Japanese Title: All You Need is Kill

 

Related: Edge of Tomorrow / Live Die Repeat (live action)

 

Genre: Action Science Fiction

Length: 2 volumes

 

Positives:

• Gritty, brutal art
• Engaging concept and execution

Negatives:

• A little limited

Since having heard several years ago that the Hollywood movie Edge of Tomorrow came from a manga, I’ve wanted to read it. After all, manga to film adaptations don’t have a reputation for quality, yet Edge of Tomorrow is great. It turns out we have quite a lot different between the manga All You Need is Kill and the movie, with each being good in their own rights. Both versions understand their mediums.

All You Need is Kill isn’t a spectacular manga. It’s a simple though interesting concept: human soldier finds himself trapped in a loop in the fight against aliens invading Earth. He goes to battle, dies, wakes up in his bunk again, and repeat. With each loop, he trains harder, studies the enemy further, and lives a few minutes longer. Key among the soldiers is a woman, a war hero known as the “Full Metal Bitch”. No one kills aliens better than she does.

The manga characters are on the younger side, him as a new recruit and her age used to contrast her combat prowess. The movie ages up the characters and employs Tom Cruise as the protagonist and Emily Blunt as the woman that trains him. The protagonist isn’t a new recruit either, in the movie, instead coming from a non-combat division and he runs from duty. This gives him more dimension as a reluctant hero. Conversely, manga protagonist goes down the trauma route harder with each death eating away at him.

The most notable difference between the two is the alien design. Movie version has them as this undulating mass of tentacles/cables on four legs tearing across the battlefield. The manga aliens are floating balls of teeth, a.k.a. Langoliers. If you’ve seen the film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Langoliers, you know they don’t translate well, something I’m sure the Edge of Tomorrow team was are of. I agree with the change. They’re fine in the manga, as you don’t need to animate them and the art illustrates them in gruesome detail.

The increased realism in the movie also extends to the power suit designs. The manga versions are very “anime” in design, akin to Bubblegum Crisis, whereas the movie employs exoskeletons similar to what the military is developing today. Could anime battle suits work in live action? Sure. Greater risk of cocking it up though.

If I have one notable complaint of the manga, it is the limited scope. I wish the story were at least one volume longer to give it more time to develop the relationship and to explore the aliens further. The two volumes we have are solid and work as they are, but I’m left wanting more. That’s where the movie improves upon the source. The couple get together sooner (keep in mind that she forgets everything each reset) and there is more to the aliens with a concrete end to the story. Movie version is a little more satisfying.

Forced to pick one or the other, I think the movie is better though the manga certainly has its merits. As I said at the beginning, they both succeed in their mediums.

Art – High

There is a nice contrast between the “softness” and youth of the characters paired against the gritty art used in the action. It evokes the trauma of these young people on the battlefield.

Story – High

A soldier relives the same battle repeatedly, progressing further each time. All You Need is Kill’s engaging hook and strict script makes for an easy page-turner.

Recommendation: Read All You Need is Kill and watch Edge of Tomorrow (also referred to as Live Die Repeat in some territories). Both are great.