Login to add items to your list, keep track of your progress, and rate series!
Description
Compilation of short stories:
• Hotel: Since 2079 (2006) It is the year 2272 A.D.
A computer continues to live on in order to complete a mission in a world where all life, including Mankind, has gone extinct. This is a record of those 27 million years of its heroic struggle.
• Present (2006) Hanako suffers from a terrible disease. After awakening from a deep slumber, Hanako has only three days to live.
• Subete wa Maguro no Tame datta (It Was All for the Tuna) (2008) Tuna have become extinct and Jun Shiozaki will do everything possible and imaginable to bring them back.
• Stephanos Set in modern-day Japan, our main character Noriko finds out that she is pregnant with her lover Matsumura’s baby. He, however, is an important doctor with a family and everything already. Noriko wants to have the baby, but Matsumura says that it’s actually a rapidly growing cancer and that they have to remove it immediately. It might also be neither of these things…
• Diadem A "Diadem" is a word for 'crown' that has its root in Greek. "Stephanos", which appeared in "Mandala" 01, was also a 'crown'. It seems that we could consider this the second work in a continuing series of shorts that should perhaps be called a "Crown series".
The first 2 stories contains enough emotion within them for the reader to feel it. I felt sad for the robot in story one, but I actually cried for the 2nd story. The 3rd story is quite funny... And... the 4th and 5th story is just somewhat weird for me :l....
He was inspired. There were some foreseeable things but the whole is touching to an incredible point. The One-Shots which were the craziest still had a good feeling to them. And while, depicting absolutely hilarious scenes, Boichi created an environment and story which lead to these scenes to become serious in some kind. Like, you know it's all stupid but you can't help but understand how the character feels. An absolute must-read. I was enchanted.
I didn't like Sun-Ken Rock all that much. It's remarkable that the same mangaka is capable of such deep, thoughtful, melancholic stories as Present and Hotel (I haven't read the other stories in this collection). Hotel is an epic sci-fi story full of character. And Present is a romance with a great story twist at the end. I highly recommend both. And at 40 pages each, they are well worth anyone's time. EDIT: Having read the rest of this volume, I can recommend "It Was All For The Tuna". It's ludcriously impossible, but beneath the comedy there's some truth about the nature of human progress, too . However, the other two stories, "Stephanos" and "Diadem" are throw-away stories - they make no sense (to me) at all. That's why I recommend reading this manga for the first three oneshots alone (they get a 10), and then stopping - because at this point, the rest will only disappoint you. That's why my rating stays a 10 - just don't read the bad stories. Also, I'm quite sure Hotel and Present take place in the same world, albeit at different points in time.
louis' emotional struggle for survival, existence and recognition was a very realistic journey to attain humanity. his continuous need to "repair" himself and "become smarter" was very metaphoric, because we, humans, spend so much time chasing perfection,security and other far-fetched ideals but in the end we discover that we never gain anything out of doing this; infact, louis' increase in intelligence made him more aware of his emotions. this is a story about our eternal struggle to be remembered, the eternal struggle of finding your place in society. the eternal struggle against loneliness and finding our "purpose" in life.
I think that a lot of people are getting the focus of this manga completely wrong. It isn't about global warming or humanity dooming itself. That's just the background for the story. It's about Louis and his achievement. It's about the miracle of his survival. It's about the Hotel and what it represents: the fufillment of a 27 million year old promise
ok my bad i was reading too quickly through the manga and thought that the manga had some incest between father and daughter... although the dude is old enough to be her father. Hotel has themes on global warming, overpopulation, etc. Although you can try and deny it survival of humanity in a 1000 years doesn't exactly look too good. Global warming, over population, terrorists with nukes....the list goes on
Although not exactly mesmerizing, the art is Expressive enough to convey certain feelings. A plot that reminds me of countless other apocalypse stories; Not a lot of manga illustrates one... or i just dont remember them on the top of my head. I can definitely recall some anime having something like this though... anyway, Hotel has an obvious message implied - most likely telling us to be more environmentally caring. The touch of tradegy embedded with loneliness and a determination to survive is memorable. overall, i like it.
i really didn't get the impression that the mangaka was trying to force global warming down my throat. i felt that it was more of a story about the struggle for life, remembrance and the long loneliness of a seemingly endless wait for change. Louis exhibited a touch of humanity himself which, though subtly expressed, made his character rather endearing.
rather than being preachy i think the mangaka just needed any excuse to wipe out the planet.
Some of you people are too serious. Propaganda my ass. Global warming wasn't the main message in the story. yblees summed it up. Imo, for a one shot, it drew emotion, it provoked thought, it delivered. Nuff said.
Reading the earlier comments about the global warming message - I get the feeling those readers may have completely missed the story of the "person" who against all odds, over an unimaginable period of time, stayed unwaveringly true to the memory of it's most important people in "his" life. I rarely give 10 ratings, but this definitely deserves it.
(+133)
(-26)
. However, the other two stories, "Stephanos" and "Diadem" are throw-away stories - they make no sense (to me) at all.
