The Embalmer by Mitsukazu Mihara
As children, when we start dreaming up possible
futures for ourselves, no kid says, “I want to be a
mortician when I grow up.” Except me, and my parents
were very worried.
I was thrilled when Embalmer by Mitsukazu Mihara, my
favorite manga-ka (manga creator), came out. Mihara is
best known for her Doll series which tells touching
and sometimes heart breaking stories about life, love,
and the struggles of being human.
The Embalmer manga deals with death and how the people
left behind deal with it. Sometimes seeing the ones
you love one last time as you want to remember them
can mean all the difference in the world.
The stories aren’t for everyone, if you’re looking for
action or comedy pass this up. If you’ve wanted manga
with depth and emotions look no further.
This beautifully drawn manga is truly a feast for the
eyes. Her drawings look more true to life than other
Manga. As you look through her books, you can see at
times the clothes seem to be the focal point and the
characters are drawn for the outfits.
In Embalmer, Mitsukazu Mihara sprinkles panels with
embalming facts and the difference between east and
west’s view of death. For example: Death, in Japan, is
seen as a failure to recover from what the cause is
and is treated with indifference, like the loser of a
sack race.
Being an Embalmer in Japan is viewed by some to be the
same as being a black magician by the job’s close
association with dead. It also sneakily addresses how
easy it is to hurt the people you love by not being
able to just say that you love them.
This is a manga where no one has super powers or
discovers they’re magical.
The Embalmer could be your life or the life of someone
you know. There are some great lessons to get you
thinking and detailed and Gothic drawing. What more
could you want?
A refreshing and honest take on the world. You’ll be
glad you picked this one up.
- Lola S. Batling-Lee