Japón, 1990. Es el inicio de los “10 años Perdidos”.
A lo largo de mi ñoñería otaku no asumida algo había leído de los “ Ushinawareta Jūnen “, pero nunca me interesó mucho el tema. Sabía que tenía que ver con economía, y por mucho esfuerzo que en algún punto de mi vida le puse a aprender economía, no me quedé con muchos conocimientos de la materia.
En resumen, es el inicio de lo que luego serían veinte años de estancamiento económico en Japón, producido por una serie de malas inversiones de los bancos nipones en negocios privados.
Lo que nos importa para poder entender el plot del manga es que los bancos acumularon muchas deudas que no pudieron recaudar (”Bad Debt”) y necesitaron ser salvados una y otra vez por el gobierno por ser “too big to fail”.
Es en este contexto aparece John Climton:
El presidente de los Estados Unidos (junto con los representantes de otros países) ordena a Japón a enmendar esta situación, para lo cual les es entregada una ley que crea la “Misappropiation Enforcement Administration”: un organismo de gobierno que raya entre “policía secreta” y “CIA”, y cuya misión es una: castigar a banqueros y políticos que han causado esta recesión a través de la malversación de fondos y abuso de su poder.
Ahora, es una historia que no suena de lo más entretenida expuesta así, ¿Pero qué pasaría si les dijera que tanto la historia como el arte fueron llevadas a cabo por Tetsuo Hara?
Si les suena el nombre es porque fue Hara quien estuvo a cargo del arte del manga “Hokuto no Ken” (”Fist of the North Star”).
Mientras intentaba pensar cómo poner en paralelo este manga con otros para compararlos no me había fijado que Hara era el autor, así que la primera comparación fue con JoJo (”Misappropiation Investigator: Phantom Blood o JoJo pt. 9: Business is Unbreakable fueron dos de mis ocurrencias humorísticas), pero mientras más leía más pensaba “es como si Kenishiro fuera un justiciero burócrata”. Y resulta que la comparación es muy acertada.
De izquierda a derecha: Nakabo Rintaro, Kenishiro Kasumi (Souten no Ken) y Kenishiro (Hokuto no Ken)
Volviendo a la historia del manga: Nakabo Rintaro, además de ser el epítome de la masculinidad y tener músculos que no sabía existían, es un investigador que se puede codear perfectamente con Sherlock Homles.
Su alter-ego, Hayashi Taro, se infiltra en uno de los bancos endeudados y desde allí comienza a castigar a todo quien haya abusado para llenarse los bolsillos.
Como hay varios términos algo difíciles de comprender o con los que la mayoría no estamos familiarizados, hay una especie de Addendum al final de los primeros capítulos en los que nos explican qué es lo que sucedió en el capítulo que acabamos de leer.
Hay uno, en el capítulo número 5 (File 5: To the Duel with The Villan) en el que me gustaría detenerme, no porque explique algo muy complicado de entender, si no por otra cosa:
Creo que aquí se expone un poco desde dónde escribe Tetsuo este manga: la justicia Japones es absoluta y no puede ser traicionada.
En un país con valores inculcados tan fuertemente, donde el honor juega una gran parte en la vida de sus habitantes, es entendible la frustración que pueden sentir al ver cómo estos villanos se salen con las suyas impunes.
Nakabo Rintaro es, para mi, el espíritu de la justicia; un avatar que brilla como una “luz al final del tunel” entre la miasma obscura de la corrupción política.
Al igual que en la reseña anterior, no es mi intención contarles aquí lo que sucede en el manga; mi intención es que lo lean o que lo eviten.
En esta ocasión, se los recomiendo, sobretodo si quieren entender qué pasó en el principio de los años de recesión japonesa (buscando información sobre ello, me di cuenta que mi mejor fuente fue el manga mismo).
Les dejo una pequeña recopilación de imágenes del manga, específicamente de la transformación tipo “Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” que tiene Rintaro cada vez que mencionan a sus padres:
Sirve de refuerzo a lo que escribía más arriba: es una personificación de todos valores nobles, como el respeto a los padres.
No creo que haga otra reseña en un tiempo, estoy re-leyendo Eden! y la serie de Fundación de Isaac Asimov, por lo que me voy a demorar un resto en terminar con eso.
