Soil

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

SOIL
Author: Kaneko Atsushi
"This person loves me too much"
"The insane here is you"
"Self consciousness only contradicted her existence, reality and time broke her"
"Why...?"

Craziness. Insanity. Mania. There is everything in this damn place, this damn city called Soil, at first glance, is just the city of dreams for many, but even the most beautiful dream can become the most horrible nightmare. The reality we see is just a false plan that hides something beyond the understanding of every living being, people who say they have seen the "strange organisms", are classified as crazy, but they saw something unusual, maybe this is the origin of their insanity , ... of course, no one would believe it, just another madman.

"Humanity's oldest and most intense emotion is fear, and the oldest and most intense fear is fear of the unknown." - HP Lovecraft

Trust no one. IN NO ONE. Even the most innocent person can be a "strange organism", and obviously you wouldn't want to meet one of them, mysteries only create more mysteries, and answers are almost non-existent, any man or woman would have given up by now, but if if they held on a little longer, they would see the truth, and as they say "truths hurt", but this one can even kill.

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." - Plato

A masterpiece of cosmic horror, Kaneko Atsushi must surely be one of the most brilliant manga writers alive, the development is rich, the concepts in just a few pages are brilliantly developed, the characters getting insane as the story progresses combined enough with the text. The art, as usual, being by Kaneko, is sensational, but in Soil, it matched a lot with everything. Soil, it might not please most people, but for me, it's an amazing story that deserved more.

Note: 9.8

I have to say, this is my first time reading something like this... It's what you called DIFFERENT.

Story:
A FAIR 6
The story is based on your, kinda mystery a bit of detective like genre and starts off with a missing person. It then carries on and gets intense as strange things start to happen to the two detectives that have came to investigate. The unexpected and did i read right that 'aliens' called the 'foreign organisms' have like came to invade this town called 'Soil''? It makes you think...

WTH is wrong with this town?

I rated this a fair, as the plot does make sense ... but some of it don't and is completely random from time to time. Sometimes i wonder. "What is going through this author's mind"

Art:
VERY GOOD 8
I've given the art an 8 a very good since the drawing style of this is very unique. It's kind of like manga.. but then again it gives of the feel of a comic. The lines and textures are very computer like than your average pencil free kind of look. It's hard to explain if you haven't read it or seen it.
It really depends on what you like. Since i've been reading it for a while, i got use to this authors drawing style and honestly it has grown on me.

Characters:
DECENT 4
Well for the characters i have rated a 4... They are decent but none of them really did appeal to me as much. The characters are actually all unique in their own way and i find that very interesting. The way each character has their own special 'aura' given off. The artist really makes each character different and you can tell.

But i have to say for the characters 'personality' for each of them... differ from one to another.
THIS IS A MATURE READ SERIOUSLY.
when you read something that you don't want your parents reading with you then you know that feeling.
From the beginning i didn't really like how the characters interacted with one another, it was like a swearing competition between the two detectives which kind of did but me off but i still read on LOL

Enjoyment:
DECENT 4
Again with another 4. Not very enjoyable but it does keep you on edge sometimes, like when say...
Another 'foreign organism' appears your going to be like 'Oh what's goning to happen now' but too much happens and too fast and it sometimes just leaves you thinking. 'what just happened.. I don't get this at all' it really puzzles me sometimes.

Overall?
MEDIOCRE 5
I would have given it a 5.. and a half
It's something different and 'quite refreshing' in some ways instead of always reading shouji kind of based manga. I would definitely give this a try, some of the contents in it is not suitable for under 15's i'd say because this is a really whacked out supernatural horror manga.
*With a few sexual content but no where near smut*

IN CONCLUSION.
I wouldn't say i like it, nor would i say i hate it, depends on your love for manga and taste in manga. I would recommend this if you love horror, supernatural and twisted stories, this could be the one for you or you would drop it in a puddle of mud and stomp on it because you think it's very disgusting.

Give it a try, if you dare ;)

This is one of those works where the author believes existence is something’s everything and anything is nothing. Look, I’m not a writer, but I think I can write something better. Anyways, spoilers ahead.

You get glimpses of bizarreness in “Soil” from the beginning. The art is pretty limited yet somewhat detailed. The characters, even the main ones, seem normal and yet they have shticks that make them seem unreliable. The setting takes place in a normal-looking town yet the place feels quite ominous and fake. And the story just seems to be going on without ever having a predictable aura. Seems like a nice foundation ... for an enjoyable and mysterious piece of fiction. But in actuality, once you have finished “Soil”, you realize it was all a facade and a deceiving disguise of the true nature of this manga: a convoluted mess with random oxymorons. And that’s not me giving a negative opinion - the manga tells you from the beginning that some mysteries were never meant to be solved. And that’s true, this piece does contain a mystery that might as well be a dream. But the bigger question at hand is if you could actually justify an implementation of this type of mystery in your story. That sounds somewhat contradictory considering the mystery is supposedly unsolvable and illogical, and so the answer to that question is inherently “no”. And yet, this manga actually tries to give reasons and explains its mysteries. Okay, then let’s try and view this rationally.

