Ranked #1553

Usotsuki Mii-kun to Kowareta Maa-chan: Totteoki no Uso (Manga)

Taken from my recommendation post (with accompanying picture snaps) on http://sekijitsu.com/2011/01/21/rec-lying-mii-kun-broken-maa-chan/

I **** you.

Words that are open to interpretation. This manga plays skip rope with the line that defines love and hate, fear and fearlessness, sane and the insane. Truthfully, I’m writing this not long after completing the manga, but with only 5 chapters, it is one that goes by really fast. The lingering questions however, stay for much longer.

The manga referenced here of course is the psychological drama/mystery “Lying Mii-kun & Broken Maa-chan: Precious Lies”. The title hints at the deceptive nature of the story, as the narration successfully manages to throw curveballs and lead you in the wrong paths, even though the reality might actually be the opposite. If you think that my words so far have been pretty ambiguous, its because it is meant to be. Being only 5 chapters long, there’s not much room to maneuver around key plot points so the only way around it is to be a bit vague. I’d rather not spoil anything from this manga, since to experience it fully; you really have to go into it blind. I certainly did.

Seriously, this manga managed to get into my mind quite a bit as I read through it. The protagonist and narrator, “Mii-kun” is a very interesting person whose dark past haunts him constantly. This leads to some heavy exploration of the complex overtones in the human psyche, as both he and “Maa-chan” attempt to rid themselves of the demons that plagued their childhood. Mistakes were repeated, although not through faults of their own. The things that they have experienced and continue to experience really makes you wonder about people who suffer from similar mental states. Their relationship with each other is also pretty ambiguous, since the mangaka censors the words that they try to express to each other. “I **** you”. Open to interpretation.

Mii-kun as the narrator is really memorable as you look at the story through his tainted eyes. Seeing that he is a compulsive liar, you can never be too sure about what he says, even his inner monologues. If I were to compare it to a previous manga I read with similar themes, I’d guess that the style is similar to “Onani Master Kurosawa”. In OMK, you empathize (eventually) with the protagonist Kurosawa who does indecent, unforgivable things to his unsuspecting victims. A similar scenario is evident here, although instead of having someone jizz all over your undergarments, you replace it with murder and torture instead.

Through the second chapter, the introduction of a detective figure made me think about comparisons with Death Note, another notable psychological, mind-game thriller. While this angle was not used as much as I hoped in the end, the cryptic dialogue between Mii-kun and the detective was enough for me to bring about images of L and Light’s infamous mind games. While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, at times this manga is really good with its dialogue, even though it is extremely short.

In the end though, like Kurosawa, you really feel for the characters’ plight. You empathize with the protagonists, you vilify and hate the antagonist, even though at times you don’t really know who is in the bad until the very end. Like I said, the way the story is narrated can sometimes throw you off the path and there are plenty of twists and turns that make you doubt your previous assumptions. Even at the end of the story, there are questions left unanswered. I won’t spoil it here, but since I was so invested in these characters, the ending’s lack of concrete answers made me feel uneasy. Still, there are just some problems that can’t ever be solved so at the very least, leaving the ending as it is allows the readers to interpret the conclusion the way they want to.

The author’s done a great job at portraying such a dark subject matter and it is definitely a worthwhile read if you want a quick fix of mind fuckery. Each chapter will leave you wondering what lies ahead and therein lies the beauty of this short gem. I initially entertained the idea of just having a large “wtf” in bold as the post’s content since it really is crazy at times but that wouldn’t give this manga justice. It just deserves better.

With only 5 chapters, its very hard not to recommend this. At the end of it all, you’ll be thinking “Is that it?” Regardless of its length, I really think you should give this a go, since you will come out of it feeling grateful for what you have in life. A final caveat, the weak-minded should tread with caution.

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I came across this manga completely by chance and I’m not even sure what made me pick it up. Since it’s not my typical read, I don’t have much in my line up to compare it to but its definitely worth looking at.

The twists and turns in this manga were done right. You think “oh so that’s why that happened” and a page later your rethinking your whole though process and trying to figure everything out all over again. The stability of the main characters wavers as things develop [I’m speaking mental stability within their character, not the actual written character] so ways of thinking tend to change with stability. You’ll make your own assumptions about the characters and their sanity.

The story is told through Mii-kun eyes. But you have to remember that Mii-kun went through a series of trauma as well so what you’re seeing isn’t quite a clear picture. I had to re-read sections at times to determine if what he said was actual truth or another lie. I think the author did a good job conveying what affect the incident years ago left on Mii-kun and Maa-chan. It showed what pieces of self the characters lost and what they had adapted into in order to get by.

I’d read it again just to get a better understanding of the concepts and Mii-kun character. I’d also recommend it but expect what you’re getting, a psychological story of kidnap and murder.

I cant recommend movies since this is a manga but if you enjoyed this try watching Perfect Blue. Its a different story but it has the same psychological thriller aspect.

Story: 8 [very good]
Art: 8 [very good]
Character: 9 [great]
Enjoyment: 8 [very good]
Overall: 8 [very good]
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