SEKAI NO OWARI TO YOAKE MAE

DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

• 

  Harunobu

  60/100
  Hope Amidst Stagnation and the Incessantness of Time

  __Hope Amidst Stagnation and the Incessantness of Time__

  We often read manga as a means to satisfy our unbounded fantasies; a means of temporary escapism from the real world. However, it can be painful to read stories that portray the very reality which we try to escape from, particularly if they are an abstract reflection of ourselves, and more so, if they are about loneliness and everyday life. These kinds of realist stories are where Inio Asano’s prowess lies in, and it is very evident in his works, including Before Dawn and the End of the World. Although it is not as psychologically depressing, absurd, or fantastical as some of Asano’s other works, this manga still paints a bleak portrayal of the lives of common people in society.

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  Before Dawn and the End of the World is a slice of life manga by Inio Asano, composing of individual stories that are not literally about the end of the world, but about the problems that common people face in their mundane lives. These problems include identity crisis, insecurities, a lack of purpose in life, and more.

  

  The manga starts off with Untitled, a brief colored chapter that is only shown visually with no text, and it establishes two themes. One of the themes it establishes is that the lives of people are intertwined, and it does this by having the characters happen upon one another by coincidence. Although it does establish the recurring theme of coincidence, the second theme is more important, acting as a kind of reminder to us readers. That second theme is that no matter how different people are, everyone has a story to tell, and the chapter does this by showing three different sets of people; adults, adolescents, and kids. The second chapter, Before Dawn continues to establish the same two themes but does things more interestingly by including the aspect of time, establishing the important role it plays in both the manga and in people’s lives.

  From chapter three onwards is where the real meat is - it is where the real set of short stories begin. Melancholic in its tone, each story is a reflection on life, exploring the pressing concerns of each main character or the indifference that some of them feel, as they come to a realization or try to find a sense of purpose in their lives. Chapter four does this brilliantly because, in it, we get to see the contrast in the struggles between the father who is an adult, a young adult, and the student who is an adolescent. Through this, we not only get to see that age is something that segregates society, but also the fact that regardless of age, everyone has their own struggles.

  

  The noteworthy chapters that follow afterwards are the ones that deal with the stagnation of life, accompanied by the idea of what we expect life to be like vs. what it actually turns out to be like. The first of the bunch is chapter five, wherein we get a shop clerk who dreams of a happier and romantic life, then falls in love at first sight, only to later be disappointed by her expectations. Next, there is chapter six, How to Spend a Day Off. In it, we get a character who does not really have a sense of purpose in life, choosing to go with the flow of life instead of having and pursuing dreams because she believes that they would just do her more harm than good. The chapter invokes a sense of regret - that although not said, but implied, the character should have spent her life doing better things instead of just going with the flow of life. It is a nice chapter reminding us to not always conform to and accept mundanity - that if we really want to do something, or are passionate about something, then we should pursue it instead of idling away with time. The following chapter, What a Wonderful World, is more nostalgic in nature. It has the main character reading a letter she wrote to herself five years ago, reflecting on the belief that she has become “a boring adult” and that the world she had imagined “is nothing, but a vague mirage”. The last highlight of the short stories is chapter nine, Tokyo. It shows a mangaka who is getting nowhere in his career. It is similar to chapter six in the sense that it also invokes a sense of regret and is accompanied by the theme of loneliness.

  

  There are no jolly or happy conclusions to the stories that are presented, but neither do they end on a depressing note. They all have realistic conclusions that end on a hopeful note. Most of the characters long for something grander than what they had either imagined or are currently facing. They long for a reality that only exists in their dreams; a kind of life that is better than the mundanity and stagnation of their current one. At the end of these stories, the characters continue on with their lives just like real humans. They have to come to terms with themselves and face their realities, but their hope for a better life in the bleakness of their stagnant lives and incessantness of time lingers. If Dawn is a representation of their hope, then the journeys that we are presented with in this manga are a representation of Before Dawn.

  

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  Should you read it?
  Yes. Its target is not geared towards a specific audience as it delves into the issues of both young and old, female and male. Many of us, like the characters in the story, long for a life that is better than our current one. And many of us are even, perhaps, facing the problems that are presented in the manga. Although not everyone will be able to directly relate to all of the stories, there is something in it for everyone because each story takes a realistic approach to the characters’ problems. Through this manga, Inio Asano challenges us to reflect on our lives and face our own realities, no matter how harsh or mundane.

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• 

  NapoJ

  80/100
  Múitiples historias sobre esperar un mañana algo mejor (reseña en ESP y ENG)

  La siguiente reseña está en Español e Inglés (traducida con el apoyo de DeepL)
  La versión leída es la traducción al español por KOT7K perteneciente a "GoFansub"

  Cuarta antología de Inio Asano, el título traducido es “El fin del mundo y Antes del amanecer”, son 11 capítulos en el que cada uno es una historia diferente, 4 relatos están directamente interconectados y en otros hay inferida una conexión aunque está más disposición de que lo considere así el lector. Las temáticas son varias, entre ellas tenemos la nostalgia, cotidianidad o amistad, sin embargo, hay una constante, sean los personajes adolescentes, jóvenes o adultos, y es sobre crecer.

  Un adolescente a las puertas de la adultez mediante el contacto con el sexo opuesto, jóvenes aspirando a un sueño o dandose cuenta de que sin proponerselo están consiguiendo una vida común y corriente, o el adulto quien ya habiendo conseguido lo que “esperaba” de él, esposa, casa e hijos, se encuentra a sí mismo en un nuevo inicio. Diferentes personas con diversas edades y personalidades, se enfrentan a la encrucijada de qué hacemos con nuestro presente para corresponder al futuro.

