Jul 7, 2022
This story is such a masterful take on the consequences of immortality and what it truly means to be a human. It shows the importance of death. I am still so sad right now. I can't explain how deep it gets, you just have to read it.
The story is very light hearted at first and the art style gives you the impression that it's a very light hearted series, but that is not the case. As the series goes on you start to realize the gravity of the story. The children never die, and they witness everything around them dying. They themselves remain alive as
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the world moves forward. Though all humans fear death, the absence of it is a curse. Our inevitability is what makes us human, our lack of time is what gives us motivation. We all die one day.
Overall, it is a short work that expertly explains the importance of our impending deaths.
Story: 10
The story is simply an amazing way to explain what it means to be truly human. It shows what the world would be like to people that were truly immortal, and shows much of a curse it is. It then introduces a human character to contrast the immortal deuteragonists to, and we can clearly see the difference in drive and motivation. In the end, Pai is happy to give up her immortality because she realizes how sad the world would be to move on forever after witnessing her friend's death. We also see the other decision, Makki choosing to stay with Mother in order to stop her from being lonely. It also seems that he would become a sort of guardian of the old Earth, mapping out everything. Regardless, it is clear that choosing death is actually the more selfish option while choosing to live on is a more altruistic decision, showing the dilemma of suicide as well. The story was just so expertly created it's hard to take off any points.
Art: 5
The art was light hearted, humorous and enjoyable, but from an objective standpoint it was not particularly high technique. I think for the story the light hearted art really helped set the tone for the type of tale it was trying to tell, so I wouldn't change it, but the rating cannot be objectively high for this category. The juxtaposition between the light hearted art style and the dark theme though helped keep the reading interesting and not too dark.
Character: 7
The characters were well fleshed out and had different and interesting personalities. Their responses accurately reflected their situations, such as Mira constantly rushing to learn and get things done due to her limited time, Pai's constant innocence and Makki's grim and pragmatic look on everything. Pai and Makki's differences in particular are interesting because they are two people put into the same situation yet have a different take on the situation. It shows there are different ways to respond to immortality and can represent how different people view the meaning of life. However, while the characters did a great job fulfilling the story, there was not a lot of actual character development or complexity, so this rating cannot be too high. I would not change it though because character development is not the focus on this short manga, but rather the full underlying themes of it.
Enjoyment: 10
I really enjoyed it, it was a fun read with lots of humour and seriousness mixed in. It's a short and light read so you can read it in one sitting, and it really gets you thinking. I was crying at the end.
Overall: 10
Overall this work is a masterpiece. Short, but a masterpiece.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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