By Buichi Terasawa
Published by VIZ
Rating: Mature

Machismo, I think is the best way to describe it. Filled with girls, guns and glory, Midnight Eye: Goku, Private Investigator is an interesting science fiction mix of Journey to the West, James Bond, Blade Runner and Barberella. I was originally introduced to the series during this year’s Anime Boston, when I attended “Panel to the West,” hosted by Mike Toole. The panel covered the origins of the character Sun Wukong—or as you may know him, Son Goku—in the Chinese legend Journey to the West and went on to discuss the various adaptations of that story produced in anime, manga, and other forms of popular culture. Midnight Eye: Goku, Private Investigator (also known as Goku the Midnight Eye, Goku: Midnight Eye, and Midnight Eye Goku) made its mark on me and, being a fan of another Buichi Terasawa series called Cobra, I became highly interested in this series. Thanks to eBay, I now own the six color issues released by VIZ in the early ’90s.

When reviewing classics, I always try to look for the relevance of the series. What impact did it have or what does it show for the history and development of manga? Midnight Eye: Goku, Private Investigator is considered a classic in my eye because it draws heavily on subject matter, character design and overall plots from many outside, foreign models yet it still retains the Japanese essence that would make it manga. For example, there are stories of artificial life and robotics, much like we’ve seen before; however, they are not subtle androids like Blade Runner offers. In fact, on the first cover, there is a girl who is half a motorcycle! Buichi Terasawa is able to take really interesting and exciting concepts that may have not been fully developed and give them interesting constructs, allowing them to live in a world, no matter how ridiculous it may be. That’s certainly something you can except from a former assistant to Osamu Tezuka.

In terms of writing and art, Midnight Eye: Goku, Private Investigator is kind of a mixed bag. The stories—only a fraction of those available in the complete series, later released in three volumes by ComicsOne—are short, sweet and to the point, each comprising two 36-page issues. Obviously, at this length they are not that deep and at times can be rather predictable. The dialogue is also a bit outlandish, with Goku dropping lines like, “‘Stay away from Women,’ that’s my motto… they just won’t stay away from me.” Artistically, I found these issues to be a real treat because of the full-color pages. It was like walking through a museum that consisted of semi-violent and sexual paintings. The violence was the big thing that overshadowed the full frontal nudity; there was a good amount of blood and guys exploding. I wasn’t turned off by any of this, but I know some readers who would be.

Overall, I am pleased to have a complete set of VIZ’s issues. Even though it is rather ridiculous, I think that it is a good example of something I’ve always believed in with comics: they transcend cultural barriers. Midnight Eye: Goku, Private Investigator can literally be enjoyed by someone on any coast, as there is no real cultural base in the story. Much like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, it cleverly incorporates great aspects from around the world, as well as across different media, into a fine story.

VIZ published six issues of the manga as Midnight Eye: Goku, Private Investigator in the early ’90s. ComicsOne followed this up with a three-volume edition of the complete series, titled Goku: Midnight Eye, published in 2001. All are available now.