I do wish the village would have made a decision to raise awareness about the Woolks.
Their society has been mentioned to be a Kingdom, and any royalty or protective services should be made aware that such dangerous creatures are encroaching on their territory, unprovoked and in masses. Even if the royals didn't care, if they were half intelligent they would know that it's only a matter of time before they HAVE to care.
I feel like it was kind of brushed off since Sirone intimidated them into leaving (if only temporarily), but it's an issue where the cause should definitely be looked into.
I like that Sirone wasn't actually... alone his entire childhood. We didn't see much of it, but he apparently had some really good friends that still care about him after years of being apart.
Can we just acknowledge how adorable they are, too? Like, all his friends: the villagers, Rian and his sister, kinda Amy now though the tsundere is not my preference— but ESPECIALLY Iruki and Nade in c.65!! Iruki and his irritation at having been bested by a Sirone who's only been learning officially for less than a year, and Nade with his cheezy, cringey "Precious little mass!" talk. Adorable.
I'm glad he took a leap of faith and finally told someone. For someone as honest as Sirone, he wouldn't have felt comfortable calling himself their friend had he continued to keep it a secret. All over, a fantastic feel good chapter (until the end, obviously. Can't have a season end without angst!)
I love that this takes a more scientific approach to magic— and actually uses real world science and theorems to explain it pretty thoroughly! It's refreshing to see a magic world still operate as such but can also be explained using a logical system, instead of falling back on "it's magic, so it just works because because."
I'm also already hoping that Kanis and Arin somehow, eventually, become friends with our sweetie pie. I'm looking forward to a showdown between light and shadow magic, but I also just feel pretty f*ing bad for Kanis and want him to have a good influence.
I also want to see Riaaaaan!!!! I'm curious how his own progress is going, and want to see their reunion, but it's been less than a year since he and Sirone parted ways so I guess it'll be a while still.
Unexpectedly, I love this more and more
Did anyone know that there's a live adaptation for this?? I was scrolling through a streaming app and came across it.
I love how all of us collectively agree that she probably likes Kayden but doesn't know how to express it (because all these awakener babies don't know anything besides violence), and that she's feeling murderous because she was "stood up" on their *coughDATEcough* fight.
Honey, just join the Jiwoo and Kayden Love fanclubs please. There's a waiting list, but we're all pretty welcoming to badass hard-core female characters. We love that shiz here!
On a side note: I kinda want to slap Jiwoo, as much as I adore him. Who just stands in awe of red mist only in his vicinity (that does NOT exist) when he was almost killed by some random bastard an hour ago???
I know everyone is asking, but does anyone have an answer as to why the artist changed for season 2??
It isn't...bad, but when held in comparison to the original art, it seems ugly and incompatible with the characters. It feels generic.
We ultimately have no option other than to either suck it up or drop the work, but I was curious if there was a legitimate reason for why it's so different?
Also! I read on reddit that apparently the licensing is switching hands and there's some issues with agreements between the new owners and the author, so this might actually be canceled after the 2nd season, but couldn't find any reports to back that info up. Is this true?
His love and devotion for her is... admirable in a way, but over all I think we can admit that he's a bit controlling and even a tad bit emotionally manipulative.
She wants nothing more than to see her mother, someone she was ripped away from for years and desperately misses, and seeing her again would give them both some level of peace of mind.... But he's telling her no because he's afraid of losing her love to the Prince? He really doesn't have faith in her love for him. And who is he to tell her no??? She's an adult who can make her own decisions, and you'd think that if he really cared for her that he'd not take away her autonomy like so many others have.
He has enough sense and self-awareness to acknowledge she's in a bad spot mentally and emotionally considering everything she's been through, but he's still selfish enough to completely disregard that because he doesn't want to let her go or fully acknowledge that he has a hand in her current state.
It's so weird. By basically forbidding her from going to Gaior, he proves that he doesn't have enough faith in their love to persist through a little rivalry (which she's already stated to have no romantic interest in)— but he DOES have enough faith to use it against her when it suits him, since he knows she won't do anything to make him unhappy.
Like, he was just tossed around like a ragdoll, and he has the *_audacity_* to say he'll just kill Pluton and then Kayden after...
Bruh, no your limits!!