Yasuhiro pulled Makoto and Kyoko aside to discuss the possibilities of getting access to the dorm rooms so that the captives could gather memoirs of their loved ones. Makoto said that he remembers that during their final investigation in the control room he remembers seeing a key hanger on one of the walls. “Maybe that has the keys on them. After all, Junko wouldn’t have wanted us to get into the rooms of the victims and find evidence that didn’t pertain to the main case or the game.” they nodded in agreement. Makoto and Kyoko informed the rest of the group what was going on after they had something to eat and headed out towards the control room.
When they had gotten there, the control room was a total mess. TVs were broken and wires hung down from the wall and ceiling, sparks bursting from the individual wires. Makoto scanned the room and found where the keys are. He grabbed the necessary ones and headed back to the cafeteria where the rest of the group was. Some were excited to into their loved ones' rooms to recover items that their loved ones held so dearly. Others were more or less not so happy as they were wanting to move on from the past and gathering an item from their loved one would feel like they were clinging on. But one, in particular, refused to go into their loved one’s room. “I have nothing of importance to grabbed from my precious Sakura Flower. My time here is short and I wish to see her spirit before my time is up. Maybe we could have one last match. But for me to grab onto something of hers that is not mine when my time is so short, it would be insignificant for me to do so.” Kenshiro, who was sakura’s boyfriend sputtered these words out between coughs. He’d been sick for a long time. But he insisted on coming.
Kyoko, Kenishiro, and Hiroko (for medical purposes as Hiroko was a nurse) headed towards the rec room as everyone else headed towards the dorms. “Sakura was a great training partner. And when we battled, word spread like wildfire. Our battles echoed across the land. Somehow even when I was sick, I still would win over her or it would be a draw. I could see how hard she would train on a day-to-day basis. One day we had scheduled a match. It was gonna be our most legendary battle to date, but then I fell ill. But she stayed by my side till she got recruited here. Fast forward to a week or so ago when I was informed of her suicide. I was shocked but I knew that she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way but to go out on her own terms. But now I shall see her one last time.” Kenshiro said as they walked to the rec room.
As they entered the room, Kenishiro started to have a coughing fit and started to spit out blood. Hiroko and Kyoko hurried to put him into a chair. Soon a faint figure appeared, looking as if it was drinking something. Kenshiro faintly said “Sakura… My flower…” The figure grew clear. Sakura stood up straight wondering who just called her that. “Who called?” She saw Kenishiro and rushed over. “Why is my rival here? Kyoko, what are you doing here? Who’s this?” Sakura said bewildered.
After the usual explanation, Sakura sat there in silence. “So I'm stuck in this mortal plane and I can’t pass on due to unfinished business? The only unfinished business that I have is with Kenshiro. All I want is to have one last battle with him. And I want everyone to see.” Kenshiro heard this and accepted the challenge. But before he could get up, he had one more coughing fit and seemingly passed out. Hiroko rushed over to Kenishiro to check for a pulse. “Nothing… He’s dead…” Sakura was shocked but not before long, Kenishiro’s spirit appeared along Sakura’s. He took a ‘breath’ and said “Now we can have a fair fight. My time was coming up anyways but I wanted to see your face first”.Hiroko stayed and chatted with the two spirits as Kyoko gathered the others for the fight. When they all arrived, both spirits were ready to fight. After a count of three, the two began. The fight between them was graceful but you could tell that the two of them were a force to be reckoned with. As they blocked each other's punches and kicks, each one made a loud thud or crack that echoed. They seem like they could tell what move the other was gonna make. It almost seemed like they were dancing. Soon though sakura had punched Kenshiro in the chest and he fell to the ground and was unable to get up. Sakura had finally beat the strongest man in the world. She picked her opponent back up and gave him a firm handshake in respect and for a good fight. Soon both spirits began to fade and waved goodbye to the others.
Makoto sat there after sakura and Kenishiro had passed. That was the final spirit. All nine victims and blackeneds had been passed on to the afterlife but something bothered him. Something that his sister said not too long after Sakura and Kenishiro passed on. “I sense another spirit here. It’s not Junko. But it's in enormous pain and is angry.” Makoto thought about who it could've possibly been. But then a thought came to mind as he gathered the group to head to the room where this whole debacle began.
