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Houseki no Kuni
Land of the Lustrous
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Houseki no Kuni

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: 宝石の国

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 13

Chapters: 108

Status: Finished

Published: Oct 25, 2012 to Apr 25, 2024

Genres: Action, Drama, Fantasy

Theme: Anthropomorphic

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Afternoon

Authors: Ichikawa, Haruko (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.96¹ (scored by 44,351 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #14²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #89

Members: 135,346

Favorites: 15,007

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 40 / 47

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Jan 16, 2022

LordFarquaad42

Recommended

Preliminary (95/108 chp)

I dont write many reviews so my appoligies if mine is sub-par. Having just binged the entirety of the releaced chapters in one night, I am absolutly heartbroken. This manga left me with a feeling of emptyness I havent felt before. There is this pit in my stomach that makes me feel sick, I dont know whether to scream, cry, or rage. The emotions that this manga have made me feel are powerful and deep. I would put Houseki no Kuni up there with Oyasumi Punpun in terms of story telling and emothional evocation. I cannot recomend this manga enough, it is by every defnition ...

Oct 9, 2023

Gantle

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (103/108 chp)

First of all, I wanna make clear that this manga is very enjoayble, I literally read almost all of it in 1 day, of how good it was to read. BUT, it has a lot of problems(to me) that makes it not as good as I would like it to be.The first problem is, the characters. It would be a lie if i say they're "empty" or something like that, but, for me it's pretty clear of how most of them just exists in order to develop Phos, more than themselves(like Antarcticite). Dia was the one that i was looking for big development but as ...

May 14, 2021

JoakimIT

Recommended

Preliminary (95/108 chp)

To me, this was like a somewhat high quality whiskey.
I don't really like whiskey.

I won't talk about specific spoilers, but about the type of manga this is and becomes, which I would consider spoiling it quite a bit.

The story is intriguing when it makes any progress, and I was really curious about how things would end up. The author has a general plan from the start, where he starts off with a lighthearted tone with some serious parts and then pumps up the grittyness more and more as it goes on. It was well excecuted, but not to my liking at all. Reminded me of ...

Jun 19, 2021

Femboy_Hooters

Recommended

Preliminary (95/108 chp)

Underneath this colourful tapestry lays a demonstrably elongated conspiracy draped in the epitome of the term 'existentialism'. The self is a very daunting conception. Who are we really and what can we become. Not physically, mentally.

Houseki no Kuni delves into a state of existentialism which is profound and accepting because the characters themselves are not only mentally developed individuals but their assets as beings themselves are quite unique. I've seen a lot of people discuss this series as being the 'Steven Universe' anime just because the characters are associated with gems. This nonsensical unironic claim couldn't be further from the truth. There is so much ...

May 5, 2024

Biisoo

Recommended

Well well well. This was hands down one of The most unique manga I've read. From it's artstyle to it's execution and even upto it's ending. It was all truly a one of a kind experience. So unique that after finishing the final chapter, I was lost for words. When a work makes you feel lost (in a good way) that's how you know it was done incredibly well.

The story starts very basic-ish, The Protagonist Phos is also very different in the sense that not only does he not have any lofty aspirations, He just wants to be useful and loved by others. If ... there ever was a simple wish then that would be it. What Phos goes through in the span of this manga is nothing short of inconceivable, tragic, hopeful and depressing. All at once.

The art (although at first it was a bit hard to grasp what was going on sometimes but it evolved very intricately throughout the series) is a highlight here. Like seriously, it's stellar and compliments the story perfectly. Another thing to highlight is the excellent use of black and white that the author Ichikawa Haruko managed to accomplish here.

The one standout point of this manga is that there's no good or evil here. You look at some characters and you're like, They are very clearly evil but that's where you're wrong. There's no clear good or evil line to be crossed here and this series tricks you alot into thinking that. Definitely made me feel very polarized as to whose side I should take. Making the reader question themselves is a sign of good story telling.

The ending, while not the best definitely seemed like the best that the author could come up with and for that, I respect the author very much. Actually having a conclusion to a series as beautiful as this is very satisfying. Many people might not be fond of poetic endings but the ending is certainly on the good side, atleast for me.

The themes are also very thought provoking, like for say what if there were no humans, or there was everlasting happiness? Will we get bored of living forever. The series has so many tonal shifts, it goes from a happy adventurous vibe to a chaotic all hell loose vibe while also retaining it's charm. It goes through so many developments from start to finish and even the protagonist goes through so much that it's honestly a surreal experience.

