Abandon the Old in Tokyo - Yoshihiro Tatsumi

Gritty and heartbreaking, this 1970s collection from the master of gekiga, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, was published in English in 2006.

Tatsumi had that magic touch all great storytellers have, illuminating many corners with economical light, telling simple tales that unfolded to reveal many subtexts, implications and messages. He used and abused the manga tradition, repurposing the format to interrogate a national culture, with real human characters who were bored, horny, frustrated, and lonely. With gekiga, he developed a way to tell stories that passed across decades without losing any of the mundane affects of daily pressures or cultural subtext. - Jennifer Jane Allen in The Guardian