Fly, Daddy, Fly

One of the most terrifying things that can happen in life is being in a bad situation without the ability to do something about it. Terrible thoughts that can go through every parent and every brother and sister head-what will happen if someone will hurt my daughter? my sister? what will I do?
If you are lucky, you won't have to worry about facing situation like that in real life, it will just be in the back of your head, siding with your deepest fears.
Sadly, the main character for this manga, "Fly, Daddy, Fly" need to face it head on. After a professional boxer brutally hits his daughter, he is feeling helpless and pain, being unable to do something and protect the one he care for the most.

The story in the manga hits you hard right at the first few pages-it's something that can happen to any one, it's something that we can all connect with and well, get mad about. The hero, Hajime Suzuki, decides that he will handle this personally, and thanks for some help from youngsters who eagerly coach him and guide him he is planning his revenge against the man who ruined his life, by having a showdown between them.
Although a bit simple, the story is adrenaline pumping-it is so sympathetic that you can't help but get attached, feeling as it is something that happened to you. The reader get excited as the story progress and we get to the outcome, rooting the all time for the main character.
There is some things about the story that may seem a bit off-for first, it's a bit cliche. And secondly, it's almost non realistic at all. The amount of people who help and cheer the main character is something that probably won't happen in real life, this is very weird because the story is so easy to read and to like and yet you can see that most of the stuff that happen there-well, probably won't happen in real life.
But it's OK, why you ask? because it's not the main massage of the story. The main massage it's to fight for your loved ones, it's to stand on your ground and not giving up even in dire, scary situations. The excellent execution of this seemingly generic elements are the strong point of the story.

And of course, the characters. Suzuki Hajime is a 47 year old salary man. He is someone you can self insert to. He never got in trouble too much, never got in a fight, and the tragedy hit him straight to the face. His development from a regular, scared person to a man who will fight to protect what his love is very believable because his motivation understood perfectly-to protect his daughter.
There is a group of young high-schoolers who help him to train his body (and mind). But the one who help him the most is Shoon-Shin, a Korean boy with rough childhood whom Suzuki slowly see as a son figure. Sadly, because the manga is quite short we don't get more bonding between the two (and we could see more about that without a doubt) but there is a usage in this little time to show how they come to understand, respect and love each other.
The other High Schoolers are your typical misunderstood punks. They serve as a more comedic breather and to show that not all youth are bad.
The villain is a typical douche bag who is, seemingly, perfect. Champion boxer, son of rich powerful parents. Which makes the showdown much more exciting.

The art for the story... well, it's a bit tricky. In the beginning, the art is kinda lame, rough even. As the story progress, the art actually gets better-smoother, the characters look better, the backgrounds are still kinda lacking though. Of course you can simply say that the artist got a little bit better over the time, but it's also nice to think about it as a deliberate way-the more Suzuki trained, improved himself and his mental strength, the better the art progressed. Might also be bullshit, who knows.

I really enjoyed this manga, read it all at one sitting in like 4 in the morning. It's a great read, it's fun and not to heavy as itself, but makes you reflect and think more about "what would I do?". Of course, the manga is incredibly optimistic, and real life might be different, but still it helps you to get motivate to never lose your ground. In an ending note, I just hope that something like that will never ever happen you all of you, and you will lead a peaceful life.