Hotel

by Boichi

El futuro de nuestro mundo parece comprometido. Ya sea por el aumento del nivel del mar, la álgida subida de las temperaturas, la llegada del mesías, una guerra entre ángeles y demonios o el último intento de los humanos por recuperar su libertad... Hotel reúne las historias de cinco personajes que se mueven entre la soledad, la desesperación y las ansias de renovación en un futuro nada alentador.

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Comics, Seinen, Fantasy, Comics Manga, Graphic Novels

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Intending to be a manga artist from his childhood days, majored in physics in college as preparation to draw science fiction works, and also to learn the technology of performance and imaging, went on to graduate school to major in image technology.

In 1993, while still enrolled, debuted in a Korean shoujo manga magazine. Since then, he gained popularity releasing a number of works and publishing books on how to draw manga targeting a wide range of reader.

In 2004 he stepped into the world of Japanese manga. His “Ultimate Space Emperor Caesar”, serialized in Monthly “Comic Gum”, was his first tankōbon in Japan.

In 2005, 9 out of Boichi’s 11 hentai one-shot serialized in Comic Aun were reunited under the volume titled “Lover in Winter”.

In 2006, he released two science fiction one-shot, “Hotel” and “Present” which, in 2008, were compiled in a volume titled Hotel along the other one-shots “It was all for the tuna”, “Stephanos” and “Diadem”.

2006 is the year of Boichi’s first serialized manga: “Sun Ken Rock” in the bi-weekly magazine Young King. This manga will also have a side-story based on Yumin in 2011 and one based on Pickaxe in 2012. 2012 will also see the serialization of “I want to feed Yumin”, another spin-off of Sun Ken Rock based on Yumin and serialized in “Monthly Young King”.

Boichi also worked on a 5 volume long manga titled Raqiya and written by Masao Yajima where he was in charge of the art and published in 2009. He also only did the art of the Brutality one-shot by Takeda Yuusuke in 2007.

In later 2011, he started the serialization of another manga titled “H.E the hunt for energy” in a new monthly magazine: Jump X. In this year, he won the Gran Guinigi prize for “It was all for the Tuna”.

To express his sentiment towards Vietnam and apologize for Korea’s action during the war, Sun Ken Rock volume 2′s royalties were donated to the humanitarian organization “Child of Viet Nam”. He asked Korean manga artists to contribute towards drawing a support page for Japan in regards to 2011′s big earthquake, and giving the royalties from the proceeding to the Red Cross. He also donated the money he planned to use to buy a new car towards helping tsunami victims.

Reviews

[Mayank Agarwal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first story is awesome, a must read, the second one is good, the rest should be avoided, they are rubbish.

Story 1 - Hotel: since 2079
Really loved the story, short & bittersweet, excellent writing and intelligent plot. The self-narration is really believable, it touches your heart, the way the AI robot crosses boundary in having a human soul is awesome. Also the art is good, perfect for the story. (5/5)

Story 2 - Present
Story with a great twist in the end however I was able to predictable it 2/5th of the way in, if you don’t see it coming you would love it. For me what was great was the art, really amazing work with the characters and the buildings. (3/5)

Story 3,4 & 5 - It Was All for the Tuna, Stephanos & Diadem
All three stories are terrible, not worth wasting 10-15 minutes on it, decent art wasted on senseless story. (1/5)

[Anya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, this was so glorious. Possibly, review to come.

[Taha · Rating 5 out of 5]

İçimden bir şey koptu.
İlk defa okuduğum bir şey beni bu kadar fazla etkiledi. Daha önce hafiften gözümün dolduğu olmuştu; ama 41 sayfalık kısacık bu manganın son sayfasını okurken bağırarak ağlamamak için kendimi zor tuttum. Dudağım düştü, gözlerimde bir yanma, göğsümde bi titreme hissettim. Buruk bir sevinç de hissettim bu arada. Halbuki bu mangayı sırf kısa olduğu için ve readin challange'ımı tamamlamak için tesadüfen bulup okumaya başlamıştım. Bu kadar etkilenmeyi beklemiyordum.
Siz de bu mangaya mutlaka bir bakın derim.
NOT: Wall-e'yi izleyip sevenler buna da bayılacaktır.

