Romans & histoires Kabukichou Bad Trip

Man, talking about 'Kabukichou Bad Trip' brings back memories. I remember picking it up after finishing 'Tokyo Revengers' because I was craving more delinquent-themed stuff set in that gritty Shibuya/Shinjuku vibe. The main duo is definitely Kuga and Ruka – Kuga's this hot-headed, impulsive guy who gets dragged into the underworld after a night out goes horribly wrong, and Ruka's his more cautious friend trying to keep them both alive. There's also this terrifying crime boss named Jinguuji who controls a lot of the shady business in Kabukicho, and a hostess named An who gets tangled up in their mess. The dynamic between Kuga's reckless bravery and Ruka's desperate attempts to apply logic to a completely insane situation is what really drove the story for me.

Honestly, I found Kuga kind of frustrating at first – he makes so many dumb decisions – but you grow to understand his twisted sense of loyalty. Ruka is the audience's anchor, the guy reacting the way any normal person would when thrust into a yakuza nightmare. The side characters, like various club owners and enforcers, all have this exaggerated, almost grotesque quality that fits the 'bad trip' title perfectly. It's less about deep backstories and more about surviving the next five minutes in a neon-lit hellscape.

Alright, so I just finished this one and the main character thing is actually kinda interesting. It's not super straightforward.

You follow Junichi, this guy who gets dragged into the underground mess of Kabukicho after his friend vanishes. He's definitely the point-of-view character for most of the story, the one we're stuck with as he tries to navigate all the host clubs, yakuza, and general chaos.

But honestly? I found myself way more invested in the people around him, like the enigmatic hostess Mari or the ruthless fixer they call 'The Doctor'. Junichi feels more like a vehicle to expose the setting than a deeply compelling hero on his own. The book's called 'Bad Trip' for a reason - he's mostly just reacting to the nightmare happening to him, not really driving it. Still a wild ride though, even if the protagonist is a bit of a blank slate.

The pages turned themselves with 'Kabukichou Bad Trip'. I got through maybe seventy percent of it before I started skimming. The initial rush is something else—that neon-drenched, chaotic underworld vibe is so immersive you can almost smell the izakaya smoke and cheap cologne. But after a while, the constant barrage of weirdness started to feel like a substitute for forward momentum. The protagonist's disorientation is the point, sure, but sustaining that as the main narrative engine for a full novel is a tough ask. I found myself craving a clearer thread to latch onto, a reason to care beyond the atmosphere. It's a wild ride, but one that maybe doesn't need to go to the very last stop.

Would I tell someone not to finish it? Not exactly. If you're deeply invested in the style and the setting, seeing how it all resolves might provide closure. But if you're like me and hit a wall where the surreal incidents blur together, putting it down isn't a crime. The most memorable parts for me were all in the first half anyway; the sheer inventive squalor of it all. The ending didn't drastically change my opinion on what came before.