*Received via NetGalley for review*

A collection of short stories from an acclaimed creator, all varying in length and theme. The art is serviceable, but it wasn't what I expected and it didn't engage me. ( )

I always associate Urasawa with epic stories, so it was odd to come across this volume of short stories. And what an odd assortment it is. There are thrillers with supernatural elements like psychics and telekinetics, the sort of work Urasawa usually does. But there is also a failed attempt at a Tom & Jerry homage with anthropomorphized mice that is about as far from his usual stuff as you can get. Several autobiographical strips mostly play up the author's love of 1960s and '70s rock music, especially Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. He also illustrates a story from 1970s featuring several Japanese folk musicians, as told to him by Kenji Endo, whose name Urasawa swiped for the main character of his 20th Century Boys series. The book finishes off with a couple tributes to kaiju movies.

It's a real mixed bag, but I still found it enjoyable thanks to Urasawa's masterful art and dialogue. ( )

This was a very cool collection of short comics. The topics were eclectic and ranged from a psychic who can cause people to trip to the author's musical travelogue to kaiju fandom as disaster tourism. The more fantastical stories are a lot of fun and often very silly, as with the case with the mice trying to steal a piece of cake. The auto/biographical ones, on the other hand, are really neat slices of music culture. It's a bit of an odd combination, but definitely worth checking out, and especially worth it if you're looking for a new manga-ka to stan.

Recommended for people who like music, kaiju, psychic stories, and superheroes. It really runs the gamut and there's something for just about everyone. ( )