[Edgar Cotes Argelich · Rating 3 out of 5]

El primer conte és molt tendre i emotiu, amb l’esperit dels contes de la ciència-ficció clàssica. Els altres, però, no m’han acabat de fer el pes. M’hi ha faltat trobar-hi alguna cosa més.

[Joseth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un Oneshot altamente recomendado.

En este manga de lectura rápida (1 h u 1:30 h aprox), encontramos varias minihistorias que giran al rededor de la trama del hotel en cuestión.
Todas ellas con diferente enfoque. Una es divertida, otra es triste, otra es una locura, pero todas son interesantísimas y te dejan con ganas de releerlo.
En el apartado artístico, se ve que Boichi coge inspiración de todos lados, ya que vemos varios estilos de manga, incluido cómic americano en su última historia.

Conclusión:
Si tienes la oportunidad de leerlo, hazlo y si puedes comprarlo, pues no lo dudes. Creo que hay que tenerlo a mano por si tenemos tiempo muerto y no sabemos muy bien qué hacer, las historias entran solas y son un total divertimento.

[Jokoloyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a collection of one shot manga by Boichi. As usual the difficulty to rate this one book because the variety of stories, some good some bad. This book has one more problem: somehow the publisher/editor put the sequence of the story from best to worst (well relatively, I admit I exaggerate a little).

First story, "HOTEL" - the atmosphere, the feel, the drama, the ambition of the story, all excellent!. One of the best one-shot manga ever! 5 star

Second story, "PRESENT" - a little bit plot twist and I like the drama. From drama wise, it is the second best from the five stories. 3 star

Third story, "IT WAS ALL FOR THE TUNA" - it is the most comedic story of this collection. For science fiction ideas and theme, I like this story better than "PRESENT". The comedy made the drama less intense though. And the story is getting absurd. 3.5 star

Fourth story "STEPHANOS" - I don't like this story. I think the setting is not settled enough to deliver the climax without confusing the readers. The theme is darker than previous ones, and it is a supernatural fantasy, not a science fiction. 1 star

Fifth story "Diadem" - an action fantasy theme. The one shot format basically presenting what is the setting and background, a bit story, then finished. Could be considered the worse story, but to be fair, the length is so short, I appreciate how the story could put so much content on so little number of pages. 2 star (setting only, maybe 3 star)

[Octavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excepto algún relato, en general es brutal.

[Tamara Ducatel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm Sorry!, But WHAT THE F**K WAS THAT?? je suis fan des dessins tho, mais j'ai pas compris le concept. j'ai pas du tout aimé la non cohérence entre les petites histoires... Sorry (OR NOT)

[Monif Chowdhury · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story happens to be my favourite. Although it is very unrealistic even for a sci-fi. Reason being the decision mankind took to not store their own DNA. I think that was a tad bit too sentimental. Other than that, the whole story was great.

"Tuna fish" story was also a good one. Had a good laugh there. We people would do crazy things for crazy things..

[Despair Speaking · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best story in this collection of one-shots is Hotel hands down! Everything else are in levels below it although some of them were pretty good. The art isn't the best in some parts but the plot and the powerful scenes make up for it!

My opinion in the one shots...

Hotel
This reduced me to sniffles. Seriously. I am currently nursing a cold thanks to this stupid one shot. *sniffs* Maybe it's because I'm being so emotional these days (and no, it's not that time of the month just yet!), but it doesn't change the fact that this is a really good story. It's all about Louis, a robot left behind to store the countless DNA of those living in Earth until man will return and bring back everyone. It focuses on the hardships he faced and how he was built.

