Vương Quốc Bảo Thạch - Tập 2

宝石の国 [Hōseki no Kuni] #2

by Haruko Ichikawa, Cát Tường (Translator)

Rất lâu về trước, hành tinh này từng có một sinh vật gọi tên là "con người:.
Ở một tương lai rất xa, những bảo thạch bất tử ngày ngày chiến đấu với Nguyệt nhân.
Trong lúc đó, nhân vật chính - Phosphophyllite dưới sự mời gọi của một sinh vật giống như con sò đã cùng nó xuống biển.
Chuyện gì đã xảy ra? Cùng đón xem trận chiến của những bảo thạch xinh đẹp và tài giỏi.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Seinen, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 23, 2014

About the author

Haruko Ichikawa (市川春子 in Japanese), born in 1980, is the author and artist of Land of the Lustrous (宝石の国, lit. "Country of Jewels"). She started her career in 2006 with the one-shot Mushi to Uta (虫と歌, lit. Insects and Songs). Between 2007 and 2011, she published seven one-shots in the manga magazine Afternoon, which were later compiled into two individual books named Ichikawa Haruko Sakuhinshuu (市川春子作品集, lit. Haruko Ichikawa Works Collection). She started writing Land of the Lustrous on October 25th, 2012, which currently has 10 volumes.

In 2010 she won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for works on Mushi to Uta. She has also contributed characters designs to the games Pokemon Sun & Moon and Pokemon Sword & Shield.

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooooh. I like where this is going! Really pleased with the second installment of this series, although I do still wish there was more distinction between the characters.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

موجودات جالبی بودن و به مدل خوبی سلف‌اینترست آدم ها در تقدم آرمان های اخلاقی قرار گرفتن رو‌نشون داد.

[SwedishGeekGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet again a great volume and I can´t wait to dive deeper into this intresting world.
Land of the Lustrous volume 2 by Haruko Ichikawa get a 9.9/10 stars.

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique world-building together with brilliant art make this manga series a feast to consume. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment.

[LALa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one had some really beautiful scenes depicted, and was a bit more emotional than the first. Still enjoying the journey.

[Carlex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tres estrellas y media.

Sigo leyendo en papel, la edición de ECC. Sobre mi pregunta del primer tomo, al parecer las medidas de la edición española son casi idénticas al manga original.

Como antes, lo mejor el dibujo cautivador, con estos personajes "andrógines" (al parecer el original hace hincapié en que los personajes sean agénero y la traducción lo refleja) y con alguna ocasional explosión de tinta (maravillosa) cuando se ofrece un plano más general de la acción.

[S C A R · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching parts of the anime, I'm beginning to be able to tell the characters apart. And I am feeling very very suspicious about Sensei. What's their deal, why are they so fucked up? Why are they the rat who makes all the rules? Questions over questions.

And those gems are still mega depressed.

[Sol · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a moment where Adamant explains to Phos that Cinnabar thought of the night patrol. He probably thought that would be the end of the matter, and Phos would accept it and move on. Any other gem would. But Phos is not any other gem. He may be a lazy inept idiot who causes far more trouble than he is worth, but he doesn't discard others. Cinnabar's predicament weighs on him, and he doesn't stop thinking about it when helping Ventricosus, even in a moment of great danger. This is the core of of why some people love Phos so much, why they'll exclaim "Phos did nothing wrong!" through a thousand self-inflicted disasters. One annoying idiot who will stick with you through thick and thin is worth a thousand strong beautiful intelligent people who will discard you the second you fall a step behind.



We do see other sides to the other gems. Euclase has a contemplative moment reflecting on the radically different nature of the gems from all other beings. Yellow Diamond melancholically recalls his failure to save his past companions from capture. In the previous volume Diamond seemed genuinely appreciative of Phos and worried about his "transformation". But it inspires no action in them. They are transient moments, whereas when Ventricosus explains death to Phos, he may actually be trying to understand and internalize it.



