Nov 22, 2023
Trigger Warning
Graphic Depiction of Rape, graphic violence (including against children), sexualisation of children, “romance” between child and adult
TL:DR
Gritty and realistic military-focused manga with a plot that will have you binge reading to the final chapter, a real page turner. Great protagonist and interesting side characters, but their potential is wasted and the author can't write women. Despite that, I fully recommend this manga, If you can get past the laundry list of TWs above.
Story: 8/10
The description actually undersells how interesting the premise of the manga actually is. The manga primarily focuses on Arata and his band of mercenaries almost exclusively composed of children. If that
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sound very interesting, that's because it is. Marginal Operation is a gritty depiction of warfare and mercenary work, with no defined loyalties and harsh conditions. It takes a very pragmatic view of the protagonist's actions, of course no one wants children to be soldiers, but what else can they do? However, Arata is not a cold and calculating monster, and the tension between his inherent good nature and the things he does to survive adds much needed emotional depth to a story that primarily revolves around fighting.
It's been said that “no plan survives contact with the enemy” and that certainly applies here, many twists and turns. Things rarely go according to plan and the situation can turn on a dime. It's unpredictable in the best of ways.
Arata faces a diverse array of enemies, each with different capabilities, strategies and equipment. From rebels, cults and governments, the wide range of foes forces the protagonist to adapt his tactics. This makes every story arc different and keeps it interesting while showcasing Shibamura-sensei exceptionally clever writing. Despite the types of people they face, I appreciate that it never tries to portray anyone as unequivocally good or evil. Even Japan itself is not held above getting it's hand's dirty.
The scenarios do get less realistic as the manga goes on but still well within my ability to suspend disbelief. I have no military experience so I can't tell how realistic the tactics are but to my untrained eye, every move taken seems completely sensible. Indeed, the author takes pains to explain why tactical decisions are made. It keeps the reader in the loop and ensures it never feels like the manga needs to hide things or pull stuff out of nowhere to keep the plot going.
The ending was explosive, a fantastic end to a hidden gem of a series. However, it doesn't conclusively end the story. There is a sequel light novel series that picks up where the original left off. Whether that series will be adapted so manga readers can get the full story remains to be seen. Mind you, the manga's ending can stand alone perfectly well so I wouldn't say we need an adaption of the sequel to enjoy this series.
While things rarely go the way you expect, there were too few casualties to be believable. Now, don't mistake what I'm saying, it never feels safe and the manga exploits the relative safety in earlier chapters to drive that home in a heart wrenching failure. However, it only manages to pull this off once. Yes, there is trouble later but only poorly developed side characters are put in harms way. It never feels safe and it was always tense, and yet there's a pervasive thought in the back of my head saying everyone who matters will be fine. The stakes are high but the author's bluff is rarely called. Does it detract from my enjoyment of the manga? I wouldn't say so, but don't expect a “Game of Thrones” nobody-is-safe type of story.
There's a romance between the ~30 year old protagonist and a 14 year old girl. Sign, japan, why are you like this? Look, I've learned to ignore a lot of crap in Japanese media but the particulars of this story makes it just that much worse when it happens here. I honestly though it would go down the route of explaining why this is wrong and promote a more healthy parental relationship. It felt like it was leaning in that direction, the manga tackles many other topics with some maturity after all. Arata justifies his use of child soldiers by saying that he is creating a better life for them, including by escaping sexual abuse. The author goes out of their way to portray Arata's relationship with the kids as parental, it's even explicitly stated by his partner (Omar) that he's their dad. The author even setup alternate love interests only for Arata to turn them down so he can groom a child. Because it just gets better, the manga doesn't stop at just “romance” like many others do, we get a full nudity scene. Of a 14 year old girl.
