No Longer Human : Complete Edition by Usamaru Furuya (Kodansha)

Recently, I decided to revisit a Japanese classic. However, it is a graphic novel written by Usamaru Furuya but is based on the Osamu Dazai book No Longer Human (reviewed August 4, 2022). I was expecting the same bleak story in manga form but was in for quite a surprise. 

Although the main characters remain the same, the story is told through the eyes of the manga artist Usamaru Furuya and the story is updated to the present era. The story opens with Furuya talking to one of his employees saying he hasn’t come up with an idea for the next serial. As he surfs the Internet, he comes across something called “ouch diary”. An anonymous reader wrote, “I got depressed reading it. But I can’t stop reading it. Take a look!”. A URL was provided and the title was No Longer Human. 

An “ouch diary”? Curiosity piques the manga artist’s interest and he clicks the URL. What pops up is the title “Yozo Oba’s Albums” and there are three pictures of Yozo. One at age 6, another at age 17, and the last at age 25. 

The artist first clicks on the age 6 picture. His first impression is that Yozo must be from a wealthy family but he couldn’t help noticing that the smile on Yozo’s face seemed to be fake and all he could say was “What a creepy kid”. 

Usamaru then clicks on Yozo, age 25 and can’t believe his eyes. He says out loud, “He’s 25 in this one? He looks like an old man. His face is totally lifeless”. He also clicks on Yozo, age 17 and is taken for another loop. He inadvertently says, “Wha…What a handsome young man”. Usamaru thinks to himself, “What could have happened to him between these three photos. The guy’s name is Yozo Oba and his diary is titled No Longer Human. 

The book is divided into twelve entries and Usamaru clicks on the first one titled Yozo Oba and is greeted by the line - “I’ve lived a life full of shame.” The first section, Yozo Oba writes about his high school years playing the class clown because he wanted people to like him. He then writes about going to an art prep school where he meets Masao Horiki who becomes his friend and mentor in wining, dining, and general debauchery. 

As Usamaru continues to search the Internet for material for his next serial manga, he keeps going back to Yozo Oba’s diary, No Longer Human. What he says of Oba’s diary is “He revealed his actions and inner thoughts in surprisingly vivid detail…”

Usamaru reads through until the end of the diary he finds an afterward written by Yozo’s friend Masao Horiki. Horiki found out that Yozo was taken into custody by the police after they found him wandering the streets and coughing up blood. After an examination he was arrested and indicted for drug use and sentenced to probation and put in a rehabiliation facility. This is where Horiki rekindles his friendship and would visit Yozo quite often, but one day, Yozo just disappeared. 

Horiki explains why he posted Yozo’s diary without his friend’s consent and pleads with any readers that if they know his whereabouts to contact him. In the manga, Usamaru Furuya writes that he regretted reading the diary until the next morning, then went to bed. However, he could not get Yozo Oba out of his head. 

In the manga, Usamaru decides to go in search of Yozo Oba or to at least confirm if he really existed or not. He does discover that there really was a Yozo Oba and that he may still be alive somewhere…

Usamaru Furuya’s adaptation of Osamu Dazai’s novel may also seem to be a bit bleak but it is not quite as depressing as Dazai’s original. His drawings really draw the reader into the story of Yozo Oba’s life. At times, his diary reads like a desperate call for attention. Oba’s utter lack of self-esteem and self-worth are depressing and reading about his downward spiral will make you want to re-evaluate your own life to help you determine if as Yozo Oba says, “Human beings terrify me!” ~Ernie Hoyt