The conceptual space of the world opens with Ventricosus' legend of the spirit, bone and flesh descending from humanity, and Phos' mention of humans to Adamant causes an ominous reaction. The first seeds of doubt are sown. Phos' new legs are a disappointingly superficial change (which is funny, because they're almost always covered by the powder), but I suppose it serves as a low-pressure introduction to the concept for the reader.

[T.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yknow, I am kind of loving this odd series. In volume 2, some questions get answered (maybe) about these jewel people (and now there are underwater people too), their enemies the Lunarians, and what this world might be... and more questions get asked. The artwork continues to be a combination of enchanting/hard-to-follow, to the point where I will sometimes stare at panels thinking "What is supposed to be happening... oh wait... oh wow, how'd they do that??" There's little in the way of exposition, so you just kind of follow along, dreamlike, until the end. And then you want more. Volume 3, please!

I think this series has really captured my imagination. It's strikingly unique!

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume 1 slowly introduced new cast each chapter but it's here that we really get to dig into Phos, not necessarily new info on motivations or character but giving them the spotlight and watching how they react to actual plot. There's some cool world-building here as we establish some lore and a bigger mystery behind the world. We also get some neat action sequences, and more varied character designs. I'm fully on-board with this series now.

[sofs]

las gemitas son como mis niñas, las amo pero no puedo diferenciarlas

[Miguel Esteban · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanta el worlduilding de este universo. Se empiezan a ver los misterios y su protagonista empieza a recibir desarrollo. Fuaaaa el arco de los Admirabilis fue increíble

[Radwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

- phos is really the outcast here, huh?
- the snail's transformation was mesmerizing
- that twist was unexpected, but i'm liking this origin myth of how these 3 races came to be after humans vanished
- my heart breaks for phos, and I already feel like she's losing her innocence

[alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

pov the little mermaid

[Lidiandoconlavida · Rating 4 out of 5]

«—Bueno, en realidad, todavía no comprendo qué es la muerte. ¿Qué clase de cosa es la muerte? ¿Es como estar muy dormido o ser incapaz de moverse?

—Hmm, supongo que significa irse lejos.

—No podemos ver cosas muertas, pero están en algún lado, ¿verdad?

—No están en ningún lado, y no pueden ser halladas.

—¿No pueden oírnos incluso si los llamamos?

—Incluso si los llamas, ni siquiera saben quiénes son ya. Sin embargo, a cambio de convertirlo todo en polvo, la muerte también le da valor a la vida. No está mal».

Me han encantado las movidas filosóficas, la visita al océano y cómo explican lo que les sucedió a los humanos (incluso si suena muy random). Y el comportamiento de Phos... Es un mood constante de "tengo que hacer esto, pero mejor mañana" o "me gustaría ayudar, pero causo más problemas y no resuelvo ninguno". Es increíble que pueda simpatizar tanto con Phos considerando que es opuesto a mí en cuanto a personalidad, pero es que la gema es simplemente un rayo de sol y los rayos de sol son mi debilidad.

[Aitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ichikawa arregla prácticamente todos mis problemas con el primer volumen en este. El ritmo está mucho mejor medido, con el mundo ya establecido y los personajes ya conocidos; el dibujo ha tenido una ligera mejora que ahora permite reconocer a cada gema con apenas confusiones; la historia introduce la exposición de manera natural, y los temas aparecen con debates interesantes y una buena base para posteriores tomos.

Lo que más quiero destacar aquí es la ambientación. Ya en el primer tomo se mostraban retazos de este mundo tan ajeno, pero es ahora cuando siento su atmósfera de peligro, extrañeza y fascinación. Las páginas dobles comienzan a estar verdaderamente elaboradas y transmiten la belleza y la tragedia de una gema siendo destruida. El diseño de Ventricosus es espectacular, como todo lo relacionado con el océano.

Además de la ambientación, Ichikawa comienza a meter mano en los debates filosóficos de manera muy exitosa, expandiendo además el lore de su diégesis. El valor de la mortalidad, la naturaleza destructiva del ser humano, la memoria asociada al cuerpo... La autora por fin revela sus cartas y, visto lo visto, el futuro de la serie puede ser espectacular. Me pregunto cuánto tardará en tratar la paradoja del barco de Teseo, que esta historia lo pide a gritos.