Even if you can ignore the paedophile MC and the terrible writing of woman (more on that later), there is a rape arc that is down right disgusting, I would not blame anyone for dropping the manga after reading that chapter. There are ways to handle these things well but if you can't manage that, then just don't write it at all. I'm not saying sexual assault can never be depicted tastefully in media, or that it's never relevant to a story, but the depiction in this manga is frankly vile, sexualising the victim as the assault occurs. The plot could easily have been rewritten to exclude the rape scene and still continue the plot on it's original path but the author chose to include this scene and moreover, chose to write it as a juvenile power fantasy of ‘saving the girl’ and I hated it. It's very unfortunate that the author fumbles this despite being so mature about many other components of the story.
Characters: 7/10
The characters are not this manga's strong suit. They are likeable, they are distinct and they are relatively 3 dimensional. The main character is the best character here. Genuinely nice guy and tactical genius. Though not very happy about his line of work and agonises over the morality of his actions, constantly trying to make it better for his kids. He undergoes a great arc, growing from a NEET who haplessly falls into mercenary work to a hardened veteran who is dead set on getting his kids a better life, all while trying to retain his morality. And it's makes for a damn good read.
The rest of the cast doesn't get nearly as much time to shine and it's sad because there's some real potential. I will grant, Shibamura-sensei is very efficient at packing a lot of characterisation into the relatively short amount of time allotted to each character but I still would have liked more focus on the rest of the cast. Sophie had surgery to make her ears elf-like, why? What about the ex-cult leader? This is gold for an author to work with, these characters are so interesting but we never learn anything about them!
Most importantly, we need more time with the kids, they would surely be the most interesting psychologically. Honestly, I thing the psychological potential the manga shows with such a unique premise, an army composed exclusively of children, is squandered. The author makes a point to contrast their childish sides with their martial occupation and showcase their hobbies briefly, it all seems a bit disjointed. The MC is agonising about what he makes them do but they hardly seem to notice! They don't seem traumatised or affected in the least by what they have to do. Even disregarding the female cast ( and we will get to that), it's shocking how little attention is given to the kids in a manga that concerns itself so much with child soldiers.
The handling of female characters is abysmal. Oddly enough, the child that the MC grooms is the best written female character here. All the adult women start fawning over the main character as soon as they meet him and are extremely sexualised. Sophie exists purely as a love interest and then a damsel in distress. Itou has some in-universe excuse I will grant but it was still the author's decision to write her like that. There are ways to write sexual characters well or explore a character's sexuality, but the author uses it as pure wish fulfilment. It really feels more like a shounen manga at times.
Art
Phenomenal art. Simple, realistic character designs. It's quite impressive that they manage to make everyone look so distinct while keeping to real world clothing, hair etc. No need for bombastic costumes here, just utilitarian uniforms and business suits. This is supported by expressive faces and non-verbal communication, keeping you immersed in what's happening.
The only exception to this pragmatic realism is Jibril's red eyes, they weren't red in the original light novel's art so I'm not sure why it was changed in the manga. It stands out so much from the rest of the cast that it was distracting every time there was a colour page.
The depictions of combat are excellent, the artist really sells the tension and impact of fighting. Realistic weapons, blood, and a good sense of motion sells the impact of combat. They cleverly use in-universe maps and markers to keep you aware of character's positions and movements without breaking immersion.
One thing to critique is that the comedic art is actually too good in a way, it just feels a bit out of left field to go to super exaggerated (and hilarious) reaction shots right after serious, gritty combat scenes.
Overall: 8/10
If you're a fan of Japanese media, you will have to ignore a lot: casual sexism, disgusting “lolicon” stuff and more. The rape scene certainly does not help. I'm inured to these particular Japanese foibles but I would totally understand if this isn't to your taste.
If you can handle the trigger warnings listed at the top, then I would give this manga go. If you can ignore it's flaws, you'll find a real hidden gem. I had a wonderful time with this manga and I was constantly on the edge of my seat, each page turn was exciting. I binged this manga because I simply needed to know what happened next, and I binged it right to the last page. I hope the sequel light novel series get's adapted (or at least officially translated) so I can get more if this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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