Title: Detroit: Become Human: Tokyo Stories Vol. 1
Author: Moto Sumida (Art), Kazami Sawatari (Story)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
Genre: Science Fiction, Drama
Publication Date: September 17, 2024
The Story
Based on the hit video game, Detroit Become Human: Tokyo Stories shifts our attention to Japan with all-new stories with brand-new characters! The first volume tells one story in full and begins the first part of a second story.
In the first story, we meet Reina, an android who was programmed to become a pop idol. Her popularity has taken the world by storm; however, her manager, Hanazawa, believes that artificial creations undermine all the work she did when she was an idol. Because of this, there is a very deep resentment that she has for Reina. What makes matters worse is that she adopted her sister’s daughter after she passed away and is now forcing her to become an idol against her will believing that a human idol would be better than an android since that’s the proper order of things in her worldview.
Of course, Hanazawa, being a big deal herself in the idol industry, demands perfection and when she doesn’t receive it, she can become both verbally and physically abusive. This lack of care causes events to spiral out of control!
In the second story, we are introduced to a medical android who is assigned to be an obstetrician. He has to deliver difficult news to a patient; however, they become rather irritated at his lack of sympathy and human emotion surrounding their ordeal. He receives some advice from a colleague; however, while wandering the halls, he has a run-in with a rather disgruntled patient. That’s about as far as we got with this story as Reina’s took up the vast majority of the volume.
Characters
Reina is a typical android that you would find within the game. By that, I mean she’s living out her programmed life, taking in the experiences as they happen, but she’s also obeying all of the commands she is given… until that moment when everything changes. For that, if you’re looking for an experience similar to the characters within the game, Reina fits the bill perfectly!
Hanazawa is absolutely detestable. Her lack of care and consideration for not only Reina but for Suzune, her once niece now adopted daughter, is disgusting. Verbal and physical abuse to control people in order to get what you want always makes for a disgusting character and if the manga’s job was to make me hate them and see that they get what’s coming to them then mission accomplished! Definitely, a good villain that you can love to hate.
As for Suzune, she had the most development as she came into this idol gig kicking and screaming. She wanted nothing to do with it and was only going along with what Hanazawa said because who can refuse someone like her? She hates the idea of having to work with Reina; however, when Reina begins to teach her how to do things, she improves and starts to enjoy becoming an idol. It creates a nice bond between the two of them and you can see the transformation in Suzune’s thinking in real time. Definitely the best character in this story arc!
Lastly, we have Ookawa who works with Hanazawa as sort of a manager but she’s more or less treated like a babysitter than anything else. Ookawa is ordered to look after Suzune on top of Reina and, of course, she protests but the more she sees how Hanazawa treats them, the more Ookawa begins to feel for them. She’s got that spitfire attitude as well but only uses it when she’s not around Hanazawa for obvious reasons. Even though she thinks that taking care of an android and Hanazawa’s daughter is a pain in the rear, she shows that she does care about them and will help them out in any way that she can!
As for Seiji in our second story… things are just getting started but we can already see how the job he is assigned to is affecting him. He is beginning to question whether or not he is suitable to be a medical android because he cannot understand human emotions. Plus, he realizes that he cannot leave the hospital because he holds crucial patient information. If he were to leave, he would either have his memory wiped or be decommissioned since he is an older, outdated model. While he doesn’t show any signs of breaking through just yet, everything is there for him to do so. Right now, he’s simply accepting his situation and moving forward as he’s programmed to do so.
Final Thoughts
The only negative I have to say about this volume was the decision to stick Seiji’s story in here. Sure, it would have made for a smaller volume but having the reader fully invest into Reina’s story only to get the start of Seiji’s was not good from a pacing perspective. Either include two full stories in one volume and thicken it up (and at 144 pages, it is a tad smaller than normal volumes which usually go 176-210 pages), or only focus on one story at a time. Getting fully invested in Reina’s story and then having to switch gears to something incomplete really took the wind out of the sails of this book.
Outside of that, as far as the quality of the content… it was pretty good. Being a fan of the game, I felt that the manga stayed true to the roots of what the game set out to accomplish while giving us brand-new characters to get attached to. Reina’s story had the perfect balance of character personalities and plot points but didn’t overstay its welcome. With the game being broken into segments with each telling the story of a different android, Reina’s story felt like a natural fit if it were to be included in the game in terms of length, development, and conclusion.
I can’t say the same for Seiji’s because of my gripe above but it is starting out in the same fashion where it could slot into the game and feel just as natural.
What I also liked is that you don’t need to have played Detroit Become Human to fully understand and appreciate this manga. It’s written in a way where you can enjoy these stories without previous knowledge of the game and while, yes, there are some mentions to what happened in the game, it’s not done in a way where it would make you feel stupid for never having played it. This means that this manga can be picked up and enjoyed by anyone and if you’re a fan of A.I. and stories of androids trying to fit in and find a place inside of a human society, this is a must-have!
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
