Originally created in 1910 by Kunio Yanagita with the help of the local storyteller Kizen Sasaki, Tono Monogatari is one of the first literary texts from Japan to put oral folktales, traditions and superstitions on paper, just like the Grimm Brothers did in Germany. Even though it didn't gain instant recognition, it is regarded as very important text as these legends were about to disappear in face of Japan's modernization. Who better to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this work than Shigeru Mizuki who also wrote about legends told by his grandmother and made youkais an integral part of today's pop culture with his workGegege no Kitarou.

Ideally, this would be a perfect homage to the Tales of Tono but that isn't really the case. I haven't read the original so I can't compare them both but the problem is that Mizuki tried to do too much here in adapting all 119 original stories. This kind of ambition should reveal taxing for anyone and his intentions are commendable, especially for someone this old (he was 86 when he started working on it), but the result is a complete mess. Although I can say his style hasn't deteriorated in the least and still looks as gorgeous as ever, the stories featured are anticlimactic, starting and stopping as fast as ever in a way that it becomes quickly unpleasant to read. Only a handful of these tales will stick but most have very little to convey, I honestly don't know if they're meant as vague throwbacks and tributes to the original but they simply don't work in this format. The background and history notes from the translator Zack Davisson definitely help to bring back some interest on the work as even Shigeru Mizuki's own commentary on the folktales remain dull.

Those of you excited for a glorious return of Shigeru Mizuki to his origins will most likely be disappointed and the new readers curious to discover him should read Nonnonba instead.