Choueki 339-nen
Penal Servitude 339 Years

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Because there isn't a summary on this site at the time of writing, I shall briefly summarise the story without giving anything away. Choueki 339-nen is set in a world where the belief in reincarnation is ingrained in society. An individual's success, failure or even their sins and crimes are carried on by the supposed reincarnations of themselves. This leads us to the story of Haru who is punished by the government for his supposed sinful acts (presumably against the government and the established religion of reincarnation) to penal servitude 339 years - forcing his reincarnations to carry such a burden as well.

Choueki 339-nen ... is a gem that needs more appreciation. It is like the most fascinating arc of Spirit Circle made into a full-fledged story. Though while Spirit Circle teases some of the questions in service of its coming of age narrative, they are fully integrated here. Choueki 339-nen unabashedly inspects such ideas with scrutiny and makes them into their own.

At its heart, it is a conspiratorial work that asks us to question the established power for they may not necessarily be as honest as they like to come off as. This manga asks some deeply fascinating questions about the nature of religion and what happens when it becomes ingrained in our society, to the people who are neglected by the religious system and perhaps subjected to unfair treatment. What about the idea of 'generational' guilt? Is it even generational guilt if the thread that connects individuals together is not by blood but supposedly by soul?

What I love about this concept is that it fully interrogates the philosophical ideas of religion and belief in human history, society and politics not found to this degree (yet) in this medium. Needless to say, this treatment of such a theme underscores some doubting or questioning of faith which may leave a sour taste for some who are deeply involved in their beliefs, I suppose, such is the outcome of such a narrative. So for those unwilling to separate their religion from their entertainment/fiction, I would suggest a pass.

Regarding characters, because of the premise of the story and the idea of reincarnation, it is unlikely that readers will be following a singular main protagonist throughout. Sometimes their journey may be cut short too by the unforeseen consequences of life. As a result, there is some distance between the reader and the characters, which though it allows for a more observational inspection on the narratives' themes, it can feel slightly impersonal. Still, that does not change the fact that the main characters are very well written. One of them in particular has a believable degree of depth as he slowly comes to interrogate the systems that he is/seen others subjected to.

The art and character design is light, minimalistic and simplistic - somewhat reminiscent of Mizukami Satoshi's work (sorry author if I bring up too many comparisons), but it can bring about some very interesting imagery at times. Overall, the art here may not be as drop-dead gorgeous as say something like Kokou no Hito, the story here makes up for what I think is over-simplistic at times. While perhaps unintentional, the simplistic nature of the artwork as well creates an interesting tone of starkness that fits with the theme of unveiling a conspiracy.

The very fact that I am only 4 chapters into this manga and already have such an appreciation of it speaks volumes about the quality of the writing here. This is really great and I hope the quality continues.