Haruki Murakami Manga Stories 1: Super-Frog Saves Tokyo, Where I'm Likely to Find It, Birthday Girl, The Seventh Man by Jean-Christophe Deveney

Haruki Murakami Manga Stories 1: Super-Frog Saves Tokyo, Where I'm Likely to Find It, Birthday Girl, The Seventh Man Reviews

• 
  Liong

  I rated this manga book 5 stars because I loved the short stories.
  
  While the art style is not necessarily my usual preference, the artwork itself is incredibly expressive.
  
  The manga features four short stories that I have already read:
  
  "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo."
  
  "Where I'm Likely to Find It."
  
  "Birthday Girl." (My personal favourite 😍 )
  
  "The Seventh Man."
  
  I truly enjoyed this manga and recommend it for casual reading.
  
  However, be advised that it contains mature themes and graphic content, including [specific examples of mature themes or graphic content].
• 
  s.penkevich

  ‘The battle was fought in your imagination. And the imagination is our battlefield. That’s where we win, and that’s where we lose.’
  
  I’ve always been particularly charmed by the short stories of Hairuki Murakami and it seems a no-brainer to have his work adapted into a manga format. I’m mostly surprised this was my first time encountering such an adaptation and I wonder if previous ones have existed that just never made it’s way to the US. Hairuki Murakamai Manga Stories presents four different stories adapted by Jean-Christophe Deveney and with artwork from PMGL (while the word manga is in the title, the pages and frames all read from left to right and pages front to back) and gives a unique, visual offering into the variety of tales Murakami crafts. Its a fun exercise and while I’m not entirely sure these were the ideal selection of stories and found a bit of dissonance between the art and the way his stories often feel when reading them this was still worth picking up. Especially for long-time fans of the author, though for those looking for an introduction to him I would probably not recommend this as a good first read as, while it presents the whimsicality and range of his narratives, it lacks the actual writing that makes his stories so endlessly readable and enjoyable. Still, it is a fine collectors piece and I will certainly be checking out the second volume.
  
  
  I once read a critic question why someone would do a film adaption of a book where the main character is the writing (I believe it was James Franco’s adaptation of
  Child of God by
  Cormac McCarthy?). While I do often find film and books to be less of a compatible medium as Hollywood would like us to believe, I tend to find graphic novel adaptations to be enjoyable more often. This one, however, I think falls under the aforementioned critic’s question, particularly as the stories chosen here are not particularly enhanced by giving them a visual treatment. Super-Frog Saves Tokyo is an obvious exception, as the aspects of a giant frog showing up in an apartment and some of the later scenes are pretty exciting to see visually, but the rest are all more or less mundane without feeling them through Murakami’s writing. His writing is what keeps me coming back almost more than his often surreal and zany stories and here you are lacking the vibes of his descriptions, the narrators’ internal thoughts wrestling with ambiguous emotions, and Murakami’s gift of rather soothing storytelling. Which is what makes most of these stories so good in the first place. Perhaps a visual adaptation of one of his novels would have been a better choice as his short stories do tend to be more ponderous and geared towards experiencing some enigmatic sadness.
  
  
  That said, these are rather faithful adaptations and do probe to the heart of the emotional undercurrents. The art didn’t really capture for me how I tend to feel his stories inside myself when I read them, but its not bad either. I did really enjoy that the style changes for each story and I found Where I'm Likely to Find It and The Seventh Man to work much better artistically than the others, with the latter being a really good visual vibe for the story. I’m not backpedaling here, I actually really did have a good time with this collection, but my mind just seems to notice what felt amiss more than what worked.
  
  
  Worth picking up, and I will definitely still be reading the next volume when it arrives in 2024, Hairuki Murakamai Manga Stories is a quick but entertaining way to experience Murakami in visual format.
  
  3.5/5
  
  
• 
  Drew Canole

  Definitely not manga. Calling this manga is like calling Ghandi a Bollywood film. It's a western style comic adaptation of Japanese short stories. Pretty ugly art at times with a pen that looked like it was running out of ink. I did like the art of the Super-Frog and of the tidal waves in the final story.
  
  I haven't read the original stories but this did get me interested in reading some of Haruki Murakami work.
• 
  Denise

  These stories read like a Twilight Zone episode. Mental Health is a big theme throughout and they are interesting in a quirky "huh" way. Loved the Super Frog episode and the Birthday Girl. I'm still left with a feeling of incompleteness in regards to the stories even though they each have a resolution it just seems like there's still story to be told, like you're catching something in your peripheral but never head on. It's a weird feeling and worth it on that merit alone. The artwork is very manga but like old school which kind of tracks considering the characters we're reading and seeing. Recommend? Yes. Is it the best? No. But it is interesting and thought provoking.
• 
  Trish Elizabeth

  The thing about Murakami is that his writing is really good. His prose, his descriptions, his settings. So when we take his stories and turn them into comics, all of that is lost. And we're left with a very hollow version of what his stories are about - and, in this case, the UGLIEST comic i've ever read. And it's certainly not manga.
  
  When I come across art in graphic novels I don't like, I usually think it's just not my art taste. But I hate the art in this comic it's awful.
  
