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7SEEDS

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
35
RELEASE
May 27, 2017
CHAPTERS
178

DESCRIPTION

Scientists had predicted this disaster, and in response, the leaders of every country met to develop a plan for human survival before the meteor hit. The Seven Seeds project was developed out of this meeting. Each country froze a number of young healthy people, which allowed them to survive the meteor. After the computer determined that Earth was once again safe for human life, it released them into the world.

The Japanese government created five groups of survivors: Winter group, Spring group, Summer group A, Summer group B, and Fall group. Each group consisted of seven members and one guide. The guide carried small tubes of poison on their necks to allow them to end their lives if their situation became unbearable. The Japanese government prepared seven "Fuji" as refuges for the groups. In each Fuji, the group would find seeds and numerous books instructing them on survival in the wilderness.

Notes:

Winner of the 52th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shoujo category in 2006.

CAST

Natsu Iwashimizu
Hana Suguruno
Takahiro Aramaki
Arashi Aota
Ango
Semimaru Asai
Haru Yukima
Botan Saotome
Ryou
Ban
Koruri
Gengoro
Matsuri Tendou
Ayu
Mark Ibaraki
Chimaki Yamori
Nijiko
Ran Shishigaki
Fujiko Amacha
Hotaru Kusakuri
Kaname Mozunoto
Momotarou Nobi
Mansaku Tsunomata
Ryoya Izayoi
Sakuya Yamaki

