Land of the Lustrous

Yogi8000 Sep 4, 2021

8

I'm in utter disbelief after catching up on the 95 chapters available, if you want to know what it's like to be an AOT fan then read this manga. Land of the lustrous had that same AOT Eren and Tokyo ghoul kaneki type storyline and will leave you in shock. It's one of those stories where you know abosolutley zero about its world and you can't assume anything since it's not based on a current time period or even involve humans. Although I can't a hundred percent compare this to attack on titan, I can't help but feel both mc's dealt with the same issues leaving you with so much to think about at the end (one of those look how far we've come, was it worth it kind of moments). After each chapter I had to discuss with myself outloud and process what just happened, the eeriness and unpredictability of this world and it's foes constantly loomed a sense of uneasiness over the reader. Moving on to the characters of the story I couldn't help but to emphasize with them, each battling personal issues on top of the constant threat of being shattered to pieces and taken to the moon. The story follows 28 humanoid gems and their sensei as they fight to defend themselves from "moon people" who appear during the day, with one goal, to shatter the gems and use them as jewelry and ornaments on the moon. Our mc is the underdog, clumsy/fragile and filled to the brim of quirks, but what's interesting is how they develop throughout the story, I'd have to say they are the one character I'd stick by to the end. Being not only the weakest in terms of hardness, but also the youngest our mc has to find their place within the small society they've built. Ultimately if you read this be prepared to go on an emotional rollercoaster of not only just sad and happy, but tense and suspenseful. LOTL deals heavy with mental health, although it's not dwelled upon in full many of the characters go through mental breakdowns, and honestly you might too after reading this. When I tell you this is a story it's a STORY with levels and layers and I truly commend the author (I just hope that there's more to it than this, it's just to sad TT)

helmpotter Aug 23, 2020

8.5

Reading Houseki no Kuni after watching the anime made me realize how far more in depth the story is despite its rather fast paced plot in the manga. Nevertheless, the fact that Phos had obviously gone through several drastic development that anyone seeing their past and present selves would not recognize that they are one and the same--- and that's what I personally love about it. The manga's art is quite inconsistent, but the mangaka, Haruko Ichikawa never fails to surprise me for certain panels that highlight the manga's essence of being about sentient gem life forms, thus the panels with seeing them broken into mere shards, their interactions with fellow gems, and their whole beings being genderless is refreshing for me. The manga chapters are rather short, only around 17 pages or even below, and being released monthly is just making me anxious to want to see more. Nonetheless, I still love the series and its fast paced, exciting, blunt, and d e p r e s s i n g character developments. I do hope this manga gets a second season for its anime adaptation as well, and I would personally want to help the mangaka by purchasing all the volumes.

mipheko Jun 1, 2023

9.5

I genuinely wish I never read this manga. It left me feeling so... devastated. Anyway read it!! NOW!! It got very, very confusing for me at times; in terms of story and art. I might just be a little slow but everything got pretty complicated after around chapter 53. I understood it, but only after i would reread a page multiple times.  The art isn't bad, but it could be better! I actually really liked it, my only 'complaint' is that it was just a little.. flimsy? I guess?? (You'll understand what I mean if you've read it.) All in all, great manga and absolutely underrated. Its great at making people depressed.