I'll conclude my review by saying that this is definitely a one of a kind manga that deserves all the praise and should be read by more and more people, You may not like it at first but it will gradually suck you in and you'll be left feeling either, Happy or Sad at the end of it.

Thanks for reading.

Dec 29, 2021

UCDETC

Recommended

Preliminary (95/108 chp)

TLDR:

As a piece of media it relies a lot on its aesthetic, atmosphere, and the way it makes you feel, not all on the actual storyline. This is where it excels the most 10/10 (sort of like blame!)

The art is beautiful and unique and the paneling is excellent although the fights are not the best in the business 9/10

If you don’t know yet the story is pretty sad (it also drops a lot of plot threads by the end) 8/10

Houseki no kuni is not for everyone. For those who like neat concise storytelling that ends up with each story thread tied up with ...

May 27, 2022

Noxaaa

Recommended

Preliminary (93/108 chp)

[!] LITERALLY MASSIVE SPOILERS DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE NOT CAUGHT UP [!]

First of all, let me just say, that this is my (I believe) first time reviewing a manga. I don't read a whole lot of manga, but when I read this, I just couldn't get enough. I watched the anime initially, and it was really nice, but I wanted to know more. Turns out, it only covered 1/4 of the whole story, and the good parts have yet to be animated.

First, the story. It starts off with the MC, Phosphophyllite, who is weak and naïve. Actually, nobody really knows anything besides Sensei. As ... the story progresses, the characters slowly start uncovering more and more about the truth of their world. Learning about the Lunarians, and even the truth about Sensei near the end. Overall, while I'd say it's hard to put into words, it's not the best thing this show has to offer, although I really do enjoy it.

Now for the art. To be completely honest, the art in Houseki no Kuni isn't all that striking initially. At least for me, sometimes when reading it was quite hard to follow what was going on in the story even. However, I believe that the almost abstract quality of the art-style goes so well with this kind of narrative. The simplistic yet contrasting backgrounds on some of the panels really hits home the statement it's trying to convey.

The Characters. Phew, where do I start? While I will say that not all of the characters in Houseki no Kuni are perfectly written masterpieces, the one character that I can say that for is Phos. Phos throughout the story goes through some of the best development I've seen in anime or manga easily. From the naïve and unknowing child (compared to the rest of the gemstones as well, literally) to in my opinion, the most badass character in the entire story. The reason Phos becomes this way though is just as good. Unlike someone like Kaneki, who just goes through a lot of physical trauma (not trying to downplay that, shi prolly hurt like hell literally), Phos becomes this way through just simply figuring out the way of the world. Of course, this is only possible due to the attachment of Lapis Lazuli, but you know what I mean. The main thing with Phos and what drives it home for me is the identity crisis and the internal conflict. Phos just wanted to help fight off the lunarians, but by the end of the story Phos may as well be working for the Lunarians, even going back to fight the other gemstones. Over the course of the story, Phos obviously has many parts that fall off and ended up losing them forever. With that, Phos's memories and personality deteriorate as a harsh side-effect. With that the internal conflict arrises if Phos (the original gem Phosphoyllite) is really even Phos anymore, with less than half of her body being made of actual Phosphophyllite.

Enjoyment is an absolute 10/10. Due to the above points, I don't see how people can't at least give it a try. Most people will just blindly ignore it the moment you mention anything about gems like "oh they made outta gems fr?" and then ignore you. Such an interesting concept, and I love stories like these that really make you think.

Overall, easily 9.5 overall but Phos is the best main character I have seen to this day.

Mar 28, 2021

BasicallyAnybody

Recommended

Preliminary (95/108 chp)

Ok, so, this is a really hard one to talk about.

I'm mostly writing this review because most of the ones published are from earlier points of the story and considering how everything changes through ths story it seemed fitting to do one in it's actual point.

To describe the plot, it's centered on a main character called phosphophilite. In personality is pretty much like Akko Kagari, at least on the start, and it's goal is to find a job that it can do to help the other and find it's own place in the group.

This androginous gem is in a world where they are in constant ... attacks of a strange race called the lunarians that every few days invade the island the inhabit to break them and steal their broken gem bodies. This gives some conflict and a somewhat constant threat considering that when the plot progresses the attacks of the lunarians become more and more bizarre and hard to deal with.

Lore wise is pretty unique, it gives the right amount of information to know and understand it's world while it keeps lots of secrets for the protagonist to solve. The only complaint I could have is that they really take a long time to actually unveil them and it's basically all of them almost at the same time so from some point forward there¿s not much to discover anymore.