Though I suppose it doesn't matter now, since you're hopefully dead ┑(￣Д ￣)┍
In chapter 279 page 6, there's a cursed image of Ryō Kurokiba with misshapen boobs and no arms.... Although, in actuality, it's his shoulder. I startled myself
Is it just me, or did Lee Subin get prettier? Maybe it's just her stellar personality shining through more clearly, but it's funny how Jisuk calls her ugly when she's definitely not... They're totally going to date at some point, aren't they?
I've been reading this off and on for years, usually reading 50 chapters in then getting sidetracked and forgetting about it, then restarting all over again.
This time, I am determined to finish it. I'm currently in chapter 101, so not too far to go now. Fair warning, this review does contain minor spoilers.
.
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This is a great read! Everything so far from the setting, the monsters, the way they defeat the monsters, and the struggles they face with survival and the psychological affects of being tossed into this place is satisfying. I've read the first 50-70 chapters a handful of times throughout the years, and yet despite being able to predict what's going to happen, it's not boring.
As it stands, I was prepared to give this an 8 maybe even a 9/10 score depending on the ending.... but I'm going to drop it to a 7.
Why? Because there's a fundamental flaw in the writing process I cannot get over: The writing of the characters themselves.
All you need to know is that every character that gets ample screen time aside from Sengoku himself can be summed up in 3 words or less.
Rion - Childhood best friend
Mariya - studious outcast
Oomori - clumsy oneechan
Kazuma Saji - brash comedian
Sakuma Yuki - class president
Miyauchi - martial arts tomboy
Yarai - heart of gold delinquent
Kohei- Reliable psycho
Minna (fake) - cheeky trap
etc...
These are not characters. They're stereotypes and tropes, and while they're effective and likeable, they're boring. It's the equivalent of telling someone to guess the personalities of Red and Blue in any children's show.
What about the rest of the characters? In the first chapter they mention that like 300 of them are onboard the airplane.
Well! About half of them die, mostly off screen, and the ones who don't and make a brief appearance, and even the ones making a lasting appearance, are all relegated to the background and can be separated into a couple groups.
Males - Perverted, violent and/or constantly in a state of panic. Most are dumb and have zero useful input for any discussion because that is a role reserved strictly for Mariya, Yarai and Sengoku (exceptions on one occasion each are Tooru and the Student Council President guy).
Females - If they aren't panicking about their surroundings and screaming for some guy to save them, then they only have love on their minds and are mostly motivated by securing the best guy for themselves (namely Sengoku, because MC, or Yarai because Strong and unexpectedly smart). That is it. They have no other traits. They serve to be props and trophies for the guys and whatever scene they're in for the reader themselves.
* An exception being the business bitch for psychic Mami, who was preoccupied with securing a good PR and building a cult that was absolutely useless in this setting. What PR? For who? The concept of business and business relationships does not exist here.
I could go on, but you get the point. It is a great read and I do recommend it, but don't read to be wowed by well-rounded characters. Read for the interesting mystery behind the island(s), the violence and minor exploration of psychological states in mass panic, and the obvious ecchi.
** Note: If you can't tolerate the sexualization of fictional characters, especially underaged ones, just skip this. I didn't realize until halfway through, but the students are only 14, and lolicons and pedos are very proud people in this.
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Edit 04/04/2024: Just finished. There is a LOT of unanswered questions, and vital information that is missing. I'm tempted to drop the rating because such important info is just not there, and the ending feels slightly dissatisfiying and rushed as a result.... but I won't. 7/10
I'm only on chapter 42 right now, but can we take a moment to talk about the names?
I find it so funny when authors are very clearly riffing off an existing character from another work, or a real life person. Sometimes it's done well and just kind of fits, but it's extra funny in this story.
The Magic Tower leader of the 7 Magicians is named Gandor or something, very obviously a stand in for Gandalf (LoTR). Didn't bother me, other than being an obvious choice that fits the stereotype Tolkien kind of created or at least expanded upon (An elderly, wise, bearded great sage with magic).
........ And then we have freaking Stein Ein Albert!!! Seriously? Lmao. You didn't even try to hide it
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On another note, reading the comments, I'm super nervous about getting to c.126. Pacing issues, skipping over important events and hiding them in the background, lackluster time skips that don't make much sense...
I don't want to invest time into reading up to that point only to find that the author might be giving up on writing a fleshed out story.
So, is it really that bad? Like, can you guys overlook that aspect and still find a good story?
I read every chapter on Webtoon before coming here because the final chapters are locked behind a pay wall.
