The Man Without Talent

The Man Without Talent
1988 collected edition cover
無能の人
(Munō no Hito)
GenreI-novel,[1] dark comedy[2]
Created byYoshiharu Tsuge
Manga
Written byYoshiharu Tsuge
Published byNihon Bungeisha
English publisherNew York Review Comics
MagazineComic Baku [ja]
Original run19851986
Volumes1
Live-action film
Nowhere Man
Directed byNaoto Takenaka
Written byToshiharu Maruichi
Music byGontiti
Released1991
Runtime107 minutes

The Man Without Talent (Japanese: 無能の人, Hepburn: Munō no Hito, alternately titled in English as Nowhere Man) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshiharu Tsuge, originally serialized in the manga magazine Comic Baku [ja] from 1985 to 1986. The series is an I-novel (a genre of semi-autobiographical confessional literature) focused on the exploits of an impoverished former manga artist who attempts to support his family through a variety of odd jobs and failed schemes. The Man Without Talent was the final major work published by Tsuge prior to his retirement from manga.

While The Man Without Talent did not enjoy particular commercial success during its original serialization, the release of a live action film adaptation of the series in 1991 led to renewed critical recognition for both The Man Without Talent and for works by Tsuge generally. The collected edition of The Man Without Talent would go on to become a bestseller, and became Tsuge's most popular work. An English-language translation of the manga was published by New York Review Comics in 2020, making it the first book by Tsuge to be released in English.

  1. ^ Holmberg 2020, pp. vi–vii.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference PW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).