Ayako

This piece of glorious work really caught me off guard. Ayako by Ozamu Tezuka was like opening a Christmas present from granny, and getting the newest best video game. At the beginning I was skeptical of this work. The story was moving slowly and I thought it would be just another slice of life piece.

This slice of life however, was like biting into a delicious black cherry forest cake. 

The more I savored and read Ayako the more intrigued I was. The story has so many layers, I don't even know where to begin! It all revolves around the strange Tenge family but specially poor and sweet Ayako. Jiro Tenge returned from the war and became an American spy. He also discovered there was a new little girl who was birthed by his sister-in-law. But who was the father? Why was she treated so horribly by his brother? Why was she hidden? Turns out Ayako and Jiro shared a father. In the hopes of hiding this secret, Ayako is presumed dead and hidden from the outside world for years, until she comes out, along with her secret, and misery comes to her family. 

I repeat, there is so much to this manga, that I don't know what to focus on. This story was like reading a tragic soap opera and wishing that the main character found happiness. Ayako's sad life was the result of a deranged family surrounded by incest and death. This poor sweet girl never asked to be involved in the mess her life became. Unfortunately, I believe Ayako never found the happiness she sought to be present for long. One thing that caught me of guard and made me feel uncomfortable was the level of violence towards women in this manga. Today, I don't believe this would be acceptable, but in that time period respect towards women was hardly found. The pain endured by Ayako's mom and Ayako herself is something to admire, but not something to condone. It became so that at times I didn't want to read what happened next. 

But something else incredible that I found out, was that the creator of this piece, was the same as Astro Boy.  Now that! is diversity... Artists like these are the ones to admire. While Astro Boy has some tragedy in its story, it is not as far and mature as Ayako. Tezuka demonstrates that he is not a one trick pony and his art and story telling can appeal to different age groups and tastes. On one hand we have an incredibly sad slice of life and on the other hand we have a super boy that saves the world! That is true artistry!