MANGA REVIEW | "Mujina Into the Deep" - Volume One
WARNING: The following manga discussed in this review is intended for readers 18 & older.
It’s never a cut-and-dry narrative when Inio Asano is penning it. Not one for simplicity, the author of Goodnight Punpun and Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction knows how to shove in satire, dark undertones, and deep character building into everything that he creates. His latest series Mujina Into the Deep is no exception, as Asano takes the action thriller genre and gives it a proper walloping. As you can probably guess, this new work isn’t just meaty; it’s a feast for the eyes and mind!
Mujina Into the Deep takes place slightly in the future, where Japan’s society has gotten both better and worse. If you happen to have a human rights card on you, then you’re as safe as can be. However, those who don’t may be subjected to discrimination, with even many run-down diners turning those away without a card. But then, you have what are known as the “mujina”, assassins-for-hire who can even escape persecution since no laws are in place to protect them.
The main mujina in this story is Ubume, a thirty-year-old assassin who’s seeking a mysterious man in a tanuki costume. Why? It’s not explained, although a quick flashback gives you some idea as to what went down. Ubume takes on any job for any amount of cash, with her being one of the highest-ranking assassins in the business. That is, until the mujina trendsetter Tenko mucks up her job and sends her street cred spiraling down to the bottom.
Thankfully, she makes a couple of allies in the mix-up. The first is Juno, a high school runaway who was mere seconds from being raped by a top-tier pop star. As Juno had her stuff taken from her, she’s no better society-wise than a mujina. But considering her past with bullying and negligence, who’s to say which would be the worse of the two situations? Then there’s Terumi Morgan, a video game producer with a thing for fat chicks and hardcore pornography. (I’d call him the series’s “father figure”, but that seems like a huge stretch!)
Asano throws a whole lot at his readers in the first few chapters of Mujina Into the Deep. Made up of a two-part prologue and a four-part first chapter, you get a great idea as to what kind of place the world has become. In some instances, things appear to be fine…if you are treated as a citizen. However, if you have no rights, you are no better than a rat residing in the sewers underneath Tokyo.
How Tenko wears her mujina as a badge of honor is one that concerns many. Well…not necessarily the most noble of folks; just a bunch of talking heads that wouldn’t seem too out of place on either Fox News or MSNBC. Asano greatly mocks those lacking a centrist point-of-view, as those who have only liberal or conservative viewpoints are showcased as being too stupid or too dangerous. Some readers may enjoy this part; others may have a hissy fit and type up an angry Tweet about it.
However, unlike Asano’s past works, it’s what’s shown rather than what’s said that acts as the highlight for Mujina Into the Deep. When either Ubume or Tenko are on the job, the amount of gore and violence on display is shown with phenomenal detail. Fingers being chopped up, stomach wounds, and the occasional beheadings are showcased with a plethora of badass flair. I’ve always known Asano had it in him to make some amazing fights, and seeing it with my two eyes is an absolute treat!
Of course, this manga doesn’t earn that Parental Advisory sticker just for the violence alone. To be blunt, there are a lot of graphic sex scenes that may not make this manga one to pull out on a train ride to work. Most of it is consensual, but there are hints and close calls of those that aren’t that’ll make some readers very uncomfortable. Then again, diving into uncomfortable themes is very much Asano’s MO, so it shouldn’t be a surprise for long-time readers of his.
Volume One of Mujina Into the Deep starts things off on the right foot. It’s twisted, violent, perverted, and thought-provoking. But that’s Asano for you, the kind of author who’ll give you what you’re expecting, only to take a sharp left turn and leave you whiplashed by the sudden change in tone. The story may have only just gotten started, but this intro alone has me already going all in for the wild tale that Mujina Into the Deep is carving up!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
