Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau
Children of the Whales

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I really liked this manga. The Sea of Sand is a mystical world that radiates an odyssey-like sense of wonder. It's a world painted by a unique blend of dystopia, utopia, and political intrigue, with a cast of characters that are genuinely all likable, the kind of people whom you'd be friends with.

Story: 9/10
I really like the idea of a lone ship sailing on a vast ocean of sand, unaware of the outside world and without a destination in mind. The story quickly swaps out this whimsical facade with a rather mature tale about the value of emotions, eldritch abominations that eat peoples' feelings, and ... an ongoing war between bloodthirsty empires. It's all genuinely interesting stuff that I've never seen in any work of fiction before. Each chapter follows the Mud Whale's inhabitants as they sail across the Sea of Sand, seeing new places and having deadly encounters with nearly everybody they meet. The only criticism I would make is that certain parts of the story are rather predictable. If you want a story with innovative fantasy elements and emotionally impactful plot beats, definitely give this one a try.

Art: 10/10
Abi-san's art style is gorgeous. Her art style is probably the most beautiful I've ever seen. All the scenery is luscious and detailed. The characters' faces and their actions are very powerful and expressive. The scenes involving "Nous" (the aforementioned eldritch abominations) are deliciously mind-bending and abstract and, honestly, remind me of Madoka Magica's amazing witch labyrinths more than anything else has.

Characters: 10/10
The characters of this story are, in a word, friends. It's a strange word to use, but to me, everyone in this story is a friend. The main character, Chakuro, is extremely nice to everyone he meets. He's adorable, the kind of person I'd give everything to protect. The heroine, Lykos, goes through powerful emotional development as she spends time on the Mud Whale and learns about the value of emotions. Ouni, the story's anti-hero style character, also has a very interesting backstory and eventually turns into someone you truly care about. Suou, one of Chakuro's best friends, is an amazing idealist who profoundly influences other characters as the story progresses. Even the villains have astonishingly complex motivations. All in all, the characters give you the feeling of a tight-knit village where everyone cares for each other. This kind of village gives me such a gentle feeling.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I don't think I need to add much here because everything I've described makes this manga a joy to read. Every panel is amazing, beautiful, and emotionally resonant. Yeah, I can't give enough praise for this author because she's crafted such a beautiful world and honestly I wish more people knew about it!

Overall: 10/10
The story, the characters, and the art combine to create one of the most gorgeous and heartwarming fictional worlds I have ever seen. This is not to say everything is butterfly and rainbows. Children of the Whales is actually a dark story that explores shockingly mature themes alongside some very twisted characters. But it's this darkness, this dystopian world, that provides such a good canvas for the warmth and comfort of the utopian Mud Whale to be painted upon. The resulting picture is filled with characters and feelings I'll never forget.

Um conto sobre memórias e o sentido da vida

I made it in english too! It is below!

IN ENGLISH

A tale about memories and the meaning of life

I wrote the review in portuguese and I was lazy to translate it to english, so I used Google Translate. Sorry in advance for any gramatical errors!

Children of the Whales is a manga that surprised me in a positive way. I started reading it because of the art and the synopsis. I was in the vibe of looking for some manga that dealt with a “lost civilization”, and the anilist recommended it to me. And, to my surprise, it was ... much more than I was expecting!

Using the synopsis of VIZ, Chakuro is the archivist for the Mud Whale, diligently recording the lives and deaths of his people. As one of the few carriers of timia, he knows that his time is limited and is determined to leave a better track record than his predecessors. But the steady pace of her isolated existence at Mud Whale is abruptly interrupted when a reconnaissance group discovers a mysterious young woman who seems to know more about her home than they do ...

Children of the Whale is a very rich manga! The narrative begins in a recluse way, focusing more on the residents of the mud whale and on how they react to the external and new exteriors surrounding them. And it progressively advances, increasing the scope of the story at the right pace. It is worth mentioning that the storytelling of this manga is very thin! It is narrated by Chakuro, the Mud Whale archivist, so we see almost all events from his perspective, and we still have narrations during the narrative. It's not just visual, as most manga is. The addition of narrations contributed a lot to an even more enriching experience, at least for me. It gave an extra charm to the story, and I think it has become the essence of being a diary. Because the story is simulating Chakuro's records, so it makes sense to have narrations.
The characters are great! Everyone at Mud Whale knew each other, so they had a very good relationship with each other, they were all friends, and this was portrayed splendidly by Abi Umeda! She managed to convey a sense of closeness between everyone, or at least a vivid relationship, with emotions here and there.

I will say something here. The protagonist on the role is Chakuro, but in reality, in my view, the real protagonist is Ouni. Chakuro is more of a storyteller than a protagonist in itself. We followed him around and around, but in the end everything turns Ouni, literally everything.

The world is quite fascinating. The sea of ​​sand replacing the sea of ​​water gives a charm to the work, changing a lot of things. Countries at the edge of the sea have to worry about the issue of rising sea, which is the same in reality. The boats, however, are different. There are no oars, they move by calls called Nous. And this is where I'm going to start talking about the main theme of the manga: emotions.

