Kansen Rettou

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: 感染列島

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 1

Chapters: 7

Status: Finished

Published: 2008

Genres: Drama, Horror

Themes: Medical, Psychological

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: None

Authors: Kakizaki, Masasumi (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 6.51¹ (scored by 2,005 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #17514²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #5915

Members: 4,075

Favorites: 12

6.51

Ranked #17514Popularity #5915Members 4,075

MangaKakizaki, Masasumi (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /1

Chapters: /7

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Synopsis

On January 3, 2011, ER doctor Matsuoka Tsuyoshi examines a patient presenting influenza symptoms. The next day, the patient dies from multiple-organ failure, followed by others who had shown the same symptoms. As the death toll rises, even the high-tech Japanese are at a loss over how to check the further spread of the deadly virus.

More characters
Characters

Kobayashi, Eiko

Main

Matsuoka, Tsuyoshi

Main

Takako, Mita

Supporting

Hideyoshi, Manabe

Supporting

Kashimura

Supporting

Andou, Kazuma

Supporting

Nishi, Minoru

Supporting

Reviews

Aug 14, 2022

megafat

Mixed Feelings

Within 24 hours of examining a patient presenting influenza symptoms, the patient dies from multiple-organ failure, followed by several others who have shown the same symptoms. Soon after, the mysterious virus quickly spreads across the country, and as the death toll rises, even the highly trained medical experts in Japan with all the most advanced medical technology available to them are at a loss over how what this virus is and how it spreads. Soon, the whole country goes into lock down trying to contain the virus as it continues to spread all over the world, doing whatever they can to further prevent it's spread ... within their own country.

Unfortunately as I was reading through this manga, it felt like the highlight reel or an edited down version of a much longer story, as it goes from scene to scene without much of a proper transition, making the pacing of the whole thing feel very rushed as it quickly takes the reader from situation to situation without stopping to give them some breathing room.

I'm assuming that the manga was trying to go for a breakneck speed to make you feel as tired as the scientists, politicians, as well as the population at large in the manga as they have to go through trying to find a cure for the virus as well as try to prevent it from spreading and have to watch the world around them suffer from something so awful, but it just feels like it still needed a few scenes to allow the manga to breath and give the reader a much needed break every so often as well as give a few of the characters a scene or two for the reader to get to know them better, even briefly, which could easily help reinforce just how much the characters have to hurry to prevent the spread of the virus.

At only one volume in length, the story might have been just too limited by it's short length, and probably should have been given another volume or at least another few chapters for it to not feel so rushed.

But the highlight of the manga is the art, done by Masasumi Kakizaki, who was also the author of the manga, as it really shines through, as it gives the manga some much needed weight to the situation that it's presenting. Masasumi Kakizaki's art is very visceral and detailed, and it really added some impact to seeing the effects of a large scale virus killing millions of people, as uncomfortable as it might be.

Kansen Rettou isn't my favorite out of Masasumi Kakizaki's work that I have read of his, and that's probably because it tried to bite off a bit more than it can chew with it's scale, especially since it ended up being so short, but with Masasumi Kakizaki's recognizable confronting art style, it does give what little there is some impact.

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May 8, 2016

Paraturtle

Mixed Feelings

Story:
Characterization is, more or less, thrown right out the window. This is very event based, and the first page makes that very clear. This is a 'what if' scenario of what may take place when a country is plagued with a new disease. Very lightly, it takes into account the struggles people will face and what surrounds them. However, the biggest issue is that the events that take place are incredibly limited by the scope of the antagonistic power. The only scale we get in respect to the world in Kansen Rettou is numbers telling us how much of the population carries this unknown virus. ... Beyond that, we don't learn the political conflicts, social struggles, or even the bare essentials to know what impact this has other than death.

Credit where credit is due, we do get a taste of some socio-economic shut-down in response to the disease, but it's very simple and doesn't get expanded on. The majority of this narrative is spent within the emergency room with screaming doctors left and right. Then there's a pause for 2 seconds for characters to say something with weight or value (met with a single or double page spread) and it really gets tiring.

The minor character arc that's within the narrative felt pretty cool, but like everything else, it's weighed down by emergency room horrors. Had this been 2 volumes to expand on some of the characterization, I think it's likely we would have found a real gem that pursues the conflict of an overwhelming death plague and the weight of carrying lives on your shoulders in the medical profession. Instead, what we get is a grotesque, borderline exploitation of a modern bubonic plague.

Art:
Masasumi has a signature fantasm to his work. It's gorgeous in all the right places, disgusting in the others. I never go used to seeing the sickly patients which was a surprise because of how much emergency room stuff is thrown in this. Since the narrative is limited to a hospital, the scenes get drawl and uninspiring and since there's so many single-double page spreads they start to lose their impact.

A lot of the worlds expansion, or impact of the disease, is limited to text overlaying a few panels of the ER, but what would have been great to see is a booming metropolis in the first few chapters and then a desolate artificial jungle in the last few chapters. Expanding the artistic paneling beyond the Hospital would have added a lot more realism. There's only one or two times this takes place, and I have to say I was a little disappointed by it.

Character:
Good enough. They play their parts and that's all they needed to do. Nobody 'jumps the shark' to save anyone, and nobody breaks character. There really isn't a lot here to discuss. There's a bit of characterisation but it's very minor and, man I can't stress this enough, suppressed by the ER sequences.

Enjoyment:
Boring but interesting. If anyone really wants to experience a strong narrative based on a realistic vision of a pervasive new disease, I'd direct you to Contagion. It's a movie that came out a few years ago that features an all-star cast and has everything that I hoped this would be. It's virtually the same narrative but with socio-economic conflicts, compelling character drama, and the unbelievable suffering of an incurable disease. Had I not seen that before, it's likely I would have enjoyed this narrative a little more. That said, I'm not disappointed in reading this. The artwork alone is quite enjoyable, and since it's only one volume I don't feel like I wasted my time.

((If you liked this review, friend me for new reviews on other works, both manga and anime!))

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Jan 4, 2026

anotherburnedfox

Not Recommended

Kakizaki, tal y como acostumbra en sus historias, usa el melodrama barato y la victimización para sus escenas dramáticas, cosa que realmente vuelve muy infantil toda la tensión del show, la premisa es interesante, pero los personajes cadecen totalmente de lógica, y la manera en la que el autor aborda el conflicto es bastante descafeinada, además, al tratarse sobre una pandemia, y habiendo vivido una recientemente, este manga ha envejecido muy mal.

Lo mas destacable de la obra, es su arte, que aún no siendo la mejor del autor, sigue teniendo un nivel de ilustración muy bueno.

En resumen, particularmente creo que esta es una ...

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Poll: Kansen Rettou Chapter 7 Discussion Hirax - Feb 6, 2015	3 replies	by SabreDrago »» Aug 23, 2025 12:31 AM
Poll: Kansen Rettou Chapter 3 Discussion zomik - Dec 17, 2019	1 replies	by SonyShock »» Apr 5, 2023 7:45 AM
Poll: Kansen Rettou Chapter 1 Discussion William550 - Apr 7, 2012	3 replies	by SonyShock »» Apr 3, 2023 6:15 PM
Poll: Kansen Rettou Chapter 6 Discussion zomik - Dec 17, 2019	0 replies	by zomik »» Dec 17, 2019 5:59 PM
Poll: Kansen Rettou Chapter 5 Discussion zomik - Dec 17, 2019	0 replies	by zomik »» Dec 17, 2019 5:47 PM

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