En la evolución de Phos, la cosa avanza con detalles tan bonitos como no tirar el plato de Ventricosus, como contraste con su actitud descuidada anterior, o el momento en que por fin toma la decisión de seguir adelante con el plan de Cinnabar. La escena de la orilla, en particular, es preciosa, y lo que viene después, el admitir que está dispuesta a ayudar a Cinnabar a pesar de todo por lo que ha pasado, marca un espectacular avance en su personaje. Del mismo modo, acostumbrarse a sus nuevas piernas comporta un abandono de su actitud desganada: tan solo con resolución es capaz de mover su cuerpo. La trama, movida gracias a sus decisiones, la lleva orgánicamente a repasar su forma de ser y encontrar un propósito.

Como punto negativo destacaría la confusión lectora de algunas escenas, como los momentos de acción en el océano, y la aparición un poco arbitraria de Aculeatus, un nuevo personaje que no necesitaba para nada. Se lo perdonaré porque el resto del tomo ha sido impresionante.

[Rylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this series so much it’s unlike anything i’ve ever read with the unique concepts and world building. the art style is a huge draw for me it’s so beautifully stylized. i just wish they would at least color the characters hair so it’s easier to tell them apart

[Amir Kasra Arman]

خیلی کم پیش میاد یه مجموعه با شروع نچندان دلچسب اینقدر منو ذوق زده کنه
علاقه ی من در ابتدای کار ۵۰ درصد بود و بعد از این بخش به ۶۰ رسید و چون داستانو جلو جلو خوندم به قسمت اول نمره کامل دادم و از این بابت بهش اینو دادم چون تو یکی دو جلد بعدی این ۵۰ به ۱۰۰ درصد میرسه!

[Booksinvasion · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Grace Arango · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love this series!

I love that it has such range and it takes you places you don't expect! Need to read the next one asap!

[Logan Aery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continues the story and adds new details to the history of the world. Things start making sense here and the art remains engaging.

[GWX · Rating 3 out of 5]

"If you can't go back to who you were, your only other option is to get better."

3.5 closer to a 3

Lots of intriguing lore drops to be found here, the ensemble gets characterized a bit more, and the beginnings of moral complexity to come have been initiated. A promising follow up.

[Alejandria ¡!♡! · Rating 4 out of 5]

bueno, adiós momentos felices, porque desde aquí todo es un constante "me arrancaría el corazón y te lo daría phos"

[Nocturnalux]

Volume 2 picks up right where 1 ended and delivers on great action even as it widens the scope of the manga through the implications of just what it means to be Gem in this futurist, mostly empty world and who else peoples it. There is still plenty of comedy and genuinely funny moments, mostly courtesy of Phos's antics and the snippy retorts all around, but the tone is already shifting into heaviness, with enough pathos to more than foreshadow what is to come. It is not much of a spoiler, I don't think, that Land is on its way to becoming a moving and truly devastating piece of art in manga format. The buildup is cleverly accomplished, so that each devastating development is often both shocking and the logical conclusion of everything that happened to that point.

Having been dissolved by a giant snail that then returned to its normal size, Phos is now able to communicate with it, an ability that no one else has. A lot of the silliness comes from this critter, Ventricosus, bossing Phos around. But it also so through this interaction that the volume will engage in its most serious discussion up to this point, namely, on death and what it means. Ventri is an animal and Phos, noticing they are looking weak, asks about it. Ventri tells Phos that their stamina is failing because there is no proper nutrition, leading Phos to fully realize that animals require food as opposed to just light. As Phos puts it, 'I thought you were doing that "death" thing!"

What follows is one of the most interesting discussions on the topic I have seen in 2D. Phos readily admits they have no idea of what "death" even means, Ventri's explanation is lucid and without frills. Once you're dead, you're not anywhere and you can never be found either but 'in exchange for taking everything away, death gives life value'. Phos is not convinced, as is to be expected.

