Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human: The Manga Edition

Manga de BUNGAKU #1

by Osamu Dazai, Makiko Itoh (Translator)

"I've led a life full of shame. Human beings are a complete mystery to me."

This manga version of novelist Osamu Dazai's masterpiece NO LONGER HUMAN—the #2 bestselling novel of all time in Japan—tells the story of Yozo Oba, a young man growing up in Japan in the immediate aftermath of World War II, who finds himself caught between the disintegration of the traditions of his aristocratic provincial family and the impact of the new postwar world.

Oba is tormented by a failure to find any value in himself or in human relationships, despite being surrounded by women who love him. He creates the persona of a buffoon who mocks himself while entertaining others. But inside he is tortured, and as he moves from childhood to adulthood he becomes addicted to sex and alcohol. Largely autobiographical, No Longer Human explores Dazai's own sense of failure and alienation which drove him to self-destruct with alcohol and numerous suicide attempts.

Osamu Dazai (1909—1948) is Japan's second most popular novelist (after Soseki), and his works are seeing a huge surge in popularity among young people worldwide thanks to the success of the recent manga, anime and film series Bungo Stray Dogs, whose protagonist, a detective called Osamu Dazai, has similar character traits to Yozo Oba. Fans of manga and anime are turning to the original No Longer Human novel, whose themes of alienation from society and an inability to reconcile social appearances with inner self—told with great wit, irony and pathos—strike a deep chord among readers today.

**Recommended for readers ages 16+ due to mature themes and graphic content**

Genres: Manga, Japan, Mental Health, Comics, Fiction

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Osamu DAZAI (native name: 太宰治, real name Shūji Tsushima) was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan. A number of his most popular works, such as Shayō (The Setting Sun) and Ningen Shikkaku (No Longer Human), are considered modern-day classics in Japan.
With a semi-autobiographical style and transparency into his personal life, Dazai’s stories have intrigued the minds of many readers. His books also bring about awareness to a number of important topics such as human nature, mental illness, social relationships, and postwar Japan.

Reviews

[Ligia Moisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐

• fiction, classics, manga
~
"Această poveste a mai fost spusă în trecut. De multe ori. Și acum, o voi spune încă odată, dar diferit" - acesta este citatul care reprezintă cel mai exact prima variantă manga a "Dezumanizat" în limba română.

Cred că poți ajunge și aprecia această manga doar dacă ai mai citit Osamu Dazai. Nu cred că e recomandat să încerci să-l cunoști prin opere în care alții îl reprezintă. Deci, dacă asta e prima ta întâlnire cu Dazai, lasă manga jos și ia oricare carte a sa.

Viața și opera lui Osamu Dazai a inspirat și încă inspiră numeroși artiști care îi recreează povestea. De la Junji Ito la Usamaru Furuya, la Itō Chika și mulți alții, toți au găsit ceva special și fascinant în povestea simplă a omului dezumanizat și au încercat să o adapteze stilului lor.

Față de varianta lui Usamaru Furuya ca stil grafic este mult mai diferită și parcă puțin mai vagă în conținutul poveștii. Deși are o frumusețe aparte simplitatea ei, m-a cam deranjat portretizarea lui Ōba Yōzō fiindcă în toate celelalte povești pe care le-am citit, personajul ăsta nu s-a plâns atât de mult de soarta lui ca aici. Da, era amărât și vai de steaua lui dar personajul acesta întotdeauna a arătat o acceptare demnă a sorții și de aceea nu prea am înțeles ce au vrut să facă artiștii la această manga iar la un moment dat mă gândeam că poate totul e un pamflet cu foarte mult bun simț.

Povestea nu a suferit în rest modificări majore și dacă ai citit povestea originală, deja vei ști și conținutul acestui volum manga.

Mă bucur tare mult de fiecare dată când văd un nou exemplar manga în limba română fiindcă lucrul acesta părea ceva de domeniul SF-ului în urmă cu câțiva ani. Mărimea acestui volum e perfectă, exact mărimea care trebuie să fie și e o experiență plăcută să o citești.

Ce simt că a lipsit exemplarului e doar niște TW sau mențiunea că e o manga 18+ fiindcă tot ce are "desene" în România încă prezintă un interes major pentru un public minor.

Vă recomand din tot sufletul manga dar și mai mult vă recomand întreaga operă a lui Osamu Dazai dacă vreți să-l cunoașteți exact așa cum trebuie.

[Bella Azam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss Book and Tuttle for the e-arc in exchange for an honesr review.

