Enjoyable, hilarious and fun! A 42-year-old man who quit his job in order to become a manga artist/writer. Problem is… Oguro is lazy and not exactly a good writer or artist. Can the lazy Oguro manage to get a manga published? Volume three shows us that Oguro may have that chance but also, prepare yourself for an interesting surprise by the end of this latest volume! Definitely recommended!
© 2007 Shunju Aono/Shogakukan. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow – Volume 3
STORY AND ART BY: Shunju Aono(é’野 春秋)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2011
Shizuo’s in trouble. At least, his father is convinced he is. In his ongoing campaign to convince his layabout, forty-something progeny to finally get his act together, Shizuo’s father suggests a new approach: maybe Shizuo should just treat manga as a hobby and do something else – anything else – so as to look like less of a reject to both his family and society at large.
Can Shizuo’s burning desire to create manga triumph over his seemingly bottomless capacity for self-doubt and existential angst? Then again, maybe if Shizuo just comes up with a catchy pen name, everything will be golden and he’ll quickly find himself on the merry road to publication. Right?
A 42-year-old man who quits his job to become a mangaka. It seems straightforward but trust me on this, “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow” is one of the most enjoyable manga out right now from Viz Media.
Once in a while, I get the opportunity to read a manga that comes out of nowhere and just surprises the hell out of me.
A storyline that relies on no supernatural storyline, nor the characters being the top of their class, very rich or very beautiful or handsome. If anything a storyline that is very close to reality and for those who do read manga, these type of storylines let alone a series are often a rarity to see released in the U.S.
Here we are with “I’ll Give It My All..Tomorrow” (Ore wa mada Honki Dashite Nai dake) by Shunju Aono is one of those manga series.
Aono won the “Young Magazine 45th Chiba Tetsuya Award” in the Newcomer’s Category in 2001 and in 2005, won the 17th Ikkiman Ikki Newcomer’s Award and debuted with “Somato” (Kaleidoscope) which would eventually become his manga series “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow” and is featured on Ikki Magazine and has had three graphic novels released each year since 2007.
The story revolves around a man named Shizuo Oguro who turned 40-years-old. He’s a single father with a teenager named Suzuko and lives with his father. He also just quit his corporate job which he had worked as a Subsection Chief for over 15 years and is now trying to “find himself”.
Now, jobless and lazy, Oguro sits at home playing with his Sony PlayStation 2 and because of is lack of doing anything, angers his father.
That is until Oguro decides that his goal in life is to become a manga artist.
The problem is that Oguro is not an artist, nor does he have the focus to write a good story and each time he submits one to a manga publisher, it’s not the right content they are looking for (their nicest way to reject him).
But Oguro is determined to create a manga series and to step things up in his life by working a fast food job that will allow him to make a little money but work on his new passion in trying to create a manga.
In the first volume, Oguro continually gets chastised by his father to get a job, meanwhile he finds out that his smart daughter has been earning money by becoming a prostitute, finds a job at a fast food restaurant and because of his age, the younger people refer him as “manager” despite not being one. He also meets a younger guy named Shuichi and befriends him.
Shuichi is like a younger version of Oguro and is unable to keep a job and tends to get himself in fights.
Volume two continues to focus on Oguro as he tries to become a manga artist and prove to his father that he’s not a slacker, meanwhile Shuichi thinks about his life and wonders if he will be like Oguro.
In the previous two volumes of “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow”, we have sen how this guy work at fast food, trying to find a place to stay for a little while when his father gets on his nerves about finding a job and for the most part, trying to work on a manga series which the manga company he tends to bring his final drafts to, have kept rejecting.
But now with volume 3 of the manga series, Oguro is now 42-years-old and his father is losing patience while in his mind, he is close to quitting his job at the fast food restaurant and feels his manga will be published. But it looks as if things may look better for Oguro as the editor of EKKE Magazine seems interested in getting Shizuo Oguro’s manga published. Or does he?
In the third volume of “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow”, here is a non-spoiler breakdown of each chapter:
- Chapter 11: The Times – As Shizuo’s father gets on his case about pursuing manga, Shizuo starts to doubt himself.
- Chapter 12: Goodbye, H Burgers! – With a positive outlook on life, Shizuo feels that he is close to leaving H Burgers and becoming a published mangaka.
- Chapter 13: “Dad” – When Shizuo’s manga gets an “Honorable Mention” for EKKE Magazine, Shizuo’s determination to be a mangaka is strengthen, despite his father’s harsh words.
- Chapter 14: The Dignity of Middle Age – Shizuo is asked a favor by Meguro to work at Yusuke Tsuji’s manga series temporarily to erase pencil outlines.
- Chapter 15: Imagine – Shizuo Oguro has created a manga titled “Imagine – Live to be 300” which his editor Murakami considers a masterpiece!
- Chapter 16: The Guy’s Melody – Shizuo works around the clock to get “Imagine” inked and delivered to his editor Murakami.
- Bonus Chapter: Mister Murakami, Manga Editor – A continuation of the last chapter about what has happened to Murakama, the manga editor.
- Extra: “Life of Tanaka” – A story about Kotaro Tanaka, Shizuo’s manager at H Burgers.
With the latest third volume of “I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow”, prepare to be surprised!
For so long, Shizuo Oguro, the protagonist of the series is pretty much a lazy bum who plays video games all day long but he does show enthusiasm at times in trying to create a manga. If anything, he’s not a hikikkomori (depressed unsociable people who stays indoors all the time) as he is able to get out, hang out with people of all age groups, having sex with prostitute but despite having a social life, he is a guy that suffers from bad body odor and emits the aura of laziness.
But it seems that in this latest volume, Shizuo has found some inspiration and now, he is more determined in wanting to get his manga published!
“I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow” is a rare treat to see here in the US. The manga is different in not just storyline and its characters but also Aono’s style of illustration and for those wanting to try something more realistic but also humorous and odd, this is one manga series I can easily recommend. It can also be quite amusing, especially if you have friends who are like Shizuo Oguro.
But I’m really enjoying this series! It’s important to note that because Aono has only released three volumes thus far since 2007 (makes you wonder if Aono and the character Oguro have something in common), the fourth volume is set for December 2011 and who knows when we will see a fourth volume.
But still, it’s a fun manga series because it’s not that farfetched. Many people quite their day jobs to pursue something that they love at an older age, despite not being good at it. But for them, the fact that they tried it and have no regrets is important. But for Oguro and the storyline in “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow”, the people around Oguro, young and old, are each slackers in their own way.
While one wonders if there is hope with Oguro, volume 3 shows us that there is hope for Shizuo Oguro. But by the final chapter and the bonus chapter, let’s just say that it ends with a surprise. And that’s all I can say about it because I was surprised to see what happened but at the same time, the things that can happen to Shizuo Oguro, they happen and you wonder how this guy can continue to bounce back when no one around him really expects him to succeed.
Humorous, enjoyable, crazy and fun! “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow” vol. 3 is definitely recommended!