A, A'

nathandouglasdavis Aug 30, 2021

4

There are technically three stories, though the latter two do end up having a connection between them. Each story is a romance with some odd, sci-fi circumstances that create a unique challenge for the couple. And as the synopsis mentions, each story involves a "unicorn" character (Adelade, Trill, and Tacto). Unicorns are a "species" of human that is emotionally stiff and socially awkward, and sometimes have odd speech patterns. A through line between the stories is somebody breaking through the unicorn's emotionless shell and discovering that there are emotions hidden deep within. The final story also touches upon LGBTQ subjects--in a way that you can tell is trying to be accepting, but also includes some unintentional microaggressions (most notably, the way that people are insisting that Tacto get a sex change or how same-sex relationships are categorized as "anything goes"). Some of the other sci-fi ideas touched upon include clones, mind uploading, genetic manipulations (including sex changes on a chromosomal level), and telekinesis. There is also space travel and efforts to make non-Earth surfaces habitable. The artwork has some decent individual images, but the overall effect is low quality. The faces and postures look stiff. The mouths aren't very expressive. The shading is sometimes splotchy and ugly, especially in the first story. The limbs, and legs especially, can feel too long and misshapen.

SensouJoshi Jul 13, 2019

7.5

Gender fluidity in a futuristic space society! I didn't think I'd like this because I'm usually not a fan of space-operas starring girly ukes but damn, it's actually really good. It tackles subjects like people who are transgendered or gender fluid and people being treated differently than others because of their appearance (possibly a reference to living as a racialized "Other"?). It also deals with topics such as the limitations of science's proposed solutions to complex problems like psychological trauma, and even touches upon topics like embryo sex-selection, suicide, and drug-addiction. And all this way back in 1985! If you're turned off by the old-fashioned art-style of Ms. Moto, I hear ya, but push past it and you'll find a really underrated gem of a story.