Ranked #1666

Metro Survive (Manga)

Metro Survive takes place in the middle of the city, Tokyo. As the name describes the entire plot, there's a lot more to uncover from this. Metro Survival brings up emotions from the bottom of the heart, uncovering the true heart of a human being. People in despair, people that have totally given up all hope of life and people struggling for their life.

The story's main protagonist is a person called Mishima Shogo, a young man with a wife and a little kid working at the brand new paradise of entertainment. The Expolis Tokyo where the entire plot is unfolded at. It's a paraside of glass, having anything you desire. It was built fast, for the sake of the grand opening to be commenced as soon as possible which left a lot of weaknesses to the structure. This leaves the repairs and security to always be the top priority, which also strucks the employees who is working. Mishima is one of them, and he always finds himself working overtime having to time left to spend with his family.

Mishima is quite the lackluster person. He's a coward who is always running away from problems, never wanting to face them. He never talks back even though his chief lets him the go earlier in advance, only to tell him that he needs to work overtime. He always accepts this even though his minds tells him different. In reality, he would like to destroy the life he worked so hard to build up for the sake of his family.

The story starts to takes place in the subway, on the very day of his sons birthday. Having bought a present, being told to work overtime even though the chief did tell him that he could leave earlier in advance, missing his sons birthday totally and leaving for home at around five AM Mishima sits on the train which have just departed the disaster strucks. A earthquake scaled seven (!) strucks Tokyo. And it strikes hard. The train jumps off its tracks, and the electricity dies. With two elders, two bums, two parents with their son, the conductor of the train and the heroin Sachi, Mishima now must face the problems he for so long have run away from.

The story is quite simple, and it's not that interesting. It's straightforward, and it's easy to figure out what will happen next. But then, it's not the story who drove me to keep reading it. It's the characters, which each one of them have a unique role in the manga. I'd say it's the characters that makes the manga. Each one of the characters are built the way to serve their role, with astonishing results. They are real, I compared some of my friends (yes I have them) with a couple of characters in it. Add a slice of despair to it, and what will happen? You get the true heart of that person. And once again, with a astonishing result. Their personalitys reflects deep and best of all, realistic. People in despair shows a totally different face than people living normally which is drawn well. Talking about drawing, the art. No, it's not bad. It's in fact good. Not great, but good. Not generally my type when it comes to drawing but I still liked it. Emotions are put well in faces, the faces of despair. The faces of happiness (you think there is any in this manga?) and the face of a person who have totally given up all hope. It's reflected, and it's done well.

Too long didn't read version:

A short, but enjoyable manga which deals with the true nature of a human when facing despair. With great characters, a lacklusting story which the art makes up for it's a manga worth checking out. It won't leave you with a taste of wanting more, nor will it leave you disappointed.

7½/10 (stupid MAL not having half point scores). read more

I started reading this one just off the whim, but couldn't be more surprised.
The story is about Mishima Shogo, young husband and father who works in cool-looking, but (as we see with developing story) poorly built Exopolis, modern business/shopping centre. As he leaves from overtime home to give birthday present to his son, who's birthday he didn't celebrate because of the overtime, an earthquake occurs and he, with others passengers of the first morning train, is trapped underground...

So far so good, I guess you can't avoid cliche with this kind of story, but it was enjoyable and easily readable. Characters are surely a bit stereotypical, as it is in survival stories - the good ones who want everyone to survive, the bad ones who want to be lone survivors, the opportunistic who will bow to higher bid and just evil people whose true characters have a chance to come up.

Although it's short, a lot of things are happening and I was never once bored. I didn't like the art that much in some parts (e.g. salarymen looked like rats; I know it was intentional, but I think that things like that shouldn't be in the serious manga).

To sum it all up - not so original idea made into highly likeable and well-balanced manga. read more