X-Day rocks! I started to read vol. 1 today at Barnes & Nobles and liked it so much I bought it on the spot. Why? Because I loved the storyline. I mean really, how many mangas are about four people randomly meeting in a chatroom and end up deciding to blow up their school?
Oh sure, it's fantastical. But it's also fun. It definitely has dark themes, having been partly written in memory of the Columbine tragedy. And due to its plotline, it's been called 'gripping' and 'controversial' by the critics. The manga is about how the little things that go wrong everyday start to build and build until you feel you can't go on. Until the world becomes so horrible in your eyes that you're ready to kill yourself. About how you can hate school so much your ready to explode.
None of these kids know each other's true idenities outside of 'Ursa Minor', their chatroom, and have no plans to meet each other. That changes when the girl that pulled them all together (Polaris) leaves one last message and attempts to kill herself. The main character, '11' rushes to her aid while frantically messaging the other members of the group. When she gets there, Polaris explains why she wants to kill herself. 11 realizes she hates life for the exact same reasons and decides to kill herself as well. A excerpt of what follows:
How can little things keep hurting you so much? I know that feeling too...
"Then I'm going to do it too!!!"
"11!?"
"11!?"
"I'm going to jump too!! I won't live anymore either!!!"
"Wait! 11?!"
"I can't take it anymore either! I can't take it..."
(the other two members burst onto the scene)
Even if they were laughing...(talking about the fun chats they had)
Nobody had forgotten. The reason we all gathered...at Ursa Minor...
"Jangalian...Mr. Money..."
...wasn't to kill ourselves. It was to destroy this world.
"Wait! 11?!"
"I can't take it anymore either! I can't take it..."
(the other two members burst onto the scene)
Even if they were laughing...(talking about the fun chats they had)
Nobody had forgotten. The reason we all gathered...at Ursa Minor...
"Jangalian...Mr. Money..."
...wasn't to kill ourselves. It was to destroy this world.
"Let's make the plan happen."
It might have been me who said it. It might have been someone else.
"Every dayis filled with stuff I can't take, but..."
...at that moment, I think everyone was thinking the same thing.
"Until that day...X-day...let's keep going."
It might have been me who said it. It might have been someone else.
"Every dayis filled with stuff I can't take, but..."
...at that moment, I think everyone was thinking the same thing.
"Until that day...X-day...let's keep going."
Ack! Until just now, I never realize how confusing typing in manga dialouge could be. In anycase, it's a good read. Mostly because I think people can actually relate to the character's feelings. It's not that they all have terribly difficult lives. It's just that they hate the little things that ruin a good day. And all these little horrors seem to stem from the school.
Don't get me wrong. These kids aren't violent or murderous. They plan on blowing up the school itself, not the people in it. They want to pull the whole thing off without hurting anyone. And they're an unusual group. An elabroate goth-punk who turns shy and introverted when she puts on her uniform, a highschool biology teacher stalked by a rich bimbo, a fun-loving underclassman whose mother beats him, and a girl who wears a mask of happiness to conceal her broken heart and lost dreams.
The art itself reminds me of 'Peach Girl', a more popular manga, but there are differences. The shading is different from 'Peach Girl' in that this manga is mostly lineart with as little shading as possible. It gives the art an open, washed out look that is strangely fitting with the vacant feelings of the characters. It also lends extra impact when there are large areas of shading or black backgrounds for text. The faces of the male characters aren't quite as girly-looking, and the lips aren't as prominant. In fact, this manga I suppose would more closely mirror I.N.V.U., which is another manga that has only recently appeared in mainstream bookstores. The story line of 'X-day' is much more gritty though, and I like the issues it deals with: depression, loss, suicide, child abuse, hate, and the required emotional issue of every shojo: heartbreak.
So X-day is a shojo, then? Yes. It has all the themes normally associated with a girls manga, but I like that the romance isn't the most prominant feature. Yes, 11 is getting over her ex-boyfriend, but that's more because of the girl she lost him to: a sweet girl who also took her prized spot on the track team after 11 had an injury. The elements of romance in this book all stem from deeper problems and longings within the characters.
Don't get me wrong. These kids aren't violent or murderous. They plan on blowing up the school itself, not the people in it. They want to pull the whole thing off without hurting anyone. And they're an unusual group. An elabroate goth-punk who turns shy and introverted when she puts on her uniform, a highschool biology teacher stalked by a rich bimbo, a fun-loving underclassman whose mother beats him, and a girl who wears a mask of happiness to conceal her broken heart and lost dreams.
The art itself reminds me of 'Peach Girl', a more popular manga, but there are differences. The shading is different from 'Peach Girl' in that this manga is mostly lineart with as little shading as possible. It gives the art an open, washed out look that is strangely fitting with the vacant feelings of the characters. It also lends extra impact when there are large areas of shading or black backgrounds for text. The faces of the male characters aren't quite as girly-looking, and the lips aren't as prominant. In fact, this manga I suppose would more closely mirror I.N.V.U., which is another manga that has only recently appeared in mainstream bookstores. The story line of 'X-day' is much more gritty though, and I like the issues it deals with: depression, loss, suicide, child abuse, hate, and the required emotional issue of every shojo: heartbreak.
So X-day is a shojo, then? Yes. It has all the themes normally associated with a girls manga, but I like that the romance isn't the most prominant feature. Yes, 11 is getting over her ex-boyfriend, but that's more because of the girl she lost him to: a sweet girl who also took her prized spot on the track team after 11 had an injury. The elements of romance in this book all stem from deeper problems and longings within the characters.
The manga has a slow start to it's beginning, though, and I was worried that volume two would concentrate more on romance than the emotional issues plaguing the charaters. And after reading the second volume, I've found that I was partially correct in my guess.
Volume Two does deal with romance a great deal more than the first book, but the exploration of the characters' feelings and motives for X-day is not left untouched. Pasts are explored and new relationships between the X-day conspirators blossom. There are several events in the mange that took me completely by surprise, the opening scene of the second volume being one of them. The characters' personalities are kept consistent, though, something that many mangas lack.
I was surprised to find that the second volume of X-day was also the last. Although it kept with the feel of the over-all manga, it was too vague for my tastes. Whether or not there was a happy or sad ending, I'm not telling, but I assure you that X-day will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end.
Volume Two does deal with romance a great deal more than the first book, but the exploration of the characters' feelings and motives for X-day is not left untouched. Pasts are explored and new relationships between the X-day conspirators blossom. There are several events in the mange that took me completely by surprise, the opening scene of the second volume being one of them. The characters' personalities are kept consistent, though, something that many mangas lack.
I was surprised to find that the second volume of X-day was also the last. Although it kept with the feel of the over-all manga, it was too vague for my tastes. Whether or not there was a happy or sad ending, I'm not telling, but I assure you that X-day will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end.
