Fukashigi Philia

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The first chapters of this manga may seemed to be another typical shounen-action manga where a group of friends fight "evil" with their own "justice" but it is more than that. Honestly I began to feel bored when suddenly it's story became really interesting. So let's get started and WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

First is the Story, the story is more of a mystery-supernatural wherein the mangaka did a really great job in putting all the pieces together especially how everyone of them is linked to each other. Another thing that made the story good is that Tasuku (male protagonist) ended up in good terms with ... a certain heroine.

Second is the Art. The art is good but somehow it is rather simple or plain especially the action part, but the Art of the characters are quite unique.

Third is the Character. The character development each and everyone of them is good. Their past are explained properly through flashbacks.

Lastly is the Enjoyment. Since it a mystery and romance I really enjoyed it especially the length of the chapters, it is not that long or short so it is satisfying.

One day I was looking for something similar to Deadman Wonderland, and then lucky me, I found this manga. Fukashigi Philia is a manga which story is a bit dark and tragic, but with the occasional very touching moments. For those who love phycological thrillers this might be a good read since the emotional state of every single character plays a very important role in the story.

The story revolves around an event that happened eight years prior to currents time, and how it affected the people around the main character. The main character, who is coping with what happened on his childhood by fighting ... crime with his group of friends, finds a girl who will end up shattering his new way of life and eventually unlock the true of what happened in their past. Just like Deadman Wonderland, the girl the main character found has some kind of connection with him from his past, but he has no memory of it. Also, it has some fights and its characters have some kind of superpowers that are result of that event in the past. In general, the story was well written, it did close every plot holes and it was a bit unpredictable. The romance part of the story was very little and actually a bit comical, but it was really nice; especially the way it concluded.

Art was not bad, it was actually pretty decent. Facial expressions were really good as they showed the mental state of their characters, which as I mention before was a big part of this manga. The design for every single character was really cool and original.

In summary, it was a really good manga to read, perhaps a bit too short. However, it came to really good and somehow satisfying conclusion.

Fukashigi Philia is one of those things that starts off seeming like a light-hearted, normal action and slice of life manga while in reality it is hiding a dark, psychological story behind that initial look in the similar way to what Puella Magi Madoka Magica does. This manga contains characters who cut themselves in order to forget their horrible lives and fight against justice in order to prevent turning into a “monster” (not a literal transformation but a psychological one). I’m a big fan of psychological stories that delve into the darker side of the human mind such as Higurashi, Shiki, and Shingeki no Kyojin, ... and I must say I am really enjoying this manga so far.

Plot – 9/10

The story follows Tasuku, a boy whose family was killed eight years, even though he has almost no memory of the incident. The whole “memory loss” thing is nothing new, but Fukashigi Philia still manages to do well with it since it is not too important of a plot point for most of the manga and does not get in the way of rest of the story. Tasuku is now in high school and part of a group called the “Crushers” who go around fighting crime. Tasuku believes it is okay to use violence to stop violence as long as he does kill anyone, since he was told by a man the man he reveres that he should never kill anyone. This man becomes more important later, but I won’t spoil anything about him. One day, when stopping a human trafficking group, Tasuku rescues a mysterious girl named Noah with a power called “Future Fabrication” which allows her to show visions of people’s futures to them. She has a mark on her hand that reminds him of the man he reveres so he decides to take her home with him (Yeah….. he kind of ties her up so this is a little confusing cause he just saved her from a situation and then put her one almost identical to it). The girl claims to not have any memory of her past and also cannot speak so she writes everything down for Tasuku to read. From there, the Crushers, which include Tasuku and three other members, fight against several other people who are all connected in one way or another through Tasuku, Noah, or the man Tasuku reveres. Everything begins to center around the murder of Tasuku’s parents that happened eight years ago.

Art – 8/10

The art is overall very good with well-designed and good looking characters. As a psychological manga it does well portraying people’s disturbing emotions. It has some times during comedic parts where the art is a little strange and some of the fight scenes could be better, but overall the art is well drawn and never something that really detracts from the overall feel of the manga.

Characters – 10/10

The characters are the best part of this manga as all of them hide interesting secrets from the reader and from other characters. I love characters that surprise you with well written backstories and mysteries surrounding them, and this manga excels in characters like that. Aside from Tasuku and Noah there are Asuma, Himeji, Yuugo, and Rikiya. Despite her strange-looking hair, I think Asuma is my personal favorite. I think she’s someone that an unfortunate amount of people can relate to, since she cuts, strangles, and inflicts pain upon herself in order to forget about her past. As a child, Asuma’s parents were hardly ever around and she had only one friend. Everyone else at her school picked on her, and one day even her only friend turned on her and told her go die. After that she started cutting herself and continued for years until Tasuku finally made her stop since killing herself would be just as bad as killing someone else. This caused her to fall in love with him as Himeji, who was much quieter about her feelings for Tasuku, also was and became her “Love Rival.” Himeji is the leader of the leader of the “Crushers.” She comes from an extremely rich and influential family, but like Asuma her parents were hardly ever around either. She is incredibly talented at solving crimes and has only ever been wrong once: the case involving Tasuku’s parents’ murder. Yuugo is Tasuku’s childhood friend and talented with computers. He helps communications between the members but doesn’t actually fight. He helped Tasuku get through the ordeal of losing his parents by giving him the purpose of “justice” to defend and helped contain the “monster” within Tasuku. Rikiya is a kind, strong boy who will do whatever Himeji asks him to do and always fights to protect her and everyone else. He has a connection Tasuku, but I not much his said about him at first so I won’t spoil anything there. There are also some people with the “Gift” who have different powers and a connection to the man Tasuku reveres who want Noah for her power.

Enjoyment – 9/10

I really enjoyed this manga and I’m waiting for Chapter 12 to be translated now. I love the psychological aspect and the mysteries surrounding each character that are revealed to you as the story moves along. There were a few plot points that really surprised me and had me glued to my screen while reading Fukashigi Philia. I definitely recommend it if you like Madoka Magica, Another, Higurashi, Shinsekai Yori, or any other psychological or horror manga or anime.