Books: Old Boy Vol. #8

It’s over. The English-language translation of Old Boy, the manga that served as the inspiration for one of the best movies of recent years, has run its course at last. That said, the book and movie diverged broadly enough that to talk about one in the context of the other seems almost unfair: they’re not the same thing, and aren’t intended to be. They’re different animals, and in many respects they accomplish different things. The manga is not the movie, and over its length it doesn’t quite have the same impact (what could?), but taken as a whole Old Boy the manga is still extremely impressive. It’s a series that I hold back on giving higher marks to if only because I suspect many people will find it frustrating, not enthralling.

At the end of Goto’s quest, he has found that his tormentor of ten years, “Dojima” — real name Kakinuma, fellow classmate in elementary school — has been running the whole shooting match behind the scenes in many different ways. He used hypnotism to suppress Goto’s memory of a crucial emotional event in their childhoods; he used hypnotism to get him and his newly-found girlfriend Eri to meet and fall in love; and now he’s banked his entire sense of self on the outcome of his game. If Kakinuma loses — if Goto can figure out what happened so long ago, despite the blocks erected in his path — then Kakinuma will take his own life.

Article originally written for AMN. Click here to read full text.