365 Days of Manga, Day 81: Metro Survive

METRO SURVIVE (?????????) • Yûki Fujisawa • DrMaster (2008) • Akita Shoten (2006-2007) • 2 volumes • Survival Thriller • 15+ (mild language, graphic violence)
Mishima, a blue-collar maintenance man who works in a Tokyo skyscraper, is working overtime one night when a massive earthquake traps him, and a few other survivors, in the subway system beneath the building. As food runs out, a few yakuza-esque thugs start to lord it over the other survivors, and Mishima must find the strength to somehow survive and get back home to his family. Metro Survive is a straightforward, tightly constructed “what if it happened to you?” disaster story with some good characterizations. However, compared to great disaster manga like Dragon Head and The Drifting Classroom, the crude art takes it down a level; the sniveling salarymen and obnoxious otaku look like the stock characters they are, and the collapsed skyscraper looks like a mass of hasty scribbles.

Today’s winner is Cynthia D. of Ohio. Congrats, Cynthia! We also have a photo of one of our previous winners, Anthony!

Glad you like the monster vs. monster action of Princess Resurrection, Anthony! I’ll try to send you an equally awesome manga for your next five!