  The stories themselves... are okay. Murakami has a bad habit of getting something nice going and then ruining it with the most out of pocket sexual comment, and it's much more noticeable in this format.
• 
  Nique 💫 chroniqled ✨

  if you are a fan of Murakami and comics, you are sure to enjoy his short stories in manga form.
  
  this was quite an entertaining read for me. i had to keep myself from finishing it all in one sitting!! so i limited myself to one story a day hehe
  
  i loved how the art style kept changing, and suited each story uniquely. if you’ve read the actual short stories, you would have a lot of fun trying to spot the little details in the comic panels from the original text 🥰 it took me a while to get through each story because of this 😌
  
  one of my favourite Murakami short stories ever is Super Frog Saves Tokyo— i find it so hilarious and i was so glad to see it had been turned into a manga, since i am also a manga reader.
  
  in this collection, though, if i had to choose a favourite, it would be The Seventh Man. this story, told in comic style, managed to evoke such a melancholic feel, as if i, the reader, was going to be sucked into the storm as well (you would know what i mean if you’ve read this story, or are planning to).
  
  all in all, i give this book 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
  do take note i might be biased because i am am Murakami superfan HAHAHA so i am speaking to all the fans like me out there as well: this is a MUST READ ✋🏻🥹 now i’m itching to reread Murakami’s short story collections now ✊🏼😩
  
  this baby will be out on October 24th!! ♥️
  
  thank you so much to @tuttlepublishing for giving me this gorgeous copy 🥰✨ #niquereviews #harukimurakami #tuttlepublishing
• 
  Sara

  I don't have a great track record with Murakami, so why I though his manga would be any better I don't know. I hated the artwork in this - it's scratchy and dark without adding anything particularly of interest to the text. All of thr stories are a bit odd too, with no clear plot line and abrupt endings. I also really don't get Murakami's obsession with adding odd sexualised comments to mundane conversations either. One minute a man is talking to a super frog about saving Tokyo, and then the next he's mentoning he has a tight foreskin. Out of nowhere. Just why?
  
  The only story I have enjoyed was The Seventh Man, which is about a man who is traumatised after a childhood accident involving a friend and a brutal typhoon leading to a lifetime fear of water. However even that was a struggle because there's just no point to the story, and the text itself is brief and fleeting adding no depth to the plot.
  
  Very meh for me.
• 
  Peacegal

  This is a unique and cool collection of supernaturally-themed short stories, rendered in graphic novel form in detailed and engaging art. This one has appeal even for those who aren't normally fans of manga--with its large color artwork and Western-style reading format, there's less of a learning curve for American readers.
• 
  Nicoleta-Letiția

  Seeing what I've read is literally one of the most wonderful and pleasing things in life for me, so this book brought me so much joy.
  It's a quick and enjoyable read. Might also be a good option if you got into a reading slump.
  One thing that is a bit unclear for me is why they decided to leave the "manga" in the title? As far as I know, manga is actually written from back to front. These stories are adapted for the English readers and are depicted from front to back, just like normal comics. In any case, this is just an observation, as in the end this doesn't really matter because the book is still fantastic.
• 
  Zsa Zsa

  This one was a head scratcher.
  I’ll probably reread it soon.
  The second one is coming out April 8th.
  Can’t wait to read that one.
• 
  eci

  I am not much of a manga or a comic book person, obviously I bought this purely because of Murakami. Frog was adorable though lol
• 
  Julian

  Beautifully rendered artwork that really captured the emotion of the stories. The stories themselves were enjoyable but they often lacked a satisfying ending with more style than substance. Perhaps the original stories capture the themes better, but in this condensed format I found the stories either overly esoteric or overly simplistic.
  My favourite story was the frog who saves Tokyo, and the frog is an excellently rendered character, and is highly expressive.
  
  A very stylish book that is worth the time it takes to read but won’t cause any revelations.
• 
  Michael

  The thing about Murakami is that he never (with the exception of Norwegian Wood) limits himself to surface, or even normal, realities and experiences. His unique metaphysical bent instead blends the real world with parallel worlds and he asks you to find the truths in both. A nearly impossible thing to pull off with any real depth in comic book format, though this does poke at the edges. So yeah, it was kinda fun. It's Murakami, so it's going to be a bit off, anyway. Thank you for the book, Chiddies! XO
• 
  Peter Derk

  It’s my own fault for not paying attention and reading a graphic novel that adapts existing stories.
  
  I’m not a fan of that act because I think it often ends up feeling like a cash grab, a way to repurpose existing material and sell it again. Which I don’t begrudge anyone. God knows I’d sell the same book a hundred times to the same person if I could.
  
  In fact, a couple years back I can up with this book/scam called “The story that sold 1,000,000 copies.” It was a book with the same one-sentence story in it printed one million times. If I sold one copy, I could, from that day forward, claim I’d sold one million short stories.
  
  The problem is that I could not figure out a way to legibly print a very short story 1 million times within Amazon’s print page limit. I created MANY a questionable InDesign file in pursuit of this goal, and while I haven’t given up, I would say it’s an idea that may never see the actual light of day other than being buried in a Goodreads review with a tenuous relationship to the story I’m telling.
  