  Es inevitable que de evaluarlas individualmente consideremos una historia por encima del resto, sin embargo, contrario a cualquiera de sus anteriores antologías, no considero que ninguna sea “menor” a las otras. Es decir, a nivel semántico, hay una “mejor” pero no “peor”, no hay relato que entorpezca la consistencia, cada cual tiene una reflexión interesante por sí misma y que realiza eco sobre otras historias, y por eso, le considero la mejor antología de Asano hasta ese punto de su carrera.

  

  No sólo hay una refinación en la narrativa individual para conseguir la general, está la forma en cómo sucede cada cual, las reflexiones provienen desde el personaje y sus vivencias en el momento, dándole el toque de naturalidad en vez de sermón o pretensión desde el autor. Como también la definición de cada personaje, hay una escala de grises en que al observar a fondo a una “mala persona” se develan sus problemas y conflictos, no justificación o redención, sólo consideración en que cada quien tiene una vida.

  La mencionada historia interconectada es donde Ino mejor demuestra su aprendizaje, cada punto de vista aporta desde la consideración de su personaje para demostrar que aún un suceso cualquiera se construye desde la vivencia de diferentes personas, con sus conflictos y expectativas, aportando entre sí con el mero contacto.

  También es generalizado el optimismo de Asano en cada capítulo, sin importar la situación en la que se encuentre, la esperanza de un futuro algo mejor es lo que siempre persiste. Porque aún en el fin del mundo, también es interesante la persistencia de un apocalipsis en sus trabajos, deberíamos esperar a que el próximo día sea mejor que el actual.

  Si hay un elemento aparentemente disonante es el curioso primer capítulo, cada par de viñetas compone una minihistoria de todas las índoles imaginables, en el profundo de la noche la vida continúa para quienes estén despiertos. Es una excelente introducción a la composición que pese a deshacerse de los elementos sobrenaturales, explora su atmósfera de cotidianidad y convivencia.

  

  La constante mejora en el dibujo de Asano está en el sentido del encuadre en los momentos determinantes de la narrativa, de amplios escenarios que amplifican las vivencias de los personajes, como también en las situaciones más cotidianas experimentando con ángulos y planos que no había utilizado, o delimitando el ritmo de diferentes maneras. En especial, me gusta cuando se entremezcla cotidianidad y sobrenatural en la misma viñeta, ya presente en sus anteriores trabajos, más por la esencia sobria de está antología destacan todavía más, la combinación de lo común con lo representativo.

  Considero está antología su primer gran trabajo, todos los puntos que estuvo desarrollando hasta entonces llegaron al estado que aspiraba sea en narrativa, consistencia o dibujo. Es calificable, para cualquiera, que cada trabajo es sólo un paso hasta el próximo, y que seguramente los consecutivos puedan regresar a ideas y formas aquí presentadas, más eso ni disminuye el valor de su antología, al contrario, se volverá más notable por sí misma y para referencia de lo venidero

  English

  Fourth anthology by Inio Asano, the translated title is "The end of the world and Before dawn", there are 11 chapters in which each one is a different story, 4 stories are directly interconnected and in others there is an inferred connection although it is more up to the reader to consider it that way. The themes are varied, among them we have nostalgia, everyday life or friendship, however, there is a constant, whether the characters are teenagers, young people or adults, and it is about growing up.

  A teenager at the gates of adulthood through contact with the opposite sex, young people aspiring to a dream or realizing that without intending it they are getting an ordinary life, or the adult who has already achieved what society "expected" of him, wife, house and children, finds himself in a new beginning. Different people with different ages and personalities, face the crossroads of what we do with our present to correspond to the future.

  It is inevitable that if we evaluate them individually we will consider one story above the rest, however, contrary to any of his previous anthologies, I do not consider any of them to be "lesser" than the others. That is, on a semantic level, there is a "better" but not a "worse" one, there is no story that hinders consistency, each one has an interesting reflection on its own and echoes other stories, and for that reason, I consider it Asano's best anthology to that point in his career.

  

  Not only is there a refinement in the individual narrative to achieve the general one, there is the way in which each one happens, the reflections come from the character and his experiences in the moment, giving it the touch of naturalness instead of sermon or pretension from the author. As well as the definition of each character, there is a scale of grayscale in which to observe in depth a "bad person" reveals their problems and conflicts, no justification or redemption, only consideration that everyone has a life.

  The aforementioned interconnected story is where Ino best demonstrates her learning, each point of view contributes from the consideration of her character to show that even a random event is built from the experience of different people, with their conflicts and expectations, contributing to each other with the mere contact.

  Asano's optimism is also generalized in each chapter, regardless of the situation in which he finds himself, the hope for a better future is what always persists. Because even at the end of the world, it is also interesting the persistence of an apocalypse in his works, we should hope that the next day will be better than the current one.

  If there is an apparently dissonant element it is the curious first chapter, each pair of vignettes composes a mini-story of every imaginable nature, in the depths of the night life goes on for those who are awake. It is an excellent introduction to the composition that despite getting rid of the supernatural elements, explores its atmosphere of everyday life and coexistence.

  

  The constant improvement in Asano's drawing is in the sense of framing in the decisive moments of the narrative, of wide scenarios that amplify the experiences of the characters, as well as in the most everyday situations, experimenting with angles and shots that he had not used before, or delimiting the rhythm in different ways. I especially like when he mixes the everyday and the supernatural in the same vignette, already present in his previous works, but for the normal essence of this anthology, the combination of the common with the representative stands out even more.

  I consider this anthology his first great work, all the points he was developing until then reached the state he aspired to be in narrative, consistency or drawing. It's qualifiable, for anyone, that each work is only a step until the next, and that surely the consecutive ones may return to ideas and forms presented here, but that does not diminish the value of his anthology, on the contrary, it will become more remarkable by itself and for reference of what is to come.

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