The Climber, Vol. 1

The harder you climb, the higher you live.

Buntaro Mori is a loner, but being alone in a crowd is almost as bad as being forced to fit in. Then, in high school, a dangerous bid for solitude introduces Mori to the rush of solo climbing, addicting him to the brilliant sense of freedom he finds as he pits his body and soul against the heights. But how high does he have to climb to leave humanity behind?

Transfer student Buntaro Mori starts his first day at his new school already on the administration’s radar. He’s withdrawn and sullen, and the teachers are just waiting for him to explode. When his annoying classmate Miyamoto promises to leave him alone forever if he climbs to the top of the school, Mori eagerly takes up the challenge and shocks everyone when he makes it all the way to the roof. Flush with the victory of his first successful climb, Mori can’t resist the lure of the local peak, even though more experienced climbers warn him of the risks of climbing alone. But Mori doesn’t care. A little danger is nothing in the face of his new obsession!

Shin’ichi Sakamoto debuted as a manga artist in 1990. His series The Climber and Innocent have both won the Excellence Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival. His series #DRCL midnight children is also available in English from VIZ Media.

Jiro Nitta was a Japanese novelist and meteorologist. Born in 1912, he pioneered the field of mountain novels, writing while working at the Central Meteorological Observatory. Nitta won the 1955 Naoki Prize for Goriki Den. His other works include The Climber and Death March on Mount Hakkoda.

Yoshio Nabeta was born in Tokyo and graduated from the University of Tokyo. After working at a bank and experiencing a wandering life in South America, Nabeta became a writer and manga artist. His major books include Conde Koma, Present Bureaucratic MOF (Ministry of Finance), and Learning by Manga: History of Japan.

Hiroshi Takano is a Japanese manga creator and color designer, born in Nagasaki in 1971. He is the author of Dr. DMAT and Good Job, and the creator of Kokkyo wo Kakeru Ishi Ikoma (Dr. Ikoma Who Crosses Borders).