Reviews for Fourteen

So from what I take from this, KFC meets the president who faces off against Michael Jackson in the apocalyptic future. Story: Get ready to get your mind screwed left right up and DOWN. The plot twists are insane. They don't even make sense BUT ITS SO AWESOME. Consider Fourteen Umezu Kazuo's twisted vision of the future, where humans have exhausted Earth's resources and progress through life through artificial means.You know shts hardcore if chicken can be grown in a bathtub. He emphasizes the consequences of human interference with nature and concludes that if we don't stop killing trees now, we're dead. The story explores various philosophicaland (pseudo) scientific concepts such as love, immortality, individuality, evolution, aliens; the list just goes on. Add a bit of Umezu Kazuo in there and you get things blown out of proportion. Literally, you cannot help but stop and THINK about what this guy was sniffing and how you could get some of it. It's not necessarily bad per se, its just that its so over the top that whatever material you're presented with will hit you in the face multiple times and HARD.

Art: Quite frankly, it's decent at best. The artist does capture emotions of the characters well and does a good job of consistently maintaining a dark and heavy atmosphere but the art is just bad. Specifically, the style is outdated. Considering it was made in the 90's, I guess it was passable then but in today's standards, if one would flip to a random page of this manga to see its contents they would straight up close it and put it back on the shelf.

Character: Think of Chicken George as the representation of Umezu Kazuo's thoughts and feelings towards the people and businesses that contribute to environmental hazards; its a huge middle finger aiming for their tight butthole. He comes in the story saying "You guys are all going to die and theres nothing you can do about it." When the humans finally think they have a solution; "NOP." When they ask for his help "Come find me in my unfindable castle." He performs his role as a harbinger of doom well, until the author decides to incorporate love into the situation. You'll find that for the most part, Chicken George is probably the most relatable character in the story despite him being an antagonist to all humans.

Enjoyment/Overall: As crazy as the author's ideas were, they were all entertaining to say the least. It was nice to be exposed to someone else's apocalyptic vision of the future, and one as grand as this really broadened my perspective (for better or worse). The 260 chapter experience was worth it and I'd recommend this manga to anyone looking for alternatives on the world's end.

Fourteen is a... truly bizarre experience. No, I don't think you understand what extend of uncontrolled madness I'm talking about. Fourteen goes from humanoid KFC byproduct equipped with genius mind and militant approach towards humanity, through world-wide conspiracy covering up apocalypse with the power of soap-opera to a loli with a laser gun taking over a giant mechanical t-rex in space. Fourteen is a saga that jumps from one absurdly bizzare idea to another, and manages to connect them in well-flowing story. It is really impressive to pack 20 volumes with unique and creative concepts that just keep getting more and more entertaining. The mostbizarre part is, in fact, how the story actually makes sense. Especially after you realize what kinds of horrors and surreal situations took place. And it still makes sense in the grand scheme of the story. I wouldn't hesitate to call this Umezu Kazuo's Opus Magnum.

Now of course, to truly enjoy this manga, you need to balance not taking it too seriously and taking it too seriously. The wackiness does cross into the comedy zone sometimes, especially if your sense of humor aligns with weird shit, but Fourteen still takes on some serious themes (of course, in it's own signature way) and especially the last arc and the finale itself is a poetical, philosophical take that might leave you in thoughts.

As the story, the art itself too treads between wacky weirdness and horrifying horror. The art seems almost... warped at times, and I mean this in a good way. It surely helps to build up the atmosphere. The illustration are often in the uncanny valley teritorry. The art might seem bad at the start, especially if you're unfamiliar to Umezu's style, but you'll get used to it fast. Well, within the extent one is able to get used to an uncanny valley.

Overall, this manga is not for everyone and some will certainly shake their heads in disbelief that people actually like it, but if you're looking for something that is both unique and entertaining, if you're looking for a one of a kind manga, you should definitely try Fourteen.

Fourteen is the greatest manga that has ever been written or ever will be written. It is a dark tale of a chicken man who plans to exterminate humanity, but it goes from this premise to the most insane heights. This series is a horrific nightmare, one that alternates between being genuinely confusing and horrifying and absolutely hilarious in its absurdity. It has a narrative structure despite its insanity, but one that might not be immediately obvious due to the stories schizophrenic and rapidly alternating nature. The artwork is sublime, with a bizarrely realistic style that resembles a mixture of Fletcher Hanks and Robert Crumb thatonly elevates the insanity further. Character poses are stiff and emotions look somewhat bizarre and forced, but this only assists in enhancing the utter insanity that this series revolves around. It features some of the most incomprehensible bullshit I've ever seen, images that made me stare in disbelief at the nonsense I was witnessing.

The characters aren't developed extensively, though Chicken George has an interesting arc and iconic design. It doesn't matter, because their insanity only assists in the story, such as Grand Master Rose, the closest thing to a villain, who is a centuries-old technocratic billionaire who controls the world finances and replenishes his youth with a steady diet of fetus organs, or Chicken Lucy, George's girlfriend that is a regular chicken but can talk, or America, who is the president's son and actually named America, and who has hair that is a plant and becomes a Christ-like figure by the end of the series.

