MANGA REVIEW | "Dogsred" - Volume One
There’s no greater sport in the world than hockey. The speed, the agility, the focus, the balance, and the strength needed to play the most brutal team sport in the world is something only the most elite people in the world can master. Yet it has surprised me that for decades, the anime and manga world has only had -- to my knowledge -- two hockey series: one gag manga by the creator of Kakushigoto, the other a piece of shit idol anime whose name doesn’t deserve the space in this review. Thank Saint Tuukka Rask for Golden Kamuy creator Satoru Noda, who has given his hockey series Supinamarada! a reboot in the form of Dogsred.
Before it gets to the hockey, Dogsred starts off in the world of figure skating. Our hero is Rou Shirakawa, who just lost his mother in a car accident. She was his life, not just because of being his parent, but also due to her costume and choreography work that pushed him close to the Olympics. After performing a record-breaking routine, Rou snaps, and starts trashing the arena. With that, he kisses goodbye to a figure skating life.
But the ice still calls to him, and after he and his sister move to Hokkaido, the urge to put on skates still fills his soul. However, where can Rou go? That’s when he finds a pond with others skating on it, but is told not to go near the hockey net. Otherwise, someone will come and use Rou’s blood to mark the goal line. Not one to take threats seriously, the Rabid Prince feels the wrath of one Keiichi Genma, who doesn’t like seeing his sacred ice be defiled.
From there, the story of Dogsred goes into full gear. Rou and Keiichi battle it out, with Rou’s grace overpowering Keiichi’s bloodlust. However, when the ice gets destroyed, so does the hockey net. Thus, Rou sets out to find a new one, which leads him to joining his high school hockey team filled with Mighty Ducks rejects. Worse, due to the declining birth rate in the town, his school is actually due to close after he graduates.
In this one volume, Dogsred already sets the stage for so much to happen. A washed-up skater, finding his way back to the ice, for a team that may no longer exist in just a couple of years. South Park has made jokes about stories with so much on the line (in fact, a hockey-themed episode was the one that did it best!), to the point where one could be forgiven if they thought this story was along the lines of parody.
However, a joke Dogsred is not. With the amount of research Noda has done on the world of hockey, you can easily tell that he’s going to pour his heart and soul into this narrative. In these opening chapters, the amount of deep storytelling, high-octane action, and character emotion could fill four volumes of your run-of-the-mill Shonen Jump series. And it’s showcased in such glorious fashion!
I haven’t even talked about the hockey parts yet, with the main focus being the game between Hokuryo and Miyamori. (The former is the one Genma’s on, and the latter is Rou’s.) It’s kind of hilarious seeing Rou learn the rules of hockey while he’s playing it. Every moment he gets thrown into the penalty box filled my belly with laughter, as those who have turned up to root for Miyamori turn on the Rabid Prince.
Thankfully, the more he plays, the better he gets. Rou finds the parallels to figure skating and ice hockey that aid in his still-evolving style. Watching as he handles the puck, learns how to check players into the wall, and seeing his ancient hockey equipment break piece-by-piece in the final seconds of the game is so beautiful to watch. Yes, hockey is super brutal, but that’s part of the reason why it’s so Goddamn elegant!
We’re only just getting started with Dogsred, but I can already tell that this is going to be one hell of a story. Rou’s tragic origin tale, the rise of hockey ne’er-do-wells, and the rediscovering of passion on the ice is what Satoru Noda’s new manga is all about. And I am all in for it! At long last, hockey is given the respect it’s long deserved in manga form, and we can all thank Dogsred for getting it right!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