Present
This is my second favorite. I was also deeply touched with this one, but minus the tears. The sacrifices made by the husband reminded me of The Notebook. Hanako suffers from a terrible sickness that put her to sleep for a long time. She eventually wakes up but she only has three days left to live. How will her husband take it?

Subete wa Maguro no Tame datta (It Was All for the Tuna)
This was weird. I had to read it again to understand. The idea is funny though. A kid's pursuit for tuna (it apparently no longer exists) bring interesting results.

Stephanos
The ending was unexpected. The last part was drawn well, especially the- Well, I'm not going to spoil. Better to read it yourself. Didn't like the naked drawing. A young girl is convinced she's pregnant and refuses to have an abortion. But the doctor insists that she has cancer. What will she do?

Diadem
It's all colored. If you think of the origin of the name of the main character, you might have a clue of what happens. A girl named Lilith is striving to keep the land free from the Empire. She waits for the Goddess to come and save them but...?!

That's it. I hope you're interested in reading Hotel. I did a bit of searching and here's a link if you can't find the manga in your local bookstores...

http://www.mangahere.com/manga/hotel/

THANKS!

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta obra é uma coletânea de cinco short stories em estilo manga que não estão propriamente relacionadas entre si (embora se afirme que as duas últimas estão ligadas, de certa maneira). Só não lhe dou as cinco estrelas por achar algumas das shorts mais ridículas do que interessantes.

As minhas favoritas foram, sem dúvida alguma, as duas primeiras: "Hotel: Since 2079" e "Present". Ambas mexeram muito comigo e são apresentadas de uma maneira que não nos consegue deixar indiferentes (para além de serem as mais dramáticas). As emoções ficaram à flor da pele e a minha mente repetia continuamente o que acabara de ler. Se a obra fosse constituída apenas por estas duas shorts, não hesitaria em dar umas sólidas cinco estrelas. O problema surgiu depois...

Após aquelas primeiras histórias maravilhosas, segue-se "It Was All for the Tuna". Ao ter lido tudo de seguida, nada me poderia chocar mais do que passar de "Present" para isto. O tom dramático desaparece (embora a história tenha a sua boa dose de dramatismo) e abre alas a um nonsense cómico extremo. É uma história que tenta (suponho eu) mostrar de maneira mais "leve" um problema grave ambiental, mas distorce de tal maneira as coisas com um tom cómico tão bizarro (a roçar mesmo o ridículo) que o foco de preocupação se perde pelo caminho.
"Stephanos" é a short seguinte e voltou a dar-me esperança. A história começa bem, começa gradualmente a mexer connosco, até que chega ao final e a nossa cabeça baralha-se completamente com o plot twist meio descabido que tem.
A última short, "Diadem", pareceu-me apenas ter um potencial que não foi aproveitado em pleno. A história é demasiado curta para o peso que tenta passar para o leitor, e muita coisa acontece "à pressa". Acho que se tivesse sido mais longa e mais bem trabalhada, seria bem melhor.

Mesmo com os problemas mencionados acima, a obra vale bem as suas quatro estrelas. E sim, eu seria capaz de comprar o livro nem que fosse apenas para ter aquelas duas primeiras shorts e poder relê-las uma e outra vez.

[Raquel Laforet]

El tomo incluye cinco historias: Hotel, Present, Todo fue por los atunes, Stephanos y Diadem. El único que no me ha gustado ha sido el de Stephanos, aparte de eso, los demás están bien, me han parecido breves y por tanto, que profundizan poco en historias y un mundo que parecían interesantes, pero que igualmente se pueden disfrutar.

