is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

written and illustrated by

Suehiro Maruo is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, and painter. Biography Maruo graduated from junior high school in March 1972 but dropped out of senior high school. At the age of 15, he moved to Tokyo and began working for a bookbinder. At 17, he made h ...

and based on a 1926 novella of the same name by

Edogawa Ranpo , better known by the pen name , was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was t ...

. The manga adaptation was published in English by

Last Gasp (The) Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) Last Gasp is a San Francisco–based book publisher with a lowbrow art and counterculture focus. Owned and operated by Ron Turner, for most of its existence Last Gasp was a publisher, dis ...

on July 1, 2013.

Plot

Hitomi Hirosuke, a struggling novelist, writes a story titled "The Tale of RA" about a protagonist who suddenly gains wealth and constructs a utopian paradise where everyone can live in their idyllic fantasies and hedonistic desires are indulged in blissful pleasure. His editor informs him that his wealthy boarding school friend, Genzaburo Komoda, who is the son of a renowned industrial magnate, has died. Hitomi forms a plan in order to impersonate the dead Genzaburo, who looks exactly like him, to gain his wealth and fortune. He fakes his suicide and

exhume Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

Genzaburo's corpse, hiding it and pulling out his own tooth to match Genzaburo's false one. When Hitomi is discovered in Genzaburo's hometown, a doctor attributes his resurrection to

catalepsy Catalepsy (from Ancient Greek , , "seizing, grasping") is a neurological condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain. Signs and symptoms Sympt ...

and Hitomi successfully passes for Genzaburo. After he takes over all aspects of the industrialist's life, Hitomi, who still daydreaming about his desire to build a paradise, travels to

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

where he convinces his family advisor, Tsunoda, of his plan to build an idyllic

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

on the nearby island of

Nakanoshima is a 3 km long and 50 hectares narrow sandbank in Kita-ku, Osaka city, Japan, that divides the Kyū-Yodo into the Tosabori and Dōjima rivers. Many governmental and commercial offices (including the city hall of Osaka), museums and oth ...

, relocating the fishermen living there. In order to build an artificially constructed "paradise", he finances the construction by selling the Komoda family's industry to improve the island's infrastructure and appeases his business associate by giving him their kiln. Meanwhile, Genzaburo's widow, Chiyoko, whose late husband has been replaced by ill-intentioned Hitomi, learns about his deception after he has sex with her. Near the completion of the

resort island A resort island (French ''Île-hôtel''; "hotel island") is a hotel complex located on an island; in many cases one luxury hotel may own the entire island. More broadly, resort island can be defined as any island or an archipelago that contains ...

, Hitomi sends invitations to the island's villagers and escorts Chiyoko to the island on a tour. Upon the entrance to the island through an aquarium tunnel, he shows her extravagant manmade landscapes filled with entrancing music, complete with flowing waterfalls, luxurious grand palaces, enchanted

pleasure garden A pleasure garden is a park or garden that is open to the public for recreation and entertainment. Pleasure gardens differ from other public gardens by serving as venues for entertainment, variously featuring such attractions as concert halls, b ...

, precious statues, frolicking attractive people romping on slopes carpeted with rainbow-colored flowers, and portions of the island made to look larger optically like a

panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

. Having been entranced and overwhelmed by the island's

optical illusion In visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide varie ...

, Chiyoko unconsciously collapses, and Hitomi chokes and drowns her to death. After the construction has been finished, Hitomi decides to stay here and becomes a proprietor of his world, with the guests and employees enjoying staying at Panorama Island to live in fantastical leisure. However, sometime later, one of his servants receives a letter from a private detective named

Kogoro Akechi is a fictional private detective created by Japanese Mystery fiction, mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. Overview Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a ps ...

, who has read "The Tale of RA" and visits the island to discover Hitomi's act. Hitomi, realizing his identity has been exposed after confessing his deception, leaves the island and commits suicide by launching himself into a firework, leaving the island pouring in a rain of blood.

History

Japanese mystery and suspense author

originally serialized his novella ''The Strange Tale of Panorama Island'' in the October 1926 issue of ''Shinseinen''.

Reception

The manga won the New Artist Prize at the 13th

Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Current ...

in 2009 and was nominated in 2014 for an

Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium The Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium is an award for "creative achievement" in American comic books. History and name change The award was launched in 2010 as Best Adaptation from Another Work. No award was given in 2011. In 2 ...

References

External links

* 2008 manga Comics based on works by Edogawa Ranpo Comics based on fiction Enterbrain manga Fantasy anime and manga Fictional islands Magic realism Manga based on novels One-shot manga Seinen manga Suehiro Maruo Winners of the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (New Artist Prize) Works about vacationing {{manga-stub

Plot

History

Reception

See also

References

External links