What is most revealing in the conversation is how immortality can stunt one. Granted, Phos is not the most mature Gem, quite the opposite, as they are all too aware but it is interesting that they frame the subject as a child might. They ask if death is like when you're really sleepy, or can't move, and that even if the dead can't be seen, they must surely be somewhere. Phos's inability to grasp that death is, well, death, is telling of what it means to be able to be put back together when you break into literal fragments but it goes deeper than that. It is probably not a reach to say that most human beings on Earth agree with Phos, even if they would not phrase it in quite this clunky manner.

The manga does not take sides, there is no narrator invading the story to tell us who is right but Ventri's point has a kind of poignancy that is only confirmed by later events, even in this volume. It turns out that Ventri knows a lot more than Phos and even the rest of the Gems. Ventri, is, in fact, a female member of a different species of humanoid that is part jellyfish, from the waist down. She transforms at sea and recounts to Phos that her people, the Admirabilis have their own myth: once upon a time, the world was inhabited by humans, who after the sixth destruction took refuge in the sea where they split into 'Spirit', 'Flesh' and 'Bone'. Her kind, the Admirabilis, is 'Flesh', and it gains and builds on knowledge through a succession of generations that are born and die. Thus, her body will rot and leave nothing behind but it is "true" form, while the giant shell is just a garment. 'Bone' made a pact with a different life form which allowed it to live for very long spans of time and returned to Earth; becoming what we- and Phos- knows as 'Gems'. 'Flesh' and 'Bone' are thus not just two species, although we can see them as such, who resulted from what once were human beings but different ways of learning and even being in relation to life. 'Bone' is alien to death and each member transverses thousands upon thousands of years, 'Flesh' takes upon the baton with every birth, having learned from the prior generation. There are advantages and disadvantages to each system, and Yellow Diamond brings home one of the ways in which 'Bone' can suffer, without knowing death: as the oldest of the Gems, they have been around for over three thousand years and every single one of their partners has been taken to the moons, to the point by their own admission, they do not even know what they are still fighting for.

This leaves 'Spirit', the Lunarians. These wander about, in the hope of regaining their former glory and a 'new pure land', by reclaiming 'Flesh' and 'Bone'. The Buddhist imagery lends a deeper meaning to 'pure land'. After all, the 'Pure Land' (and the 'True Pure Land', a spinoff, so to speak) is one of the most important sects in Japanese Buddhism.

According to Ventri, 'Spirit' inherited from humans their propensity for strife and warrying. It is a very interesting take on what the Lunarians may be. Of all the creatures we have seen thus far, they are by far the least human. The connection between their "having no particular enemy" but simply indulging in battle for its own sake and humanity hits a bit too close. It is also worth mentioning that while Ventri presents this Flesh/Bone/Spirit idea as just legend, her reflections on Lunarian violence came from what she saw when she was being kept in the moon.

The Gems' limitations in relation to immortality are also brought home through Euclase, someone we have seen precious little thus far. While observing a swarm of insects take flight, they comment that unlike them, Gems cannot sense danger nor are they sensitive to temperature in the passing of seasons. They wonder if they have immortality to blame for this, and Rutile replies that it is precisely because they are immortal that they need not worry about such small changes. Which is a fair take but one wonders if Euclase also does not have a point. It is also interesting that this conversation takes place while Euclase is completely naked, as they need a special resin to go into the water, and we get to see that the Gems are not just genderless but sexless as well.

But for all the potential negatives of being a Gem, we also get to witness the amazing abilities they have. Even Phos, who we are reminded time and time again is simply not up to par, manages to walk into the ocean and go underwater without having to worry about drowning. They do need the above mentioned salt-proof resin, in copious amounts, as otherwise they lose their powder and Kongou strictly forbade them from venturing underwater as all kinds of things can go wrong but the main concern is that if it gets too dark, Phos won't have enough energy from the sun to come back, along with waves and the like breaking their brittle body. But being able to breathe underwater is an amazing skill that does not even strike Phos such.

