Naoki Urasawa is an expert at making masterpieces, and Billy Bat is his next manga, finally getting an English translation. From Monster to 20th Century Boys and Pluto, Urasawa’s work is some of the freshest storytelling you can find anywhere, and it’s safe to say Billy Bat is up there in quality. It’s the kind of manga that keeps you guessing, with exciting twists and surprising storytelling ideas that keep you guessing.
In a few ways, Billy Bat is multiple stories wrapped into one. Urasawa is joined by co-writer Takashi Nagasaki, with translation by Kristi Iwashiro, in a manga best experienced with as little knowledge as possible. It opens with a bat detective named Billy, written by Kevin Yamagata.
The first page comes complete with a title and our star character looking quite happy with himself. Soon, we’re taken into a city drawn in full color, and experience a new case he’s taken on. 25 pages in, we’re right there with Billy, with watercolors and a certain style that makes the manga feel like something out of the ’70s or ’80s. Some of the art isn’t fully colored at the bottom of page 26, and then on the very next page, we see a pen inking Billy’s head. We move out further to see a hand and a drawing board. It’s not until page 28 that we see a highly detailed art studio and Kevin laboring over the panel.
Have you seen this manga!?
Credit: Abrams
At this point, it’s clear the story is about the creator, or is it? As the story progresses, Kevin is put through the wringer, first trying to find the artist of a bat manga in Japan he may have accidentally ripped off. Murders, framings, and more occur to Kevin through the rest of this manga, keeping you guessing at every turn.
The fourth-wall-breaking, metatextual story pops up again late in the manga, further drawing your interest and making it feel quite original. The change-ups in the story are so well placed that the whiplash will feel exhilarating, especially since it’s so rare these days to be surprised. The fact that the cliffhanger is more bizarre and exciting than anything that came before it is just icing on the cake.
Visually, Billy Bat is fantastic, with the opening bat manga giving a nostalgic feel for an older style of storytelling. The highly detailed art that follows grounds the story in reality, with clever use of manga within the manga that keeps things fresh along the way.
If you were to find a gripe, and it’s honestly tricky, it might be the recurring stoic businessman type that pops up. There are a few panels where the story cuts to them looking unemotional and a bit serious, but for me, they didn’t add much beyond making me wonder why I should care.
Billy Bat Vol. 1 is exactly the kind of ambitious, unpredictable storytelling that has made Naoki Urasawa one of manga’s most celebrated creators. Every new revelation opens another door, every twist feels earned, and the constant shifts in perspective only deepen the intrigue. Backed by outstanding artwork and a premise that grows more fascinating with every chapter, this first volume establishes a mystery that is as entertaining as it is inventive. For readers who enjoy stories that keep them guessing, it is an easy recommendation.
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