Houseki no Kuni
Land of the Lustrous

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Houseki no Kuni is a manga series that ran in the span of 12 years, beginning in 2012 and finishing in the present year of 2024. As someone whose first contact with this series was through the anime, I couldn't help but feel interested in what the original work had to offer. Initially, I was hesitant because the story creates a significant amount of hype towards the big twist, an idea that is dangerous at first sight - mostly because many series fail in the delivery of the main idea, or just don't know what to do from there on. Fortunately, this wasn't the case ... here.

If you are reading this, you probably read HnK fully or is planning to. I am not a "connoisseur" or whatever, but I must admit that this series tackles its philosophy and themes well through the plot. We are invited to see the Land of the Lustrous in the eyes of a group of gems, each one called by its stone name. We see how Phosphophillyte (hard name to write xd), Bort, Cinnamon and many others behave, act and their personal goals and problems. Here, though, I feel the need to say that the cast is a little bigger than it should - or, for the use of better words; doesn't give spotlight to all its characters equally. This didn't turn into a big issue latter on, but I feel like some of the cast could have had a little more time. Some characters kinda disappear in some later volumes.

Regarding the story as a whole, it is thought provoking. As someone who finished reading this manga in three days, I must say that every chapter had me interested in the "what next". There is also a real sense of isolation, since they are the only people in their world; but this manga actually makes you feel what it is like to live in their world. The opposite feelings of dread and serenity are calculated well, and the humor doesn't detract from the theme. The scenes that Phos and Cinnamon interact are some of the most interesting dialogues in the series. The development and change is visible through the entire plot. Mostly focused on Phos, we see her changes volume by volume - just like a metamorphosis. No spoilers, but I was honestly surprised by how far her character went.

In art, there is a focus on the way HnK's world works, with details in the grass movements and in the main castle. Causing a sense of immersion that I rarely see in the industry, and making the reader eager to know more about what will happen next. In what touches development, there isn't significant changes though. The artwork stays consistent, but I didn't notice a major modification in this field. It is beautiful though, with a focus on body gestures and a nice flow in the movements. There is a feeling of sensibility through the story present since chapter one.

All in all, Houseki no Kuni is a really memorable and creative series. It is worthy enough of its praise, and even with some small nitpicks of mine, is consistent in its journey. I'd really appreciate rereading this one someday.

Thank you for reading.

One of the most recently published manga I have read. Calling it unique is an understatement, as I'm not even sure who this appeals to. It has strong shoujo manga tropes, as well as an all-girl lesbian fantasy feel to it, but somehow mixes a religious and psychological backdrop to it all. In fact, the character cast feels like a japanese version of Steven Universe, the setting is very unique and the art is also very refreshing. These are obviously all very good things, but these pros quickly became cons the longer the manga went on for.

- The character cast is too unstable (as ... in characters disappearing, appearing, and changing way too frequently, especially the MC).
- The art quality for this manga is very fucking exhausting, as you get the 1 every 10 chapters fight scene, with admittedly great character design, that is unfortunately very unintelligible (due to the soft shading style that the mangaka went for, together with pure white / pure black backgrounds that make it even more of a mess to decypher). I feel like the art and feel the author was going for would've been way better as an anime original, as the combination of colourful gem characters and paradise-like scenery would make for some insanely lively scenes that just can't be appreciated in black and white.
- Most of the chapters have a very happy go lucky feel to it, with cheery characters and constant :P moments, that take away all the seriousness that the plot was going for.
- About the plot, this felt like an inferior version of Eden: It's an Endless World, and as magical as that manga was to me, this one felt like a lackluster cousin.
- The actual story and big answer to the plot is given halfway throughout the manga as a simple, serious, lore dump conversation, which completely kills all of the mistery and made the idea behind the plot feel unimportant.
- Related to the last point, the Manga is too long for its own good. Most of the stuff that happens is drawn out for way too long. For example, what felt like the "final arc" of the manga, ends up being literally 50% of the length.


Overall, the lack of a real MC, the constant transformation of the entire cast (as well as some characters that only impact the story negatively from the reader point of view), the inconsistent art quality, as well as the ending hiding such a strong niche buddhism lore dump, ended up mortally wounding what could've been one of the most unique mangas of the decade.

[Spoilers]

Seriously, seriously, don't read this. It starts off strong, with an intriguing setting and a loveable main character (Phos). The character interactions are fantastic and there is a sense of mystery and melancholy to the whole story. There are various relationships Phos makes that are set up such for future development in different directions. However... (massive spoilers below)

At a certain point within the story, the author decides that Phos needs to suffer and that everyone should turn on them, and makes no effort to make this happening believable. Every single character who Phos has interacted with, befriended, had fun with, fought with, bonded over lost ... comrades with, tried to help, just completely gives zero fucks about Phos within a matter of days. For no reason. Just to get some dumb plot point across. And none of them ever care again. All the relationships, just poof, gone permanently, because the author had a stupid plotline they wanted. Which itself, was really just an excuse to make Phos suffer to begin with. It completely belies the narrative up to that point, just to make you feel bad. Horrible writing, I sincerely regret reading it.