If you can't tell, Fourteen is a thrill ride from beginning to end. The insanity only escalates and you must turn the page to figure out more of the fantastical nonsense present in the series. None of it makes any sense. It makes Neon Genesis Evangelion look like Sesame Street. It makes Texhnolyze look like Fairly Oddparents. It makes Junji Ito look like "See Spot Run". It never lets up, with increasingly absurd and escalating mass death and panic that reaches an increasingly fevered pitch until the equally nonsensical ending.

Fourteen is an absolute masterpiece, and one that every intellectual must read.

This is truly the weirdest thing I have ever read in my life. I am no stranger to strange or gory manga, but this is just another level. Yet it's also so addictive to read! Like a slow moving, revolting, disturbing car wreck you can't turn your head away from. There's a concept and a story, but everything changes at a breakneck speed in this manga, it's hard to keep track of. Several times I wanted to put it down because it just made no sense to me, but I would pick it right back up. It's uniquely weird. It's hard to describe. If youfeel like you're reading horror manga and nothing fazes you anymore, give this a try.

"14" by Kazuo Umezu is a masterpiece of the horror genre, embodying a mixture of surreal madness, seasoned with Japanese design with unique charisma. This mangaka, recognized as the "Father Tiger" of Japanese horror and has inspired many, including the famous horror author Junji Ito, demonstrates in "14" his incredible ability to create an atmosphere and tension that literally takes your breath away. One of the greatest advantages of "14" is the masterful use of elements of horror. Kazuo Umezu, with his unique vision and style, creates a dark and exciting atmosphere that permeates every page of the manga. His artistic style, combining detailed drawing andexpressive images, allows the reader to fully immerse himself in this surreal and creepy world. The lines and shadows of his illustrations make each scene feel like an unpredictable horror, causing goosebumps.

The plot of "14" is an exciting story filled with unexpected twists and shocking revelations. Kazuo Umezu skillfully spins the intrigue, creating a narrative that constantly keeps the reader in suspense. The story, which touches on deep and relevant topics such as the dangers of high technology, environmental disasters and human nature, is not only terrifying, but also provokes reflection. This manga tries to surprise at every step, filling the reader's head with new ideas and questions.

Nevertheless, "14" remains a "bubble gum": despite its depth and layering, the manga is more focused on aesthetic and emotional perception than on logical comprehension. This makes it an ideal work for those who are looking for an emotional and visual experience, if superficially, but still able to touch on important issues.

The characters in "14" deserve special attention. Each of them is a carefully crafted character with their own fears, motivations and tragedies. They become alive and real in the eyes of the reader, arousing sympathy and empathy. The main antagonist is especially bright, whose immorality and composure raise questions about the nature of evil and the dangers that man harbors.

Although Kazuo Umezu remains in fact a household name in the West, at home he really enjoys great popularity and recognition as an eminent horror author. His contribution to the horror genre in Japan is significant, and he has inspired many talented artists and writers, including Junji Ito, who inherited from his mentor a unique vision and approach to creating atmospheric works.

I think manga is supposed to be at least mildly weird, and 14 is quite weird. The "story" starts by following our hero chicken george as he looks for revenge on humanity on behalf of all animals, which have mostly been brought to the brink of extinction. After a few volumes, while chicken george is still the reason many things happen, our real main character becomes the president of the united states, which is a very cool and nice guy. Chicken george is also a cool guy and sometimes nice but the president is nicer imho. I'm losing the point. Anyway, a lot a lot of thingshappen, we don't really feel bad (or good) while reading them because we the things that happen don't really happen to characters BUT these things are kind of interesting. In 14 there are at least 20 decent ideas (and a few good ones) for some other manga or short story to be set in.

The art is good. (by art i mean visuals and by good i mean art)

This review doesn't really make much sense but neither does the manga, so i don't feel this is inappropriate.

Give it a try.

It starts of really interesting. Sketching a future, that could actually be pretty close to reality. We are introduced to Chicken George, a chicken man evolved from an artifical chicken breast who is a genius and has come to earth to eradicate human life, at least thats what he says. The message of the story is that humans are bad and destroying the earth, and that's why the plants take revenge. All the enjoyment of this manga will be mostly from the plot around Chicken George, other main characters don't feel like real people, more like devices used in the story to make stuffhappen. So when at the end of the story Chicken George is out of the picture, you see how bad it actually is without him. The only reason you may want to keep reading is for the ending, which doesn't really surprise.

The art is very interesting, it really fits the story with its creepiness and strong shading. Making it look like a real dystopia.

I started reading this mostly because it started of really interesting but it slowly goes downhill and becomes more of a drag. Only if you are interested in weird sci-fi future stuff I would recommend this.