As a fan of Osamu Dazai's works particularly No Longer Human who does not need any other introduction besides being one of the best literature I have read in a lifetime. So I was stoked to know there will be another translated manga adaptation of this masterpiece and boy I'm glad this was a good one too. I am always amazed on how different artist or author spun the tale to suit their vision and artwork and Chika Itoh brought to life on the autobiographical story of Dazai in a haunting way.

The arts are unique, although not as refined as Junji Ito or Usamaru Furuya, I still like how she brought to life these characters that I have love and hate relationship with it. The potrayal of not able to feel like human being, loneliness, betrayal, the essence of what makes us human, the questioning of fate & destiny, the abuses that are so hard to read and how we all question our own existence. I think this will be a good place for someone who want to learn or understand Dazai's thoughts through Yozo Oba in a simpler way. Its straightforward, quite faithful to the original novel and truly a work that can be appreciated in the realm of Dazai's world.

Tw: sexual abuse, depression, suicide, nudity, misogyny, alcoholism, substance abuse.

[Nique 💫 chroniqled ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a book.
i barely have the words, but i will try:

that was one of the most depressing books i have ever read— but one that felt almost too real? unsurprisingly, it’s said to be osamu dazai’s semi-autobiography where the main character is actually based on himself. how’s that for catharsis

here we have yozo, the sixth son of a parliament member— small, insignificant, and anxious. he has always lived his life in fear of humans. because of this, he has learned to try to please everyone, acting like a fool so that everyone will laugh and then perhaps like him, distracting them from the miserable human being actually living under the surface.

he has lived a life of tragedy, and frankly has always been dealt with the worst cards, therefore turning to the addiction of alcohol and women, to cope. it all becomes a cycle, and then just he spirals deeper and deeper into his depression.

let me tell you: the story does not get better. at all. it just gets worse and worse until yozo is left with nothing but his own misery, his own painful existence. he’s attempted suicide numerous times, but he just cannot seem to die— so he lets the days pass. and pass. and pass, with nothing else to do but wait for death to take him naturally, then.

reading this heavy book as a manga helped quite a lot with regards to comprehension, and being able to really see the effect of all these tragedies on yozo. i have yet to read the novel itself, but i think reading it in comic form definitely makes it into a relatively lighter experience, as opposed to really being able to read it all in heavy detail.

for this book, i give 🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Ioana · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Am dus o viață copleșitor de rușinoasă." - Așa începe adaptarea grafică a romanului scris de Osamu Dazai, "Dezumanizat" 🖤 Și ce carte, un roller-coaster prin cotloanele întunecate ale omului care se luptă cu demonii singurătății, dar și cu o familie ce i-a distrus încă din copilărie șansa de a fi fericit 🥺 Povestea pe care eu am descoperit-o este în varianta de volum manga, repovestirea și ilustrațiile fiind realizate de Itō Chika 📖 Restul recenzie I îl găsiți într-un articol publicat pe blog ✍️

https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2025/...

[Hachi Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nu cred că „Dezumanizat” mai are nevoie de introduceri, mai ales dacă sunteți pe aici de ceva vreme. Se știe foarte bine despre pasiunea mea pentru scrierile lui Dazai și despre faptul că nu ratez nicio ocazie de a vorbi despre el.
M-am bucurat enorm când am văzut că editura Alice Books va scoate și manga în limba română, iar bucuria a fost și mai mare când primul volum manga a fost chiar emblema editurii, dacă mi se permite să-l numesc astfel pe Dazai.

Această manga este repovestită și ilustrată de Itō Chika. Din punctul meu de vedere, Itō Chika a reușit să transpună destul de bine esența cărții, iar ilustrațiile sale oferă o imagine mai clară asupra bufoneriilor lui Ōba Yōzō.
Deși, poate pentru noi, ca europeni, este puțin mai greu să înțelegem substraturile japonezilor și povestea în sine, aceasta se va lega mereu, pe lângă trăirile personale ale personajului principal, de burghezia din Japonia. Nu de puține ori, Dazai aduce critici asupra claselor sociale și vorbește cu sarcasm despre subiect.
La fel ca în carte, și manga surprinde „dezumanizarea” lui Dazai. Deși, dacă mă întrebați pe mine, aici se vede mult mai bine cum Dazai, deși chinuit de demonii interiori, își plânge prea mult de milă și se autovictimizează.

O recomand? Da. Simt totuși că e ceva ce mă incomodează la această manga? Da, din nou. Îmi dau seama ce? Nu. N-aș ști să spun punctual ce mă deranjează, de fapt, la ea, dar nici nu pot să spun că e un impediment atât de mare.

[tsukibookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consider this as a rereading.

