Hanshin

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Since I read this one-shot, his title, “Hanshin”, keeps appearing in my mind. I heard some readers of this short saying: “The title is a bit strange... This may be a metaphor, but it may mislead certain readers”. It’s true, the japanese word “Hanshin” (半神) means demigod/half-god in english and its definition is: ”The term demigod is commonly used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human; as such, demigods are half human, half gods”, Hanshin isn’t supernatural nor tell us about a demigod tale. However, I do have my own personal interpretation: Our twins Yudy and ... Yucy are the personification of one demigod. Yucy is compared to a angel in the highest state of pure, becoming the half-god part. Yudy, ugly, ambitious and naturally capable of wishing bad things or having mixed feelings is the human part. That way, these two contrasting girls attached at the hip are a exposed semigod with the human's and god's parts separated in each one, where Yudy is the perfect beautiful angel and Yucy the ugly face of a human.

Story: Have you ever heard the phrase: "Love and hate go hand in hand"? That's what Hanshin is about, it tells us how a person can love and hate another at the same time. Connected twins, you become a shadow when you have such a perfect sister. She's pretty and pure, on the other hand you're ugly because she uses your nutrients to survive and you even have to take care of her. Doesn't that make you angry? Does she deserve to live? I don't deserve to live? "Where does one girl begin and the other end?" She was a part of me? What am I now? Quoting a The Hives song, "You became what you hate or you hate what you become?".

Art: Published in the 80s, the art style is the classic old school shoujo. The eyes and hair shine to create an angelic face, the facial expressions are more dramatic and, classified as psychological, some panels are based on character's close-up looks while showing their thoughts. One thing I admire in this style is how the secondary characters react in the story, some of them are really rude with the main character (same goes to Iguana no Musume, how the mother says hurtful things to the daughter) and they are always smiling despite their own words. When I’m reading a 80s manga, I never trust a character, since they always are more deep or have dirty personalities, I love how a truly happy face can be a mask hiding a demon's face (Gilbert from Kaze to Ki No Uta is a good example) and old school art style is the best at hiding it with those pure eyes.

Overall: Judging the time, the number of pages and the author's talent, I must say: This is a masterpiece. There are just a few one-shots I truly like out there and even less with creepy, but at the same time interesting stories. In a provoking way, Hanshin tell us about life and how you can turn into another person, a reflex (in this case, a real "clone") of your own secret desires.

Quote: "I loved you more profoundly than love. I hated you deeply than I could bear."

15 solid pages of psychological brilliance. Short, provoking and sophisticated.

This story is basically about a case of conjoined twins, but unlike the normal kind where both grow healthily, this manga gives us a cold hard stare on looks vs ability. Discrimination ensues, but eventually a twist occurs and an interesting ending happens.

Art was alright, this doesn't seem like Japanese art, rather it's nearer to western.

Well, since this manga is so short, read it yourself :D. The first 9 pages are a gallery of the mangaka.

P.S.: A slight complaint about the manga's title. Demi-god is a bit strange... well this may be a metaphor but it ... may mislead certain readers. This manga is definitely not a supernatural, fantasy or sci-fi one. It's very close to human nature.

Edit: Changed score from 9 to 8. Realised that it's a bit too short to be a complete brilliant story.

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Slow Down (8980) and has subsequently been merged into Hanshin (5943).


Story:
I'm going to be frank. There really isn't a story. We get a set up: a young man voluntaries for a sensory deprivation experiment and that's basically it. We see his experience during the experiment and right after. For some this might be a problem, but for others who can appreciate thematic one shots this should not pose a problem. I personally believe that this is the best way to approach a one shot since plot and character development cannot really be fleshed out in a one ... shot, while exploring a single theme is perfect for a short work.

Art:
The art is retro, which is not surprising given the date this was publish: 1985. I personally really like the retro shoujo art, so I really liked the art in this one shot.

Characters:
The main point of this one shot is exploring the human psyche. While we know very little about the main character outside the unusual circumstances he is placed in, that is ok because this is not about the character himself, but rather the character as a representation of the human mind. He is the human psyche and this story is dealing with our human reactions to the world and to ourselves. It uses this character placed in such an unusual setting to explore one of the most problematic issues in epistemology (the study of human knowledge, especially its limits). That is, the problem of knowledge of reality. And just as the problem still remains unsolved (and probably will forever), so too does the story end without solving the character's problem. When the character is understood in this way, the characterization is well done.

Conclusion:
I would say this one shot isn't for everyone. If someone is looking for something entertaining to read, Slow Down is not it. Those looking for something strange and maybe even thought provoking (depending on one's exposure to philosophy), Slow Down is for you. The enjoyment of this one shot is directly tied to the willingness of exploring one's mind along with the main character. Since everything this manga brought to the table wasn't new to me and I quite enjoy a more artistic representative of traditional problems in philosophy, I really liked this one shot. But I will stress again that whether you like this or not highly depends on what you want out of it.