Inuyashiki: The Robot Salaryman Hero

Sci-fi manga and anime are huge in Japan, with the dark and apocalyptic settings capturing the hearts of many fans. GANTZ, PSYCHO-PASS, Parasyte, you name it.

However, more often or not, the main characters in these titles are young, sexy, badass, and just perfect in general. This is also one of the reasons so many people become attracted to them. With manga, especially sci-fi, having this general preconception of perfect characters, it is difficult to come across a title consisting of more realistic people. Inuyashiki breaks this norm, featuring an elderly salaryman, probably the most relatable social role in Japan, as the main character.

Ichiro Inuyashiki is a 58 year old salaryman, who looks a lot older than he is. A father of 2, Inuyashiki lives with his wife and two kids, but is estranged and treated coldly by them. He holds a strong sense of justice, but knows he has no power to make a change, always holding back. To add to his already sad life, he finds out he has gastric cancer and only three months to live.

One day while walking his dog, he gets in an accident with Hiro Shishigami, a high school student, and a small alien. They both end up dying, and in an attempt to cover up the accident, the alien creates two robots with the memories and spirit of the two.

Now that he is a robot, Inuyashiki helps those who need him, finally feeling needed by society. On the other hand, Shishigami is raiding homes and killing the residents with his new powers. A girl who has feelings for him attempts to convince him to use his powers to do good, but her and her family end up getting killed by the police who raided her house after Shishigami's crimes surfaced. This makes Shishigami declare a massacre against Japan.

With Inuyashiki saving people and Shishigami doing the opposite, the two collide in a somehow epic battle.

Inuyashiki keeps all the robotic elements of a sci-fi manga in-tact while presenting us something we've never seen before. The illustrations are very detailed, and the title has even been turned into an anime and live-action movie. But we recommend the manga, so go check it out when you can.