More or less. This is a fantastic story. It takes a bit to get used to the art (and I can't seem to get used to how the mangaka sort of does this strange 'covered by clothes' sex scenes thing); in fact, I never quite got used to it. It's detailed, but sort of abstract.

I agree with AeonisPi that the ending really makes the story; it ties all these strange, varied foreshadowing into a little bundle of Amazing Plot Twist... two, actually. The Music of Marie reads like a child's story book - one with religion, death, obsession, sci-fi, war, philosophy and a very sad, sweet sort of love story. It does strange things to your head. Even after reading, I still don't know what to think.

I found this manga really beautiful in both story and artwork. It's moves at a slow place, gradually filling in details about the worlds workings and its characters. The richly detailed world and its characters interactions are further supported by the amazingly detailed artwork. I felt this series was well thought out. It's an interesting presentation of a post-apocalyptic Utopian society riddle with tons of gears and machinery. However, this is one of those stories that comes altogether in the very last moments. It drops some hints for you, some you might not even pick up. In the end, it ties itself up rather tidily.



Everyone should read through this once, if not for the story, then for the art, even if just for some of the philosophies present.

I knew it from the 1st chapter that this will be a great manga. The story is strange,mysterious and so unpredictable that makes it so enjoyable to read . A must read to any who wants to read manga.


... Last updated on July 18th, 2010, 4:19pm

This series is a frustratingly slow-paced series, a combination of strange futuristic spirituality and science fiction. At the same time, it's so short that you run through it quickly. Most of the series you spend getting to know more about the culture and its background, and then toward the end you finally start getting to the heart of Kai's connection to Marie and Pipi's connection to Kai. The series has strange plot twists involving these three.

The main character is actually Pipi and not Kai, which you'll understand very clearly at the end.

There are a few truly odd scenes:


The ending was pretty surprising, but I was satisfied by it. And a little depressed. And amazed. And confused. All in all, it's pretty good, but pretty weird. If you want something happy, upbeat, and hopeful, I wouldn't look here. It's not depressing, but it's not... uplifting, either.

The world is definitely interesting, but I think the real draw here is Marie. What is Kai's ultimate purpose? The comparison to Miyazaki below is apt, though I'm reminded of all fantasies involving automatons, industrial age technology, and post-apocalyptic, utopian societies. The world itself tends to be more creative than logical, so it may be more appealing to fantasy enthusiasts than sci-fi fans.

The plot grows increasingly more intriguing after Chapter 5, but I’ll refrain from commenting further until I’ve finished the second volume.

Complex, engrossing, and brilliantly written. The characters have strong depth and their interactions as realistic. The mysterious atmosphere is concocted perfectly, and Kai's slow-but-sure progression into obsession- and his struggle against doing so- makes him one of the best written characters I've seen in a long time. I can only hope that we see more scanlations in the future.

It's too much good. The art is perfect and the story isn't cliché. I don0t will talk much about this manga because the coment below have already say it. ;)

The artwork of this series is absolutely gorgeous and extremely detailed. The designs feel a little like Miyazaki's Nausicaa manga, but the line-art is cleaner, without the headache-inducing complexity Miyazaki sometimes has. The world is just as rich and detailed as the artwork; the setting is fascinating in itself without the storyline. However, the story itself is probably the weakest thing at this point. It's moving very slowly. Five chapters in, it still feels like one is only getting a lot of background information amidst heavy foreshadowing. Nothing has actually happened since the story began, per se, even if we're seeing plenty that happened in the past. Every chapter ends feeling as if the next will move forward, but we come back to more revelations about the past, or more character development. It's not as much of a detractor as it may seem, however. It is interesting enough to learn more about the world's customs and the characters' motivations, and to see more lovely illustrations of the strange things in the story. But people who prefer foreshadowing (which began with the first chapter) to be explained fairly quickly may feel somewhat frustrated.