It sucks that I'm not able to read it myself, but if anyone has read chapter 96 + The two Epilogues, please just spoil it for me. Better than not knowing the ending at all.
Anyone who is reading this comment and does not want to be spoiled, stop reading now. Do not scroll down or flip through any replies that may be below.
I just finished watching the anime, and the ending had me wondering so I came here to see if any explanations for that cryptic ending was hidden in the manga, but nope. It's the exact same.
As sad as it makes me, you can read into the ending and the special as an answer for "Yes, he does in fact die," even if the justification isn't anywhere near clear-cut.
To begin with, for a fun and lighthearted anime that never had a hint of misdirection or a hidden serious meaning to it before, why in the world is the ending so ambiguous unless the author wanted us to question it? There was zero reason to leave it like that unless we were meant to question Sakamoto's journey up to that point and what comes next for him.
These next points can honestly work for both sides of the theory argument, but I'll list them anyway:
- The words his classmates use in their final farewell is "thank you," "I'll never forget you," and "We'll always be friends." In all the anime I can remember, these lines are almost always used to indicate a long goodbye. Someone is moving and the chances of seeing them are next to nil, or someone is dying but you don't want to say goodbye bc that's freaking depressing! In anime, usually if they're expecting to see each other again someday, even sometime far in the future, they'll say something along the lines of "see you later" instead. But again, this point and the ones that follow are easily flexible to work in the opposite direction too.
- In the farewell scene of both the anime and manga, instead of waving goodbye or simply raising his hand as a lot of characters do, Sakamoto raises his hand with his fingers crossed. As far as I know, in Japan this gesture doesn't mean much of anything, but for westerners, this is typically used as a meaning for "strong wishes or hope." It can also be used as a gesture to lie against something (usually when held out of sight when making a promise to someone).
- In the special ending, there's a moment where the title card thingy in the bottom corner says "I WAS Sakamoto."
- At the end of the special, Sakamoto goes to space after a mishap with the rocket, and he's shown blasting off to the stars alone. In cartoons and stuff, the depiction of people being sent to the sky in anything other than a sci-fi genre usually means they are in heaven. They are dead. Also, it's a small point, but why is he alone in the rocket? People go to space in teams don't they?
- Someone else posted their thoughts on that German song Sakamoto sang, and the original meaning behind it, so I won't reiterate it, but it's interesting. Same with the Graduation Speech.
- The opening and ending songs are me REALLY stretching, but there's a line in the op "Heaven's wave taking you away," and also mentions going with the flow even while facing hardship, being yourself until the end...
And the entire ed is suspicious in this context, where it talks about having nothing left to lose and bidding farewell to lost days, holding onto every little precious moment both good and bad and going for their mist-like dreams in the present moment...
Translations between languages of words and phrases are rarely fully accurate with their literal meanings, because some things are just too difficult to do that, but the ending song is really sus. Why dod the studio pick these specific songs with these lyrics?
- He doesn't just deny that he's lying about the Nasa program when Hayabusa asks him about it. Why so mysterious
- He has an interesting conversation with Fukase in the nurse office about what Fukase thinks life will be like after graduation, and he almost seems upset that Fukase's outlook is so bleak and dull. He immediately counters that, if it were him, he would take his chances anyways and look for a new ground to settle on.
- The teacher asks him to give "one last message." Makes sense in that he's addressing the class, saying he's leaving, but why do the words sound so final? Why not "say a few words" or something? I guess it could be a translation thing.
- He's never seen snow on the ground implies he's never been outside when it was snowing enough to layer the ground. Has he been in a hospital room or some secluded area all his life? Or just lived in really warm climates? He also came from nowhere. Like, this is his first year spending time with anyone in that class, so either he went to school in a different area far enough away that his classmates then would be unlikely to transfer over to his current HS now, or he just didn't go to middle school.
- For a person who seems very upright and who *does* follow the rules, Sakamoto is curiously willing to break rules to do more adult things. Like sneaking into the AV room, or joining the mixer (though those college kids lied to him about the purpose of a mixer), or getting a part-time job which I think his school doesn't allow. It could be bc he feels he won't live long enough to do these things legally, but wants to experience them anyway.
He's also very active about making sure class events going well, and is quick to fix things when they start going awry. Either because he's naturally that helpful and kind, or bc he wants his maybe first and last time(?) doing these things to obviously go as well as they can. Same with the relationships between him and his classmates, and even ones that don't concern him. He's very mature for his age and that could be brought on by the knowledge of impending death, sadly. Petty things like teenage squabbles just don't matter that much.
