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▼ KANTA ON MANGA / Dark Fantasy On a Sea of Sand
- Category:Event
I know this week’s manga has been quite popular for some time, but I somehow left it aside due to its fairytale-like title and front cover illustrations. After reading it, however, I thought I should have read it much earlier. It seems to be on its way to becoming one of the dark fantasy masterpieces of the 2010s.
The story is set in a time when mechanized civilization has ended and the whole world has turned into a sandy desert. Five hundred or so people are roaming the sea of sand aboard an enormous ship called the Mud Whale, where they live a life completely closed off from the outside world. Ninety percent of the residents can use a psychokinetic power called “thymia,” but they all die young. One day, Chakuro, a young boy who has been chronicling the ship’s history, rescues a girl warrior on a drifting isle.
The girl, named Lykos, shows no emotion. This incident leads to the revelation of horrendous secrets.
The Mud Whale is actually a ship of “the Empire” that is used to banish convicts. The resident passengers die young because their life energy is consumed by the ship to fuel itself.
Fearing their formidable psychokinetic powers, the Empire forces attack the Mud Whale to kill those who live aboard. Chakuro and his friends throw themselves into warfare to survive. Can the children of the Mud Whale find a haven?
This work makes me remember many past masterpieces, including “Mobile Suit Gundam” and “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.” The sandy planet may remind some people of “Dune.” I don’t mean that this week’s manga is similar to these masterpieces, rather that it is brimming with visual originality.
The Mud Whale, for example, is so imposing that it looks like an island or a huge battleship. The supernatural power is expressed in an innovative style. The otherworldly universe is also unique and creative, designed with attention to every detail.
Even so, there is something very nostalgic about this manga. I believe this quality comes from the fact that this work follows a fundamental story concept that has been repeatedly featured in Japanese subculture. In concrete terms, this manga is a saga evolving around a small, transient but peaceful world that is suddenly destroyed, throwing its children out into a cruel and merciless world. Even “Attack on Titan” is based on this concept.
Although this manga features many deaths, it never fails to retain the poetic beauty characteristic of a shojo manga (manga for girls) throughout the story, which is worthy of mention. My only minor complaints are that the story develops a little too slowly and many handsome or beautiful characters look similar and are difficult to distinguish from each other. Of course, eager fans should just ignore my mumblings.
The story is set in a time when mechanized civilization has ended and the whole world has turned into a sandy desert. Five hundred or so people are roaming the sea of sand aboard an enormous ship called the Mud Whale, where they live a life completely closed off from the outside world. Ninety percent of the residents can use a psychokinetic power called “thymia,” but they all die young. One day, Chakuro, a young boy who has been chronicling the ship’s history, rescues a girl warrior on a drifting isle.
The girl, named Lykos, shows no emotion. This incident leads to the revelation of horrendous secrets.
The Mud Whale is actually a ship of “the Empire” that is used to banish convicts. The resident passengers die young because their life energy is consumed by the ship to fuel itself.
Fearing their formidable psychokinetic powers, the Empire forces attack the Mud Whale to kill those who live aboard. Chakuro and his friends throw themselves into warfare to survive. Can the children of the Mud Whale find a haven?
This work makes me remember many past masterpieces, including “Mobile Suit Gundam” and “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.” The sandy planet may remind some people of “Dune.” I don’t mean that this week’s manga is similar to these masterpieces, rather that it is brimming with visual originality.
The Mud Whale, for example, is so imposing that it looks like an island or a huge battleship. The supernatural power is expressed in an innovative style. The otherworldly universe is also unique and creative, designed with attention to every detail.
Even so, there is something very nostalgic about this manga. I believe this quality comes from the fact that this work follows a fundamental story concept that has been repeatedly featured in Japanese subculture. In concrete terms, this manga is a saga evolving around a small, transient but peaceful world that is suddenly destroyed, throwing its children out into a cruel and merciless world. Even “Attack on Titan” is based on this concept.
Although this manga features many deaths, it never fails to retain the poetic beauty characteristic of a shojo manga (manga for girls) throughout the story, which is worthy of mention. My only minor complaints are that the story develops a little too slowly and many handsome or beautiful characters look similar and are difficult to distinguish from each other. Of course, eager fans should just ignore my mumblings.
- November 21, 2017
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