusing and vague, but the themes of violence and corruption are apparent. It is a little dated in its writing of its main (only) female character. It is like 101 feminism from the early 2000s that shows you a badass girlboss who has to fight hard every day because of the patriarchy (she literally gets attacked by men and gets sexist comments like every two pages). It's not very groundbreaking in the way the story deals with it, but at least it's trying (especially for its time)!
Blade of the Moon Princess:
I didn't like this one much. This story would have been pretty good if I didn't HATE Tenji. My god. You have an interesting story about a coup d’état by men trying to overthrow a line of empresses, and this guy is out there ruining the vibes for "comedy" by sexually harassing the main character non stop… She kept hitting him and honestly he deserved worse.
Anyway, cool concept, but the lack of self-awareness when it comes to "comedic" sexual harassment went against the girl power themes of the story. Typical for the early 2000s, but still annoying.
Witch Craze:
I really liked this one!! The relationship between the two main characters was interesting, even if we don't really have time to dive deeper into their personalities. The worldbuilding is compelling and I liked the little girl and the role she had to play. The story was good enough to bring out emotions!
PMG-0:
I really liked this one too! It's a bit heavy on the "drugs are bad" but Tania was a great character. She was fun, but also easy to take seriously. I liked her backstory and motivations, although they were very similar to Western Game.
Basically, nothing groundbreaking, but still quite fun! And it's super interesting to notice how much Endo has improved since these stories, while still keeping some of those core themes.
March 21, 2025
This is a fascinating collection of one-shots from Tatsuya Endo’s early days as a manga artist.
Three of the four stories are standalones while one is clearly an early concept for “Blade of the Moon Princess”.
If you—like me—enjoy the opportunity to see a writer’s progression and evolution over time, this is definitely something you’d enjoy. I always appreciate seeing the “seeds” of something you know is going to grow into a beloved character or storyline.
It’s just so infinitely fascinating to actually be able to see how a storyteller has evolved their craft over time.
Highly recommend if that fascinates you too~
Three of the four stories are standalones while one is clearly an early concept for “Blade of the Moon Princess”.
If you—like me—enjoy the opportunity to see a writer’s progression and evolution over time, this is definitely something you’d enjoy. I always appreciate seeing the “seeds” of something you know is going to grow into a beloved character or storyline.
It’s just so infinitely fascinating to actually be able to see how a storyteller has evolved their craft over time.
Highly recommend if that fascinates you too~
March 28, 2025
This was a pretty fun collection to read! I have trouble enjoying some short story collections, because I feel like I don't have enough time to get attached to the characters, but I enjoyed this anyway. Out of the four of them I liked Witch Craze the most. The others were pretty good too, and I liked seeing the original oneshot for Blade of the Moon Princess, which I am currently reading the series for. The game at the back of the book looks fun too, so I might try that out!
August 17, 2025
4 stars── .✦
i feel like this is the first time that "dnf" did not automatically mean the book as a whole was uninteresting or not worth finishing.....
bc this book was basically four stories in one
and i'm very bad at finishing collections of stories soooo
at least i made it 3/4 of the way :DD
the fourth story just seemed uninteresting so i called it a day
witch craze was probably my favorite, nei and morgana are so cute together <3
i feel like this is the first time that "dnf" did not automatically mean the book as a whole was uninteresting or not worth finishing.....
bc this book was basically four stories in one
and i'm very bad at finishing collections of stories soooo
at least i made it 3/4 of the way :DD
the fourth story just seemed uninteresting so i called it a day
witch craze was probably my favorite, nei and morgana are so cute together <3
August 12, 2025
Four one shots that didn't make it, from a mangaka who would eventually come up with a much better idea. To be blunt, it's pretty obvious why none of these stories were huge hits, even if one of them did get picked up. I can't really fault the art, and three of the four stories had at least halfway interesting premises. The execution just feels cookie cutter to the point of being boring.
September 29, 2025
Two of the one-shots were decent and if anything more was ever done with them (Witch Craze and PMG-0) I would consider picking them up/giving them a shot. One of the shorts was kinda meh (Western Game) and one of the stories was actually picked up and became more than just a one-shot eventually (Blade of The Moon Princess)---I am thinking about picking this manga up and giving it a chance!
November 23, 2025
Rough around the edges. Felt like he was copying the One Piece format and style too much. I'm glad he changed and refined his style by the time Spy X Family was created. It was a richer series for it.
December 2, 2025
Would be 3.5
I've never read manga short stories before, I did enjoy each of these one shots but just when I felt I was getting into the story, it stopped. Will have to look if any of the short stories were continued into a serial 🤣
I've never read manga short stories before, I did enjoy each of these one shots but just when I felt I was getting into the story, it stopped. Will have to look if any of the short stories were continued into a serial 🤣
April 3, 2026
2.5 stars
While it was interesting to see how Endo has grown as a mangaka these stories are a bit rough and dated. Especially the first two are very of its time in characters and content. The last two showed a lot more heart.
While it was interesting to see how Endo has grown as a mangaka these stories are a bit rough and dated. Especially the first two are very of its time in characters and content. The last two showed a lot more heart.
Read
March 13, 2025Spy Family is one of my favorite mangas and I could barely finish these short stories. Don't have the curious innocence and the surprising drama I seem to relate.
Did Not Finish
September 27, 2025Read the first story, was not impressed, saw the creator say “I feel that of all the one-shots in here, this one came together the best,” and felt it was best to throw in the towel.
December 5, 2025
These were fun little one shots, 2 of which I definitely wish got their own series. If you’re a Spy Family fan, I highly recommend checking out his other works.
December 13, 2025
Some stories were better than others but it was interesting to see parallels between these stories and Spy X Family.
January 3, 2026
3.75
Omg this was so fun! Like a sampler of a mangaka's work/style!
Omg this was so fun! Like a sampler of a mangaka's work/style!
Did Not Finish
January 8, 2026Got about halfway through and wasn’t interested enough to finish this book, so moving it to my “DNF” shelf.
May 22, 2026
This was probably a 3.75 (on a bad day) or a 4.25 (on a good day) collection. I split the difference bc they all made me chuckle.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews