Review by Karl Verhoven
As of the conclusion to Manhole 2 police detectives Ken Mizoguchi and Nao Inoue know they’re hunting a killer intent on carrying out a bio-terrorism attack. Readers are aware of the twisted reasoning behind his motives, and the first half of Manhole 3 is the police catching up with the broad details readers already know, while filling in the motivation.
Manhole is plotted over three volumes as a continuing procedural investigation, and so requires plenty of pages of people just talking with each other. That readers remain caught up in events is due to Tetsuya Tsutsui being such a skilled storyteller. Despite all the conversations, he captivates with what’s revealed because he constructs interesting looking pages by switching viewpoints up, down and around as the conversations take place. It’s a discipline and effort surprisingly few artists would be able to pull off over the six hundred pages of three volumes.
A big shock in the previous volume was Mizoguchi contracting an infection. Due to precautions taken this wasn’t as dangerous as it otherwise might have been, but here Tsutsui sets a clock ticking to counterpoint the hunt for a killer as it’s revealed perhaps statements declaring Mizoguchi safe may have been premature.
Up to this volume Inoue has been the sounding board for her colleague as the investigation proceeds, and the mirror for readers’ reactions. Here, though, she comes into her own. Indeed she’s on her own, although getting advice by phone, told “This guy is convinced he’s acting for the good of humanity. Even though you know he’s wrong, don’t try to change his mind. You’ll have to use force”. Knowing what’s at stake and there’s a deadline, will she follow regulations or commit to a possibly more practical course of action?
When it comes to the resolution there may be some disappointment as there’s suspense, but it’s understated because it remains true to the procedural realism Tsutsui has prioritised from the beginning. There is, though, a gruesome epilogue.
As a complete story Manhole is masterful in applying completely credible detection to incredible events, and while this means action sequences are few and far between, it plays out in the manner of a satisfying TV drama. Like Line of Duty? Manhole should appeal.
