Nihon no Kyoudai is easily one of the most unusual manga I've come across. Matsumoto Taiyo's stories do, more often than not, possess a definite sense of direction; and I've always been impressed by the messages he attempts to convey though his characters and their tales.

But this collection of short stories entirely digresses from that feature; and took me completely by surprise.
Most of the stories have little to no underlying morals (at least, not ones that I could comprehend); and yet, as a mangaka highly skilled in the field of surrealism, Matsumoto manages to maintain a sense of intrigue throughout.

If nothing else, sheer curiosity will keep you reading until the end.

As anyone familiar with this mangaka will know, his art-style is atypical and fluid, with little emphasis on the accuracy of shapes or sizes; but a manga such as this would be utterly incompatible with anything more ordinary.

Overall - not much to be gained from this short work - but it is still priceless in terms of sheer entertainment value.

... Last updated on February 7th, 2011, 5:50am