Heart Gear

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*Edit: Waiting for... the return.
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- Disponible en español -

I've already gone crazy, but as an Asimov enthusiast I need to say this.

(. . .)

... THIS IS A FUCKING MARVEL.


Do you want aliens transforming humans into robots? Or a story about the repopulation of the planet? Or evil plans to eliminate mankind? Or maybe you want a guy turning super pro and defeating all the bad guys? Well… GET OUT OF HERE!

You won't have any of those things. Instead you have “Heart Gear”: A humanity story without humans. Hell yeah.

Let’s see...
Why should you read this?

Heart Gear comes up with a pretty interesting proposal, and it’ll take you through a (apparently) desolate world where human thoughts are the protagonists. However, these ‘human feelings’ aren't manifested by flesh and blood people (aside from Roue) but they're show up from the Gears (conscious robots), which exposes philosophical conflicts between their sense of “duty” and the “truth”.

If something deserves to be highlighted is the drawing and the scenography. They're very well done and give you the perfect feeling of getting yourself into that world.

── ∘ “All that seems very alive despite be dead” ∘

To be honest, Heart Gear looks very good and I wouldn't mind at all if it became a “cyberpunk-long-running-shounen”.

I’m super excited to keep reading and look forward to more references to Asimov robots! I'll be so aware of this story.

For those who read this manga and for those who don’t that, let us pray it's consolidated as something worth reading.


Give it a try! ~ ϟ

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Debo haberme vuelto loco, pero como entusiasta de Asimov debo decirlo.

(. . .)

ESTO ES JODIDAMENTE MARAVILLOSO.

¿Quieres aliens transformando a humanos en robots? ¿O una historia de la repoblación del planeta? ¿O planes malvados para eliminar a la humanidad? ¿O quizás quieres a un chico obteniendo todos los poderes y derrotando a todos los chicos malos? Bueno… FUERA DE AQUÍ.

No tendrás nada de eso. En su lugar, tienes “Heart Gear”: una historia de humanidad sin humanos. Sí, señor.

Vamos a ver...
¿Por qué deberían leer esto?

Heart Gear aparece con una propuesta bastante interesante, y te va a llevar a través de un mundo (aparentemente) desolado en donde los pensamientos humanos son los protagonistas. No obstante, estos sentires humanos no son demostrados por personas propiamente de carne y hueso (apartando a Roue) sino que nacen de los Gears (especies de robot con conciencia), lo cual expone una serie de conflictos filosóficos entre su sentido del "deber" y la "verdad".

Algo que merece ser resaltado es el dibujo y la escenografía. Está muy bien lograda y te da la perfecta sensación de atraparte completamente en ese mundo.

── “Todo parece muy vivo a pesar de estar muerto”.


Para serles honesto, Heart Gear tiene muy buena pinta y no me molestaría en absoluto que se convirtiera en uno de esos shonens que llevan años en terminar.

¡Estoy súper emocionado por leer más y espero que hayan más referencias a los robots de Asimov! Estaré muy pendiente de esta historia.

Para los que leen este manga y para los que no, recemos porque se consolide como algo que valga mucho la pena leer.


¡Dale una oportunidad! ~

The manga has great pacing, with each chapter ending and picking up on a good spot. The world-building is done nicely. It's also a bit thought provoking, examing what makes someone human, the conscious mind vs. the soul; those types of questions that can leave you thinking after ending a chapter. Dark undertones feel natural, while also remaining fairly wholesome as the two main characters spend time together alone. The comedic duo between the op robot Chrome and kind0hearted human Roue is done extremely well. I found myself laughing out loud many times throughout the manga. Overall, it does an extremely great job and you ... can tell that the author spent great care working on the story.

The art style/work is something that I really like. Although it's nothing necessarily out of this world, it feels right with the genre and characters of the world. The action panels feel powerful and grand. The sense of scale is something that looks right. Along with that, there's also a pretty good amount of detail.

The characters are something I can only describe as amazing. When it comes to Roue and Chrome, the relationship is developed extremely well. Roue is what I want as a character who seems to be the last human on earth. Chrome is what I want as a bodyguard protecting the last human on earth. The supporting character is also developed nicely. Ojisan is an amazing dad figure for the first part of the story. I managed to quickly like him, even when there hasn't been much time spent on him. The robots are human enough that they can easily be cared about, but robotic enough where they don't feel too unrealistic. They pose questions about humans and the things that they do that don't make sense. It's a great balance between the two. Even small characters who only have a few panels to chapters have me caring for them. The barber robot who sits at his shop waiting for customers almost made me tear up while reading his backstory.

