What does it mean to be Shuzou Oshimi? My first meeting with one of the greatest mangaka of our generation had been with his masterpiece Aku no hana since then i devoured almost every manga he made. I discovered new point of views a fresh and brilliant style of making art and every manga left me something inside like a question rumbling in my mind something like What does it mean to be him?. Now if you have read some of his mangas you will surely have noticed that there is always something similiar in his protagonists. From Kusakabe Noboru Devile Ecstasy to Takao Kasuga Aku no hana from Makoto Okazaki Happiness to Seiichi Osabe Chi no wadachi and to the newest Youhei Kamekawa Okaeri Alice: I could continue the list is very very long though. There has always been something that link up Oshimis stories even if topics and plots were not always so similiar to each others. Reading all of this stories I clearly understood that Shuzou Oshimi was trying to put every little side of himself in his beautiful mangas reaching every minds reader with the power of his art. And then what changed with his last work? Well for the first time i feel like Im not reading a manga at all reading his new Mabataki no oto sounds like having a huge and deep conversation with a long time friends about something that you could have understood earlier about him but never really cared about it. This manga is unique for these reasons and trust me: you will never read something about this. And take a good breathe before starting it because once you are into it will be very hard to not thinking What is going on here? and from that moment you are inside Oshimis geniality: once again... The importance of the Point of view of Mabataki no oto The art of Mabataki no oto: the essential light of a beautiful and dark story Since the last chapters of Chi no wadachi Oshimis drawing became so much darker and rawer: a unique art style full of rage. In Mabataki no oto too the drawing is too important and I consider it like an essential part of this manga. Just with his art the mangaka is able to speak about everything even about the little dirty secret hided in his mind. When I spoke about a diary is because of the way Oshimi is treating this work: like something that normally no one would share that easily. Lines are scribbles faces and feelings are like distant memories. And even if its too complicated to explain how much is complicated to understand his unique drawing style the pace is incredibly rapid and enjoyable. I have never seen some art like this. This style remebered me first Inio Asano and Usamaru Furuyas mangas and smells like gekigas art made by masters like Tsuge or Tatsumi or the latest Tezuka too. I read and know Manga but in my opinion something like Mabataki no oto has to be treaten like a gift for every reader. Because the mangaka is giving to us every little part of himself and this is why Im loving it so much. Maybe its just too early to say this: but we will hear about this manga even in the future Im sure of it. Theres something hide in it and every reader should understand what does it mean to be the artist behind the art. Thank you all for reading until here And a special thank you is for my girlfriend that is reading it with me and is the first viewer of my reactions after every chapter.