At one point, it occurred to me that maybe the Gems do not even breathe, at all, but they do: Cinnabar mentions that merely breathing is enough for their poison to cause serious damage. Speaking of Cinnabar, they are part of the motivation that drives Phos to seek the ocean in the first place, as Ventri suggests they might find something for Cinnabar there, the other motivation is Phos wanting to take Ventri to see their home. These are altruistic motives but they are mingled with Phos's not caring if they end up not returning as they as useless anyway. Most of the time, Phos's status as borderline defective is played for laughs but when it is taken seriously- as happens at this point in the narrative- it packs quite a punch.

In that regard, this volume ups the ante. The reader might expect Ventri had some ulterior motivation but that she was luring Phos into the ocean, so as to isolate them from their peers, and offer them to the Lunarians is still very shocking. The way it done adds to the effect. Ventri apologizes in advance and a rain of Lunarian arrows smashes into Phos from the surface. There is a play on perspective, the Lunarians are not even visible as anything other than a dim sunspot on the surface- their vessel is hovering in the air, way above the sea- with a detailed rendering of the arrows, and hooks to bring back Phos, their legs shattering into so many fragments that we see very up close. It is a two page scene that will haunt your dreams. To make things even sadder, Ventri has her reasons for doing this: it was the only way she had of recovering her brother and bringing him back to his senses, as he was brainwashed by the Lunarians.

What follows from this is that the Lunarians do use speech, Ventri can speak with them, even if we do not hear any dialogue. They remain at their creepiest and truly eerie. The main body of the vessel holds legless Phos in a basket, serenely smiling, surrounding by the minor bodies who equally smile most serenely, even as they try to get Ventri to also get them Cinnabar. And this is what truly hurts Phos, that their friend might end up going to the moons- even though Cinnabar themselves said she wants to- and leads them to frantically shake their head, trying to dissuade Ventri.

Phos is even willing to be used as a bargaining chip for Ventri and her brother may save their parents from being life stock on the moons, as long as Cinnabar is spared. It moves Ventri, just as Phos was moved by Ventri's refusing to hand over Cinnabar, even as the Lunarians destroy her arm- which may not grow up- and by her brother recounting how Ventri has been struggling, all alone, to save her family. As Phos puts it, "it's not fair" as they cannot even get angry at Ventri.

It is painful, beautifully drawn and entirely believable from a psychologically point of view. Ventri is not a monster, and even her very prickly brother who snaps out it and ends up destroying the Lunarians, is only doing his best to save their family. Ventri does like Phos and if she could, would never have sacrificed them like this. It costs her and she does what she can for Phos by getting her two pieces of hardened seashell that will become Phos's new legs. Ventri goes as far as to hold Phos in an embrace even as Phos praises her for having accomplished so much, on her own, despite being so much younger. The body language alone expresses the emotion.

As for Kongou-sensei, if it had been obvious he knows more than what he is letting show and deliberately hiding it from the Gems, this volume confirms it. All that Phos can recall from their ordeal at sea is 'humans'. Upon hearing this, Kongou freezes and end up breaking a table in two. It is clear that he is familiar with humans, on some level, and would rather the Gems did not find out. Why remains unclear, though.

It is not just immortality that sets the Gems apart. Another factor is how their bodies seem to store memory, so that losing any bit of it can lead to memory loss. By losing their legs, Phos lost most of their memories of what happened at seas. Which means their hard earned growth as a character is denied its fully fruition as Phos is, to some extent, back to square one. But not entirely: as their legless body washes up to Cinnabar, Phos is battered in more ways than one but fully committed to still helping them. There is something truly valiant and impressive in this, partially because it seems to hopeless. If other Gem were to take up this task, we would still like them for it but Phos, being so fragile, embarking on dangerous endeavors solely for the sake of someone else reminds me of Utena struggling to free Anthy. It is the same kind of devotion and committed effort.

