Fool Night

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PLEASE READ THIS MANGA!! Fool Night is so underrated for how much depth there is to the themes, world building, and especially the characters. While there are some trope-y elements in the beginning, trust the author and you’ll be treated to a story whose layers only continue to blossom.

Without spoiling anything, all of the main characters have relatable flaws (stemming believably from their backstories) and work on them in relatable ways — i.e., they don’t immediately realize their shortcomings and become perfect. Even 77 chapters in (as of this writing) the main characters are still morally grey in many ways but developing gradually alongside the ... slow-burning, psychologically thrilling plot, which, itself, encourages many thought-provoking questions about society, grief, sacrifice, utilitarianism, and more. The politics of the series are also complex and are given realistic nuance in a very short time without ever feeling rushed or info-dumped. Yasuda is doing incredible things with the pacing, constantly leaving questions unanswered only to tie up those loose ends later, when you least expect it and after you’ve gotten a chance to stew on them independently.

Not to mention the art style and especially the character designs are quite distinctive and immediately iconic.

If you’ve gotten this far and are convinced, I’ll warn you that (because Fool Night is so underrated) the current availability of all the chapters is a bit wonky. As of this writing, Viz has still yet to translate chapters 36–63 into English, and their translations of chapters 1–36 are noticeably worse than the (quite good) translations of chapters 64 and onward. So I recommend you read the (also good) fan translations of chapters 1–63 on Mangadex, then hop back over to Viz to catch up. There are some differences in terminology to get used to between the fan and official translations, but it’s super worth it.

I’ve also been hoping to start a community around this hidden gem, so if you ever want to discuss the series, please don’t hesitate to message me.

I first started reading this manga because of a friend which recommended it to me. Right on the first chapter, it already had me going - the concept as a whole is so creative and interesting.

I won't really spoil much, but the thing about fool night is that everything is plausible and coherent as fuck. Like, i could perfectly imagine this story happening exactly like it's written. The characters feel very human, but what catches me the most is how the author handles the complexity of this theme in such a natural way.

It's political. Very political. The critics are strong, and everything is structured ... just like our regular society. You see, everything that happens makes so much sense it's flabbergasting.

Not only that, to discredit the art would be a sin. Fool Night's art is superb, the mangaka shows extreme mastery on human anatomy, fighting choreography and page compositions.

It's actually scaring how underrated this masterpiece is, such a work of art. More people should read it, and it should absolutely get a anime adaptation that makes up to it.

Absolute 10/10.

My initial impression of this manga was that it seemed like a bit of a hammy dystopian fic, but the more I read, the more I find it's really well executed. The moral quandaries and interpersonal relationships are actually pretty complex only a couple of volumes in. I was initially worried that the series would be a shallow display of desperation, but instantly we've mixed it with mystery and fear of the unknown. The first real case (i.e. the pianist) presented some really intriguing conflicted emotions between characters. I'm really excited to see where the story goes.
I can also say that the art is really ... interesting. I'll be interested to see the new covers as volumes release.