There are several countries in the world of Sons of Whales, but the Empire, where Lykos comes from, is the most important. Why? The empire has no name. It is a country without a name. It is only as an Empire because it is imperialist, only. The country's inhabitants have no name, called by terms that facilitate militarism. Lykos herself had no name. And third and most importantly, the inhabitants have no emotions. The Nous, to work, ingredients of emotions. It's their food. Then the Empire supplied the emotions of its members, depriving them of it. Lykos suffered from this. And when she is rescued by the inhabitants of the Mud Whale, there is an immense clash of cultures. Imagine a person without emotions meeting several people with different emotions. It is quite a shock, and we see this clearly from the interactions between them.

The more time a person spends away from the Nous, the more emotions come back. So every day that Lykos passes away from the Nous, more of her emotions come back, and she will realize that she doesn't want to go back to the Empire anymore. She finally got a place that she can love and feel happy for, why would she want to run away? And then a narrative follows, with several unforeseen events, many twists and turns, exciting moments and other things.

Another point that the manga touches is about the meaning of life. As the “marked” did not live long, around 30 to 40 years old, they used their time to the maximum to satisfy the unmarked. Be it recording events or defending the Island. And the manga gets really deep at that point.
And finally, another point is about memories. This is linked to the question of emotions, about how strong they are and whether it is worth giving them up, their memories. That's one of Orca's motivations, but it's spoiler, so zip!

There are those who say that prejudice is a strong theme. I agree, but I wouldn't say it's the focus. It is present, very present, but it is an element used for narrative, not something that Abi Umeda focuses on. It is not an 86 of life, but neither is it as tight as Shingeki. It is something interesting, but nothing extremely surprising.

Closing the review then. Children of the Whales is an excellent manga, which touches on delicate subjects, but which performs them splendidly. It has a fascinating worldbuilding, along with charismatic characters that enhance the work. The narrative is great, with good pacing and storytelling stands out. In short, a great manga, which I recommend to everyone!

Children of the Whales é um mangá que me surpreendeu de forma positiva. Comecei a lê-lo por conta da arte e pela sinopse. Estava numa vibe de procurar algum mangá que tratasse sobre uma “civilização perdida”, e o anilist me recomendou isso. E, pra minha surpresa, foi muito mais do que eu estava esperando!

Usando a sinopse da VIZ, Chakuro é o arquivista da Mud Whale, registrando diligentemente as vidas e mortes de seu povo. Como um dos poucos portadores da timia, ele sabe que seu tempo é limitado e está determinado a deixar um histórico melhor do que seus antecessores. Mas o ritmo constante de sua existência isolada na Mud Whale é abruptamente interrompido quando um grupo de reconhecimento descobre uma jovem misteriosa que parece saber mais sobre sua casa do que eles...

Children of the Whales é um mangá riquíssimo! A narrativa começa de forma reclusa, focando mais nos residentes da Mud Whale e em como eles reagem às ameaças externas e às novas circunstâncias os rodeando. E ela progressivamente avança, aumentando o escopo da história no devido ritmo. Vale ressaltar que o storytelling desse mangá é finíssimo! Ele é narrado pelo Chakuro, o arquivista da Mud Whale, então vemos quase todos os eventos pela visão dele, e ainda temos narrações durante a narrativa. Não é apenas visual, como a maioria dos mangás é. A adição de narrações contribuiu e muito para uma experiência ainda mais enriquecedora, pelo menos para mim. Deu um charme a mais pra história, e acho que passou a essência de ser um diário. Até porque a história tá simulando os registros do Chakuro, então faz sentido ter narrações.

Os personagens são ótimos! Todos na Mud Whale se conheciam, então eles tinham uma relação muito boa um com outro, todos eram amigos, e isso foi retratado de forma esplêndida pela Abi Umeda! Ela conseguiu passar uma sensação de proximidade entre todos, ou no mínimo uma relação vívida, com emoções aqui e ali.

Vou dizer uma coisa aqui. O protagonista no papel é o Chakuro, mas na realidade, ao meu ver, o protagonista de verdade é o Ouni. O Chakuro é mais um storyteller do que um protagonista em si. Seguimos ele por ali e por aqui, mas no final tudo revolve ao Ouni, literalmente tudo.

O mundo é bem fascinante. O mar de areia substituindo o mar de água dá um charme pra obra, mudando bastante coisas. Os países à borda do mar têm que se preocupar com a questão da subida do mar, igual na realidade. Os barcos, no entanto, são diferentes. Não há remos, eles se movem por seres chamados Nous. E é aqui que eu vou começar a falar sobre o tema principal do mangá: emoções.