Overall, this is one of the best mangas that I've read, despite not reading many, and it'll remain as one of my favorites. Tsuyoshi Takaki seems to be active on Twitter and is making small updates about the manga, so expect more volumes/chapters soon.
Out of the things I've read so far, I do hope that this manga gets an anime adaptation. I truly believe this story could join the ranks of the best science fiction stories like Gurren Lagann, Darling in the Franxx (ep 1-20), Evangelion, and others alike.

This manga tells the story of a world that became a wasteland and why, also tells about what happens when you have humans and giant robots that have no
true intention to live for themselves, without going any further is just another face of ourselves. I wont tell anything else because i think it would be spoiler, so now im going to focus on my personal oppinion.
.
This manga is just awesome, it made me cry, smile, be worried about the world and the characters, it has little things that may be chiché in this type os story but thats not that bad at all, it ... manage to make them new and fresh.

Heart Gear ended today. I started reading it five years ago and stuck with it through its hiatuses. I'm glad that I did that, but I did demote my rating from an 8 to a 7. The story, the world, and the characters are compelling. I looked forward to every chapter and for a long time the story never let me down. However, like a lot of Jump titles, the ending didn't measure up to the overall work, and that's the reason for me removing a star from my rating. It's not a bad ending but it just did not feel as tonally sound to ... the rest of the work as it could have been had the mangaka made some different choices in the final chapters. The same conclusion could have been reached with less mess. That said, if this became an anime I would be there with bells on because the wider story is so good and worth revisiting.

If you like scifi and epic journeys then you are going to love this manga. If you would prefer things not dig too deeply then you might want to try a different title.

Heart Gear, simply put, completelly drawing in.

We could simplify the history to, as Zuki_147 said in his/her review, “desolate world where human thoughts are the protagonists. However, these ‘human feelings’ aren't manifested by flesh and blood people (aside from Roue) but they're show up from the Gears (conscious robots), which exposes philosophical conflicts between their sense of “duty” and the “truth”.

In a world where humans seem to be scarce, their feelings are expressed by robots who must have learned from trial and error and repetition, how is it to emulate humans or even become them.

It’s evident that the author borrows the themes of Asimov, looselly ... relating the basilar functions of the Gears to the Asimov’s 3 laws of robotics. And this is where some negative critics could come in. The mangá/anime universe is tied with the gaming universe, and both with technology. So, even for someone who is not the most prolific reader, there is a chance he already read something by Asimov who might give a sense of lack of originality to this story.

In my view that is an erroneos way of looking at it. Pratically everything that was made in mangá, it could be given a book for, with the same topics and insights, but done way before. And that is alright.
We who love mangá, dont start reading something just because it might be a masterpiece.

Nevertheless, the way the author brings to the first plan, the transition of what we could call a fully logical robot way of thinking to an embebed medium where human thoughts and feelings can mold and transform those same robot logical procedures to an hybrid state of existence, is done seemlessly.
Equally well done is the way the author transitions from core theme from one chapter to another, giving you the the delighfull feeling of a journey without casting off the central plot.

You do not need to agree with the ethical/philosophical ideas of the author (if there are any, it can also be me projecting) about what the relationship of humans and robots should be, or even to witch extent should we develop technology just because we can. Shall AI emulate humans, does that gives us more benefits than problems? Or should we limit the AI to problem solving so it facilitates our lives?

No matter where you stand, none of it stops you from being marveled by this story and the simple fact that it might even make you rethink your own standing about what technology should be like and how should it be used, would be enough to call it a must read.


Ah the art… on this one i might be biased but, the sketchy sensation you get from those architecture projects that are not finished but elaborated enough to give you a sense of fullness. That’s what i get from this art style and i absolutelly adore it. Intentionally difuse and drafty but at the same time, detailed to a point where you forget to read the mangá just to look at the panels. Beautifully made!!

If i have any fears, they would be the worldbuilding not keeping up or the mangá falling into a battle shounen cliché which would be highly detrimental to its all around sense of being;
I am confident that won't happen!


For those compelled enough by my words to give it a go, i hope you enjoy it as much as i am.
Let’s also hope for the unravel of this story to be worth our look back with a melancholic albeit satisfied nostalgy.

Stay safe and happy reads! 😊