Forum - View topicNarutaru Final Thoughts with Spoilers or WTF Did I Just Read
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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*Redundant Warning: The following post concerns itself with the entirety of Narutaru, and consequently the endings of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion and Gilgamesh. As such, I do not find a need for hiding the spoilers considering the warnings. If you have not read and watched all of the respective series and do not wish to be spoiled, then don't read. If you do, then it's entirely your fault.*
For those of us who are too impatient for an apparent miracle on Narutaru's status in English and who read scanlations, recently the rest of the manga has been scanned, translated, and released. And with respect to the rules, I'll leave it to your own devices to discover the rest of the series. With that said... onto some thoughts regarding the series' ending, as well as the story as a whole. - It's been over half a year since I read the first half of Narutaru. I flipped through volume seven of Dark Horse's release (roughly volume six of the Japanese release) to refresh my memory. Tonally it remains consistent with a general laidback use of plot with dark undertones. - Three-fourths or so of volume nine are more or less inconsequential. Interesting concept and certainly due to Kitoh's talents as a short story writer it works within its own context, but it's a diversion in the long run that doesn't add anything to the plot or narrative. - Revelations came hard in the last three volumes. Hoshimaru's actual loyalties and Mamiko's purpose surprise me yet not at the same time, if that makes sense. - Now what anyone reading this probably gives a damn about: the ending. My first words as I reached the last pages really were "What the fudge did I just read?" I can understand where the comparisons to The End of Evangelion are, but the messages and results couldn't be further apart. Anno embraces the idea of humans being able to escape from their fantasies to face the frequently harsh reality and overcome the barriers between one another to achieve happiness. Kitoh, on the other hand, is purely nihilistic here; a more apt comparison would be the Gilgamesh anime (which, amusingly enough, I enjoy the ending of, but couldn't care less for the rest). Kitoh shows suffering and cruelty that human beings inflict upon another, and there is absolutely no redemption here. What we're left with is a restart after everyone that Shiina loves is killed, with her and Tsurumaru's child and Mamiko's child -- presumably from when she is raped in volume 11 -- to be the progenitors of the next human race -- an Adam and Eve, in simple terms. There is one or two things I'm uncertain about -- Shiina's "rebirth," certainly -- but altogether it's surprisingly straightforward and effectively chilling. The deaths and final pages are truly stunning. - Kitoh's art improves a lot. Oh, sure, many of his characters are approaching anorexia, but his depictions of movement and backgrounds are noticeably improved compared to the earlier volumes. ... I suppose that's it for now. On the whole I really like it. There are a few hiccups and it isn't as satisfying and cohesive as Bokurano, but Narutaru is a compellingly disturbing story with one hell of an ending. I really hope that Dark Horse or Del Rey give this thing another shot in English someday. |
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