Summit of the gods

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Summit of the Gods ( Japanese 神 々 の 山嶺 , Kamigami no Itadaki ) is a manga by the Japanese illustrator Jirō Taniguchi and the author Baku Yumemakura , which was published in Japan from 2000 to 2003. The work, which is about the life of a fanatical mountaineer, has over 1,500 pages and has been translated into several languages.

content

The Japanese photographer Fukamachi Makoto spends a few days in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu after participating in a failed expedition to Mount Everest . During his forays into a mountaineering equipment shop, he discovers an old camera and believes he recognizes George Mallory's apparatus in it. It is possible that the film contained in the camera could prove that Mallory and Irvine first ascented Mount Everest in 1924. He buys the device, but his inquiries draw the dubious business owner's attention to its possible value and so it is stolen from him that same evening. During further research in Kathmandu, he then surprisingly meets the legendary mountaineer Habu Yoshi, who has been believed lost for many years. Makoto senses a story and wants to find out more about the camera and Yoshi, also because both are apparently connected to each other. Back in Japan, he begins to research Habu Yoshi's life by speaking to his former mountaineers and competitors from the Japanese mountaineering community, especially the Alpine clubs. Little by little, the life story of a fanatical mountaineer is revealed to him, who, driven by internal and external pressure to succeed, carried out legendary (first) ascents and survived with the utmost willpower even in the face of certain death. But Yoshi also shows himself to be a stubborn and lonely person who can hardly maintain functioning social relationships. Often he lives on the edge of the subsistence level and often offends people who are devoted to him. This is how Fukamachi met Habu's long-time partner Kyoko and fell in love with her.

In the course of his research, with which Makoto embarks on the trail of Habu Yoshi's life and the history of the first ascent of Mount Everest, he himself falls under the spell of the fascination of mountaineering. This personal development leads him back to Nepal and culminates in the rediscovery of Yoshis and Mallory's camera. Yoshi once found the camera when he discovered Mallory's body on the mountain at an altitude of 8,100 meters, but even then it contained no film.

After Fukamachi persistently pursued Yoshi to the base camp on Everest, he finally received permission to follow Habus in his big dream and to take photos as far as he could: the first ascent of the southwest flank of Mount Everest in winter, alone and without oxygen. This endeavor is considered to be almost impossible. In order to meet the requirement of solo ascent, Habu sets the condition that the two no longer maintain contact with each other after leaving the base camp. At the beginning of December, Makoto Yoshi follows the flank of the mountain and finally, overestimating himself and driven by the will to follow Habu as far as possible, beneath the 'Gray Tower' in bad weather, his life is in serious danger. Here, despite the agreement, Yoshi uses superhuman efforts to save Makoto's life. While Fukamachi finally descends the next morning and photographs Habu from a distance, he reaches the summit of Everest after climbing the southwest flank completely. Makoto waits in base camp with Habu's friend Ang Tshering, but Yoshi never returns from the descent.

Back in Japan, the report about Habu Yoshi and his plans from Fukamachi makes a little celebrity and his relationship with Kyoko is also developing well, but he is not permanently satisfied. In the autumn of the following year, driven by his inner demons, he tries to climb Everest on one of the standard routes. He also reaches the summit and finally his burden falls off him. On the descent, it gets more and more difficult due to the weather and becomes weaker and slower. Still in the death zone, he deviates from the route and suddenly discovers the open-eyed corpse of Habu Yoshi, who sat down to die next to the corpse of Georgy Mallory. Whether willingly or not remains an open question. Makoto finds the camera's film in Mallory's backpack. Motivated by this event, he says goodbye to Yoshi, manages the descent with his last willpower and returns home. The story ends with the development of the film from Mallory's camera.

publication

The manga series was published in individual chapters from December 2000 in the manga magazine Business Jump published by Shueisha in Japan. The chapters were later published in five edited volumes.

An English version of the manga has been announced by Ponent Mon , a French version by Kana from 2004 to 2005. A Chinese one is released at Taiwan Tohan . The publishing house Schreiber und Leser published the five volumes in German from November 2007. The translation is by Resel Rebiersch and Tsuwame Rebiersch.

reception

Summit of the Gods was awarded 1st prize for the best manga at the 2001 Arts and Media Festival of the Japanese Ministry of Culture.

Micha Wießler recommends the manga in Der Tagesspiegel to readers who otherwise don't read mangas. It is a furious mountaineering drama with fascinating mountain landscapes. For the German publishing landscape, "Summit of the Gods" is an atypical manga, since it is aimed primarily at adults " .

According to the Comic Radio Show, the manga offers "breathtaking mountain panoramas and captivating climbs" and depicts "the painting of a person who wants to get to the top, who does not have it easy, but for whom it is not exactly made easy" . It goes on to say "An ace in the rock face, a razor in the area of ​​social relations and always on the verge of subsistence, this is Yoshi's life. But not only financial worries hit him hard. A tragic stroke of fate and an unwanted competitive situation demand the alpinaholic out again and again. "

Brigitte Schönhense from Splashcomics praises the detailed, realistic drawings and the “well thought out and structured story” . The multi-layered character of the mountaineer Habu Yoshi is particularly interesting for the reader, you can feel with him and he is personable. While reading, you get “yourself [...] want to lace up your hiking boots and go out into nature” . The German volumes are of good print quality and offer a lively translation.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Micha Wießler: Obsessed with the mountain. Der Tagesspiegel , November 26, 2008, accessed on June 3, 2009 .
  2. ↑ Comic Radio Show about the manga, January 13, 2008
  3. ↑ Brigitte Schönhense: Comic Review - Summit of the Gods 1. Splashcomics, November 25, 2007, accessed on June 3, 2009 .

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