This one's a weird one. Because of its general popularity I got some volumes of the manga and I enjoyed it well enough. Then I heard the novel was better so I read the translations. The story wasn't bad per se, it was just really really underdeveloped. Some parts get developed too much and some don't.

This author has a real bad case of tell don't show. It reminded me of Ai no Kusabi, another novel where the author has Tell Don't Show syndrome. For half the volumes we're just told Riki's, the main character, personality and just told about his feats of awesomeness without experiencing it. This is similar.
I get that it's a kids book with mature post-apocalyptic Utopian themes, but I felt that the author could've gone deeper into the society and their actions. For most of the novels we're stuck in Shion's and Nezumi's POV. Which is normal, they are the protagonists. But they never go anywhere or do anything for half the story. We just get brief snippets of narration that everything is not awesome. People who live at the bottom lose all morals- except not really. People who live at the top are gluttonous and evil- except not really. Man is bad! Except not really man, just one or two obviously mentally unstable people who inexplicably have absolute authority. Nature is good! Except not really, nature is just nature and humans are part of nature. In the end Shion and Nezumi interrupt their "terrible and depressing" lovey dovey slum lives, to go save Safu- the girl who loves Shion, that's her character. The world is saved, people have their morals- that they never really lost- back and Shion and Nezumi run off into the sunset...not. Nezumi has better things to do, except not really.

At the end of the day everything felt rather juvenile. Except for the last few volumes where things pick up, it's very slow moving and unfocused. We're just supposed to read it and naturally come to the conclusion that man is bad and nature is always right, but not all men, just the ones in power. Shion and Nezumi's relationship is sweet and they're the reason to read this story.

They're not here to move the plot along, the plot is there to move them along. I think most people know about this already. This is the "non BL" where two boys who are not family and totally in love with each other kiss but it's "not romantic". No, no those disgusting sexual feelings are way too impure for this beautiful non romantic relationship, where at least one partner turns down a willing woman he cares about for this man he's obsessed with. Shion may be "naive" but he knew Safu wanted his babies and very subtly told her "Not Interested" and subtly told Nezumi "I'm Interested". That's the way I saw it and it's weird that people see it as more complex than it is.

... Last updated on August 17th, 2016, 10:13am

Rating of 6, it was somewhat entertaining, but in the end, poor characters, weak plot, and the cliched "man should not interfere with nature" theme make this novel just barely above mediocre.

I started watching the anime before reading the novel - and after 2 or 3 episodes I decided to read the novel first. And I'm really glad I did. The anime is fun, but it doesn't really cover what was important for me in this story - the plot itself (as TisiphoneStar wrote) is not overly complex, it's used mostly as a mean to show the character's thoughts and sights on life, and how they are changing.
I like the way characters are designed - all of them are intelligent, independent and strong, but for every one of them it means something else. Also the contrast between Shion and Nezumi is portrayed in such a way that makes you think about what you actually believe in. It made me reconsider my views on life - my way o thinking used to be a lot like the one of Nezumi's (in the firts part of the book) but then it made me see some flaws in this kind of thinking.
So if you define a good book by the way it makes you think, and how it impacts on you then I'd recommend it.
And the anime is not bad at all - but I'd save it for after you've read the book. It's too short for the characters to develop realistically.

Kodansha could pay the translation to 9ave, and save the time to translate it. I agree with the other posts, and would like to point out that 9ave is doing a job so well done that there is NOT anything to lose to professional translators. Thanks for the greatest quality job, we can experience the novel in it's fullest.
It's a nice reading for those who have seen the anime, or read the manga, because it really gives you a better view of the characters, places, situations, etc.
For those, who didn't read or watched No. 6 before, it's the best way to get in contact with this great story.
Have fun, and thanks for the translation 9ave. Whenever, even if, they decide to print it in English I intend to buy it, but probably reading this first translation will spoil us...

I agree with everything TisiphoneStar wrote. For anyone who is a fan of the manga, you should definitely check out the novel translation even if you don't usually read novel. The characters have so much depth in the novel. From what I have seen so far of the manga, the manga only showcases half of what readers can learn in the novel.

No. 6 is quite a special story. Unlike most novels about dystopian utopias, No. 6 is not gross or overly disturbing in nature (like 1986 or Brave New World) but rather describes a world rather like our own on the surface, which makes the story more personal and hit harder than most.

Sion is a wonderful protagonist because although he is naive in the ways of the world outside of No. 6 (the city) his narration clearly shows that he’s quite intelligent and has a duel nature, only he tends to do things based on his emotions, especially when it comes to those he loves. The other main character, Nezumi, is also quite deep, being mysterious but at the same time extremely truthful, harsh, and realistic. He is masculine but feminine, cruel but gentle. Their relationship is a twisted, heartbreaking sort of attraction and repulsion which is quite a rare species nowadays and is one of the best things about this novel.

The actual plot line is a bit of a fantasy and is not really as complex as I originally thought. Instead, the entire plot serves only to convey the same theme as the characters: rationalism vs. emotions, which is more important in society? And the author really makes it clear that its the ideas behind this story that drives it forward, not plot twists. If you’re looking for moving character development and a psychoanalysis about human society, this novel is it, but if you want a quick fix of adrenaline, look elsewhere.

... Last updated on November 7th, 2011, 11:45pm