I have always loved No Longer Human, hence to read this book is a pleasant just to think about it. I have a little trauma about NLH manga adaptation but i'm pretty satisfied with this one. I like the illustrations as well. I think it visualized Yozo and his struggles pretty well.

I don't know the exact reason, but reading NLH through this version make me see things in slightly different way. I started to feel sad for Yozo and his struggle to live his life. I think this manga did a very good job at portraying the narratives of NLH because the more i read this manga, the more sad i've become because i understand more and more about Yozo's life.

Loved it.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trecut prea mult timp de la ultima lectură scrisă de Dazai. Iar după ce am citit manga, cred că ar merge cât de curând o recitire pentru Dezumanizat. Mai ales acum, după ce bagajul meu de informații în legătură cu autorul e mult mai mare decât atunci când am citit-o pentru prima dată.

Pe Dazai nu ai cum să îl urăști. Îl poți judeca, disprețui, certa, dar nu ai cum să îl urăști. A fost un om care nu și-a găsit locul și a încercat prin diferite metode ori să se integreze, ori să facă în așa fel încât să suporte. Iar dacă ai dat vreodată mâna cu depresia, te vei găsi de multe ori în papucii lui.

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the book yet, but this manga has a really powerful impact in my opinion. Yozo Oba's story, from the abuse he suffered as a child to his alcoholism and subsequent hospitalization, the failed suicide that doesn't match that of its author, who did succeed. All this brings the sadness of this manga based on a more than vaguely autobiographical book to extreme levels and accentuated by the sparse drawings and even drier dialogue.
Very very good in my opinion.

Ancora non ho letto il libro, ma questo manga ha un impatto veramente potente secondo me. La storia di Yozo Oba, dagli abusi subiti da bambino al suo alcolismo e successivo ricovero, il suicidio fallito che non ricalca quello del suo autore, che invece ci é riuscito. Tutto questo porta la tristezza di questo manga basato su un libro piú che vagamente autobiografico a livelli estremi ed accentuati dagli scarni disegni ed ancora piú asciutti dialoghi. Molto molto bello secondo me.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

[Callum Woodward · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a sad book. Tonally, that is. it deals with depression and alienation but tends to speed through a lot of things just to get to an ambiguous ending. I love Junji Ito's version of this story and that's what made me pick this up but it falls flat compared to it. It could still be worth the read if you're unfamiliar with the story but there are better retellings of this out there without the rush or ambiguity throughout.

[Art Mlang · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion,the artwork does not fit the story pretty well.
I read the novel before and this one is not half as good.
It's decent but not great.

[Olga · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is bleak. Properly bleak.

No Longer Human: The Manga Edition is one of those stories that feels less like something you read and more like something you endure.

From that opening line, “I have lived a life full of shame,” you know exactly what kind of descent you are stepping into. And it is a descent. Into alienation, self-loathing, addiction, despair, performance, and the unbearable loneliness of someone who never quite learns how to be human among other humans.

There is something deeply disturbing about Yozo’s life because so much of it feels like watching a person disappear in real time. He smiles, performs, drinks, drifts, ruins himself, lets others ruin him, and underneath all of it is that awful, hollow sense that he has never truly belonged anywhere.

The manga format makes this accessible and quick to read, but I did feel that the story loses some of its weight in compression. This is such a psychologically dense novel that any shorter adaptation is going to struggle to hold all of its darkness, ambiguity, and rot. Some moments move too quickly. Some emotional turns do not have quite enough space to fully devastate.

That said, it still works.

The core horror of the story is there. The shame is there. The slow unravelling is there. And knowing how autobiographical parts of Dazai’s work are makes it feel even more painful. This is not misery for aesthetic effect. It feels like a wound being translated into fiction.

I am not sure I would call this enjoyable. I don’t think it is meant to be. But it is powerful, uncomfortable, and worth reading if you are interested in Dazai and want a visual entry point into his most famous work.

3★

Dark, sad, disturbing, and emotionally claustrophobic. Not the strongest way to experience No Longer Human, but still a haunting introduction to a story that refuses to look away from human brokenness.

[Allan Olley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adaption of the modern Japanese classic. It is the tale of Yozo Oba a young boy alienated from the world, feeling as if he is not a human being and will be discovered and ostracized, who masks his fear of others and social situations by playing the fool. He makes a living as a writer. He falls into debauchery, drink and eventually drugs. He attempts suicide. The manga depicts all this in a relatively subdued style.

The story touches on abuse and rape. Yozo's life and anxieties can be sympathetic, but is often merely pathetic and he often falls into self-recrimination and I can't guess which impression will dominate for a given reader. The artwork is usually capable of conveying what is going on and so forth but sometimes can be a bit hard to follow, this may be deliberate conveying of ambiguity of the action, but I think it just stems from less than ideal composition choices. Overall I enjoyed it, but it is not for everyone.

