Kokou no Hito

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Japanese: 孤高の人

More titles

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 17

Chapters: 170

Status: Finished

Published: Nov 1, 2007 to Oct 27, 2011

Genres: Award Winning, Drama, Sports

Theme: Psychological

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Young Jump

Authors: Sakamoto, Shinichi (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.84¹ (scored by 54,335 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #38²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #85

Members: 161,176

Favorites: 10,109

Available At

Official Site

Resources

Wikipedia

8.84

Ranked #38Popularity #85Members 161,176

MangaYoung JumpSakamoto, Shinichi (Story & Art)

Add to My List

Volumes: /17

Chapters: /170

Edit
Synopsis

Through pain and arduous effort, one can reach the top of the world. Standing where no man has ever set foot before, there is an exhilarating feeling of success. This is what Mori Buntarou trains, works, and lives for.

His climb to the top starts when he transfers to a new high school. Despite his lonesome and solitary nature, Mori's classmates persuade him to climb the school building. Without a harness or hesitation, he begins his scale to reach the top. Edging past the point of no return, he halts when he is faced with a final intimidating obstacle—a horizontal overhang. Adrenaline courses through him, and Mori jumps for the final hold at the summit.

From there, he casts his eyes upon something that he normally would not have seen—another peak, another goal. With an awakened passion and newfound purpose in life, Mori explores the breathtaking sport of rock climbing.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit
Background

Kokou no Hito won an Excellence Prize at the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2010.

The series has been published in English as The Climber by VIZ Media under the VIZ Signature imprint as 2-in-1 omnibus volumes since April 15, 2025.

More characters
Characters

Mori, Buntarou

Main

Oonishi, Masao

Supporting

Katou, Hana

Supporting

Niimi, Taku

Supporting

Miyamoto, Hajime

Supporting

Hara, Keito

Supporting

Kurosawa, Mutsumi

Supporting

Takemura, Ayumu

Supporting

Maezono, Aoi

Supporting

Shirai, Yumi

Supporting

Reviews

Jul 9, 2026

Aryan_Raj270

Recommended

Some stories make you happy, excited, or emotional after reading them.

But this story makes you question something:

Is it worth sacrificing so many things to achieve your dream?

Story--

At the start, we see an aimless boy. After a short time, however, he finds a goal, a dream that is far bigger than himself.

...

Open

Gift

Jan 30, 2025

choujin-phos

Mixed Feelings

the art was amazing back to back an absolute win for sakamoto shinichi.
the story it could have been so much better and yet my only complain is whenever writter changes, for a couple chapters i felt left out like something was missing that being said i belive that this manga is by far the one reason why manga is better
experienced on scans.
the protagonist was a big standout for me a solitary teenager at first and a passionate lover of mountains at second,what made buntarou mori so fascinating was his love for climbing,it really feels that its his reason for living and then its associated ...

Open

Gift

Sep 19, 2023

ssiasme

Not Recommended

Yeah, it's sad. I found it to be really boring, i didn't managed to like one single character, i find all the choices the main character does stupid... it would be a 3/10 for me if it wasn't for the maestry of technical things Sakamoto - the mangaka, which i've read Innocent before, other of his works - did on Kokou no Hito. It is so beautiful, it has so many experimental things like characters getting crazy in the middle of the cold and their speech getting inverted in the speech balloons, the scene where Mori sees the dawn and there's an orchestra going on ... and the symbolism is really cool, the artwork is fantastic, that one chapter where he recommends us to read it while listening to Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" its pretty cool too. His paneling work is amazing too. So for technical reasons i gave it a 7/10 on MyAnimeList, thought it would only be fair even if i didn't like the story or had any fun.

I think Sakamoto could do a big hit doing a collab with someone that can write better than him, and maybe a more lighthearted story. I mean, in the whole Kokou no Hito there's only one scene i've cracked a smile that is when Mori, our main character, gets out of the hospital and a little girl drops a flower and he gives back to her. This was literally the only scene where i felt empathy for Mori because he only do the worst possible decisions, it is astonishing even.

I'm well aware the work wasn't obligated to make me have fun, i watched Parasite (the korean movie that was the first foreigner movie to get Best Movie Of The Year by the Oscar Academy) and didn't have any fun, the atmosphere was heavy, it wasn't a movie made for you to have fun, and i get this. I think Kokou no Hit was probably made with the same intent. The problem is that in Parasite i could understand the characters, whereas the choices Mori did were simply forced so the story could end on a bad note because it is a seinen so it must end in a heavy way. Also Parasite was a movie, Kokou no Hito was a whole 100+ chapter manga. Mori does so many mistakes and simply doesn't learn with them. Also every single side character was forgettable and stereotypical seinen characters that do something bad and that's it, some even might try to redeem themselves but i really didn't liked it.

Sakamoto is probably one of the greatest mangakas we have as right now, he is amazing drawing, but a very uncompelling writer in my humble opinion. I hope he finds his way with a good writer someday.

That's just my opinion, i respect you if you think Kokou no Hito it's a 10/10 and think it is a masterpiece. It just didn't clicked with me and i don't recommend it to anyone besides those who want to see Sakamoto's amazing technical prowess at being a mangaka.

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

PTR

by c0rpseofhedayat

45 Entries · 1 Restacks

Great sports manga to read!! (Finished and Ongoing)

by nyawpawpie_

43 Entries · 34 Restacks

⠀꒰ ʚ ❤︎ ɞ ˚. ⠀sports manga

by dollra

44 Entries · 18 Restacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

View All

More news
Recent News

North American Anime & Manga Releases for July

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for July. Week 1: July 7 - 13 Anime Releases Seishun Buta Yarou wa Santa Claus no Yume wo Minai (R...read more

Jun 30, 9:26 AM by Aiimee | Discuss (1 comment)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for April

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for April. Week 1: April 7 - 13 Anime Releases Captain Tsubasa (2018) DVD Captain Tsubasa Season 2...read more

Mar 31, 4:58 AM by Aiimee | Discuss (1 comment)

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Kokou no Hito Chapter 108 Discussion alpir - Jun 6, 2015	4 replies	by SkyBlue1012 »» Sep 14, 12:51 AM
Poll: The Climber Chapter 105 Discussion Personas - Jan 26, 2011	8 replies	by SkyBlue1012 »» Sep 12, 10:46 AM
Poll: Kokou no Hito Chapter 81 Discussion removed-user - May 22, 2023	5 replies	by GoldSwxrdfish »» Sep 10, 12:17 AM
Poll: Kokou no Hito Chapter 75 Discussion H_Erifu - Jun 5, 2015	6 replies	by H_Erifu »» Sep 7, 11:29 PM
Poll: Kokou no Hito Chapter 38 Discussion H_Erifu - May 30, 2015	3 replies	by breiterBROCKEN »» Sep 7, 1:39 PM

Kokou no Hito
The Climber
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

More featured articles
Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kokou no HitoThe Climber Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

EditSynopsis

EditBackground

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More charactersCharacters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations Recommendations

More newsRecent News

More discussionsRecent Forum Discussion

More featured articlesRecent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Kokou no Hito
The Climber
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

More featured articles
Recent Featured Articles