Matsumoto Jiro's manga tends to feel Jiroish.
Becchin & Mandala, for instance, seems like exactly the sort of thing a Matsumoto would do.
Bingo Card: guns, rape, fish, cruelty, surrealism, militarism, mental illness, social collapse, filthy & cluttered interiors, ruined & overgrown exteriors, fractured narrative, gallows humor, casual tragedy, futile struggle, otaku culture, and not the slightest trace of empathy, kindness, affection or warmth
This is brilliant work, and Matsumoto-sensei is a true master of his craft. The art is as gorgeous as it is distinctive, the narrative is enthralling despite the seemingly senseless procession of events, and every aspect of the whole communicates a singular vision. Despite my admiration, however, I find it very hard to
like.
Becchin & Mandala, like everything I've read by Matsumoto, seems to ridicule sentiment and reject attachment. It paints the world in ash and acid, as the total failure of all human doing. While the approach suggests satire, the narrative offers no instruction, as no specific folly or sin is highlighted. It doesn't even seem to say anything about the demented carnage it observes in all directions.
Instead, it reifies a familiar adage: "life sucks, then you die." Perhaps so. But pure nihilism is oddly insubstantial. Little but bitterness (and brilliant draftsmanship) lingers in its wake.