I have never read Osamu Dazai's novel, so I can't really comment on the adaption's success or failure at capturing the virtues of the original. I wanted to read the novel, but noticed this was more easily available from my local library via electronic borrowing.

I found the epub relatively readable, but it interacted in some odd way with my ereader generating many extraneous pages which depicted one or two words on a white backgrund and an numbering scheme that was more than double the number of pages.

[Gabriel Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, albeit bleak, tragic, and depressing read. Perhaps the bleakest book I've read so far in my life. I haven't read the original novel, and I bought this manga without knowing the premise to surprise myself. I was indeed surprised when I found out the premise in the middle of reading. This is a detailed portrait of a man losing his hope and humanity. The art style is decent, although the characterizations of the other characters felt rushed and the story is fast paced, a quick read.

[Marie Kos · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read No Longer Human in one day, this is your jam. Dazai is not an author whose novels have been easy for me to get through, so this adaptation was very welcome! The characters are easy to tell apart, the story flows well, and the main messages and experiences of protagonist Yozo Oba are clear. Highly recommend to those who are interested.

[Jimmi Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the original modern edge lord story reprinted in the form of manga. Despite so many characters who are struggling and going through the wars, I found myself not rooting for any of them. Osamu least of all. Despite a tragic life, he seemed to drag anyone that would let him to his level. Despite all that, it was brutally honest, and I struggled to put the book down.

[Trenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool visual way to experience Dazai’s classic. I particularly enjoyed the illustrations of Yozo’s father, really added another metaphorical layer to the story. I suggest read the real novel first.

[Roxana Chirilă · Rating 3 out of 5]

A depressing story, well told. A continued feeling of alienation, an extremely low opinion of oneself, struggles with alcohol and an inability to handle either the good times, or the bad.

It strikes a bit differently when you know it's semi-autobiographical.

[Joana Bookneeders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really hitting. Don’t recommend if u are depressed tho. Either you are going to identify urself with a lot or it will create ideas in your head

[Zoeyreadsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kasian banget si yoba

[Irwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tragic story that is raw and honest! I need to read the novel one day :)

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough but I prefer Usamaru Furuya's adaptation.

[Kathlyn Argudin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is good but a little too graphic for me, and it has an error the servant who corrupted him (Yozo) was a woman not an old man

[Xena Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

the shortest of all 3 adaptations i read so this naturally feels a bit rushed. if you have no idea about the story from the novel or other manga adaptations, you might feel lost at times.

the art style also isn’t for me. this feels more comical on some aspects – not as bleak as i want it to.

nonetheless, this is faithful enough as an adaption. i just feel that given the existence of other better manga adaptions, this falls behind and the lack of edge to it make it more obvious and far inferior.

[Maria Ti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Procesarea gândurilor în progres... Oare trebuia să citesc banda desenată după roman? Poate.

Povestea m-a lăsat cu un gust amar. Desigur, mă așteptam să fie întunecată, însă clar nu e pentru mine. Ilustrațiile au fost potrivite stilului narativ, însă tot am simțit că lipsea ceva.

Sunt sigură că vă întrebați de ce am acordat acestei povești doar două steluțe. Ei bine, pe de o parte i-a lipsit fluiditatea. Am dat peste un vârtej temporal și m-am simțit ca și cum autorul ar fi adăugat și trecutul și prezentul într-un Blender, fără să țină cont de aroma fiecăruia. Pe lângă asta, personajul principal a fost cu totul dezagreabil. Liniar. Lipsit de logică și prins în mrejele unor întâmplări dezagreabile. Deși pot înțelege unele aspecte, în general nu apreciez aceste tipuri de spirale spre minus infinit.

[Arzu Sadigzada · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Izzati · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Prior to reading this manga adaptation, I have watched the anime adaptation Aoi Bungaku, read the English translated novel and also the manga adaptation by Junji Ito. So, I knew what to expect going in. The thing is, I have a somewhat love and hate feelings for this story. Every time I read this work by Osamu Dazai, I feel lots of emotions - disgusted, relatable, sad, angry, pity. I can never praise it highly like others do, but somehow I still feel the pull to read the story in many different formats.

This adaptation if I'm not mistaken, stayed quite true to the novel, unlike Junji Ito's interpretation. In that sense, I much preferred this one even though I love Ito's art style more. Would I recommend this book? Not really, but if you're curious about Dazai, I'd advise reading the novel itself rather than watch the anime or read the manga adaptations.

[Qinlang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lost the capability to argue against the author.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about a week man.