Forum - View topicRIGHT TURN ONLY!! - The Despair of the Letter Bees
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belvadeer
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That's supposed to be Beast? Bwahaha!
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Pocky Monster
Posts: 237 |
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I'm sick of sappy,shallow shoujo romances, and after reading the review, Home seems like something I should consider reading.
X-Men: Misfits also interests me.I'll check it out the next time I visit the bookstore. |
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Youkai Warrior
 Posts: 505 Location: Sarayashiki |
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X-Men: Misfits looks like typical reverse-harem shojo, but I'm curious so I just might check it out. I wonder is Nightcrawler in it? He's one of my favorite characters, and I also really like Rogue (She is so much cooler in the new Wolverine and the X-Men series airing on Nicktoons Network.) But seeing as Kitty is the only female, besides Storm, I guess Rogue's not in it.
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kyokun703
 Posts: 2505 Location: Orgrimmar |
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Lol, you know, I wasn't really interested in this, but this is just too silly not to order. The pictures were awesome. Totoro-Beast is so cute! And whoa, talk about bishie-overload! Love it! |
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BleuVII
 Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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Yes, Nightcrawler appears in one of the preview pages, though he isn't named. I'm sure that Rogue will eventually make an appearance, just when things are getting steamy between Kitty and her harem. |
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dizzywulf
Posts: 102 Location: Wakayama, Japan |
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Hahaha. I feel the same way. I knew I couldn't be the only one who thought Beast resembled a Totoro. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15310 |
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I dunno. There's something totally fascist about the underlying concept of Ikigami which unnerves me: that the lives of the survivors are somehow "improved" with the deaths of the victims. Plus, the way that people go on with their daily lives without questioning the system has disturbing similarities to Nazi Germany. [Or, if you want to be a little more contemporary, Vietnam.] It probably doesn't help that I can't entirely tell if the author sides with that kind of a society, or if he's mocking it.
I think I could deal with the premise, if it had more elements of a horror or a thriller story. But Ikigami seems more like a bad sitcom being "spiced up" by throwing in random deaths in the background. In a way, it probably ends up being more disgusting than the stuff which has actual gratuitous violence. Anyway, I might still consider the third volume before quitting, in hopes that the manga-ka ups the stakes a bit. |
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Tamaria
 Posts: 1512 Location: De Achterhoek |
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You've never read dystopian fiction? It is supposed to be unnerving. And you do realize there are still governments and individuals that have this kind of power, right?
And "sitcom, seriously? Granted, I've only read the first volume, but I couldn't find any comedy in there. There were some lighthearted moments, but those were there to contrast the cruelness of the ikigami system. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15310 |
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Tamaria: Most dystopian fiction I've been exposed to has a sense of subversiveness or social commentary to it which I don't see in Ikigami. And yes, I'm aware that this kind of situation is probably "normal" in countries like China, but even they have cracks in their systems which start to undermine the legitimacy of their governments. [For example, the country's shoddy buildings from last year's earthquake probably forced the government to establish, or look into, new codes.] But, thus far, the manga doesn't delve into that possible outcome. Rather, the author's agenda seems to be to use the deaths as a back-drop for awkward social situations, rather than for genuine drama or dark comedy. The characters just use those tragic moments as an excuse to resolve their personal problems, and are thus not actually impacted by the deaths of the victims. Hence why I used the phrase "sitcom" to describe the direction of the chapters, since sitcoms are meant to keep people focused on minor conflicts, while ignoring the bigger picture.
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Tamaria
Posts: 1512 Location: De Achterhoek |
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I don't know how much you've read, but I don't think you should judge the direction of the story before you've read the whole thing. Granted, I don't know where Ikigami is going, but I do know it takes time to build a world.
The stories of the individuals show us how the ikigami system works and also it's potential flaws by telling the stories of the victims. This examples are not only compelling stories by themselves, they also help forming the larger picture. We can't fully understand his opinion on the system and his reaction to it, if we only know how the system works in theory. And yes, I don think there is social commentary in there. Japan's society places the good of the masses above that of the individual. Large companies don't mind using one employee to set an example for the other. The ikigami system is an extreme version of this mentality. I don't know if you have every experienced loss yourself, but I can guarantee you it's horrible when young people, especially the ones close to you, die. The story had me the moment the principal stated "several of you entering the first grade today, will not actually live to become adults." Several of my classmates died before they could even graduate high school. It makes you think about your own life and yes, you'll start thinking about changes, resolving personal problems, because you realize you don't know how long you'll have the chance to do so. |
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