...so don't expect it to be particularly deep or well-thought-out, lest you be disappointed like takitogr was. In fact, Azuma Hideo himself warns the readers as such in the very first page of the manga.

The story is humorous and light, and despite its rather silly tone manages to be quite realistic and (occasionally) grim - especially when it details the pressures of being a mangaka and how the lack of freedom to write what they enjoy eventually drives authors to resent the very line of work they were once so passionate about.
And I doubt I could find another autobiography out there which relays the experiences of an alcoholic in as innovative a fashion as this one. Shissou Nikki has its own brand of unique humour that never failed to make me laugh, regardless of the situation being discussed.

I also find the exclusion of the Azuma family from the story a bit surprising...but there could be any number of reasons for that; including privacy concerns and consent issues or the mangaka's reluctance to divulge his 'family secrets' -- therefore, while it does diminish the quality of the story ever-so-slightly, I won't be harsh with my rating simply based on that small issue.

... Last updated on May 2nd, 2011, 6:35am

i have mixed emotions about this

i've read quite a lot autobiographical comic books until now...this one is a bit unique at the comedic way it presents some very sad situations...but i guess that's probably because the mangaka made comedy manga quite exclusively throughout his career?

the story feels unfinished with a bad ending and no inner thoughts or outlook on what happened..it just finished...quite horrible way to end...it feels half because we don't get to see the kids at all! and his wife's thoughts are just ignored and not presented that much...it gives me the impression that hideo azuma just started a serialization on what happened throughout this period of his life...he didn't plan a book and sat and think about it beforehand...how to fit everything on 200 pgs and make it seem like a complete story covering most of the bases...it doesn't really stand as a fully satisfying read that gives you a lot of insight...i bet how his wife and kids reacted after his dissapearances would prove to be funny as well but it's like his family is non-existent! he prefers to go on and on about various people he met throughout his adventures rather than even dare to talk about his family...quite weird

neverthelss, it is an interesting read and i still can't believe how can someone go homeless from stress and pressure and prefer to endure a week without sleeping out on the streets!!! i would run back screaming promising never to do it again...he's quite inventive as well!! i couldn't believe how bright he was with surviving eventhough he would be obviously exhausted from being homeless..it is generally very interesing apart from some uninteresting parts like all the info on pipe fitting where at a point he says something like "i'll stop this now because it starts to get a bit complex and there's no point"...there's a feeling that he created this manga in real time without planning it beforehand...he admits it at a point that he just goes on and never goes back to make corrections at his work...hmmm

... Last updated on May 5th, 2010, 3:30am

and so it has been made with as much realism removed as possible.

I love the tagline. This is a look at pretty crappy events. You get a feel for how hard it is to be a manga ka, among other things. Yet it doesn´t try to throw you in despair, and its a very smooth read, and sometimes humourous.

Though towards the end, when it starts dealing with alcoholism, it gets serious even if it doesn´t want to. Hopefully it´ll make people more concious, since nowadays people rarely limit themselves.

Its from his perspective but you get a feeling his wife is a good person who also suffered. And I wish we could have seen more of that. His family´s side could be a whole other book since we see little of his kids.
So I recommend it. It´s easy to breeze through the manga but its a large volume. You could easily break it in fourths. The amazing thing being how it deals with things but their left in the background.