"The last half of Japan's Showa era, on which this volume concentrates, was as different from the first half as day is from night. It was an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity, despite being rife with internal contradictions. Because it is recent history, it is less analyzed, messier, and harder to summarize, yet Mizuki is more than up to the challenge. At the end of this series, we see Shigeru Mizuki coming to terms, not only with his own history, but with that of the entire Showa period and its turbulent highs and lows, even with the emperor who presided over it all"--Back flap.
