Kurokami no Helga
HELGA of dark hair

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This manga is fairly deceptive, it's name and background does give the impression it's a medieval fantasy tale, based of Germany, and explaining the story of our main heroine, Helga, while in fact it's themes and messages does spread far beyond the fantasy genre and are actually quite the complex psychologial puzzle, fitting for those who are looking for a read with depth and sophistication, rather than the common escapist tropes of the fantasy genre.

The story of this manga can feel confusing, especially if you expect a more traditional narrative. In it with strong usage of metaphores are displayed the flaws ... which do plague the society that the main heroine resides in, as well as portraying her own actions and decisions within it. It's certainly not the main strory's strenght, I do believe that by better fleshing it out the mangaka could've made the read more grounded and story-driven, but then again the metaphores could feel convoluted that way.

The manga's art is very appealing, it could look simple at times, but it does it's job just fine. The characters look beautiful and elegant, both female and male, and the special detail could be seen and appreciated on the few scenes, presented as an internal monologue of Helga, as well as her dreams.

While the setting is vague, the same can be mentioned about the characters, both their design and personality. While it's not necessery needed, it could helped with the story's relatability, but it can be also said that they feel more as a vessels, holding specific and certain meanings or presenting ideas and viewpoints, rather than feeling as people you can meet in your life.

With it's non-ordinary writing, peculiar and symbolic cast of characters as well as the complex way the story has been written, I'm not sure this manga is for everyone. By untypical ways, this work do present and explain numerous flaws in the human society, it's judgemental and primal counscience, as well as the decieving ways in which our mind works sometimes. It also portrays how in the endless goal of being perfect part of a certain community, one always has to conceal his genuine and true feelings, just to replace them with more standard, generic ones, and this manga asks this simple question - should striving for perfection and sacrificef your real self, or you should value your personal freedom and moral views, but this way oftenlly being hurt and misunderstood by the majority of the people. ?

I do think this manga is experimental, for which it may feel too vague, disjointed and eventually, nonesensical to some readers, but at the same time, it does raises questions about the human psyche and the society's mentality as a whole, which is not too often seen. Instead of a story with start, midpoint and end, it more or less feels like an essay, interested in evoking certain feelings in the reader, rather than presenting itself in a more traditional way.