The final chapter contains the big reveal or confirmation that we’ve all been waiting for - the root of the Suzushiros’ existence. But is that reveal actually satisfying? Well, that amount of satisfaction equals the amount of rationality in the connection between the cause and effect - none. And that’s the whole manga. X happens, totally inconsequential Y happens. Why? Well, because X doesn’t make sense, a portal that is connected to the realm of Santa Claus is created and by nature gives birth to Y which also doesn’t make sense - 10/10 what more can I say. The mystery doesn’t follow a consistent and reasonable narrative. An idea like this is inevitably bound to be executed terribly no matter its complexities and that is this manga’s greatest sin.

By establishing that things like diseases, deaths and general non-conformity actions are things that could be considered “inexplicable” and make “rifts”, you make these random supernatural cases general and somewhat common, and so the “Suzushiros’ disappearance” becomes an unremarkable case out of many in the world. And I get it, the leakage of the “inexplicable beings” has to start somewhere. But that just goes to show that there is a fundamental flaw in the portrayal and progression of the main mystery. By the time we reach the truth of the Suzushiros’ case, we’ve come to learn about several abnormal cases which undermine its impact. It doesn’t really feel like a mystery being unfolded, but rather a nonsensical and messy concept being unraveled. Somewhere in the middle it seems to have lost its initial point. We also learn that reality always tries to fix itself; any “inexplicable being” is destined to disappear. But it׳s not clear whether it disappears because a density of “inexplicable beings” surrounds it or because it gets too immersed in materialism. It is most likely the former, but the Suzushitos disappearance suggests otherwise. Either way, this idea is way too general to be consistent (what is the minimum requirement for it to disappear?), so it relies on randomness and convenience. This intricacy leads to an irredeemable, terrible, abrupt and nonsensical ending which destroys almost everything the story has built.

And it’s a shame really considering the first 30-40 chapters are actually pretty solid. The story is quite captivating in that span of chapters (though shows signs of being illegitimate by the end). I especially like the beginning when Onoda and Yokoi are slowly getting a grasp on the town and its residents’ true nature. The atmosphere is quite eerie and ominous, especially when it involves the Suzushrios, which adds to the intensity and yet repulsiveness of the plot’s development. Those chapters contain some familiar themes that are presented in a chaotic and unsettling way like escapism and hopelessness that stem from a numb environment and damaging circumstances. It’s manifested fairly well within Kento who tries to seek fake happiness (Accordingly, Mizuki represents “fake happiness” which matches with the perceived idealistic happiness her fake family embodies), while he is encompassed in his rough mental state derived from a reality full of sorrow. The problem though is that his ordeal is left inconclusive by the end and the later chapters ruin it by having characters suggesting that the kids are just insane; nothing really comes out of it in the end because by then, no one cares, including myself.

And so the characters are not good overall.

Some characters seem to exist for either comic relief or just to witness the plot. The prime example is Onoda, which for the most part, is an extremely passive character (ironically she keeps spouting her resolve but does almost nothing) with no character depth whatsoever. Her “logical” approach to the case is inherently wrong and makes her static. Not even a backstory; she’s basically nothing.

Yokoi’s character is a mess. At the start, it seemed like the author wanted to give him some depth with him meeting his child and the story indicating he’s divorced. Unfortunately, nothing whatsoever is tackling it afterwards. Seems like something the author has abandoned midway as it makes it awkward. And eventually he’s absorbed both mentally and physically in the “inexplicable realm” and becomes a character who is hurt by the plot immensely. He does random abstract things in order to reach the truth of a specific abstract case - just an example of the stupidity of the plot and naturally Yokoi’s character becomes stupid.

Kosaka’s son is a messy character with wasted potential as nothing is really revealed about his “inexplicable” nature. Is it his mental state? If so, why is he like that? I would probably take “well, it IS inexplicable” as an answer if I was wearing socks on my shoes. It would’ve been nice if the story had been consistent in its reasoning with this major factor. We get a random character indicating in an absolutely random way that Kosaka’s child is destined to be an “inexplicable being” before he’s born. Not very convincing if you ask me. Anyway, his character ends abruptly and incohesively.

Some characters have unclear purpose or motivation like the two inspectors that confront Yokoi who are a mess. There is not one mention about who they are or what they’re trying to accomplish. You have to assume they’re some “inexplicable beings” that try to make the story reach a climactic end. And Tamura - is he relevant or not? Surely his betrayal must hold some significance. I think it’s pretty obvious how terrible of a character he is.

Something went wrong with the writing of these characters, and the notion that some of them stick out not for any good reason is hilarious.

If you look at this manga and can’t draw any meaning out of it, I definitely wouldn’t blame you. Considering how this manga likes to shove its chaotic nonsense down your throat, there might as well be no meaning. The “mystery” here - is it even mystery or just nonsense? Is it mysterious nonsense? Maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. Yeah… that would explain the naked guy with a sock on his penis.