Mizushiro Setona - X-Day, vol. 01-02 (Eng. trans.)
So far, I've liked all the Mizushiro Setona manga that I've read, and this is no different. Mizushiro seems to be particularly good at focusing on the small and the everyday, on the moments that make you think your world is ending, even if it's just your skanky boyfriend breaking up with you and immediately going out with another girl. Because as Buffy illustrated so well, those are world-ending moments. It's just not the world most people think of.
Rika's just been through aforementioned breakup; worse, she's had an injury that's taken her off the track team. She used to be the best high jumper in the school, but now the same girl her ex is now going out with seems to be taking her place there as well. One day, she meets three other disaffected people in a chat room and flippantly suggests that they blow up the school.
What follows isn't a description of how they plan to blow up the school, but rather, how four broken and hurt people can come together and find comfort in each other. Much like After School Nightmare, there are several elements in here that I should find extremely squicky, but I don't because of the atmosphere Mizushiro invokes (ex. the teacher/student relationship). I particularly like Rika and Mr. Money and how the both of them hide their pain behind smiles.
Although I was a bit iffy on the portrayal of one of the women in the series, who's shown as preying on one of the teachers, I like Rika and Polaris. If only the older women wouldn't be so consistently sketchy!
It's really hard to put down why I liked this so much, since it's very dependent on the pacing, the attention to detail, the over-the-top premise coupled with the grounding in emotional reality, the use of space and wordless panels.
The art style's closer to 1999nen than it is to After School Nightmare, but it's still more stylized than 1999nen.
Also, the series ends with a short story about human cows that rachelmanija found incredibly disturbing and creepy and I did not, possibly because I've now read several manga in which the ultimate expression of love is the offer to let the beloved consume your own flesh! Oh manga. I love you.
Anyway, definitely recommended to people who liked the two other Mizushiro works I've read, and generally recommended to people who like slow, slightly creepy, but still quiet manga.
Rika's just been through aforementioned breakup; worse, she's had an injury that's taken her off the track team. She used to be the best high jumper in the school, but now the same girl her ex is now going out with seems to be taking her place there as well. One day, she meets three other disaffected people in a chat room and flippantly suggests that they blow up the school.
What follows isn't a description of how they plan to blow up the school, but rather, how four broken and hurt people can come together and find comfort in each other. Much like After School Nightmare, there are several elements in here that I should find extremely squicky, but I don't because of the atmosphere Mizushiro invokes (ex. the teacher/student relationship). I particularly like Rika and Mr. Money and how the both of them hide their pain behind smiles.
Although I was a bit iffy on the portrayal of one of the women in the series, who's shown as preying on one of the teachers, I like Rika and Polaris. If only the older women wouldn't be so consistently sketchy!
It's really hard to put down why I liked this so much, since it's very dependent on the pacing, the attention to detail, the over-the-top premise coupled with the grounding in emotional reality, the use of space and wordless panels.
The art style's closer to 1999nen than it is to After School Nightmare, but it's still more stylized than 1999nen.
Also, the series ends with a short story about human cows that rachelmanija found incredibly disturbing and creepy and I did not, possibly because I've now read several manga in which the ultimate expression of love is the offer to let the beloved consume your own flesh! Oh manga. I love you.
Anyway, definitely recommended to people who liked the two other Mizushiro works I've read, and generally recommended to people who like slow, slightly creepy, but still quiet manga.