Please Save My Earth is a manga about the complexity of human relationships and the seemingly insurmountable burden of sin. A group of high school students, and one younger boy, suddenly begin to experience strange dreams alluding to their past lives as alien scientists stationed on a secret moon base. This sounds like an audacious and almost absurd premise, and it really is audacious, but never once did it strike me as such after I started reading in earnest, which is a testament to the organic storytelling. Over time, these dreamlike memories unravel more and more of an epic tragedy, while also threatening to scrape
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away at the characters' current selves. At first glance, the character introductions may seem a bit overwhelming, and likewise, the story is admittedly hard to follow, but once you wrap your head around the gist of it all, everything starts to flow together seamlessly to the point you that you can't peel your eyes away. As you delve further and further into Saki Hiwatari's rabbit hole of peculiar storytelling devices and such accompanying various interlocking and intertwining twists and turns that would seem capable of confusing even the most astute of readers, the story's essence all at once begins to take a tangible shape, and what was at first bewildering suddenly becomes both unexpectedly congruent and consequential.
In accordance, the science fiction world-building is put forth at a tepid but proper pace, and as with the other plot elements, couldn't be more deceptively appropriate to the grander story at hand. With time, you gradually learn the mechanics and intricacies of a complex alien society. However, the fulcrum of PSME's story is a much more isolated and intimate event, which has a profound impact on each of the scientists' lives, and in turn comes to torment the students' who inherited their memories. It's perhaps a bit difficult to describe because nothing else I've read or seen is quite like it in terms of inordinate narrative structure and layering.
The cast is rich with depth and nuances that drive the series forward. Rin, Alice, and Jinpachi, in particular, along with their past lives, undergo extreme character development as they struggle to come to terms with their mysterious pasts and the overbearing sense of guilt inhabiting their inherited psyches. The flashbacks are layered in PSME, as the story frequently shifts between the characters' current selves, their lives on the moon base, and their upbringings in a distant alien society before becoming scientists destined to study the Earth from its lunar accompaniment. All of these experiences contribute to a perfect storm of complex human interactions that test the boundaries of morality and self-identity. The retroactive approach to unveiling the aforementioned "critical event", and the emotional and societal conditions that precursed it, depict a hauntingly visceral coalescence of love, loathing and regret.
The most integral motif of PSME, or rather, the motif most present and to blame for in this "critical event", is of the encumbrance of loneliness. One of the scientists, Shion, is a war orphan who shuns others out of spite for their innocence. Another, Mokuren, is something of an angelic deity blessed with a supernatural power as well as natural beauty and brilliance. Her immense value to society forces her to lead an isolated childhood, where she struggles to form meaningful interpersonal relationships in a world where she is viewed as a perfect object more than she is a human girl. To Shion, Mokuren embodies everything he hates in the world, and to Mokuren, his coldness towards her is precious proof that she is but a regular woman and not the doll others' perceive her to be. And thus, with this mutual shared loneliness, along with precarious environmental circumstances, the two's fates become intertwined forever. Along with the rest of the cast, these are extremely flawed characters with realistic complexes and coping mechanisms, but that's part of what makes PSME so inherently human. Hiwatari's core characters constantly struggle between magnanimity and transgression under the duress of a moral crucible, and in her narrative artistry, the reader bears witness to both decay and rebirth in a cathartic defiance of the oppressive and incorrigible gravity of the story at large.
It should be noted that the art is a bit dated, and sometimes lacking in the same level of detail present in most modern manga, but it's overwhelmingly artsy and effective at conveying the visuals necessary to complement the entrancing narrative. PSME is an unrelenting emotional roller-coaster lovingly adorned with intricate detail and profound psychological examination of the human sense of self and belonging. It's almost so utterly and inescapably grounded in psychological realism that the sci-fi exterior morphs into something more like a pretense rather than a premise in itself. Upon the most graceful possible descent from this pretense unfurls a majestic and indefatigably heart-wrenching tale of love and loss. It's in this deconstruction and constant blurring of traditional genre lines, tropes and narrative sequencing that PSME's brilliance manifests most strikingly. Hiwatari's highly calculated ensemble of thematic and narrative chaos is spellbinding. Under this anarchic context of a dauntingly large-scale epic of alien civilizations and the fate of the Earth, PSME simultaneously solicits both cutting emotional resonance and deeply philosophical propositions, yet through it all, never loses sight of what it means to be human, and perhaps more intrinsically, and in the authoress's own words, what makes our world so maddeningly beloved.