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO 7SEEDS

ONA Action7SEEDS

Cover Art for 7SEEDS Bangai-hen: Memories - Sorezore no Natsu

ONE SHOT Slice of Life7SEEDS Bangai-hen: Memories - Sorezore no Natsu

ONA Action7SEEDS 2

MANGA Adventure7SEEDS Gaiden

REVIEWS

Unleash
100/100
A team survival-adventure flavored coalesce of love, hardship, philosophical thought, and psychological seasoning. ´◡`
__INTRODUCTION (NO SPOILERS)__
In 2007, this manga received a Shogakukan Manga Award. I believe it was well deserved. It's an outstanding story that covers a lot of ground. For all of the ground it covers it also answers a lot of questions and I bet most readers would be satisfied by the end of reading it, and if not, you can read 7SEEDS Gaiden for a little bit more closure. I was and still am sated by this story and what it provides. You have a thrilling survival adventure that's true to reality in plenty of the ways I want it to be. You have a heap of opportunities to read this with a philosophical lens, and for those who haven't explored deeply on the big questions of life, this can be rewarding as the characters will walk that path with you as you read. It took 16 years to craft this excellent manga and by some close shave coincidence, one year more and it would total the amount of time for something very carefully planned to take in the world presented in the manga.
__MAIN COURSE: (WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!)__ __ [STORY]__ From the very start we're thrown right into a dire situation with characters who wake up confused and paranoid. Not only that, but they lack trust and right away you'll find yourself looking for the bad guy. If you've seen something like _The Walking Dead_ or _BTOOOM!_ you'll find those same paranoid feelings creep into your mind that the characters exude throughout the story. Questions like "Are they safe to be in the group?" or "What if they hurt x?" might float around. It makes sense that you and the characters would feel this way. Wait-where are we? What are these characters here for and why? We're in the ocean? These questions are answered pretty quickly-at least for the first group we get to know: Team Summer B. Now if you put pieces together before you're told they're pieces you'd quickly come to the realization that if there is one team, there has to be others. There sure is, and we get to know about each character in all 5 teams. Each team composed of 8 characters, one of the 8 characters being the assigned guide for each team. We follow one team for given periods of time during the manga and we get to learn about the members and watch the virgin world shape and test their limits. Virgin world? Yeah, the guides know about it. The guides were told the fundamental reasons for why the teams are all on this dangerous world that we find out to be Earth post-meteor apocalypse. As true with humanity, when the clock is ticking they'll stop at nothing to persevere. It was a carefully thought out plan: preserve a certain selection of humans in sleep chamber pods equipped to survive the rough ride of the ocean's wrath until the pods themselves deem it safe to wake them up. Many years after the Earth adjusts to the vast changes caused by the impact of the meteor, the pods wake the preserved sleeping humans inside, and they are burdened with great responsibility to survive and restart humanity. "What if a team is unstable and wants to end humanity for whatever reason?" Much like other holes you could come up with, this was appropriately planned for as well. The mastermind behind this happens to be a wealthy middle aged man named Takashi Sugurono. Now while he might have been a smart guy, he's not a genius, and he is flawed like other humans. We find out that his intuitions happen to fall flat on an area unexpected: Team Summer A. A team that was derived from the 17 years (from birth) of systematic training and schooling of approximately 100 genetically engineered humans. Yes, out of 100 specialists who trained from birth, only 7 of them were supposed to remain after an unexpected final test of survival, proctored by Takashi and their teacher. Now I'm not gonna say how these guys happen to be flawed in a world where you simply need to survive with others, but for various reasons, they are. There are many lessons to be learned and a lot of the basic things are covered: corruption, distrust, sex/rape, sharing resources, conflict, love, tragedy, revenge, friendship, anti-hero, etc. There is one thing that I really, really, appreciate: Takashi planned to have each person be an expert in something, we're not left in a world absent of something even not related to survival, such as the artist. To my pleasant surprise the artist was included in the careful selection of people meant to shoulder the burden of restarting humanity. Yeah I said it again, "the burden of restarting humanity" These characters were also selected in a way that allows for each person to have an opposite sex partner to procreate with. If they survive, that is. If you like the idea of two people being in love and surviving together, this story isn't very forgiving and tests you with edge-of-your-seat moments. "How far would you go for someone you love?" Is a question that's implied throughout the quest for Hana to find her boyfriend Arashi. Both of which, while concerned for the others' wellbeing, don't know of their own status for a long part of the story, making you desire their eventual meeting even further. That in itself could easily be its own separate manga. As you learn about the characters and watch them through their struggles you'll want them to meet each other to see how they feel and interact, and to my great satisfaction they do meet each other after scarce communication left behind and clues of where to go. Surprisingly, this manga doesn't strangle your soul energy and leave you depressed that things could be so cruel. This manga may appear unforgiving at first, but it turns out to be a rather uplifting one. At the end after all the ordeals and challenges they had to face together, the remaining characters meet and set up a long term commune and begin to think about the future very carefully and deliberately. __[CHARACTERS]__ __(WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!)__ Out of the 40 people selected for project 7SEEDS, only a few of them were intended to be genetically apex experts in necessary fields. This leaving a good amount of rather regular people who are adept at certain skills, with the exception of a very few, who seem to be good at hardly anything. It didn't matter which character it was, I found myself cherishing them, relating to them, and I even grew attached to them through their struggles. There are a few characters outside of these 40 that lived before the meteor hit and even those characters were noteworthy and potentially relatable for some readers. It's enjoyable to see strong females worth admiring and men who let themselves be weak in the face of others (the inverse is also still true.) I never grew bored of any character, and this is important because the manga puts the focus on certain sets and even certain characters alone. You get to be with them for periods of time that allow you to grow attached (or hate them, and that's understandable.) There is absolutely character development and it's beautiful how it is executed. I loved seeing Natsu grow more brave, or her playful, boastful, aggressive, tsukkomi Semimaru who grows to love(?) her. I loved seeing Hana simply exist, she's a very strong person and I can't imagine many people withstanding what she did in this book, that goes for Takahiro too, he's my favorite character for this reason: being a very weak, innocent, warm-hearted person, who took on the responsibility of living for his friends and despite the odds he survived a rather lonely, cold existence. __This manga relies heavily on the characters, if you don't like them I think it would be hard to consume.__ The characters are what complete this story, had they been mundane or predictable there's no way I'd be writing this review, or my rating being perfect as it stands. The closure in [7SEEDS Gaiden](https://anilist.co/manga/101011/7-Seeds-Gaiden/) seals the last remaining points.
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colleensmangarecs
100/100
7 Seeds is a masterpiece of apocalypse fiction
I've contemplated back and forth on whether I wanted to write a review on this series. It's storytelling and world building is so complex and intricate that I've felt overwhelmed by how I could even begin to describe my love for this manga. However I'll try my best, since I really feel the need to convey what a special series this is.

