Nov 24, 2024
World Map Room – Spoiler Free – Mixed Feelings
TLDR
Overall: 5/10
Disclaimer: due to the nature of this work – a visually highly experimentalist manga – my normal parameters of Story, Art, Characters and Enjoyment with a weighted average won’t be applied. Instead, a global overview will be offered.
World Map Room is an unusual one-shot made by Yuuichi Yokoyama.
It is very hard to discuss the story of this manga, as there isn't any. The synopsis tells the whole story: it is that short and uninteresting. It is just a visual experiment on geometry and perspective. The story is absolutely secondary to the main purpose of this manga,
...
as there is no plot, no stakes, no narrative, no characters, and no story. It is a very experimentalist, albeit simple, manga.
The ending is also absolutely abrupt and nihilistic – there is an emptiness that prevails in the ending, in the sense that there is no reason whatsoever for it to end the way it did. It just ended because it had to, as there is no narrative argument for it to do so.
Art is World Map Room’s strongest suit. Geometry creates the character design of the figurines – as there aren't characters per se – while perspective makes up the rest all the landscapes. It is also filled with movements, as we experience this world immersed in multiple strokes.
There are also no characters, no names, no nothing. We are just introduced to a bunch of individuals who act as a collective in their mini “adventure” in a geometrical world.
In the end, World Map Room is a very quick read that is only valuable because of its aesthetical elements and the uniqueness of the art style. Truly, one should only read this manga for the visual experiment that it entails and not because of the story or the depth of the characters, for there is none. One cannot wholeheartedly recommend this manga for it has no type of story – only in a Slife-of-Life kind of way –, but its visual experimental side cannot also be ignored: it is for these reasons that it deserves a mixed feeling.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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