Osamu Tezuka is often considered as the god of manga and once you read his works you can genuinely understand where they are coming from.Ode to Kirihito is a very underrated work of his and I found it to be one of his best. The plot of the manga at first look may look disposable but Osamu Tezuka’s writing is what makes it so intriguing.This manga revolves around a mysterious spreading disease called the Monmow Disease.This manga does a brilliant job in creating a believable setting surrounding this disease and the fate that the patient of the disease has to suffer.There’s also a fantastic aspect ofthe plot where they show the dirty politics of medical world.Don’t wanna give anything more due to the chance of it being spoiled.

Ode To Kirihito has a variety of characters and each character are given their own different personality and struggle against the disease regardless of the fact if they have the disease or if they are curing it.every character plays a crucial role in progressing the plot.That being said the characters and the way that they progress can be questionable and this is not the first time I faced this problem while reading an Osamu Tezuka.No one can doubt his ability in writing but he certainly has a problem progressing characters with the plot.He sometimes changes character motivation without any prior development.There’s a part in the manga where a person marries someone and it’s shown that they love each other without zero to little development between them.The same problem goes with his other works like Apollo’s Song,Budha and Ayako.But the characters still had enough depth for me to overlook this problem.

The art style of this manga is fine but nothing more than that.To be completely honest,I am not the biggest fan of Osamu Tezuka’s art.This art style is fine for Astro Boy but with a plot that is so dark and mature,it really doesn’t go that well.Though I loved the art and character design of Doctor Urabe.Especially in the later half of the manga where he goes through a lot of psychological distress.

Overall,Ode To Kirihito is a fantastic manga with a really good plot,interesting characters,good thematic values and a pretty nice conclusion.It may come of as a bit to dark for various character death and physical violation but if you can handle that than give this manga a read.