After
watching the anime OVA version of Lament of the Lamb a good while ago, I looked
a little into it and quickly found out it was actually an adaption of the
manga. Since I loved the 1h45 show for its dark, gritty and gloomy way of
storytelling, the manga was quickly marked as Want to Read. However, due to all
sorts of things, I kept putting it off until now. How I regret not reading this
sooner…
“Mingled among the
Sheepthere is a Wolf—
And by his own lonely
fangs he is rent.”
Story
The story follows
Kazuna Takeshiro, a high-school student who finds out about a strange disease
that runs through his family. Those infected get strong cravings for blood and
suffer from attacks. As he finds out more about this strange illness, he soon finds
himself in a situation he cannot turn back from.
The story
manages to get across the feeling of guilt from lying to those close to you to
keep them from harm, distancing yourself from loved ones to not drag them with
you, and a scale of other emotions without feeling unnatural or forced at any
given time. The story is free from any over-the-top drama, but is heart-wrenching
all the same. While the manga is made by its character development, the story
isn’t put on a backseat and keeps you hooked with plenty of cliffhangers and
plot twists while keeping the pace consistent and calm.
Art
This is a
difficult one. As with all great, gripping stories out there, it wouldn’t be
what it is if the art style was any different. Giving it an unbiased look
however, the art in Lament of the Lamb is far from spectacular. The backgrounds
are simplistic and often non-existent. Character designs are fitting and accommodate
the personalities well, but are aside from some added accents fairly
simplistic. Some scenes, especially those involving heavy emotions like despair,
look a bit like sketches, which, along with the simplistic, “colorless” look this
manga has, adds to the dark and gritty feeling. Long story short: Yes, the way
it is drawn adds a lot to the atmosphere, but that doesn’t change the fact that
the art is pretty bland. I wouldn’t
want it any other way, but I can’t expect everyone to feel that way.
Characters
This is
what the manga is all about, character development. They completely succeeded
in making all the main characters and even the side-cast feel natural and
believable. The entire seven volumes are spend fleshing out the pasts of the
characters, why they’ve become what they are now and why they act the way they
do. Kazuna was the perfect person for the lead role. He’s pretty much a regular
high-school student (although they did a great job giving everyone a natural,
yet completely unique personality, so “regular” might be a little misleading)
having to take on incredible burdens, giving you a relatable look into a
situation no one would ever want to be in. Chizuna on the other hand gives the
impression of being someone very difficult to grasp at first, but as the story
goes on and more is found out about her, it only seems only natural why she’s
become the person she is.
Overall
Lament of
the Lamb is a dark atmospheric, and yet relatable and not overly-dramatic
character-driven story. Yes, it left an impression on me. I’ve only read a
relatively small amount of manga so far, but if I were to give it a spot on my
anime toplist, it would be placed in the top 10 (although keep in mind that
atmosphere is a huge factor in my personal ratings). Unlike in so many other
drama’s, the thoughts “why the hell are / aren’t you doing this or that” don’t
surface here, since pretty much all the actions the characters take seem
completely understandable and logical, even if it means digging their own
graves. It’s a gripping story from start to finish. The only reason not to pick
up this title right now is if you greatly prefer stories with action or ecchi
over character-driven ones. For fans of dark character-driven stories like me
however, this one is a feast.