Voyeur (manga)


Voyeur, also known as Nozokiya, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideo Yamamoto. The series and its sequel Voyeurs, Inc. were serialized in the manga magazine Weekly Young Sunday from 1992 to 1997. The series broadly focuses on individuals who engage in voyeurism for both sexual gratification and investigative purposes. Voyeurs, Inc. has been adapted twice: as a live-action film produced by Toei in 1995, and as a live-action television drama produced by TV Tokyo in 2007. In North America, an English-language translation of Voyeur and the first three volumes of Voyeurs, Inc. were published by Viz Media, which also serialized the series in its manga magazine Pulp.

Synopsis

''Voyeur''

Ko, a young man visiting a parking lot popular for hookups with his girlfriend Satomi, confronts Takuro, a peeping tom spying on couples using a night-vision device. Takuro states that his voyeurism allows him to see a person's true nature, and mocks Ko for "hiding behind his smile." The encounter stokes paranoia in the otherwise cheerful Ko, who becomes convinced that Satomi is unfaithful to him. Ko begins to observe Satomi with Takuro, and they ultimately discover her having sex with another man. Ko discloses to Takuro that as a child, he adopted a personality of forced kindness as a coping mechanism to deal with his trust issues, after a friend murdered his pet dog in jealousy when Ko was selected over him to participate in a karate competition. Ko and Takuro jointly establish "Voyeurs, Inc.", a security and private investigation company.

''Voyeurs, Inc.''

Voyeurs, Inc. transplants the concept of a voyeuristic private investigation company to a new cast of characters: veteran investigator Ken, his associate Cho, and their novice apprentice Smile. They are later joined by Reika Takamizawa, a student who was initially the subject of one of Voyeurs, Inc.'s investigations. The series follows the group as they are hired by clients to investigate various individuals.

Characters

; Ken
; Reika Takamizawa
; Cho
; Smile
; Husky

Media

Manga

Voyeur was serialized in the manga magazine Weekly Young Sunday in 1992, while its sequel Voyeurs, Inc. was serialized in Weekly Young Sunday from 1993 to 1997. The series was written and illustrated by Hideo Yamamoto, who stated that he wished to use the series to depict "the spiritual crisis of the modern era," and "people's longing for a sense of security."
In Japan, the series was collected into 12 collected tankōbon volumes published by Shogakukan. In North America, an English-language translation of Voyeur and the first three volumes of Voyeurs, Inc. were published by Viz Media, which also serialized the series in its manga magazine Pulp. Pulp simultaneously serialized Voyeurs, Inc. and Short Cuts by Usamaru Furuya, both of which examine prostitution; as such, it published "Vulgarity Drifting Diary", a column by sex worker, to provide an alternate perspective on the issue.

Live-action film

In 1995, Voyeurs, Inc was adapted into a live action film by Toei under the title Nozokiya. The film was directed by Tadafumi Tomioka and starred as Ken, Asaka Seto as Reika, Takanori Jinnai as Cho, and Jun Murakami as Smile.

Television drama

In 2007, Voyeurs, Inc was adapted into a live-action television drama that aired on TV Tokyo under the title Nozokiya. The series was directed by Kiyoshi Yamamoto and written by Yasutoshi Murakawa, and aired from April 2 to July 2, 2007.

Reception

In his review of Voyeur for the American manga magazine Manga Max, Lee Brimmicombe-Wood described the series as "disturbing and provocative," and "a brave strip for Viz to publish." Christopher Kinsey of Anime Outsiders praised the series' writing and art style, noting that the style of the latter "gives you a breather from the rather weighty" subject material of the series.