7 Seeds is nothing short of a masterpiece, interweaving stories of more than 30 characters in truly unexpected and surprising ways. With each group you come to meet overtime you learn more and more about each character, their motivations, and how they fit into this post-apocalyptic society. Even the flashbacks to characters that were once dwelling in certain places were still intriguing and fleshed out the world of 7 Seeds even further.

This manga was dark, morbid, and bleak while still being able to give you a ray of hope at the same time. There were moments where my jaw hit the floor or where I could not stop crying. Despite this, the tone of the series never felt like it was bogged down with nihilism and cynicism about whether human could successfully live together where the previous way of life has been destroyed. The characters of Hana and Arashi being the main reason we are able to consistently have a slight positive outlook.

It also doesn't shy away from the long term trauma that certain events can cause in a person's life. Ango and most of the Summer Team A being the biggest example of how government control and lack of human empathy can make even the most devoted people turn on their superiors. On the opposite of that spectrum we also have Haru, who suffered great loss on his own in the new world. Unlike Summer Team A, he internalized this trauma and kept it with him.

Real quick, I would like to mention the character of Natsu. I knew right away that people would most likely hate her character, since she's a timid girl (nothing is worse than that apparently). However, I really love Natsu's characterization and how we see her slow and steady growth to become a bit more confident throughout the series. People don't change personalities instantly, even when they have willingly expressed wanting to change. Being thrown into a post-apocalyptic world where you have no idea what happened to your family and have to fend off dangerous new creatures probably won't lend itself well either. I would argue Natsu would represent a large majority of how people would act in that situation.

I could go on and on about how good this series is but I hate reviews that are more than 4 paragraphs long so I'll leave it at that.

The art, characters, and writing are phenomenal. Every new arc makes it hard to put the series down. This is in my top 10 manga series of all time.
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RoseFaerie
100/100
A genuine masterpiece which has so much to say about the human condition
I might as well keep the reviewing my favorites trend going. My last five reviews were absolutely glowing, even including my second favorite manga ever. So now it's time for me to talk about my current third favorite series, since I've already done the first two!

7SEEDS is a postapocalyptic story, which begins when highschooler Natsu Iwashimizu awakens with seven other people and a woman who claims to be her guide in a strange world, similar to Japan, yet very different, with an ecosystem no place on Earth is known to have. This is the last resort project of Japan in order to save mankind after a meteor hit, eradicating civilization as they knew it. It is the Seven Seeds project, which involves freezing five groups of healthy young people, each consisting of seven people and their guide. They must learn to survive in this new world.

This manga is genuinely one of the best I've ever read. Out of my current top three favorites, this is the one that I'd be most likely to consider objectively good. Yumi Tamura is an absolute creative genius.

This isn't just a survival story. It's a story about people. About humanity. Most of the series is about them wandering to different places, but it's the characters and the way they interact that make this manga a masterpiece. However, I will not discount any of the story arcs.

My personal favorites are the Hail of Corn arc and the Awakening Insects arc, while all of the arcs were something I enjoyed. These were just the ones that left the biggest impact on me.

The Hail of Corn and Ash arcs left me genuinely afraid. They make you think about how cruel people can be, even within the government. Every arc offered something about psychology, philosophy, and human nature. The world building is deeply intricate and the story is planned out very well. It tackles so many societal issues that would occur within a new world. And this is going to sound strange but it also tackles sexual assault in a very sensitive way. I was impressed by how sympathetic and well done this was, considering that it happened between two of our five main characters.

The first third of the series includes a lot of setup for each team, introducing all the characters, their backgrounds and the beginnings of many of the character arcs. The series also has two arcs which provide context about what happened during and after the apocalypse. The story becomes more and more complex and dramatic as the groups begin to interact, creating deeper interpersonal drama with more and more layers. It all culminates in the Awakening Insects arc, the final arc of the series, where the characters all unite, many of them showing some form of character development and learning more. None of them are the same as they were before. All of them were molded, both by their experiences and personal interactions.