 Alternative TitlesSynonyms: BokuTama Japanese: ぼくの地球を守って More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: 21
Chapters: 138
Status: Finished
Published: 1987 to 1994
Demographic:
Shoujo
Serialization:
Hana to Yume Authors:
Hiwatari, Saki (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #6112 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #1657
Members: 12,083
Favorites: 444 Resources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 7 / 9
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Aug 20, 2017
Please Save My Earth is a manga about the complexity of human relationships and the seemingly insurmountable burden of sin. A group of high school students, and one younger boy, suddenly begin to experience strange dreams alluding to their past lives as alien scientists stationed on a secret moon base. This sounds like an audacious and almost absurd premise, and it really is audacious, but never once did it strike me as such after I started reading in earnest, which is a testament to the organic storytelling. Over time, these dreamlike memories unravel more and more of an epic tragedy, while also threatening to scrape
...
Apr 28, 2008
I was introduced to Please Save My Earth by the anime- which isn't even close to being as good as the manga is. And I loved it. The manga is probably the best Shoujo manga I've ever read- the plot keeps readers guessing, the characters are all interesting, and all have very intricated and deep pasts(In the past lives, anyway- the present day characters are interesting too, though.)
The only flaw with this series is that the artwork's a bit dated- but honestly, it doesn't really matter. The series is just THAT good to get past it's artwork. I highly recommend this series, and if you ... 
Apr 12, 2009
PSME is hands down one of the best manga I've read so far and even the anime, which is not nearly as good because it leaves out much of the original story line, outshines most other anime I've seen in the last few years.
It is has just the right amount of "typical shoujo" elements, sci-fi and drama. There are quite a few characters to keep track of though and that can be a bit confusing at first, but shouldn't be a problem anymore after a few chapters. All the characters (past and "present" forms of the main cast as well as other characters joining in ... 
Dec 4, 2021 Not Recommended Funny  Preliminary
(42/138 chp)
This story had so much potential, but it has two MAJOR issues that can’t be overlooked. What I’m about to write are, of course, spoilers - but I feel like people should know about these things before going into the story. I really wish I did so that I didn’t waste so much time reading this garbage. (All of my sarcasm in this review is referring to how things were presented in the story.)
1. The romanticisation of rape. The main couple in this story is initiated by rape. Yes, you read that right. Shion rapes Mokuren and ‘defiles’ her (his words), because she’s just sooo ... 
Sep 3, 2010
I have never read a manga series as good as this one, the characters seemed so real and the story was just so outstanding. For years I've seen this manga on different manga websites but skipped over it because the art which didn't look really good. Then boredom set in and I was willing to read anything to get over it so I decided to give the series a try. I soon got over my boredom quickly and soon become entranced in Saki Hiwatari"s story about seven scientists who all become reincarnated on earth. The story was so good I didn't even notice the old
...
Sep 28, 2013
Don't be fooled by it's sci-fi genre because this manga is far more realistic than most of your typical manga in terms of the complexity of human nature and relationships.
This has got to be one of those treasures long forgotten throughout time. Nothing is ever rushed in this manga. It takes its time to unravel each of the character's past and leaves us readers to decide what exactly the truth is. Unlike many present day mangas, PSME is very realistic in terms of the raw emotions the story centres around, and you'd be surprised at how much these emotions govern the story itself, where you're ... 
Apr 24, 2019
I dunno how many of you out there know about Please Save My Earth, I expect not many unless you're into 90's shoujo, considering the age of this series. Well, I'm here to try to change that and make you read it! ~(＾◇^)/
Simply put, because of its age, this series does have some flaws in the art department. At times you can tell it's both old and wasn't very good/was still rough, but the characters and story far than make up for it. But the art does improve as time goes on, so it's a great to watch a mangaka grow, so props to Saki ... |
