Jul 10, 2013
This is a short one shot created by the great Kago Shintaro, a mangaka who has arguably created the single most creative and disturbing body of work in this form of media. He attracts a lot of negative criticism by people who expect his work to be serious business, or simple eroguro, or people who are just biased towards the kind of manga he creates in general. He is very unappreciated by fans and critics alike. The problem with the detractors of this manga in particular is that they read the confusing description, take it it seriously, and read the manga expecting Ghost in the
...
Shell, or something similar. Despite what the description sounds like, it is not deep societal commentary à la Brave New World. It's more of a parody of that. It deals in absurdity à gogo, with a lot packed into 16 pages that will need to be digested rather slowly for full appreciation. The ridiculously pretentious and meaningless title really should have clued you into its parodic nature even if the content didn't.
It seems to be a satirical criticism and/or commentary on abortion and the dehumanization of the fetus, eugenics, genetic modification, alternative fuel, pointless disclaimers and the nanny state, sexual desires, transhumanism, the education system, gender relations, contraception, artificial insemination, Freudian psychology, children being judged as adults, social phobias, social programs such as welfare, human experimentation, general drug use, and euthanasia, among other things. Like I said, a lot is packed into this short manga even if not all of it is the focus of the entire thing. This ridiculous density contributes greatly to the grand absurdity and humor of the manga. Again, it is not an incredible and profound commentary on all of those things (that would be impossible in 16 pages,) it is more of a parody of them and things that do attempt serious commentary on them. It accomplishes this goal very effectively and only if read as a parody can it be properly appreciated.
It would be stupid to dislike this manga because you disagree with the beliefs it seems to support, seeing as it is an astounding satire regardless. It seems to poke a lot of fun at dense dystopic works of media, with its lengthy dialogues, general pretension, and ridiculous amount of footnotes talking about various laws in the future. When it comes to Kago Shintaro's futuristic manga, this stands as his coup de maître, but it is overlooked due to the fact that it (comparatively) lacks the supremely grotesque, scatological, and gory nature of some of his more popular works, which makes the reaction less polarizing and immediate, despite it still being extraordinarily disturbing in its own right. This manga is very clever and is not something the average mind could come up with. I found it to be very impressive and entertaining, with hilarious art and backgrounds, even if the characters are just means to an end. I would recommend it to anybody, and I think reading it can help the average consumer of manga understand what makes a work truly quality, and help them appreciate more off-kilter and unconventional manga, as well as discourage mindless droning against misunderstood things. I think an impartial and objective reader will find this manga to be very good. I certainly did, and I rank it among the best and most entertainingly multifaceted one shots I've ever read.
Story: 9/10
Art: 7.5/10
Character: 5/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Bonus: 8/10
Overall: 39.5/50 or 79%
We'll round that to an 8.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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