HOUSEKI NO KUNI

DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ANIME ActionHouseki no Kuni
ONA ActionHouseki no Kuni PV

REVIEWS

• 

  MikeSlav

  90/100
  A manga with amazing character development

  __Introduction__

  Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni) is an Action/Psychological/Mystery manga written and illustrated by Haruko Ichikawa. It started in 2012 and is publishing in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine. The manga currently has 11 volumes and 95 chapters.

  

  Plot/Story

  The story is set in a distant future in a world inhabited by "gem people". They all live their lives together along with a sensei. The gem people are often under attack by Lunarians, mysterious creatures which come from the moon and attack for unknown reasons. The gems fight the Lunarians every day, and sometimes suffer great losses when the Lunarians capture them. For this reason, the gems are constantly trying to find a way to bring their people back from the Moon and uncover the mystery of the Lunarians.
  Although the concept of a civilization being under attack by mysterious creatures has been done many times before (like Attack on Titan), no manga executes it as well as HnK. The story is unpredictable and full of surprises, always making you want to continue reading to find out what happens next. The story is very exciting and moves at a quick pace.

  Characters

  Aside from the very intriguing story, the part where HnK shines is its characters. Each of the gems are based on.. well... real gems, and each of them has their own unique designs and personalities. The main character, Phosphophyllite (picture below on the left) is one of the best written characters I've seen and has amazing character development. At the beginning of the series they (the gems don't have a specified gender) are a cute and bright individual, trying their best to get the other gems and the sensei to like them. As the story progresses, they have several traumatic experiences, which gradually change their personality and worsen their mental state. One such example is after the Winter arc after which Phos is no longer a cute character who can't manage to fight, but much more serious and one of the main fighters. Throughout the manga, they try to uncover the secrets of the Lunarians, and even the secrets of their own sensei. Apart from mental development, Phos has a ton of physical development, for example: getting different legs, changing height, getting arms of gold alloy, and at one point even getting a different head.
  The side characters also have their own character arcs and problems they have to deal with. Some examples are:
  Diamond, who throughout the series wants to do things on their own and separate from their partner, Bort.
  Cinnabar (picture below on the right), who due to a venom which emanates from their body, is always away from the other gems and wants to feel somehow more involved with them.

  

  Art style

  The art style of HnK is very unique but simple. As said before, each of the characters has their own designs that make them different, and their hair is the color of the real life gem. The art isn't particularly fascinating all the time, and certain things like the shading and lighting don't really stand out. Despite this, the manga still manages to have amazing panels in the later chapters that stand out. One example is below, but be wary of massive spoilers.
  
  The paneling is very easy to follow and there are never too many things on the page that you don't know what you're looking at.

  Writing

  A lot has already been mentioned about the amazingly written characters and story so I'll just say some smaller things.
  The manga has great dialogue ranging from funny and comedic moments to dramatic and philosophical moments.
  Some notable quotes:
  “Power always comes with a measure of loneliness”
  “Being clever sometimes makes it impossible to take action.”
  “To come to acceptance with things and feelings is rare and to accept them completely is a miracle. It's impossible to make that moment come faster by yourself. Someday it comes unexpectedly. In order to not become warped or heartless, let it go in a natural way. Let yourself feel sad when you are, and let yourself forget when you do.”

  The Verdict

  In my opinion, Land of the Lustrous is a must read manga if you enjoy things that focus on the story and characters, with great action moments and well written dialogue. If you are a fan of manga such as Attack on Titan and you want sometimes infinitely better, then check HnK out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

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• 

  SXNGXNG

  92/100
  HnK is an excellent portrayal of human emotion

  My rating: 9.2/10

  At first, I was hesitant about reading Houseki no Kuni because I was unsure about the story and its quality. Yet, after reading this work, I can confidently say that this manga is a masterpiece, and I believe that HnK is a manga worthwhile for anyone who has ever felt lost or hesitant about their place in the world. HnK captures a familiar struggle in a sublime way, and I believe that the story is a masterpiece at understanding what makes people feel the way that they do.

  HnK is a manga with excellent growth on behalf of its protagonist, and this manga is at its best when it examines human struggles. Watching the characters struggle to find a sense of self-worth and purpose eloquently highlights a critical part of being human-- the desire to belong somewhere. That desire is heavily built upon in the manga, and I would recommend this story for anyone who appreciates characters that parallel human qualities.

