trapdoor's review against another edition
4.0
thirteen short stories (often with a fun twist)
i liked it
i liked it
markwillnevercry's review
3.75
Nice and short. Favourite stories: 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 13. Wish there were no poop jokes.
dajna's review against another edition
3.0
Caruccio, è una sequenza di storie buffe e/o improbabili. Stante la passione per i gatti del protagonista, e il suo amore per il gatto invisibile che gli fa danni in casa, non potevo non apprezzarlo.
gcamelopardalis's review
2.0
I bought this book for like 5 bucks at the comic shop because I liked the art and the back cover sounded interesting - a series of vignettes set in modern Japan.
Yeah... So about the only part of this I enjoyed was the ending bit about cats? And even the cat story was so full of poop that I was just like...why...
The art was nice but this is such a Gross Man(tm) book. Like it's not edgy to make a bunch of poop jokes. Nothing in this really made sense, either.
Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm missing some massive cultural context here, considering this is a translation from a Japanese author. I have no idea.
Yeah... So about the only part of this I enjoyed was the ending bit about cats? And even the cat story was so full of poop that I was just like...why...
The art was nice but this is such a Gross Man(tm) book. Like it's not edgy to make a bunch of poop jokes. Nothing in this really made sense, either.
Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm missing some massive cultural context here, considering this is a translation from a Japanese author. I have no idea.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
2.0
I've told the story to several people of the time I recommended [b:I Kill Giants|6435893|I Kill Giants|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356121155s/6435893.jpg|6625451] to one of my exes because he enjoyed manga, completely forgetting that the emotional core of that book (no spoilers here) tied deeply into his own childhood in a way that would lead to an emotional breakdown.
The thing is, I've recommended that book to at least hundreds of people. And as someone whose relationship with Joe Kelly's writing is split evenly between This Is Pretty Good ([b:Four Eyes, Vol. 1: Forged in Flames|8666523|Four Eyes, Vol. 1 Forged in Flames (Four Eyes #1)|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435998904s/8666523.jpg|13538097] and [b:Space Ghost|707920|Space Ghost|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177483077s/707920.jpg|694194]), and Fuck This Guy ([b:Bad Dog, Vol. 1: In The Land Of Milk And Money|22129931|Bad Dog, Vol. 1 In The Land Of Milk And Money|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1433923801s/22129931.jpg|41476308] and [b:Bang! Tango|24888224|Bang! Tango|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430166570s/24888224.jpg|44536732]), I credited [a:Ken Niimura|4800063|Ken Niimura|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s art for being the most important part of why I love I Kill Giants.
Henshin isn't supposed to be anything like I Kill Giants. It's a series of short stories about transformations in ordinary life. Or so it claims. The opening story about a girl escaping bullying by visiting her uncle in Tokyo (who might possibly be Yakuza...we aren't given time to tell) is not an ordinary life story. There are other stories about cats, stories about...fart ghosts? and stories about how missing a train can derail your life, but I didn't connect with a single character in this collection. For me, this was a series of shrugs, some drawn beautifully, some just competently.
I don't know who I'd recommend this to. There's much better manga out there for off-kilter nearly normal stories, and I don't think anyone who doesn't already enjoy manga would enjoy reading this.
The thing is, I've recommended that book to at least hundreds of people. And as someone whose relationship with Joe Kelly's writing is split evenly between This Is Pretty Good ([b:Four Eyes, Vol. 1: Forged in Flames|8666523|Four Eyes, Vol. 1 Forged in Flames (Four Eyes #1)|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435998904s/8666523.jpg|13538097] and [b:Space Ghost|707920|Space Ghost|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177483077s/707920.jpg|694194]), and Fuck This Guy ([b:Bad Dog, Vol. 1: In The Land Of Milk And Money|22129931|Bad Dog, Vol. 1 In The Land Of Milk And Money|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1433923801s/22129931.jpg|41476308] and [b:Bang! Tango|24888224|Bang! Tango|Joe Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430166570s/24888224.jpg|44536732]), I credited [a:Ken Niimura|4800063|Ken Niimura|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s art for being the most important part of why I love I Kill Giants.
