nathandouglasdavis

It opens up several storylines of a couple different characters--Rock the novice reporter, Notarlin and feir daughter Cocoa, Redonov and feir son Ivan, Poponya, Mustachio and feir son Kenichi, Lamp the tramp--and has them split up and meet up again by happenstance along their various adventures. Most of the adventures have very little to do with the Fumoon, the creatures superior to humanity, and instead just feel like random satirical jabs at society--at consumerism, warmongery, class disparity, and factory/prison conditions among other things. They also include discussions on nuclear disarmament and feminism. The two main atomic powers and warring states are the Uran Federation (i.e. the Soviet Union) and the Nation of Star (i.e. the United States). It's not subtle about its messaging either--wrapping the story up with the sentiment that humans need to stop warring amongst themselves. The origins of the Fumoon change partway through (or, I guess, it's revealed what their actual origins are) and the story shifts from vague fears of potential problems to a clear-cut crisis.

The art is very simplistic. Backgrounds and character designs are cut back in order to minimize the number of lines needed to draw them. We get puffs of smoke and action lines to indicate movement, pain-stars and sweat to add more dynamism to the panels. Some panels lack perspective. Several of the characters look overly similar. Even though I know there are differences in their hairstyles and stuff, I still confused Ivan, Kenichi, and Rock for each other.