  I could just lie and tell everyone I sold a million stories. Who can stop me? And is that lie really very different from the lie I’d be telling by selling one copy of one book with a million repeats of the same story?
  
  Yes and no.
  
  No because, well, while selling the copy would be technically true, I know exactly what I’m doing and why it’s still a lie.
  
  Yes because I am a believer in the occasional healthy scam. I think it keeps things interesting. Like some sort of feline fish.
  
  A healthy scam must:
  
  -Be truly harmless. The worst harm that would befall anyone would be purchasing one of my books because the person was fooled into thinking I was more popular than I was. This seems unlikely and even at its worst, harmless.
  
  -require an amount of work that almost makes the scam not worth it, so the scammer only makes off with a very marginal profit/gain/spoil.
  
  -Not involve dragging any friends or acquaintances through the mud with you (unless they’re 100% in the know and on board).
  
  -not involve an exit in a special vehicle. In movies this is usually getting on a helicopter with a briefcase full of a thing that’s money that most people have never heard of (some kind of Banker’s Super Bonds or some shit), and in real life the vehicle is likely a pink Cadillac.
  
  
• 
  Puty

  This is a graphic novel consists of 4 short stories originally written by Haruki Murakami. Adapted by Jean-Cristophe Deveney, illustrated by PMGL, this is an interesting visual representation of Haruki Murakami's typical works; mysterious, less plot more vibe kind of works (at least for me), mundane yet stirring some darker corners of your mind. I would suggest to just enjoy this book without really comparing how you usually feel when you read Haruki Murakami's writing.
  
  Btw the artwork is not in manga style but it suits the stories I guess🤷🏻‍♀️
  
  If you're into Haruki Murakami & graphic novels, go get this as a collectible item 😚
• 
  char rose

  THANK YOU KATELYN this was such a personal and perfect Christmas gift and I tore through it in one setting. The art style was a little darker and more abstract than I expected but I think that it fit really well with the four short stories depicted. Since I had read all of the original stories before seeing them in manga it was even more fun.
• 
  Claire

  I found this rather interesting. I have read some of Murakami's short stories but not all of them, so some of these are new to me. I loved Frog. And I feel like the art went well with the stories. And it's an interesting mix of stories as well. Looking forward to the next one.
• 
  Javier Rivera

  I haven't read the stories these are based on, so take this with a grain of salt.
  
  The illustrations are powerful, but I was left wondering if there was something I missed in the adaptation. Guess I know what I'm reading next-
• 
  Redbear

  The art style was 100% not for me, and literally not even manga?? Frog was done well though. I love Frog, just not the story.
  
  Also idk who PMGL is (the “illustrator”) but he’s impossible to find online, a complete ghost. And to be honest if I did work like this and called it ‘manga’ I’d be hiding from the world too.
  
  
  The only story that I enjoyed that had any sentiment at all was “The Seventh Man”. Thank god I didn’t buy this and got it from my library because I would be super pissed.
• 
  Mark

  They sure know how to market Murakami's work and this graphic novel collection of 4 of his short stories (the first of 3 volumes) is pure genius. I was impressed how beautifully illustrated and well-adapted it was. Now, we have something to tie us over, until his new novel comes out next year.
  
• 
  Meg

  Meh. The drawings were okay, pretty crude but then again so is Murakami. The stories definitely work better as literary pieces than “manga.”
• 
  Faidz Zainal Abidin

  3.5 ⭐
• 
  Raven

  My first introduction to Murakami!
  Interesting stories.
• 
  James Michael

  Haruki Murakami's writing is so good that he can tell a story that doesn't go anywhere and it doesn't matter, because you're so swept away by the beauty of his language.
  
  Adapt that into comics and you just have... a collection of stories that don't really go anywhere.
  
  This isn't bad, but it feels like a fundamentally wrong-headed exercise to translate an author into a medium that strips away his single greatest strength.
  
  
• 
  Vv

  I probably would have rated this higher if the illustrations weren’t quite as disturbing. The stories were interesting and had a good amount of range. I didn’t mind the roughness of the art but most of the faces just deeply unsettled me in ways I don’t think were intended.
• 
  Beth Anne

  I don’t think this is the best reworking of Murakami’s stories but I liked the illustrations.
• 
  Achille

  I enjoyed the story, but the art style does not work for me and the way I envisioned Murakami’s shorts. Nonetheless, I did enjoy reading it.
• 
  Averil *rat emoji*

  Don’t expect a tidy story with a comfortable conclusion. Each story has that otherworldly flavour so typical of Murakami. It’s ambiguous and strange. My favourite was Birthday Girl. I think the wondering you’re left with is completely intentional, if we knew the wish, I think it would be half the story it is.
• 
  Emilie Carrey

  Honestly I’m not sure what I expected since it’s still Murakami at the end of the day but the first story deeply disturbed me. Some were well done and really depicted visually what Murakamis mind looks like but overall I was left feeling very unsure how to feel about it.
• 
  Preethi

  I didn’t like the artwork a lot.