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A review by rnbhargava
Tista, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a lot of fun. It’s interesting in that it’s a work by the creator of Spy x Family immediately before it. The protagonist is in a way like a composite of Yor & Loid but also Tatsuya Endo liberally riffs on street level Marvel characters like The Punisher, Daredevil and Spider-Man in quite engaging ways. You can tell he loves those marvel characters he riffs on. I was super engaged but at the same time I kind of understood why it was short lived. I think some probably just didn’t vibe with the mixed tone. I love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
This is all of the violence of the secret lives of characters in Spy x Family without much of the humor. The humor that is here is effective but the overall subject matter and tone is treated much more seriously, with grit, compared to Endo’s current quite popular work. This story gets very emotional too because of tragic details of certain character lives. I would recommend this book entirely but those expecting a similar vibe to Spy x Family will probably be disappointed. Accept this book for what it is, a gritty story about a young Assassin.