HOMUNCULUS

One of the primary frustrations of following a monthly series is the occasionally painfully long hiatuses series take. Case in point, Homunculus. A psychologically dense, sinister maze of a comic, one that demands the reader’s attention to past events and symbols that aren’t always so obvious, at this point in time – it’s unclear whether this gem will ever see a new chapter again. And they chose potentially the worst possible place to leave everyone hanging. Upon the precipice of clarity, upon the moment of the greatest clarity and insight into a character whose odd behavior has become at best, muddy after 100+ chapters of deep, tangled story.

Homunculus plays itself carefully, often appearing more like a dense puzzle than a coherent narrative, partially due to Hideo Yamamoto’s meticulous approach to character detail and pace – as scenarios unfold throughout the story, there’s the sense that the author is taking his time to unveil what lays behind the curtain – or even opening up the answer at all. This rarely feels frustrating more so, there’s an overwhelming desire to keep on going into the psyches of these people, however grotesque their desires may be. On the surface, one might make a comparison to the bodyshock horror of David Cronenberg, but the visual oddities the series presents through it’s premise often present a well-hidden study of the id, ego and the unconscious the visual oddities can present. The premise as such, feels quite secondary to this. But as such, at its simplest Homunculus is the story of a man with a hole drilled in his head so he can see the forms human hide from the outside world, the images people project upon themselves, or the images the protagonist, Nakoshi projects upon people. It’s rarely clear whether Nakoshi is lacking sanity or not.

The stream of characters and settings is a consistent flux and flow of people, with only two central figures taking to the drawn stage at any given time, the rest serve as instruments of discovery and identity, within Nakoshi’s mind, he’s an exorcist of sorts, expelling the personal demons by the order of the man who drilled the hole in his head, Ito. As one navigates the flux of people, we find examinations of the human mind brought fourth through the curious ‘power’ Nakoshi has been granted, be it the masculine yakuza boss who clings to the harm he inflicted as a child or the hollow businessman who lacks any identity at all, there’s a great care put into the visual symbolism at play here – At it’s best, Homunculus plays its intrigue as if it were eluding the reader, not letting on too much information, instead letting the reader figure out the symbols on their own, playing the hand it has with care and caution, and rarely slipping into a hyperbolic reveal of information. I’d forewarn those who look for action within their comics/manga that this isn’t that – it’s a carefully plotted mystery and a mind game; the work is driven by visual language and expert storytelling. Those who have never enjoyed a comic, or dismiss the form as childish, this is a proud example of storytelling built for the thinking person, its dynamic, well drawn and fully worth anyone’s time – and much like Hideo Yamato’s previous effort, Ichi the Killer, it’s deceptively labyrinthine, although it shares a similar attitude and approach to story, I can guarantee you this is nowhere near the violence that particular series contains, so no worries if you’re squeamish.

-Les Yper Sounds.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Great manga, Hideo Yamamato, Homunculus, Ichi The Killer, Manga