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“Would I be forgiven for that? For just taking the easy way out…?”

Toumei Ningen no Hone (Bones of an Invisible Human) is a poignant piece of murder and empathy; contrary to most narratives involving death, our stoic character Aya Kinomiya struggles in world that surprisingly isn't cruel enough, and because she finds very little outlet for her own punishment, she fears that she'll become numb to her own crime as a murderer. In fact, in a few of my favorite scenes, Aya's facial expression implies a sense of relief when her father's image comes to haunt her, preventing her from developing friendships as middle school ... comes to a close.

For those enthusiasts out there, this is in fact a delicate work of yuri: of course, my yuri goggles aren't so clouded that I fail to recognize that Aya's relationships aren't romantic; however, the depicted ties undeniably reach far deeper than that which is generally termed as friendship, so they are none other than yuri. I think reading this manga would be a fresh experience for those who are looking to complicate their understanding of the genre.

Thoughtful, genuine, and relatable - worry not skeptics, for it is nothing like the nonfiction documentaries that arrogantly claim understanding of the "inner workings of a criminal mind" or the fiction mysteries of "will they or won't they" - Toumei Ningen no Hone is an ambivalent work that has the possibility to touch the heart.

I think that readers who have enjoyed "Koe no Katachi" or Makoto Shinkai's earlier animated works should take certain interest in Toumei Ningen no Hone. In time, at least personally, I hope for it to receive a similar degree of respect and love.