I loved the art style of this so much, even from just the cover, which is what drew me to it. But despite that, I found the plot very hard to follow as there is very little dialogue, and what there is isn't necessarily always related to the actual story. I feel like this would be really good for people that already know the story, like those that have watched/read Dororo,. But like me, for people that aren't, the story is quite difficult to get into and follow, and very much feels like a "trust the process" moment, which is hard to do with only one volume and so short, as manga typically are.

Thank you NetGalley and Fantagraphics for this arc!!

5/5 stars

This had so much excitement and rage packed into 100 pages!! The story was engaging and I was invested right from the first page. The art was exquisitely done, in both beautiful and at times disgusting imagery drawn with precision and deep emotions. I can't wait to read the rest of this, and will absolutely be looking into the original work as well!!

A young girl goes after parts of her, which robots have taken as part of their bodies. This is a righteous revenge plot, which are always satisfying, and there's lots to enjoy about it. It's going to be complete in a few volumes as well, so that's always nice too.

Absolutely stunning visuals. The stark black and white is reminiscent of Charles Burns and lends to the overall bleak feeling of the manga. It took a bit for me to get into, but 1/3 of the way in I was hooked. Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics for the opportunity to read this!

Thanks to the publisher for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.
I wanted to read Search and Destroy because it's a retelling of one of my favorite Tezuka's manga: Dororo (even if I prefer the 2019 anime version of it) and this story looked so full of rage that it could be my cup of tea.
I have to say it didn't disappointed a bit. The base structure of the original story is respected (we have Hyaku and Doro counterparts of Hyakkimaru and Dororo) but there's a complete different setting and a precise choice that makes the reading very interesting. I cannot stress enough how I feel this change from Hyakkimaru to Hyaku is fundamental, how this change sets the bar higher and puts the story on a very contemporary level. The search to gain back what was lost (or better stolen) gains a different meaning coming from Hyaku. At this point everything about Doro is a little bit murkier but I'm sure the story will give them enough space and background to make them as interesting as Hayku.
I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to read this story and I hope many others will read and like it.

Fantastic opening to this series. It’s cyberpunk & dystopian elements feel closer to our current reality than one might think. Atsushi Kaneko’s action-packed art and storytelling are phenomenal. Eager to read more and see how it develops.

Atsushi Kaneko is an excellent manga artist who draws weird, punk hyperviolent fantasies inspired by David Lynch and Hollywood cinema. For many years, the only work of his to be available in English was his 1998 debut Bambi and Her Pink Gun. Search and Destroy marks the first time that Kaneko has been published in English since then. It is essential reading for that reason alone.

Of course, the comic itself is also pretty good. It adapts Osamu Tezuka's Dororo, a series that has passed through the hands of many other folks--both comic artists and animators. Kaneko leans into Dororo's grindhouse spirit, conjuring a world of bigoted humans and decadent machines. The mechanized protagonist takes back their stolen human body parts from criminals and arms manufacturers.

Dororo is a famously messy text--the original manga lacked an ending, and every take on the story has its own approach. It's too early for me to say if Kaneko's adaptation brings anything new to the table. That said, I haven't seen a version of Dororo where Dororo warms herself in the sewers with the bodies of hundreds of living rats before. Nobody does it like this guy.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Fantagraphics for an advanced copy of this new manga that updates a classic tale from the past and brings it to a dark future, one that looks very much like the results of the mistakes we are making today.

The future is looking dark. Real dark. And dangerous. People seem to enjoy leaders who like building monuments to themselves. People seem more than willing to sell their their souls for power. And violence seems to be more and more accepted in life. Search and Destroy Volume 1 is a reimagining of a manga tale Dororo written and illustrated by the God of Manga, Osamu Tezuka. This version by, Atsushi Kaneko, takes the original story and turns it up to eleven, moving the story to a future that seems on days away, and adding a little bit of the ultraviolence, that seems to surround us all.

The story takes place in a future city loaded with monuments to the powerful, and with giant cars that fill the streets. The powerful use cybernetic enhanced thugs to keep the human masses in line, leading to a world of fear, and quick savage violence. A young thief is about to meet a sad end when the thief is saved by something wearing a an animal hide that stinks to high heaven. The thief survives, surrounded by bodies, and tries to team-up with this creature, something the creature ignores. This creature looks like a young girl, with lots of cybernetic blades added, and seems to be on a quest, a quest that will lead to a lot more bodies before ending.

A familiarity with the story will Dororo would probably be helpful, just to get a gist of what is going on. The story might be a little hard to get into without it. That said I enjoyed this story, and especially the art, which does a lot of the work in the story. Manga with a lot of European influence. Also a mix of post-Soviet landscapes, statues to long dead icons, along with a strong feeling that there criminal aristocracy that controls everything. Everything is big the cars, the bad guys, the violence. However everything is really beautifully rendered, especially the action scenes which have a particular flow. And a few of the characters might seem familiar from other media. I swear the bad guy here is Zorg from The Fifth Element. And I think I recognized a few others, which again add to the story.

I enjoyed this and I am looking forward to other volumes in this series. A little odd, but a good story, that holds the reader, especially with the really good art work. I am excited to read more.

Fun post-apocalyptic robo-heist. Personally I thought the heavy black and white was a bit garish, more like a high visibility board book.