Osamu Tezuka’s Manga Masterpiece Dororo is Re-imagined by Atsushi Kaneko as a Cyberpunk Thriller in Search & Destroy

(May 30, 2024) Often called “the God of manga,” Osamu Tezuka is internationally beloved for his seminal stories featuring the likes of Astro Boy, Buddha, Jungle Emperor Leo, and Unico. Tezuka’s timeless tale Dororo follows the adventures of a ronin named Hyakkimaru and Dororo, an orphan who claims to be the greatest thief in Japan. Together the swordsman and his rogue sidekick travel the countryside on a most unusual and gruesome quest — as they search for Hyakkimaru’s organs which were bartered away by his father to forty-eight demons in exchange for dominance on the battlefield. This epic road-adventure inspired a twenty-six episode anime, novels, a live action film directed by Akihiko Shiota, and the cult-hit videogame BLOOD WILL TELL. And now, Fantagraphics Books is publishing Atsushi Kaneko‘s bold re-imagining of Tezuka’s iconic story ― with the kinetic, cyberpunk thriller titled SEARCH & DESTROY.

Best known in the United States for his punk rock-infused storytelling and the cult classic manga Bambi and her Pink Gun, Atsushi Kaneko‘s wide range of influences include Western cartoonists like Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns, punk rock music, and the films of David Lynch. SEARCH & DESTROY is a brilliantly-crafted action-thriller about an outsider looking for meaning and vengeance in the unjust world that took everything away from her. Officially authorized by Tezuka Productions and originally serialized from 2019–2021 in the Japanese manga monthly TezuComi, SEARCH & DESTROY is a tale of rage ― rage against hypocrisy, injustice, exploitation, and the wrongs done to a child who grew into a righteous killer.

“SEARCH & DESTROY is not only one of the best sci-fi manga of recent years but also one of the most visually rich and distinctive works of graphic storytelling in any genre or language,” said Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds. “Kaneko-sensei populates a stunning, high-contrast setting that echoes postwar Cuba as much as Tokyo with an unforgettable cast of scrappy heroes and skin-crawling monsters on a nonstop ride full of action and suspense. This sly retelling updates the rebellious ’60s spirit of the original Dororo to the equally tumultuous 2020s to breathe new life into a timeless tale.”

Told over the course of three volumes, SEARCH & DESTROY transplants the vengeful action of Dororo from feudal Japan into a dystopian post-cold-war future where mercenary robots known as “creatures” serve the human elite and victimize the city’s scrabbling, desperate masses. The violent death of one of these creatures connects an orphaned thief named Doro with a mysterious girl in a stinking animal hide that conceals deadly cybernetic implants. Who is this mysterious girl? How is she killing, one by one, the city’s most twisted and powerful creatures?

SEARCH & DESTROY is the latest manga to be published by Fantagaphics in partnership with MSX: Mangasplaining Extra, a publishing initiative run by Deb Aoki and Christopher and Andrew Woodrow-Butcher that spins out of the popular podcast Mangasplaining, which recommends great manga to folks who haven’t read much manga before. The first manga to be published by Fantagraphics and MSX, Susumu Higa‘s widely acclaimed Okinawa, has been nominated for the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in NonFiction by the American Library Association and made it onto the United States Board on Books for Young People’s 2024 Outstanding International Books List.

“It sometimes feels a bit transgressive to be publishing Kaneko-sensei in English, because his work definitely hits very different notes than most manga in so, so many ways,” said editor Christopher Butcher. “A mix of action, social commentary, and full-on rage, SEARCH & DESTROY is a timely and fresh take on Tezuka-sensei’s original manga that only Atsushi Kaneko could create. This is the story of a young woman, more machine than human, hunting and stealing body parts from some pretty deplorable beings. With SEARCH & DESTROY volume one, the full scale of this mission, her actions, and their importance becomes clear and sets the stage for the intensity of the next two volumes.”

Here’s what people are saying about SEARCH & DESTROY:

“A blast of pure cyberpunk energy.”―Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“I really loved the character designs on this series. Making the main character, Hyaku, a girl, really felt like it brought out the anger against the world and her surrounding situations.”—Peach Momoko

“Kaneko reimagines Tezuka’s 1960s epic fantasy saga Dororo as a gritty, fast-paced cyberpunk thriller.”―Library Journal

“Search and Destroy grabs you by the throat with its opening chapter and never lets go.”―Multiversity Comics

SEARCH & DESTROY volume 1 will be published by Fantagraphics and MSX on July 23, ahead of San Diego Comic Con International. For more info, follow Fantagraphics on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

About the Author:
Atsushi Kaneko is an acclaimed manga creator and illustrator living in Tokyo, Japan. After launching his career with the groundbreaking Bambi and her Pink Gun, Kaneko continued with a barrage of subversive and surprising series’ including Soil, Wet Moon, Deathco, and his latest, EVOL. His work is wholly unique, synthesizing the manga of his youth with a range of strong influences from punk rock and cinema to lowbrow art and western comics. For Search and Destroy, Kaneko has sought to reimagine the legendary Osamu Tezuka story Dororo as a thrilling packed post-cold-war revenge story, thematically resonant with Tezuka’s many works about the conflicts between man and machine.

Osamu Tezuka (1928 – 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. His prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovations in genre storytelling earned him such titles as “the Father of Manga,” “the Godfather of Manga,” and “the God of Manga.”

About Fantagraphics:
For over 45 years, Fantagraphics has published the very best comics and graphic novels that the medium has to offer. Our mission is to celebrate great cartooning in all of its incarnations, from the form’s early luminaries to contemporary artists currently forging the future of visual storytelling. Not content to rest on our laurels and extensive roster of talented artists, we constantly seek out fresh voices from across the globe. Thus, we honor the rich history of comics while providing a platform for bold new stories, styles, and perspectives that push the boundaries of the medium. Fantagraphics remains peerless in our commitment to be the publisher of the world’s greatest cartoonists.

About MSX: Mangasplaining Extra:
MSX: Mangasplaining Extra is a digital platform dedicated to the promotion and exploration of manga and its diverse genres. As an extension of the popular podcast Mangasplaining, MSX aims to provide a platform for comics enthusiasts to engage with a wide range of manga titles, fostering a vibrant community of readers and artists. Find out more at mangasplainingextra.com.