Billy Bat is a Naoki Urasawas most experimental work and one of the most thought provoking manga that ive ever encounter and i really had the pleasure to read it. Billy Bat is a mysterythriller manga where twists and turns are around every corner and one which you will have to invest quite a bit of time into before any kind of revelation or payoff and it is quite gripping. The setting of this story spans over the course of history and we see that how multiple important events in the past were heavily influence by this creature named Billy Bat. The story begin with Kevin Yamagata a JapaneseAmerican cartoonist or mangaka whose series Billy Bat which follows the adventures of an anthropomorphic bat detective and it was adored throughout America. However by chance Kevin learns of a manga which features a similar protagonist to his in Japan. Realising he may have unconsciously plagiarised the character whilst in Japan some years prior he travels there hoping to meet with the author. But what he discovers is a web of conspiracies murder and betrayal which all seemingly lead back to his bat character. Before long however it becomes evident that Billy Bat is something far beyond Kevin as hes whisked into a mystery surrounding the bats inception millennia ago and how since the beginning of time it has influenced the history of humanity. Like his other works the cast is impressively extensive with Urasawa dipping in and out of different time periods and into the minds of different numerous characters. As a manga which portrays no less than fifteen different time periods ranging from the 1st century to the 21st century it rarely comes across as confusing or disjointed with Urasawa utilising sublime almost cinematic transitions along with many familiar faces in the form of characters based on real life historical figures such as Albert Einstein Adolf Hitler etc. All the characters from different time periods stay parallel to the main story which make this manga super intriguing as we see that one action of the characters in the present really changes the event of history that made the readers feels as though its grounded in reality.The characterization is amazing in this manga with both the fictional and non fictional characters portrayed immeasurably. Both the protagonists and antagonists are crafted well with a heart a soul emotions and clear motivations. The ending is where this manga truly shine in my opinion where we finally see the bigger picture of the entire grand narrative. The conversations with the bat and thats what contributes to the ending where he makes a statement Humans are foolish is amazing. My only complain is that the first 2 volumes or so are kinda hard to get into because all the stuff that you dont know the context yet are just thrown at you back to back that it didnt give you enough time to understanding the plot. And the pacing in those 2 volumes are slow. But just like his other works it does require a certain amount of patience. Its just the setup of the entire story and when it reaches that crucial moment towards the end it will be absolutely worth it. So overall Billy Bat is an immerse gripping and evocative series that balance between fiction and non fiction very well. With the realistic drama and story arcs that able to garner substantial emotional investment.