All of this is a really nice setup that is maintained for most of the series until things change really drastically from the middle point forward. I won't specify much on it, but I will say that it's a really painful story but that I would recommend because of it's uniqueness and interesting way of developing.

(mild spoilers, nothing specific, but beware)

So, to summarize the hard part to talk about, this is a story that changes it's tone gradually but really, really drastically. The story unfolds in a way that repeats certain patterns in several arcs until everything changes midpoint and it kind of stalls pretty hard. The situation is really interesting but the complexity they end up delving in once the misteries are revealed slow the pace a lot from middle point forward.

The tone, characters, plot, everything is radically different from one half and the other, not a bad thing precisely because this is a consequence of the natural development of the plot they are dealing with, but it can be really jarring if one is not prepared to see the profound lows the characters can get in once things start getting really messed up.

Getting out of that, the art is pretty interesting, simplistic but really adequate to show the physical changes the protagonist goes through. There's some really interesting simbolism and narrative structure based on budhism and narratives they use. In general I would recommend it as a really unique experience that definitely not everyone is going to appreciate because of the strange and particular ways the narrative and the plot end up going to.

In general, a story a lot more interesting than entertaining.

Feb 13, 2022

HisokaFanFromBG

Recommended

Preliminary (53/108 chp)

So,
this is my first review and I'm very excited it's on Land of the Lustrous. Before anything, if you're looking for a unique story with a great MC, then this is it.
Story: 10
I'm not fully caught up, but as of volume 10, the story really is outstanding. This is because it starts really innocent and goofy at times, but then switches to much more dramatic and intense moments. The peaks are high and it really serves well to keep the tempo of the story.
Art: 9
I gave it a 9, and to some it might be generous, but it really suits the type of story it ...

Mar 19, 2022

Catlas

Recommended

Preliminary (95/108 chp)

(Spoilers Ahead)
Honestly, Houseki no Kuni is one of the hardest manga to rate; I am conflicted on many levels.

I will say what drew me in was the awesome concept: Earth, where humans are extinct and all that's left is sentient immortal gems and their interesting culture. That's why I love season 1 of the anime so much. It helps that there are great characters (anime only) with development, great art/CGI, and tense battles.

But the story filled me with many emotions. I started off feeling happy and chill for the first dozen chapters, but as the chapters passed, I have been filled with frustration, weirded out, ... and disgust. But that was the author's intention, to make the reader feel this way, so that can be considered a success. But personally, I wanted a light fantasy with great characters and only the occasional dark moment, e.g., a gem getting kidnapped to the moon. But a manga must have progress, and that was the path the author chose. It's just how I feel matters a lot to me, and feeling like shit is a no go. I still completed the manga, with great difficulty because I wanted to see where Phosphophyllite would end up.

It's amazing how vile the content matter can become, not in a crude gore sense but in a psychological and emotional sense. The whole manga is focused on Phos, whom I very much like and usually rooted for, barring some disagreeable choices (randomly trusting someone you've been at war with your entire life and who has turned all your friends into dust to "decorate" the moon) - are you kidding me? Actually, I enjoyed all of the characters for the first 43 chapters. After that, there was a shocking downward spiral where I fucking hated every single character except Phos, Adamant, and Antarcticite. All of the Earth gems became hateable and cult-like, and all of the main moon residents were disgusting and creepy. Phos was the only one left, and she got destroyed and scattered by the earth gems for simply pleading for Sensei to pray. Sure, she manipulated some gems to go to the moon, which I hated, but that doesn't mean they had to act like psycho scum. Another thing I hated was the romance between Cairngorm and Aechmea, from the first to the last moment. Every time I saw it, I wanted to vomit and claw my eyes out. Cinnabar, in her need to feel connection, betrayed Phos for fake love.

Finally, it ended with the worst outcome where all the scum changed into Lunarians (which is lame; gems are more interesting), and they get to live happily together, while Phos is forgotten about by all except Antarcticite (Adamant barely seemed to care), and she is left to suffer for 10,000 years. If the author actually makes more chapters, I don't think I could stand seeing that scum. But I hope Phos would have a happy ending, although I don't see how that's possible.

Honestly, this is a decent manga that I read and finished because I loved the Anime. It actually got me to write this review because I had so many thoughts. Not a lot of media will actually do that, and I thank it for that. But I actually don't want a season 2; I will not watch it knowing how the manga progresses.