[Jithu Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one awesome short read! Today was a good day :)

[Sergi Oset · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si Boichi dedica aquesta obra a Arthur C. Clarke és per alguna cosa. Els dos primers relats “Hotel” i “Present” tenen aquell sabor de la ciència-ficció feta amb el cor. Històries delicades, doloroses i de final agredolç, però amb un toc d’esperança. Amb una mirada que cerca trobar el millor de la humanitat encara que costi de trobar. La fi de la humanitat o d’una sola persona tractades amb sentiment i impregnades de ciència i robòtica que no tenen per què ser enemigues.
A “Todo fue por los atunes” el registre canvia i la història és molt més surrealista i divertida. El tarannà ecopunk que sobrevola, en major o menor mesura, el treball de Boichi apareix aquí d’una forma força original on la ciència provoca canvis esperpèntics a partir d’errades, però que aconsegueixen la finalitat que cerquen (en teoria).
“Stephanos” és un relat més fosc, que parla de l’adveniment entre la guerra dels àngels i els dimonis a la Terra. Es tracta d’un relat més críptic que lliga amb “Diadem”, l’últim relat del conjunt, que té un to messiànic i parla dels conceptes de llibertat i de la capacitat d’exercir el lliure albir per damunt de tot.
Entremig d’aquests relats, Boichi ens regala unes peces més curtes autoconclusives i amb un marcat to de comèdia que no aporten gaire, això no obstant, serveixen com a refresc abans d’encarar un nou relat dels llargs.
El tractament de la il·lustració, com sempre, és impecable (humans i robots en primers plans i escenaris detallistes d’un Japó made in Blade Runner) i la quantitat de pàgines a color engrandeixen el resultat.
Li hauria posat quatre estrelles si hagués mantingut el nivell dels dos primers relats amb el que obre el llibre, així i tot, estem davant d’un manga de ciència-ficció amb un gran nivell gràfic i narratiu.

[Monika Kilijańska · Rating 3 out of 5]

To bardzo epizodyczna manga, ale jednym z najważniejszych, bo należących do najdłuższego opowiadania, bohaterów jest Louis. Jest to specyficzna kapsuła czasu, a zarazem główny komputer tytułowego Hotelu – wieży, w której składowane jest wzorcowe DNA wszystkich organizmów na ziemi. Ale tylko wszystkich potrzebnych dla ewentualnego powrotu gatunku do życia. Louis to bardzo mądra maszyna, która potrafi sterować naprawami wieży czy też budować infrastrukturę potrzebną do jej właściwego działania jak farmy wiatrowe produkujące energię. Imię jednostki nadała żona doktora Anno, konstruktora i budowniczego wieży. Nadzieję, jaką w całej misji pokładała, bardzo kojarzyła się jej z piosenką Louisa Armstronga „Wonderfull world”.

Być może trochę dużo w tej mandze jest moralizatorstwa, a zakończenia aż proszą się o korektę, jednak historie zawarte w tym tomiku są naprawdę świeże i fantastycznie narysowane. Warto przeczytać, pomyśleć, zrozumieć niektóre motywy.

Więcej na http://www.monime.pl/hotel-boichi-manga/

[Manob Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boichi is famous for his drawing and story telling style. This manga tells a story of a hotel. It was created in Antarctica to save the genes of all species of earth during the apocalypse which took place beacuse of man kind.In this story We,the human,had already polluted whole nature. Temperature was not tolerable,air was not breathable, water was not safe to drink... In that time the scientists created a tower which was called "hotel" by the people. It is the last hope for human. It can be the Messiah. It can create the Adam and Eve when nature will be safe for living again. Will it be successful to save the mankind ? Read it to know the answer.

[Natalia Bas · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌍 #hotelboichi

Me llamó la descripción y el oro viejo y dorado de la portada.. Nos estamos cargando un 🌏 que no funciona "bien" desde que recuerdo; eso no significa que personas no sean y hayan sido felices, pero 🤷 Aquí las historias de dibujo llamativo, y con tendencias "solitarias".. y.. "simpaticas", nos hacen pensar en el pasado, presente y un posible #futuro, que para muchos parece no importar, quizás porque igual ya no estarán.. No deja indiferente.


