Matorism

A manga about 2 narcotics officers and the people they arrest who abuse illegal drugs.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This series is done by Masakazu Suzuki. I thought his series “Kodomo wo Koroshite kudasai” to iu Oyatachi, about adults with mental issues, was really well done. I’m slightly less enthusiastic about this manga because I feel the message about drug abuse is outdated.

The series follows different people as they either get involved with drugs or are in proximity to some kind of drug addiction and/or abuse. Some of the stories were very good but others were more than a little absurd. One story follows a teacher who confiscates marijuana from a student, only to later partake it himself. By the end of the story he was using cocaine and heroin and it’s hard not to roll your eyes when you’re saying that smoking a joint is a gateway to hardcore substance abuse. It seems like a narrative straight out of the 50’s.

I wonder if Suzuki is either ignorant of different drugs and their effects or he’s simply propagating a narrative that’s in line with Japanese policy. In any case it’s a shame because I think he’s a talented storyteller who’s been misinformed about certain drugs. Also I don’t think you can just mail order drugs like in this manga.

~dakazu