Story = 8: An objectively quality story; I will say the story and concept kept me engaged enough to complete 95 chapters.
Art = 7: Very aesthetic and unique, but the fight scenes are difficult to read.
Characters = 6: I liked all the characters at the start, but hated everyone but Phos, Adamant, and Antarcticite by the end.
Enjoyment = 3: My personal taste is that I like manga and anime that make me feel happy, tense, and entertained, not actively making me feel disgusted.
Overall = 7.5: I can't change how I feel, but this is the score I think it deserves.

May 13, 2022

honolulumarch

Recommended

Preliminary (95/108 chp)

i watched the anime so naturally what's the next step? checking out the manga, the original work! haha yeah i'll read it! Because i loved the anime! this wouldnt affect me on a deep and meaningful level in any way! surely it won't make me feel sick! (a giant centipede materializes on the ceiling above me and drops onto my head and i scream VERY LOUDLY

if you are looking for something absolutely heart-wrenching and crazy, this is it. psychological drama has never been at a higher peak then this. the art style is FANTASTIC, and the shading techniques used are extremely effective for telling visually ...

May 3, 2022

LiXarder

Recommended

Preliminary (95/108 chp)

*NO SPOILERS*

This is my first review...

First of all, I'm in love with this manga.
Maybe because I'm a fan of good character developments (and depressing stories (-_-) ).

Even though it has been on Hiatus for over a year, I still can't bring myself to stop thinking about what might come next.
I'm 100% sure that the unique story, the superlative main character and the loveable community will continue to keep me close to everything related to this masterpiece.
I didn't know about this series until a friend of mine recommended the anime and the way it ended prompted me to start reading it. The misterious ...

Jun 14, 2024

Empanadadeuva

Recommended

If beautiful was a manga it would be this one, not because of stunning visuals and design, but because of the story itself. Reading this manga was a wonderful experience, more so if you add to the mix the score made for the anime adaptation. For me, one of the best OST in the industry.

I have nothing but praise for the author, making sush a delicate story with themes that are "common" was delightful, the worldbuilding, the illustrations, the humorous bits, the emotional parts, and specially the character development of Phos and the rest of the gems were all aspects of the story that ...

May 2, 2024

WesternSiren

Recommended

This is a spoiler free review

Overview:
Houseki no Kuni is a riveting story from start to finish. What begins as a lighthearted journey following our main character Phosphophyllite as they try to find their place amongst their eclectic companions does not stay that way for long. Not everything is as simple as it seems and as Phosphophyllite investigates the true nature of their world they may be forced to come face to face with some ugly truths. As the story unfolds it explores the ideas of human nature and what it means to be truly all the while exploring how we are shaped by our bonds ... with those around us.

Story:
The story does an excellent job keeping the reader engaged from start to finish. Through all the twists and turns this story will almost always leave you on a cliffhanger eager to learn what comes next and what is really going on. The story does a good job developing upon itself in a cohesive way and the humor is fluidly mixed in with the stories somewhat darker themes while still maintaining its impact. The story deals with a fair few philosophical topics with the main one being existentialism. All of these topics are introduced and handled well, encouraging the reader to really stop and think.

Characters:
The cast is both extremely diverse and well fleshed out. While the cast is constantly expanded upon over the course of the series it, for the most part, still does a good job of showcasing not only their strengths but their flaws as well. None do so better than our main character, Phosphophyllite, who is shown to develop and change in many ways whether it be for better or worse.

Art:
The art in this series is, while not overly complicated, very well done. However,there are several times where it is hard to follow what is happening during action sequences. The use of space is excellent and page composition is done in a way that only enhances this fact. The only real problem I would say that I have is that at first it is somewhat difficult to differentiate characters as many have a similar appearance.

World:
The world of Houseki no Kuni is beautifully made with both a sense of mysticism and melancholy that it is so rare to find. The setting does an incredible job of coaxing the reader to ponder its nature only to floor them when their questions are answered. The hauntingly beautiful and mysterious setting is one of the best parts of this series and is an incredible backdrop for the story.

Conclusion:
If any of this sounds interesting then I would highly recommend reading Houseki no Kuni as it is a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking read from start to finish that will keep you turning pages.

May 20, 2023

mizurrin

Recommended

Preliminary (102/108 chp)

Watched the anime because of the cool CGI and rough character development, continued reading the manga since I wanted to see how the story develops. Wasn't expecting a really tragic story that revolves around betrayals, manipulation, and mental tortures. This manga is a whole emotional rollercoaster and will put you spiraling for the next few days or weeks after reading the manga (so far it has 102 chs, still ongoing). 10/10 recommended for anyone who loves tragic stories or good, unique stories in general. You will feel all the emotions the author is trying to make you feel no matter how hard you're trying to ...

