Stray Review

 

Creator: Ryu Kamio

Artist: Yu Nakahara

Translator: Molly Rabbitt

Letterer: Tom Williams

Designer: Matt Bookman

Editor: Louis Yamani

Publisher: Titan Manga

Price: $12.99

Release Date: December 2, 2025

 

Hachiya Ken was fifteen years old when his parents abandoned him. The Atogumi gang took him in, and his adoptive brother Aoi Touji taught him to fight. Touji trusted Ken and looked after him. But when someone shot the leader of the Atogumi family, and the clues pointed to Touji, Ken killed him.

 

When Hachiya Ken leaves prison nine years later, no one from his “family” is there to welcome him back. Ken figures the new Botaiho law prevents the yakuza from flaunting their presence outside the Musashi Correctional Facility. But he’s surprised when a young girl walks up and asks him if he beat her father to death. Will the Atogumi accept Ken back? And what does Aoi Hana want with her father’s murderer? Let’s leap into Stray and see!

 

Story

When they walk into town, Hana is hungry. So, Ken buys her some food. As she eats in the park, Hana tells him that Aoi Haru left her at Nanohama Academy Orphanage six years ago. Since then, Hana has tried to learn what happened to her mother. But her guardians wouldn't tell the nine-year-old anything. So, Hana searched the internet, found out that her father's killer was due to be released, and figured Ken would help her find her mother.

 

Like Hana, Ken knows what it’s like to be an orphan. While he found a new family with the Atogumi, Hana has no one. Suddenly, men wearing the Atogumi symbol approach them. They don’t recognize Ken and demand that he hand over Hana. The strangers also pull knives. Ken realizes that the Atogumi have changed, as they preferred bare-fisted fighting when he was with them. Ken may have killed Aoi Touji for his betrayal. Still, he won’t let anyone take advantage of Touji’s abandoned daughter.

 

In Stray, Ken and Hana begin their journey to find Aoi Haru. It’s a journey fraught with peril, as his old family chases him. The police also get involved in the hunt for the missing girl and the violent ex-con. While Natsuki Momoka, a police officer from the Juvenile Division, befriends them, others try to capture Hana for less meritorious purposes.

 

Ryu Kamio’s story charts how families can enrich our lives but also betray us. At times, Ken and Hana grow frustrated with each other. Yet, both discover that Aoi Touji left them something that links them together. As they search for Haru, Ken and Hana uncover the truth behind Touji’s actions and why the police are working with the new head of the yakuza clan that doesn't want Ken back.

 

Art

With his sawtooth hair, shoulder bag, and baggy jacket, Ken looks a shadow of his former dapper self. Hana evokes a discarded doll as she clutches her tablet. Yet when she stares at him and takes his hand, Ken accompanies her. A memory of better days ends when a spurt of blood flies from Ken’s former boss’s chest. As the yakuza brothers gather around, Touji and Haru approach. While all the others wear suits and ties, Touji looks too cool with his blazer and V-neck shirt. So, when Kitazume, with a whisp of hair on his head and a fragile beard clinging to the bottom of his face, finds a gun in the bushes, everyone believes Touji fired and discarded it.

 

Yu Nakahara imbues Stray with a compelling portrait of life in Japan. Direction lines never obscure the characters as they converse, fight, and race through the streets of Tokyo. Sound effects enhance this story filled with gunfire, drama, and the reactions of passersby as a little girl manipulates the man who killed her father into doing her bidding.

 

Epilogue

The Rokko Leopons and the Harata Falcons are fighting for the Japan Baseball Series. As the final game gets underway, the Leopons' ace pitcher Shingoh Masaki receives a phone call and photos of his wife and daughter. The caller tells him to throw the game if he wishes to see them again.

 

The Epilogue also introduces Fujimi Tsutomu. He follows the game while collecting protection payoffs from businesses. When someone tells him about the abduction, he remembers playing baseball with Shingoh Masaki in his youth. The Epilogue, while not addressing Ken and Hana's story, allows Ryu Kamio to show the yakuza's deep-seated control of life in Japan. The story also reminds us that when we strive for excellence, we inspire others to help us achieve our goals. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Sometimes, we don’t know as much about our families as we think we do. As Hachiya Ken searches for Aoi Hana’s mother, he discovers the truth behind Touji’s betrayal, and Hana discovers that more people care about her than she ever imagined in Stray.

 

Rating 9.8/10

To look inside see my preview of Stray.