Ode To Kirihito vol 1 s/c back

Whilst I am an unabashed Tezuka fan in general, for me personally it is when he is free from the constraint of story length that Tezuka's writing really comes into its own and he stands head and shoulders above the rest. ODE TO KIRIHITO is 822 pages of masterful epic storytelling spanning continents and myriad characters.
Whilst this book is described by the publisher as a medical thriller, it is better described as a mystery thriller set against a medical back drop. What is the gruesome Monmow disease that gradually distorts the sufferers' facial bone structure into animal-like features causing them to be shunned? Is it contagious? And why are there other isolated pockets of similar diseases in always remote locations around the globe? Our hero Kirihito is sent to a remote Japanese village to investigate one such outbreak. But does his superior have an ulterior, sinister motive for sending him there?

What ensues is a deeply moving story about human suffering and what it is possible for one man to endure, the ambition and greed of politics, man's inhumanity to man, and the possibilities of redemption and revenge. As with all Tezuka's epics such as MW, PHOENIX and BUDDHA, there are several main characters and huge numbers of supporting characters whom we focus on in turn including the ever-determined Kirihito, the increasingly unhinged Dr. Uribe who is at war with himself and his dark desires, the egotistical Dr. Osanai who is determined to do whatever it takes to win the vote for the position of National Head of Japanese Medicine, smugglers, Arabic terrorists, ruthless Chinese oligarchs, Zimbabwean white supremacists, nuns, and even sex-crazed circus acts. (Honestly!) Tezuka as ever displays incredible depth of writing and truly human characterisation and emotion as we move through the riveting and complex plot to its multi-faceted conclusion. Will they find the cause of Monmow in time? Will the dastardly Dr. Osani succeed in his scheming or get his come-uppance? Will Dr. Uribe lose the plot completely? And will there be a tragic or a happy ending for Kirihito?