Manshuu Ahen Squad (Manchuria Opium Squad)

"Here in Manchuria, the cheapest thing you'll find is a person's life."

In 1937, Isamu Higata is sent to the Japan-controlled Chinese puppet state of Manchukuo to serve in its standing army. After losing sight in his right eye during battle, he's banished to an agricultural facility where he's constantly abused by the commanding officers. Then, in a dusty corner, he discovers a field of poppies, the raw materials for opium. In order to raise money for his seriously ill mother, Isamu decides to produce the illicit drug—a choice that sends his future and the fate of all Manchuria into directions unknown.

(Source: Kodansha)

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Manshuu Ahen Squad has been published digitally in English as Manchuria Opium Squad by Kodansha through K Manga. The volumes have been published digitally by the same publisher since September 10, 2024. It has also been released in Italian by Dynit since February 17, 2023.

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Hua, Li

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Higata, Isamu

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Reviews

Nov 10, 2021

theaverageotaku_

Recommended

Preliminary (25/? eps)

This will contain spoilers so read at your own risk.

This is my first official review of anything on this website! Kind of odd I haven't done one yet. But today, this changes as I stumbled upon a manga with such an interesting premise, I could not hold off on catching up to the latest chapter.

And the manga is Manshuu Ahen Squad. A better title would be Breaking Bad: The Manga.

This is effectively about drugs. The protagonist, Isamu, is a soldier working to make money to save his dying mother. Since his line of work does not pay that well, he looks for other ways ... of making money. He stumbles upon a poppy field, which he uses to make opium, a popular drug in the region.

However, now he enters into a drug war. And if he wants to get out of this alive, he must work with a woman named Li Hua, the daughter of a high ranking Chinese gang member.

What I like about this manga in its 25 chapters that have been translated is the way it captures how dangerous such a line of work is. Granted, I know nothing about selling drugs other than documentaries on Pablo Escobar and El Chapo, but I know the line of work has to be something out of a horror movie. I feel like this manga captures that essence correctly. There's violence, elaborate plans to not get captured, innocent people getting sucked into the drug trade, etc. It's a mess, but a mess that makes sense and is pretty captivating.

Isamu as a protagonist is pretty dull, but I can see his character growing into that of a Walter White or even better. He's the stereotypical "good guy" for the moment but when his back is put to the wall, he can turn into the anti-hero a story like this needs. His reason for being involved in this trade is admirable as well, as after failing to save his mother, he now turns to making sure he doesn't have to go through this again with his two younger siblings.

He gets completely outshined by the leading heroine in this manga, Li Hua. She is the cunning badass needed to make this manga appealing, as without her I do not think I would be enjoying it as much as I am.

You have other characters such as Rin and Bataar but for the moment they are not all that interesting. It's still early so of course that is subject to change.

The art for this manga is absolutely amazing. The scenes where the effects of opium take over are absolutely terrifying and euphoric in a way, and the after effects of it look like something straight out of a horror movie.

There's some gore in it, which is natural for a manga as serious as this. The story is also fast paced, and also helps because a story like this needs to be fast.

All in all, the manga is off to a great start in my opinion. However, in the coming months I can see this falling off the deep end and becoming another trashy edgy seinen, because flaws can definitely come into fruition. On the other hand, I can see this becoming an overlooked gem. I hope I am correct, but only time can tell.

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Sep 28, 2021

Curiouswanderer

Recommended

Preliminary (20/? eps)

So i found out about this manga through the great Sydsnaps latest video about how she said it is like Breaking Bad and I have to agree. The main character, Isamu, goes into the army (physically and mentally abused to the max) to earn money in order to save his poor mother from the plague and wants ensure his younger siblings get settled into life. Then himself and the siblings discover a poppy field that involves with making the drug opium. He tries to sell this drug he made to the Chinese mafia and there he meets the badass hitmen chick who’s daddy runs a ...

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Jul 28, 2022

yukisoiu

Not Recommended

Preliminary (35/? eps)

Devoid of context, substance and the willingness to be gritty, Manshuu Ahen Squad excels at being a naive and misleading reimagining of a real history. The style and setting is there but with a story so absent that fails horribly in complementing it's own canvas, it's just empty, ignorant, and at times miserably funny. It's a generic wise-guy harem power fantasy with shallow and superficial conflicts pretentiously posing as something greatly sinister through overly dramatized comedic and sentient circumstances that always resolve themselves ineffectively with a painfully obvious lazy writing, case in point, Rin's absurdly convenient "photographic memory", and the damsel in distress scene with ...

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Poll: Manshuu Ahen Squad Chapter 160 Discussion Koumazoku - Feb 26, 2024	0 replies	by Koumazoku »» Feb 26, 2024 5:38 AM
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