Evening Magazine
Inu Yashiki (INU = Dog; Yashiki = Mansion) is Oku Hiroya's series after Gantz. The first time I read this, I thought it was going to be about a slice-of-life story about an old man. No kidding! The whole chapter was about this old man's life. No aliens, no gore, nothing! And then the ending came. It was unexpected but somehow I expected it to have some kind of Silent Hill joke ending. Anyway, please give it a read!
Spoiler Alert! If you are gonna read this post, please read the actual manga first!
Story: We are introduced with a character who has aged badly. His body can't stop shaking (probably Parkinson's), his hip hurts, and he looks like someone who is always nervous. He's 58 and a salaryman. His name is Inuyashiki; a father of 2 kids and a good husband to his wife. They are currently moving to their newly built house.
Classic Oku Hiroya art style.
A mansion in front, the family thought that it was their own but alas it is not. Their house is overshadowed by the mansion beside theirs and it looks like a regular house for a family of 4-5. The kids are ungrateful and complain about the darkness cast by the mansion beside them. He could only justify his decision with the amount of money he has saved.
Ungrateful kids.
A new day comes and Inuyashiki-san is having trouble with his morning commute where he gets flattened by the crowd riding the train. His daughter is the typical snobbish girl who fawns over a good looking guy, while his son is the type of kid who gets bullied a lot. His wife is a cashier at a grocery store where she slaves away for her family.
Inuyashiki-san comes home from work riding the train. Beside him, a high schooler who is disrespectful towards him. He tries to take a stand but fails to muster the courage to stand his ground. Later, his son is with his friend and they both see him eating gyuudon (beef bowl) alone. His son's friend thinks about how lonely a man could get to eat gyuudon at a store alone.
Don't eat Gyuudon alone.
The next day, he decides to get a dog. He adopts a grown dog (I don't know what breed but it looks like a mix between a Corgi and a Husky) and the family, dissatisfied at his every decision. He names her Hanako.
If I had a dog, I'll name her Hanako too! Such a sweet name! :3
Inuyashiki-san then goes to the nearby convenience store and witnesses a "bullying" happening when he sees his son buying stuff too. Walking a distance, a bullying happens between street thugs and a salaryman. He wants to take action but he knows his limits and therefore leaves. They stop at a nearby building to try and call the police for the incident but the boy stops him because he knows that he can never have a strong dad.
Don't go to New Zealand, kid.
One morning, he receives a letter in the mail saying that he needs more to undergo through more medical testing. Turns out, he has stomach cancer. He only has three months to live. Putting salt to the wound, his family doesn't answer his calls. He spends the whole day in a playground sitting in a swing, reflecting about his life and he tears up. Coming home, he sees Hanako tied up outside for defecating inside the house. If the cancer isn't enough to make a man crumble, his family sees him as another person despite his condition.
Life is short. You never know when aliens will crash and burn in front of you.
Taking Hanako for a walk, he tries to talk to her to say what is on his mind. He lets go of Hanako's leash but she chased him. They end up in a park where Inuyashiki-san cried loudly. He notices someone's presence, looks up and sees a young man staring into the sky. He face towards the sky, only to see a bright light. An explosion happens, right where Inuyashiki-san was a moment ago. Hanako barking endlessly like she faces a threat. A strange conversation between unknown creatures happens. "They" talk about the damage of the impact. Two casualties are to be restore but due to the current situation, they could not restore them fully and instead restore their physical appearance. They also stated something about the planet being destroyed and they leave.
Aliens. Therefore I don't know.
Hanako still barking, we see a robot trying to piece together a human frame. Presumably some time has passed when Inuyashiki-san comes into being. Hanako, being the loyal dog she is, awaits for her master. She barks but Inuyashiki disregards it and gets Hanako's leash to go back home.
How can Hanako be okay with a robot?
Likes: The drama of living. Basically the whole chapter focuses on Inuyashiki-san and his everyday suffering. I like things that are depressing like this because (I know it's selfish) we who are fortunate should be grateful for not having to go through the lives of the characters in the story. They suffer in our minds so we would not make their mistakes. Also, this is a good image of a family. It's not all "I love my family!" always and reality is harsher than what we could imagine.
The characters are so realistic! How is this possible?! Don't tell me this happened in real life!
Dislikes: None. The first chapter is great! This is a good imitation of reality.
Quirks: A robot replaced Inuyashiki-san. Hasta La Vista, BABY!
 |
| AYLL BEE BAAAK! |
She's so cute!
This is a bi-monthly series so I have a lot of time to catch up with the next one. Hopefully we get the next one out quickly so I have more material to work with! :3
No comments:
Post a Comment