#readingdeworld

[Christian Balistreri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A full color one-shot and precursor to the short story collection manga Hotel, also by Boichi. I think it’s high rating on platforms comes from it being all in color, which is nice, even if the art itself is a bit simple. It’s a sci-fi / post-apocalyptic narrative that follows an AI tower. So not much in the way of character. It’s perhaps one of the few times where we have decent AI in charge of the future of humanity, where the conflict isn’t other humans or rouge AI but the Earth itself. I suppose, this one-shot has intrigued me enough to check out the short story collection as well.

Edit:

So apparently Goodreads has combined both the original One-Shot and the full manga that released years later. Which I hate but have to deal with. This section will be a review for the full manga, which is just titled Hotel.

While the art improved substantially, with absolutely gorgeous panels and additional coloring that is very much appreciated, there is something to be said about the short stories themselves. I won't get into a lot of detail, 2/5 of the stories function within the selected genres, one being an alternative version to the outcomes of the other, and builds the world in interesting ways. The other three...are kind of exploitative and gross. They ruin the tone of the overall manga, breaking what could've been a decent flow. I'm not saying that short story collections all need to follow strict theming, that would be boring. But, when you go from bleak and existential (with some comedic elements) to uncomfortable and sexual, you create a fissure and drag down the decent stories and thus the overall enjoyment. Such a shame.

[Jose Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al fantástico arte de Boichi hay que añadir la original de este recopilatorio de historias en tomo único. Sobre todo, la primera, que da nombre al tomo "Hotel", que nos relata un futuro distópico en el que la humanidad está a punto de desaparecer, y los gobiernos deciden construir un hotel tan elevado que pueda salvarse de un planeta totalmente inundado. Me ha encantado. De muy recomendada lectura.

[Noninuna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's 2272 A.D and human race has extinct. What's left is a tower which had been programmed to self repaired if anything happened. We're following the Tower's POV from it's planning to building & it's fate after years had passed and human has no longer live.

It's a meh read to me. Nothing caught my fancy and it's pretty short book too.

[Ahmad · Rating 1 out of 5]

The assumption that humans are capable of taking global-scale coordinated measures for purely selfless reasons is beyond laughable.

Sacrifice their lives to preserve all other creatures except themselves? People wouldn't even suffer mild inconveniences (like wearing a mask) to save the lives of their fellow human beings.

It's hard to believe in global solidarity in the face of crisis anymore.

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un tomo autoconclusivo genial de principio a fin. Mi primera obra leída del autor y me ha encantado, te hace reflexionar sobre el daño causado por la humanidad a este nuestro planeta y las consecuencias del egoísmo.

[Elalber2000 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regalazo de Lucía
Me flipa el concepto de historias cortas tan variadas sobre el apocalipsis, justo pensé en hacer algo así el otro día
Las historias son MUY BUENAS y el dibujo tambien es increíble pero porfavor I implore you me sobrs el fanservice

[May · Rating 2 out of 5]

1er histoire excellente mais ensuite ?? relation avec des mineurs non nécessaire du semi inceste qui encore une fois ne fait pas avancer l'histoire ! dommage de pas avoir continuer la 1er histoire au lieu d'en écrire des plutôt moyennes et problématiques

[Gabz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woah. Not bad at all.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be a 0 if not for the fantastic first story (1 of 5).

[Fernando Cárdenas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sheer fact that the first three one-shots are present in this makes this collection a guaranteed must-read.

[Devero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una raccolta di storie interessanti e ben fatte, con un retrogusto a volte macabro, nel complesso riuscite. Nulla di memorabile, un'oretta trascorsa bene.

[Roma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hotel was my favorite among the five stories. Overall, I like Boichi's imagination and although the four other stories came out as something outlandish, its novelty is alluring.

[Santi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sola la primera historia vale bastante la pena leer. Las dos siguientes no estan mal pero ya las dos ultimas son bastante meh.