[MANGA] Manga review “Real”

In a recent manga review for the Daily Yomiuri, Inoue Takehiko reviews the manga “Real”.

Inoue wrote, “Turning to the last page of Vol. 7 of Real, I found myself saddened and disappointed. Takehiko Inoue, the artist and writer behind this manga, seemed at first to be cashing in on his hugely successful Slam Dunk series, which was about a basketball team, by having Real be about a wheelchair basketball team. Sensing a retread, I had opened Vol. 1 of Real with lowered expectations.”

“Boy, was I wrong. And so was the publishing company for promoting this as a sports manga.”

“Yes, the story (which has sold 9 million copies so far) centers on the Tokyo Tigers, a wheelchair basketball team struggling to become the top of its division. Despite this being the setting, though, the story is much more of a so-called human drama in which the characters deal with their disabilities, be they physical, mental or–in the case of character Nobuhisa Takahashi–personality-based.”

“The award-winning story bounces between three main characters: Kiyoharu Togawa, a wheelchair-bound 19-year-old who is a talented and passionate–some would say too passionate–basketball player; Tomomi “Kobe Bryant” Nomiya, a high school dropout who starts the series off by attacking Takahashi; and Takahashi, an arrogant high school superstar who excels at sports, grades and girls.”

More on this article