Stumbled across this, was intrigued.
Creative- a very dark and very serious exploration of the complex backgrounds/histories of the countries, particularly France of which I found most interesting (though the explicit focus is on Spain and England.)
"I feel a sense of defeat which I can't pretend isn't justified."
Render a country into a human-- render centuries of social and political dissent into the confined shape of a human being. People forget, countries don't.
These countries can't be friends and definitely can't be lovers. There's always an element of powerplay, of bitterness and regret (...and nostalgia).
Thought-provoking and inspiring, but unfortunately muddled at times. Perhaps it's the fragmentation and multiple flashbacks, but i am not quite 'getting it'. Certain scenes feel awkward and confusing.
... You do require a tentative grasp of history to read and decipher this.
Nonetheless, I recommend anyone looking for some dark and morally complex stories to check this out. Warning: there are 3 volumes, which provides the kind of ending you would expect from a manga expressing the irreparable rift between love, emotion and socio-political agendas.