You should read this is you really like Japanese comic and think it is a wonderful medium, worthy of being considered art.
Who am I kidding, you are not here because you want to know if it's worthy buying and reading. You are here because you are either like me, a fan of Jiro works, or you have read it and wonder what people think of it. Personally, I think it is the most memorable of his work. Not because it's particularly striking, but because it's the simplest of the bunch.
Let's quickly get through the art. Jiro's art seems extremely, lazy, raw, unrefined and even messy sometime. I think most people wouldn't have a problem with it. I quickly learn that Jiro wasn't trained in painting, he's in sculpture, which is surprising because his drawings seem like it would fit better on water colour, as shown by his cover illustration. If we talk about art evolution, there were barely any between this and later titles, but it is very striking and easy to follow. While Jiro later works are frame much better, this is by no mean condemning his earlier works such as this. It is beautiful on its own.
I wont dissect the story and the symbolism, because it is up to you to interpret after all. I would, however, rant about my feelings reading this. After all, to me, a work of art either makes me feel emotions or makes my senses go numb. This definitely made me feel.
The characters went through their arc, reacting in 2 ways to their current circumstance. They either endure and accept, or fight against circumstance by sacrificing their soul. The main character ended up keeping his soul through his delusions and inability to cope with current circumstances adequately. His friends didn't end well either, selling their soul. The setting for soul selling is both interesting and unsettling. It took place in a distinctly Eastern European setting, during what seems to be a Germans occupation. The characters are stuck there, both because of their circumstances and because of the occupation. The occupiers, however, are both the monster and the way out for the characters, but the monster requires a meal before it let you pass. I am a little shaken, consider how the author portrayed the occupied force. They were both cruel and sympathetic. While they shoot, rape, pillage and oppress, they also maintain order and have their own life before the war. Meanwhile, during and after the occupation, the people were portrayed as both traitorous, selling out to the occupier, and cruel, shooting them and hang the traitors, rape and pillage their owns. While the setting is Eastern Europe, I can't help but feel it parallels the occupation of China and Korea by Japan. I won't dwell on the war too much, because that's not really the point. The point is obvious really, the world is cruel, and we can only adapt to it, not fight it, hence the title. While Jiro can hardly be called a feminist, I do believe he is, at heart. He never shy away from women's suffrage, putting them on the fore front of his works, even if the works are packed sexual images that women will find repulsive. Not to mention his female characters are strong willed and always want to dictate their own fate, even if it is ill-advised. You can see he did not reprimand his friends for using their body, but merely from distancing herself from her friends and the other for cruelty. There's also a disconnect between his own happiness and his ability to create art. The main character was praised after he started to lose hope and coping with his imagination. Only when he had embraced the sorrow, the meaninglessness of life and existence, did he advance as an artist and had the courage and strength to step forward.
I don't think Mikai no Hoshi is profound and not even Jiro's best work. In fact, I think as an anti-war piece of work, it's kind of weak. But, I think the passion that he put into this short story came through very clearly. For me, this is the best introduction to Jiro by far. It has all of his central theme without indulge in symbolism, fantasy and dream sequence. Every time after finishing it, I sat in silence for a while. It's not beautiful, but it makes a powerful impression that made me decide to sit down and write a review for it 14 years after I read it for the first time.