Há diversos países no mundo de Children of the Whales, mas o Império, de onde a Lykos vem, é o mais importante. Por que? O império não tem nome. É um país sem nome. Se referem como Império por ser imperialista, apenas. Os habitantes do país não possuem nome, sendo chamados por termos que facilitam o militarismo. A própria Lykos não tinha nome. E terceiro e mais importante, os habitantes não têm emoções. Os Nous, para funcionarem, necessitam de emoções. É a comida deles. Então o Império fornecia as emoções de seus membros, privando-os disso. Lykos sofreu disso. E quando ela é resgatada pelos habitantes da Mud Whale, há um choque de culturas imenso.
Imagine uma pessoa sem emoções se encontrando com diversas pessoas com diversas emoções. É um choque e tanto, e vemos isso claramente pelas interações entre eles.

Quanto mais tempo uma pessoa passa longe dos Nous, mais as emoções voltam. Então a cada dia que a Lykos passa longe dos Nous, mais emoções dela voltam, e ela vai percebendo que ela não quer voltar mais pro Império. Ela finalmente conseguiu um lugar que ela pode amar e se sentir feliz, por que ela quereria fugir? E aí a narrativa segue, com vários imprevistos, muitas reviravoltas, momentos emocionantes e outras coisas.

Outro ponto que o mangá toca é sobre o sentido da vida. Como os “marcados” não viviam muito, com cerca de 30 a 40 anos, eles usavam de seu tempo ao máximo pra satisfazer os não-marcados. Seja registrar acontecimentos ou defender a Ilha. E o mangá se aprofunda bastante nesse ponto.

E, por último, outro ponto é sobre as memórias. Isso está ligado a questão das emoções, sobre o quão forte elas são e se vale a pena abrir mão delas, das memórias delas. Isso é uma das motivações do Orca, mas é spoiler, então zip!

Há quem diga que o preconceito é um tema forte. Eu concordo, mas não diria que é o foco. Ele tá presente, bem presente, mas é um elemento usado pra narrativa, não algo que a Abi Umeda foca. Não é um 86 da vida, mas também não é algo escrachado como Shingeki. É algo interessante, mas nada extremamente surpreendente.

Fechando a review então. Children of the Whales é um excelente mangá, que toca em assuntos delicados, mas que os executa de maneira esplênida. Possui um worldbuilding fascinante, junto com personagens carismáticos que engrandecem a obra. A narrativa é ótima, com um bom pacing e o storytelling se destaca. Em suma, um ótimo mangá, que recomendo a todos!

They spelt shounen funny when labelling this manga…those boys were also not just strong friends…

Children of the Whales was a manga I picked up due to the 2017 anime adaptation that was shown on Netflix. I really liked the premise of the show and it was my first real dive into a ‘proper’ fantasy anime as most of the anime I’d been watching up until that point was slice of life, urban fantasy and generic shounen shows that try and make fantasy uber masculine. The premise of the series really intrigued me, the gorgeous and pastel visuals of the show only highlighting the dark and ... twisted nature of the world vs the residents of the Mud whale.

So, after several years, a hiatus on japanese content on the art variety and a reignition of my passion for the mediums later and I decided to finally meet the conclusion of a story I’d truly loved back when it aired by trying out the manga. It was a bad choice.

The mangaka’s work is truly gorgeous, Umeda having a very maximalist and whimsy style that would rather cause crippling arthritis than leave out even the tiniest of details. The art actively goes out of its way to separate people from each other, the mud whale descendants wearing very simple clothing that is more effective for everyday wear and the cast that come from The Empire and Amonlogia having much more eccentric and lavish outfits and hairstyles.
However the art does also feature a few pitfalls, notably that when Thymia is used (( of the manga being in black, white and tones)) pages and spreads become perhaps too detailed, a lot of the forms of characters and places becoming blurred together and it can make it difficult to figure out is happening.

The setting of the manga is a bit hard to keep up with. It’s only an 97 chapter manga so when new concepts are added we don’t get much time to sit and rally digest what is happening, especially because a lot of the time you hear nothing of a connecting piece of information for a long time and it would lead to me going back in the manga to find an older explanation to fully wrap my head around a new one.


The story itself is…well, it’s not a shoujo. Do not be fooled by the tagging for this one, Children of the Whales, after the first arc of finding out about the mud whale and its history, is 100% a shounen. I don’t want to make this a spoiler review but just trust me, future arcs genuinely had me questioning if someone had accidentally written shoujo instead of shounen because the women in this manga are almost always tied to or are outshined by a boy/man.

Speaking of, my other biggest gripe with the manga is the inability to decide who our main character is. It constantly flip flops between out main boy, Chakuro, being the important story teller to the classic shounen emo bad boy Ouni who the mangaka has an obsession with making the one who does everything, in terms of decisions, that our main character should be doing.

I may pick this manga back up at some point to try and get it finished but I have begun to just end every chapter with a giant “why am I reading this?” and I feel thats when you really should just learn to drop the manga.

I will also not elaborate on the second part of my first sentence, if you finish the manga you’ll know exactly what I mean.