  Phos's journey is one that anyone can relate to because it represents the hardships of life and the pain of losing a part of yourself. Constantly breaking apart and rebuilding captures the essence of human emotion, and the dialogue between the characters emphasizes the struggle of trying to convey the soul in a world without worthwhile connection.

  Phos's journey to attain human connection and purpose is a heartfelt story that can resonate with anyone who has ever felt lost or unable to explain themselves. Even in a story with rock characters, Haruko Ichikawa perfectly captures the human emotion surrounding those character's pain, and HnK is a story built on finding humanity in the most desperate circumstances. I feel like it would have been easy to make the characters seem alien or out-of-touch, yet the lack of human characters in this manga somehow makes the story feel more lifelike; in fact, the story is bolstered by the idea of finding humanity in creatures that struggle to convey their feelings.

  I also applaud the way that guilt is used in the story, and again, broken pieces and characters symbolize the guilt of not being able to protect others or assist friends, a struggle that Phos deals with in their quest to become something valuable. The idea of gems finding real worth is one that is thought-provoking, and the character's shiny, polished exterior contrasts their uncertain, blemished in a way that relates to how humans wear a "mask" in their daily lives.

  All in all, HnK is a manga that should be appreciated for its characters, and I would recommend this manga for anyone who wants to experience a story of growth and vulnerability. Human emotion is the center of this story, and HnK is a story that masterfully portrays that emotion in a sophisticated way.

