Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection

by Naoki Urasawa

A curated collection of eight short stories and graphic essays by famed manga author Naoki Urasawa, creator of the acclaimed series Monster and 20th Century Boys!

Urasawa's characters confront fantastical elements ranging from psychic powers, to alien visitors to planet Earth, to attacks by giant monsters. On the flip side, the author philosophizes about his real-world experiences with the wild and wacky international music scene.

Plus, a classic, funny animal tale, in Urasawa's inimitable style!

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Comics, Short Stories, Seinen, Fiction, Japan

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2019

About the author

Urasawa Naoki (浦沢直樹) is a Japanese mangaka. He is perhaps best known for Monster (which drew praise from Junot Díaz, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner) and 20th Century Boys.

Urasawa's work often concentrates on intricate plotting, interweaving narratives, a deep focus on character development and psychological complexity. Urasawa has won the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival excellence award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. In 2008 Urasawa accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University.

Series list (not including short stories collections):
- Pineapple ARMY (パイナップルARMY) 1985-1988, written by Kazuya Kudo;
- YAWARA! 1986-1993;
- Master Keaton (MASTERキートン) 1988-1994, written by Hokusei Katsushika;
- Happy! 1993-1999
- MONSTER 1994-2001
- 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) 1999-2006
- 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年) 2007
- PLUTO 2003-2009, based on Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom
- BILLY BAT 2008-2016
- Master Keaton Remaster (MASTERキートン Reマスター) 2012-2014
- Mujirushi (夢印-MUJIRUSHI-) 2017-2018, collaboration with Musée du Louvre
- Asadora! (連続漫画小説 あさドラ!) 2018-ongoing

Reviews

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odds and ends collection. Some charmingly weird short stories (a standout is the story about the French kaiju otaku in a world where giant monsters attacking Tokyo is Japan's biggest tourist attraction), some musical montages (seeing Dylan or McCartney in concert), some non-fiction travelogue (visiting the LA music scene). If you like Urasawa's other off-kilter and sweet work you will like this but this is probably not the place to start if you haven't read him before.

**Thanks to the artist, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always associate Urasawa with epic stories, so it was odd to come across this volume of short stories. And what an odd assortment it is. There are thrillers with supernatural elements like psychics and telekinetics, the sort of work Urasawa usually does. But there is also a failed attempt at a Tom & Jerry homage with anthropomorphized mice that is about as far from his usual stuff as you can get. Several autobiographical strips mostly play up the author's love of 1960s and '70s rock music, especially Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. He also illustrates a story from 1970s featuring several Japanese folk musicians, as told to him by Kenji Endo, whose name Urasawa swiped for the main character of his 20th Century Boys series. The book finishes off with a couple tributes to kaiju movies.

It's a real mixed bag, but I still found it enjoyable thanks to Urasawa's masterful art and dialogue.

[Emi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Las dos primeras historias tienen ese aire de misterio tan propio de Urasawa, pero después te encuentras con un capítulo desternillante sobre dos ratones intentado llegar a un pastel sin despertar al gato de la casa y, entonces, una serie de mini-cómics sobre música, algunos experiencias reales del autor, para volver a la ciencia ficción y el humor un poco absurdo de las dos últimas historias.

Siempre digo que no me gustan las antologías... o está cambiando mi gusto personal, o esta serie de historias cortas es simplemente genial.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection, is an interesting collection of small manga stories by well-known manga artist Naoki Urasawa. There are a few stories within, including about rock stars, psychic children, and my favourite of the collection, a Kaiju otaku who goes to Japan to see real-life Kaiju in an alternative universe where Kaiju exist. Some fun, ironic, and numerous tales abound, although there was nothing overly special about the collection, in my opinion. A fun and light read that should occupy a coffee break splendidly.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his afterword, Naoki Urasawa says that this collection ended up being about things he's always loved since he was a child - things like music and kaiju. That means that every story in this book carries a very clear piece of the creator's heart, evident in both the art and the attention to detail in the storytelling. Each tale is unique - even when they share an overlap in terms of theme, like the music of the 1960s and 70s - and all of them carry a sort of happy melancholy, a feeling which should be contradictory but somehow isn't. It's just a very Urasawa book, and even if you've never read his work before, this is a collection that sticks in your mind.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably a 3.7 something stars, a good compilation of shorts by Urasawa, and off this I'd like to seek out a coy of Mujirushi. Stand out stories being the French kaiju otaku, Kaiju Kingdom and Throw Toward the Moon! centering around a chance meeting between a down on his luck fortune teller and a boy who later becomes a journalist who then unravels his story.

[Lusionnelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mais qu'est-ce que c'est jouissif de lire Naoki Urasawa ! C'est le dessinateur vers lequel j'adore me tourner, même si tout n'est pas excellent. Ici, le recueil est un peu aléatoire, plus inégal en tout cas que l'anthologie d'Histoires courtes qui relatent ses débuts de mangaka.
Je suis restée assez hermétique sur la dernière nouvelle, Solo Mission, et ses histoires musicales, même si l'hommage fait pour son ami musicien, Kenji Endô, est vraiment touchante.
Je l'ai trouvé néanmoins aussi efficace dans Damiyan !, Vise la lune ! ainsi que pour Henry et Charles. Mais j'ai surtout adoré sa revisite des histoires de Kaijus, Le royaume des Kaijus. Rien que pour celle-ci, la lecture vaut le coup pour tou.te.s les fans de l'auteur.


Mais je ne le recommanderai pas comme première découverte.
Préférez Histoires courtes si vous aimez les histoires courtes & drôles, ou ses longues séries Monster si vous êtes fan de thriller ; 20th century boys si vous êtes plutôt tournés SF/dystopie ; Billy Bat si vous aimez les histoires fantastiques et (un peu) méta ; Pluto si vous aimez l'univers d'Astro Boy (en plus sombre & réaliste) ou les histoires avec de la robotique et voulez une série plus courte que les autres.

[Alberto Martín de Hijas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una recopilación de historias breves cada una bastante diferente de las demás. La extensión no permite el desarrollo de los misterios y las épicas que han dado fama a Urasawa, pero conserva otras de sus virtudes, como su capacidad para caracterizar a los personajes con su dibujo o su humanismo que deja una sensación de buen rollo por dramáticas que sean las tramas. Además, resalta su sentido del humor, que queda más diluido en obras más largas.

[Silvia Shika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personalmente ho trovato i racconti mediocri, assolutamente non all’altezza delle serie complesse ed intricate a cui siamo stati abituati da Urasawa. L’unico racconto che ho trovato interessante è Musica Nostra perchè autobiografico, tutti gli altri mi sono sembrati abbastana dimenticabili.
Credo sia il genere di volume perfetto per i grandi appassionati dell’autore, io sinceramente me lo sarei anche evitata. Nota positiva: l’edizione è molto ben curata con pagine bianche e tante pagine a colori.

[Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of surprisingly personal one-shots.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

[alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naoki Urasawa’s art is inspiring in such a mundane way. Like damn, that IS what people look like

[anne larouche · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sneezing fit of stories from legendary mangaka (and musician it seems)Naoki Urasawa

As a fan of Naoki Urasawa's series such as Monster, 20th Century Boys, and Pluto I am always excited to see when a new book from him is released like the strange tale "Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams". However Naoki is a bit of a story teller and some of these stories although they mean something to him don't have the same sway over my interests such as the Old Guys or It's a Beautiful Day which are both well drawn but didn't interest me as much (though it is still nice of him to share the story of his friend.) All in all there are plenty of different tales for many readers just don't expect all of the stories to be your cup of tea and take notice there is some breast exposure in one of the stories so if that is a problem for you by all means skip the beautiful day story. As a final note check out the L.A. Music Travelogue stories for some great drawings of famous musicians and a bit of Naoki's musical life. :)

[Met · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storie tra il divertente, il thriller e il non-sense che non brillano molto... Fini a loro stesse, non rappresentano certo il miglior Urasawa.
Lettura trascurabile, consigliata solo ai fan dell’autore.

[Soteralzobooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 biblio Despite the unevenness in interest (for me), overall high quality Urasawa short stories.

[Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story đầu tiên hay nha!

[Knouck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved loved loved, Urasawa always knows how to entertain, great stories, short but really impactful. I loved the diversity, it was never boring !

[Kumasama · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Score: 8.5/10*

This is a collection of short stories by manga author Naoki Urasawa, famous for series like Monster and Pluto. I have yet to read his series, but I have watched the anime of Monster which I loved very much.

Overall, this is a mix of many different types of stories, some serious and some hilarious, ranging from daily life to paranormal and sci fi to slapstick comedy and to even music industry.

Out of the 8 stories, I have definitely liked the most Henry and Charles the most (even the author says maybe this is one of his best short ones!) Which is a hilarious story about couple of mice trying to get a cake gaurded by a cat. I also really liked Damiyan, and Throw Toward the Moon, both including crime and paranormal elements that reminded a bit of Monster. Also, Kaiju Kingdom was unique and nice, which is a bit of a parody of all those Godzilla and monster anime we used to watch that seem to always attack only Japan and Tokyo when they invade "the world", so the story assumes actually this is real and these invasions by monsters become an important tourist attraction for Japan!

Also there was one funny and kinda sad short story about a family spaceman who is sent to a dangerous planet to protect "the universe", ends with a really interesting twist.