Apr 17, 2023

HoozyOne

Recommended

Preliminary (101/108 chp)

Rarely do I find myself so deeply immersed in a manga, that I binge the entirety available as much as possible, sacrificing my sleep in the process :D. It was that good (although it's not finished, we are close to the end)!

The world shown to us in beautifully illustrated panels is quite unique and it's easy to understand the context - we are set in a world where the only intelligent lifeforms on Earth seem to be the Gems (or the Lustrous) and they must defend themselves against the enemy - the Lunarians who periodically arrive from the moon to capture the Gems. This big ... conflict of the story is almost immediately understood after reading a few chapters, and so is the personal one of our main protagonist Phosphophyllite, a young gem who is one of the weakest around and because of their naivety, clumsiness and over-confidence they seem to be fit for no job, however still they want to be on the battle field against the Lunarians.

Additionally, an important key to this world is that the Gems are virtually immortal because, if shattered, they can easily be put back, if you haven't lost any pieces of them of course. However, as a reader you still feel that 'fear of death', because if the Gems are taken away to the Moon by Lunarians, then effectively we don't know what happens to them, other than that their shards are used as weaponry or jewelry. On the other hand, if a Gem loses some part of them, some shard, they lose the memories stored there.

So, in a bigger picture this captivating story is asking many questions about what it means to be human, what does death mean (to a human or otherwise - an immortal gemstone lifeform), and later in the story - other thought provoking philosophical questions.

At the start I did have some difficulty telling some of the characters apart because of their uniforms and similar build, often found myself heavily relying on the hairstyle, however after some chapters I grew accustomed to the cute looking humanoid gems!

But, oh no, the seemingly cute story slowly but surely beings to shift. I would say the author is a master at breaking one's spirit (maybe because at every point I held my expectations optimistic - a fatal mistake). And the feelings for me personally throughout the further story would be: dread, anger, sadness.

Story-wise the many plot points and potential questions one could ask (at least what I internally asked) were resolved and the story is very well written. Accompanied by the art, re-reading the manga can present with additional parallels, story connections and missed details that would further enrich the experience and I'm sure I missed some or many!

With that, I encourage you to read Houseki no Kuni while I look at the first illustrations of Phos and dream of what could have been in a happier, less suffering-filled timeline.

Jun 28, 2023

Manthors

Recommended

Preliminary (36/108 chp)

Houseki no Kuni is one unique experience. I decided to make a review of it because it does not resemble any other manga I have read.

Story: The narrative is not linear, nor is it straightforward. The mangaka plays with that alternating style mixing the present time, thoughts, memories, and shifting images/memories. It is strange in the first chapters, but you gradually adapt to the narrative in an organic way. The story, without any spoilers, is great. You will follow Phosphophyllite in her/his (I still do not know, maybe it is supposed to be this way) quest to understand himself/herself including his/her limitations, powers, life choices, ...

May 27, 2023

RMML

Recommended

Preliminary (45/108 chp)

I do recommend every single one of you to go and read this story, but be aware that you may leave with a bitter taste in your mouth, bc "most" of the good things about it ends within around the first 4 volumes imo.
Story:
It is unbelievable that how good the writing of Houseki no kuni is, You will probably fall for the mc in 2 minutes.it has such a fluid dialogue structure and clean sequencing... it's just hard to find this quality anywhere.
Every single line matters, every single speech bobble is filled with the speaker's personality and every single interaction is like an explosion ...

Jun 4, 2024

Aito136

Mixed Feelings

Really getting some Steven Universe x Evangelion vibes, says the guy who's only ever watched Steven Universe and Evangelion.

This review is mostly spoiler free in terms of actual plot details, but does discuss changes in tone and vibes across the story that could be considered light spoilers to some.

*~ Plot ~*
LotL's story begins in a straightfoward manner: Fight the bad angel-looking guys that appear and appear randomly and attack, and along the way develop the cast of characters and expand on the worldbuilding. If you enjoy watching an underdog with no fighting capabilities slowly but surely make their way up the ranks as they develop ...

Mar 5, 2023

Raikers

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (100/108 chp)

Here is my honest point of view for this manga :

Goodpoint:
-art style : it’s really different , the use of black scenery make this world amazing . 8.5/10
-thematical : for those who like budhisme and the why of the life , your served it’s overflowing . 9/10
-originality : i’m always amazed by authors who can create a world with nothing commonly in it , there is no basement of society . 10/10
-dialogue : the dialogue are really enjoyable , it make me remember monogatari series , and the panel cutting are exceptionnel 10/10

Badpoint :

-characters : honestly i have rarely seen a main character ...