Singaporean director Eric Khoo (Be With Me) brings the life and work of legendary Japanese comic-book artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi to the big screen with this incredibly original, dark and dramatic animated film. Khoo’s decision to blend the biographical detail which appeared in Tatsumi's 800-page autobiography A Drifting Life with five of his manga stories works well to illustrate a portrait of an uncompromising artist who was way ahead of his time.

Tatsumi was 10 when the Second World War ended. He had an unhappy childhood and started sketching compulsively at an early age. First published while still a teenager, he later grew frustrated that comics were seen as merely for kids and developed a darker look which he dubbed ‘gekiga’, or ‘dramatic pictures’, which revolutionised the medium with their frank and adult content.

At times the film is incredibly sad, and the sinister and decidedly adult subject matter will not appeal to everyone. But fans, or rather, ‘otakus’ of Japanese manga and anime will appreciate Tatsumi for what it is: a tribute to a great master of the genre who changed the way comic books were written and read in Japan and around the world.