Japan’s Longest Day: A Graphic Novel About the End of WWII: Intrigue, Tension and Emperor Hirohito’s Fateful Decision to Surrender

Hando and Hoshino’s North American debut, an in-depth manga account of Japan’s surrender in WWII, is dry and workmanlike in its early chapters but develops the tension of a well-crafted thriller as it builds to the fateful moment of Japan’s surrender. The long setup to “the longest day” begins in 1853, when the forced reopening of Japan’s ports by U.S. commodore Matthew Perry after more than 200 years of isolation sparks a power struggle between the government, military, and imperial court that continues into the 20th century and the crowning of Emperor Hirohito. Moving rapidly through the decades, the volume’s first half leaves many questions unanswered—WWII itself passes in a handful of pages. The entire second half, however, covers the two days from Hirohito’s surrender to the broadcast of his speech informing the Japanese people that the war is over. An incredible story of intrigue and rebellion unfolds. Factions of the military plot coups, bloody sword battles break out in government offices, generals and politicians die by suicide, and imperial loyalists risk their lives to smuggle the recording of the emperor’s surrender to a radio station before pro-war radicals can destroy it. Hoshino’s meticulously rendered battle scenes and weaponry display the firm, slashing lines of classic samurai manga. Readers who can forgive the slow pace of the opening will be rewarded by a solidly crafted dramatic history. (Apr.)