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• 

  BluBilly

  100/100
  The journey of the broken Bodhisvata

  __Note; This review contains spoiler up until the Winter Arc! (This means anime viewers can read this review without being spoiled for the upcoming story arcs.)__ Houseki No Kuni is a manga written by Haruko Ichikawa which began serialization in 2012 and is still ongoing at the time of this review. The manga is a brilliant work of art which has really great world-building which takes inspiration from Buddhism, a very fast-paced and kickass story that keeps you on the edge for the next chapters, and finally; characters that implement the ideas of change, impermanance and attachment to a degree where it feels surreal. Already going to say this; Definetly an exceptional manga. ___ __Story;__ ###_Change. Permanence. Attachment._ ####_These are the core things that makes us human suffer._ It all begins with Phosphophyllite wanting to join their gem friends in their battle against the Lunarians, which serve as the antagonist of the series. In the world of HnK, every gem has their own role in the society based on their hardness and brittleness. Gems with lower hardness are percieved as "useless" and "non-powerful". Phosphophyllite, a young gem that has a hardness of 3.5 which makes them very brittle and the addition of knowing the Lunarians love the colour of Phos' constitution;__ It only makes sense for the Sensei to not allow Phosphophyllite to fight.__ After being scolded by their Sensei, you can clearly see that they have lowered self-esteem in how weak they are. They cannot "become" stronger but they still want to __prove themself that they are important__, and so they venture out for purpose like all the other gems do. During the story's journey, there are many traumatic experiences Phos goes through; From being saved by Cinnabar 2 times, experiencing death by getting eaten up by a snail, to losing an ally because of their own incompetence. The key-point here is that its not one specific change that affects Phos; its many. Phos is constantly changing and being broken apart which makes the decision to use gems as the idea for these characters very smart; You can literally see them changing, one body part to the next. From losing different body parts and memories, to losing their allies, be it to Lunarians or their own minds and lastly, negative emotions starting to build-up within you; its the little things that shape a human to be what they become today. If you have become stronger and more smart, all while you lose your memories of the past, are you really the same person? The story is also about purpose in life. Without death, there is no purpose in life and it becomes even more tough for gems to handle that fact they only have one purpose which they are given by their Sensei, which is one aspect of permanence the series shows is a bad thing in its own story. Another thing to note is that every time they feel attached to a goal, it only brings them suffering which can be seen through pretty much all the characters. Consistency is in all the characters and i find it very enjoyable. After the Winter arc, it would seem very predictable which direction the author would go for but taking the "existential" route seemed like the way to go, which im fine with, all things considering they teased it. The story becomes much more intense and cruel to the gems, and by the time you think you have one question answered, 3 more questions pop up and you keep reading. The comedy is good at times too, which helps balance it out so the story isn't overall very edgy all the time. I also love how Buddhism is implemented into the story from the idea of Seven Treasures in Tibetian Buddhism being implemented into Phos, the Western Paradise which is the The Land itself, Phos' sprouting out from their cage like a lotus flower during Winter Arc to Sensei's look is a depiction of the the Founder for the Jodo-shu sect in the Pure Land Buddhism. It does it all without sounding preachy and getting in the way of the story, and teaches us a few things in the meantime. ___ __Characters;__ The protagonist; Phosphophyllite. The gem that started the whole series. The author manages to create a living being in the idea of "The Ship of Theseus", which i found super interesting. Their inner paradox is very interesting to see, where whenever they gain a new body part, they lose a bit of themselfs. Both in memory, and in body parts which begs the question if they can even be considered the same being from the first chapter? Usually when you are presented with a problem, you generally try to think of a way to change your way of thinking, or you change yourself. This is the solution Phosphophyllite comes to after speaking to Diamond, and after that, Phos is constantly doing something new in order to achieve results. The problem however is that they constantly end up in danger, but as long as it achieves something, its a small price to pay which shows how change can be harmful, especially since they keep forgetting stuff all the time. The pain of simply existing because you have no purpose is heavily taken from one of the core principles of the marks of existence in Buddhism, specifically dukkha. The other 2, annica (concept of impermanence; that everything will change) and anattā (the concept of non-self, the fact that Phos keeps changing) keeps eating at Phos aswell, which makes it more apparent what happens to them in the later arcs. There is only one path for Phos; Whether the truth they seek for is the one that saves them with englightment, or destroys them with despair. Phos is definetly the most interesting character in the entire series, and without them, the series wouldn't work. Cinnabar; The weakest gem after Phos. A very intelligent gem which has very good combat ability even though they have hardness 2. Cinnabar is in the same situation as Phos; being seen as weak and off to the side to watch out for Lunarians at night, even though they don't appear. Their wish is to be taken away from Earth to the Moon to "fulfil" something, and their poisioning makes it unable to live with the other gems. They are ashamed of themselfs and hates opening up to the other gems, but overtime they show affection towards others. One of the main characters to change Phos' perspective. Diamond; One of the higher ranking gems with hardness 10, although their toughness is 2nd rate and can be broken easily. They often show a weak side of theirs that they want to be separated from their partner that is Bort, due to having an inferiority complex. Although they don't say it out loud to other characters, their inner monologue ask themselfs about what would happen if "Bort was gone". A very dark gem which is quite ironic, considering they are the brightest of them all, definetly a very good choice from the author! Alexandrite Expert on Lunarians. Hardness 8.5 Lost someone very close to themselfs and obsesses with the Lunarians to keep her rage floating. Whenever they see a Lunarian, they turn to red. Interestingly, they seem to become more jaded over the course of the series. ____ __Art;__ Albeit the weakest department of the entire manga and one i can criticize the most, i won't deny that this manga has some beautiful panels. Ichikawa manages to fully capture the tone of the series, by making use of the black colour which can capture dread very beautifully. They also how to make this manga feel very gruesome, even if there is no actual blood in this, which makes the manga art even more impressive. Here are some of my favorite panels! Here is the last panel i will show but sadly, its spoiler if you haven't read past chapter 30; ___ __Thoughts;__ This manga is a brilliant art of work which genuinly captures the faults of us humans and implements the ideas of losing people near you being self-destructive. Constantly working yourself up to be a better human but failing miserably hurts, and this manga captures it very well. Ironically, a story about rocks, the most inaminate thing in the world, act more humane then actual human characters in other mangas so well, makes this story worth the read. If you have read Berserk/Vinland Saga and want something in that regard, i would highly pick up this manga since the three of them tackle the same struggle humanity faces. I would also reccomend this manga to all the people who love Eren from Attack on Titan (or used to lmao). Definetly a new favorite manga of mine. Excellent and beautiful in its own right. Here is a favorite quote of mine; >___To come to acceptance with things and feelings is rare and to accept them completely is a miracle. It's impossible to make that moment come faster by yourself. Someday it comes unexpectedly. In order to not become warped or heartless, let it go in a natural way. Let yourself feel sad when you are, and let yourself forget when you do___
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