- People have mentioned Sakamoto being in the closet on the final chapter illustration, and how it can be a metaphor for a casket/coffin; But I recall there being an illustration similar to that of the Last Supper...but now Idk where I saw it... maybe I imagined it.
In any case, I LOVE the ambiguity and how many points you can draw that just lead to more ambiguity!
I used to think this was interesting, and had the potential to draw awareness to important topics most people shy away from (child grooming, depression, suicide, issues with self-worth etc...) but it's really falling short.
It's dragging on for too long and talking in circles about the same topics without ever clarifying the root issue(s); And it's formula of following the same "boy meets girl, boy is groomed by girl and goaded into doing something NOT in his best interest to suit her own needs, boy is separated from girl, boy infects someone else with a similar problem" routine feels like it's turning a serious message into some twisted fetish.
For people worried about this, I don't think you have much to worry about.
If I remember correctly, they really aren't that far in age. It's just that she carries herself with more maturity — which makes sense given her responsibilities.
I think, and I really hope I'm not wrong about it, in a chapter when we were moving through Jisuk's arc near the beginning, didn't they have a chapter where it shows him and Jiyoung in school as kids?
Assuming it's not an escalator school where all the grades are smooshed together throughout a series of buildings, then it means their grades aren't far apart. Maybe, like, 3-5 years?
Why is everything so cute this chapter? Ahh, I can't handle it, it's too sweet. I can feel the flower fields from the comfort of my small a** apartment.ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ
Kaiden and Jiwoo
- Their relationship is so endearing and wholesome, even if one is a super chaotic individual. But I guess Jiwoo is like...the exact opposite of chaotic so they really do balance each other out. I can't tell if Kaiden gives older brother or father vibes~ (Do NOT confuse this with Daddy vibes, pleeeease).
He was so worried about besmirching Kaiden's name and pride, but Kaiden honestly wouldn't care either way. Like, he's more prone to busting someone's balls if they hurt Jiwoo unreasonably lmao. In any case, if it's an option of "fight and lose and damage Kaiden's reputation" or "don't fight at all and still damage it" then the best answer is to just fight anyway. There's always a chance for winning
Do what your heart wants
- Honey... Be careful what you say. As much as he was agonizing over Kaiden, he was just as worries about you spending time with that Julian guy.
Being completely honest, while I like that Yeonho was able to convince him (the young master) to essentially give them and their relationship space in the guise of him realizing his full potential and coming into his own as an adult, I'm not fully satisfied.
To begin with, I don't like the son all that much. I think he's emotionally manipulative and borderline abusive even if he doesn't mean to be, and he's just another side to the coin that was his father.
Time and again we've seen him behave erratically and be quite possessive over Yeonho, obviously with the father around, but also people with less evil motivations — like the detective just trying to do his job, albeit invasive...but that's his job.
He pressures Yeonho into being with him, first as a method of getting away from his dad, then again as a way to protect him from the authorities, and then AGAIN by allowing Yeonho to believe he might kill himself (c.51) if they can't be together.
It is literally emotional blackmailing.
We've seen that when Y keeps trying to drop their relationship, or just say that they need time apart, then he quickly switches from pushing to pulling away REAL hard. Instead of reassuring Y that he understands and is willing to give him the space he needs to just think and breathe, and that he'll be there when he's ready to talk, he instead stops talking all together, makes it clear that he'll leave and there is no guarantee he'll come back (though we as the readers know there's no chance of that). It's all very hot and cold. He lets Y be on the verge of another breakdown before he's immediately there again, pushing yet again for his own needs/wants until Y ultimately gives in. Instead of receiving the time and space he'd wanted, and I think REALLY NEEDS, Y was forced to compromise.
Take into consideration that Y has lived the majority of his life under the abuse and control of a figure with authority over him, and is living with trauma, and now he's put in that exact same position, where again it's next to impossible for him to say no, and he's had zero time to process that trauma and everything it entails, and this feels like a bad relationship to me.
If he'd given Y some time alone, some time to meet other people, make friends (because you'll notice he has zero friends or family), meet potential suitors — if he'd given him a chance to really get into a healthy mental space to make a decision on his own behalf, I'd like it more... but that's not what happened.
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