The other 3 stories, focused on music and some other elements, I didnt find very strong, but they were super short in general compared to the rest, so even though 3 out of 8 sounds like a lot, in terms of page count they represent a lot less. So due to those stories I won't give this a 5 star, but they still are ok and dont diminish from the greatness of the others.

I would recommend this for Monster Anime fans (for a couple of the stories), and for those who enjoy Japanese old school anime, and those who are just curious about the author and his unique style. Even though I am yet to read Monster Manga, given how much I loved the anime I think its best to start with that first as it is more representative of Urasawa's style, and then move to this collection. I am planning to read Pluto which might also be a good starting point for this author, given that its one of his major works.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to most short story collections, "Sneeze" is a bit of a mixed bag of quality, with the stories ranging from good to great. There were a couple of stories that I found a lot more interesting than others, and I definitely wasn't that interested in the travelogues, though I will acknowledge that they were still pretty well told and illustrated. More than anything though, "Sneeze" shows off Urasawa's considerable range and versatility as writer, with the story genres ranging from a thriller, to a slice of life, to a humorous "Tom and Jerry"-esque story, to grounded sci-fit, to pretty fanciful sci-fi. As always, Urasawa's art is strong and expressive, with his storytelling and sense of pacing near-perfect in each story. Urasawa has one of the strongest voices in manga or comics today, and even his lesser works are worth a read.

[Keen Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars!

The style of drawing is so similar to so many other contemporary Japanese cartoonists, that I doubt I could have told them apart. This is certainly a strange and varied collection which tries to do something a little different .

The initial story worked really well and I also enjoyed "Throw Towards The Moon". We get a failed homage to Tom and Jerry, which probably works better in Japan and then there are a series of half-baked vignettes and stories about 70s music real and imagined which did very little for me.

So I thought this started really well, with the two strongest and most consistent stories being at the start, but beyond that I wasn't too impressed by what largely came across as a collection of odds n sods.

[StrawberryShojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to applaud Urasawa for making something a bit different than his usual work. While not every story from this collection is a winner, there are a lot more hits than misses. Many of the stories will feel familiar if you've read Urasawa before, but a few of them stand out as being a bit different from his norm. I appreciate it when authors are willing to branch out of their comfort zones a try something new so for me this collection is pretty stellar and I enjoyed reading it. As always the art is skillfully drawn and very engaging.

[Liam Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lessons learned from this book:

-Anyone can become a fan or a stan or a simp, but it takes true resilience to become an otaku.

-Always carry an apple in your pocket! Just in case you need to murder someone with it. It scales with Strength and Dexterity and Intelligence?!

-It's super coolio to say "like, totally, heh heh heh" at the end of all your dialogue! Go ahead, try it! Like, totally!

-Don't fall prey to mobile games with in-game purchases--you may end up having to get a job as a hitman.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories by Naoki Urasawa. I read this and I wonder why I bother reading anything by anyone else. No one does character work like Urasawa. The characters are visually distinct and their personalities come through in a few brief panels. It's masterful.

We get some speculative fiction stories, some non-fiction stories about music, and a cartoony story about two mice trying to get to a cake without waking a cat. Some of the stories are in color. One was published in Europe and reads left-to-right. Some are better than others.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm there's not a ton of manga short story collections, so I was definitely curious about what made this one good enough to translate.

Basically, dad manga. It was... okay.

It's a shame it's marketed with uh sneezing when the old guy ascetic seems more true to form and had some good stories regarding music/the Beatles. If that's what you're into! The kaiju story was the most ridiculous thing ever, but I think it was my favorite.

[Connor Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid collection of short manga by one of the all-time greats. Excellent story-telling and art as always. One of the stories surrounding old-men and music did nothing for me, but otherwise, thumbs up.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of manga shorts whose mileage varies based on what genre of Urasawa you usually enjoy. I'm a fan of his grounded takes on genre fiction so Damiyan, Kaiju Kingdom, and Throw Toward the Moon were my faves, while his strip for Humanoids and Looney Toons homage left me feeling "meh".

[Bevil-Ali Surchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short storys. Wikipedia said they're loosely related, but I'd say thats generous. It's overall very entertaining and the "it's a beautiful day" short story was especially hard-hitting after I read the backstory and inspiration.

[J MaK · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.0) The anthology was somewhat intriguing. Most of the stories were unpredictable cautionary tales. However, it took a random turn when the author crams a series of fan boy encounters with childhood musicians. I couldn’t make a clear connection.

[Alin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny manga, most of the stories are good. Some of them are peculiar and mildly uninteresting, like "Old Guys" and "Musica Nostra", while others are amazing, like "Henry and Charles". Overall, I recommend it!