There are over 35 characters in 7SEEDS. I never felt like any of the characters who were introduced were extraneous. Yumi Tamura's use of the characters is impeccable. It genuinely takes talent to be able to use this many characters in such a way where there are so many characters who have clearly defined arcs and personalities.

I will begin with Natsu, my personal favorite. I related to her heavily from the beginning, and I saw people saying that she had social anxiety and it all made sense. She begins the story very weak and useless. She's clumsy, scared, and latches onto the first person who shows her kindness. However, she grows a lot over the course of the series. It's very subtle and slow the way people normally change, not overnight. She gains confidence and courage, as well as self-awareness. Natsu's growth is so meticulously paced, and she's such a realistic character that I would have to consider her one of the best written characters in the whole series. I also really enjoyed the way her romantic arc panned out from her unrequited crush on Arashi to her eventual love interest. (Fun fact: I was actually super surprised that I ended up shipping her with her endgame but they both change for the better, challenge each other, and end up suiting each other quite well. Her other option was more difficult for me to root for in more ways than one.)

Hana is the more conventionally badass of the two female leads. She has a lot of survival skills already, and she is a bit of a lone wolf, which her eventual trauma only enforces. She easily helps take charge of her group, and she's very confident and speaks her mind to a fault. People who dislike her or can't control her easily view her as impudent. She and her boyfriend Arashi deeply love each other and miss each other. Her desire to reunite with him keeps her going through her toughest times, since he was the only one she had to depend on as a kid. Hana also changes a lot, in how her openness varies a lot depending on her state in each arc.

Arashi is Hana's boyfriend and part of Natsu's group. He wants to be reunited with Hana, and like Hana, his desire to reunite keeps him working towards his goal. He is genuinely a kindhearted person who cares for all his teammates and is unwilling to even leave the weakest behind. He learns a lot about the complexities of people and all the actions of others. While he is kind, I don't remember him overtly pushing the other characters to improve themselves very much. I did feel like he was one of the more static leads, but that didn't make me enjoy him any less. I did wish I had gotten to see him and Hana interact more because I felt like they had the least chemistry of the main couples.

Aramaki is a a former baseball player, and the only survivor of his group, Team Winter. He watched a lot of people die and holds so many regrets. He wants to protect people but also keeps them at arms length. I do think he is a very loving person who holds a lot of wisdom. However, he is very weak and must learn to live for the people who care about him. All he knows is his past and he must work towards a brighter future. Aramaki is so present in the story and constantly there for Hana and the others that its' easy to miss all the pain he's gone through. He's such a complex character, and I really adore him.

Our final protagonist is Ango. He is from Team Summer A, the team trained by the government in harsh, unempathetic, inhumane conditions, forced to compete for his spot on the team and survival. Ango is easily one of the most complex and beautifully written characters. He has severe PTSD from the incredibly traumatic events he was forced to endure. This has left him with a lot of unresolved anger and trust issues. However, he is far from being a completely sympathetic character, since he attempts to sexually assault Hana. I can understand his thought process and how it relates to his trauma, but I cannot let this slide. (Fortunately the author ensures that he pays for his crimes.) He's one of those characters who is super intricately written and feels real, but you just can't get on board with them fully. While he may not be a good person, he does learn from his past mistakes and crimes. I do think he does change for the better, and I think his path in Gaiden is perfect for him.

And to think that there are many supporting characters I could write this much about. (I will refrain for obvious reasons.) I'll stop my character discussion here.

As for the art, I think Yumi Tamura's art has a sketchy, dreamlike quality to it. It's so distinctive and I find it very beautiful, though it admittedly isn't for everyone. Her black and white pages are extremely elegant. I also like how the characters' hair grows over the course of the series. I love seeing subtle changes in design over the story's run.

This manga is an absolute masterpiece. I should honestly threaten people to make them read it more often because it's just beautiful. It's a genius work of fiction more people should know about (since most people only know the anime which is an awful botched adaptation.) Please, read 7SEEDS. You won't regret it.
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