Henshin isn't supposed to be anything like I Kill Giants. It's a series of short stories about transformations in ordinary life. Or so it claims. The opening story about a girl escaping bullying by visiting her uncle in Tokyo (who might possibly be Yakuza...we aren't given time to tell) is not an ordinary life story. There are other stories about cats, stories about...fart ghosts? and stories about how missing a train can derail your life, but I didn't connect with a single character in this collection. For me, this was a series of shrugs, some drawn beautifully, some just competently.
I don't know who I'd recommend this to. There's much better manga out there for off-kilter nearly normal stories, and I don't think anyone who doesn't already enjoy manga would enjoy reading this.
theknitgeek's review against another edition
4.0
Love! Read this for book club and the teens also loved it.
radicaledwardiv's review against another edition
5.0
Loved Henshin! I am a fan of his previous illustration work on I Kill Giants and this one was nothing short of amazing. Really enjoyed the mix of super serious and cute / funny short stories, definitely would recommend it.
southern_sea's review against another edition
3.0
Dovendo incasellare questa raccolta in un genere, lo definirei uno slice of life. Le 13 storie raccontano degli attimi di vita del Giappone contemporaneo, ordinaria e straordinaria, che hanno come filo conduttore il tema della "trasformazione" (significato del titolo) e del cambiamento.
Alcune delle storie sono di comprensione quasi immediata, altre richiedono un attimo di riflessione per capire quello che l'autore ha voluto comunicare, tutte sono piuttosto curiose. La lettura è piacevole (nonostante affronti anche tematiche tutt'altro che leggere) purché si abbia una certa tolleranza per il surreale e l'assurdo. Nessuna delle storie mi ha particolarmente colpita, ma lo stile di disegno e il modo di guardare al mondo che traspare dalle pagine mi hanno incuriosita. Sicuramente proverò a leggere altre opere dello stesso autore se ne avrò l'occasione.
Alcune delle storie sono di comprensione quasi immediata, altre richiedono un attimo di riflessione per capire quello che l'autore ha voluto comunicare, tutte sono piuttosto curiose. La lettura è piacevole (nonostante affronti anche tematiche tutt'altro che leggere) purché si abbia una certa tolleranza per il surreale e l'assurdo. Nessuna delle storie mi ha particolarmente colpita, ma lo stile di disegno e il modo di guardare al mondo che traspare dalle pagine mi hanno incuriosita. Sicuramente proverò a leggere altre opere dello stesso autore se ne avrò l'occasione.
franuary's review
4.0
Ken Niimura’s Henshin (Japanese for “transform”) is a grouping of odd little manga stories compiled into one extremely quirky collection. There’s an incredible breadth of topics covered within the volume; storylines include contract killing, pet care, group suicide, immigration, superheroes, and life-long friendship. As the title suggests, most stories involve some element of change, although I have to admit that I wasn’t able to connect the theme to each of the stories in a concrete way. Still, I found Henshin delightfully weird.
My favorite sections of the book were those in which Niimura wrote comics about his day-to-day life. These reminded me of a longer version of the one-page author’s notes often found at the end of a collected volume of manga. Niimura’s sections focused on fairly banal tasks (writing, getting a cat, cooking), but his charming storytelling and self-deprecation made them stand out among the more fantastical elements in the other stories.
I would recommend Henshin for readers into Japanese culture, including manga and anime fans, but also to any readers looking for something truly strange and unconventional.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Image Comics and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
My favorite sections of the book were those in which Niimura wrote comics about his day-to-day life. These reminded me of a longer version of the one-page author’s notes often found at the end of a collected volume of manga. Niimura’s sections focused on fairly banal tasks (writing, getting a cat, cooking), but his charming storytelling and self-deprecation made them stand out among the more fantastical elements in the other stories.
I would recommend Henshin for readers into Japanese culture, including manga and anime fans, but also to any readers looking for something truly strange and unconventional.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Image Comics and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
I had this marked as read from 2016 but don't remember ever having read it. I'm not usually a fan of short stories, and humor is hit or miss with me, so I didn't love this. It's a fairly fun collection, though, if you enjoy silly, out-there, surreal shorts. Not a fan of the curry one or the one that more or less uses suicide as a punchline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Excrement, and Suicide