Review:

I've read comics better than MPD-PSYCHO.

But it is definitely, hands down, the best Japanese comic I have ever read.

The team of Eiji Otsuka and Sho-u Tajima has brought to life a story that calls out to the netherworld of human curiosity, empathy, and depravity. One of the most alluring aspects of PSYCHO is also its most repellent: the candid, grotesque depiction of bodies raped, mutilated, and even eaten by a colorful array of deviants who clearly regard murder as an art. And if these serial killers are the Artists, then the protagonist, who goes by too many names, is the Artist-turned-Critic, a detective afflicted with multiple personality disorder: Japan's own Hannibal Lecter. This is the classic telling of a battle with demons, without and within.

Forget all of the stereotypes that come to mind when you think about "manga." There are no excessively wacky faces, impossible bosoms, exaggerated weaponry, perverted accidents, love at first sight, happy endings or even simple contrivances in PSYCHO. Every detail is hard, cold, and as calculated as the killers within it are calculating (although subtle, self-targeting humor is not beyond Otsuka when called for). This particular quality of Otsuka's writing goes well hand-in-hand with Tajima's art which is both deeply expressive and minimalistic - no panel, tone, nor line is superfluous - conveying both the external madness of the urban setting and the inner madness of the schizophrenic protagonist.

Most importantly of all, it did what all manga are supposed to do: it left me hungry for more. This book is rated Mature for obvious reasons, but that shouldn't stop each and every single one of you from checking it out, whether it be tomorrow or once you hit 18. There is no chance of this now 11-year-old example of comics excellence ever going stale.