
After being translated and published by Drawn & Quarterly in 2011, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths has been well received by English-speaking critics. The manga was first published in Kodansha magazine Shūkan Gendai in 1973, based on Mizuki’s work of 1970. He portrays the final weeks of his infantry service as the soldiers were instructed to die for their country to avoid the dishonor of survival.

In it, Mizuki describes his experiences as a soldier participating in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths ( Japanese: 総員玉砕せよ!, Hepburn: Sōin Gyokusai Seyo!, literally “Whole Unit Ought to Fight to Death!”) is a one-shot manga written and illustrated by Shigeru Mizuki.