The rest of the volume deals with Phos adjusting to the drastic changes that have happened and patrolling with the Amethyst twins; we also meet the oldest of the Gems, Yellow Diamond, who uses "ore" as their first person pronoun. The Amethyst are the purple pair in the somewhat busy cover, along with Yellow- later covers will be considerably cleaner- created through a process of "crystal twinning" (as per the translator's notes) that occurs when two crystals share some of their crystal lattice. Thanks to this, they have the uncanny ability of knocking their heads together without breaking, something that freaks out Phos considerably, bonus points for an eerie ring when they do it. Like twins are so often presented in 2D, they are alike but their very unique hairstyle, with a braid woven so as to cover an eye, makes them mirror images of each other. Somewhat in the same vein as Rem and Ram from Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 2 (in visual terms only, Land is entirely different).

They "act as one", finishing each other's sentences and in the anime they even share a voice actor. Like most, their personal pronoun is "boku". While proficient in sword fighting, what we see them doing is marveling at the natural world. Virtually anything will cause them to grow quite enthusiastic. A snow butterfly, a stranded jellyfish that needs be taken back to the water- in an echo to Phos and Ventri- warrant a "woah!". They even enjoy picking berries and the like. One can see why Phos would find them trying but at the same time there is something surprisingly endearing about the two.
And while we do not get to see them fight, the volume ends on a massive cliffhanger- as they face a cliffhanger, too- facing a blackspot that just formed overhead.

The other Gem we meet is Yellow Diamond. Yellow, like Bort, uses "ore" as their first person pronoun. They are the oldest Gem of them all. Apparently laid back and clearly looked up as something of a leader by the rest, with their partner Zircon shielding them from a Lunarian attack and ending up beheaded in the process. Yet they do not feel they deserve this respect as every single partner they had in their 3,597 years of existence has been taken to the moons. They name them, giving us an idea of how many have been taken: Green Diamond, Ruby, Pink Topaz (to which we can add Helios, mentioned in volume 1). In one of those panels that does the best out of negative space, with Yellow Diamond against an unbroken black background while working on reassembling Zircon, Yellow Diamond muses on how they can no longer remember what they are are fighting for.

I have spoken much about how the Gems do not know what death is. But they do know loss. Yellow knows the personal loss of having their partners taken and the sorrow of "only being good at running". It is interesting that we meet Yellow doing just that, running from a Lunarian attack, even though it seems very much part of a strategy more than going full Shinji (MUSTNTRUNAWAY!!!!).

Yellow Diamond, at a hardness of 10, may very well be the second strongest Gem (it is either Yellow or Dia, I think) and while they put themselves down, to have lasted this long, odds are they are terrific fighters yet their sense of self-worth is not exactly high. This may be almost unavoidable if one lives as long as they have but it might give Phos pause to know that being skilled in battle does not mean a sense of purpose. To have an idea of how impressive Yellow's longevity is, Euclase (2,173 years old) comments that the Lunarians attack once every three days in clear weather. Even if one discounts when it is overcast, or the times Yellow was simply not present when the Lunarians attacked, that is still many, many, many battles they have gone through. One doubts if "just running" would be enough but one also wonders if others than Zircon have taken the bullet for Yellow...and just what this does to someone.

Phos's desire to join the fray is first and foremost linked to their sense of self-worth and identity but another layer is added: they want to fight because they love Kongou. As does every Gem, as Yellow states, including those on the moons. These are very much on Yellow's mind and probably more than they let show.

Land accomplishes something I always love in any work of fiction, particularly those with vast casts, in that a compelling story could be told with virtually any character as the lead. This will become more apparent as the manga progresses and more characters are introduced but already one can see as much. Phos and Cinnabar provide very interesting points of narrative focus, given their status as outsiders struggling with all sorts of baggage, but you could take Dia, Yellow Diamond, Rutile and tell the story from any of their point of view without its being boring or derivative. The moment a character takes the stage and gets to voice their experience, they become people who deserve to be the protagonists in their own story. And this applies to non-Gems as well, too. A spinoff on Ventri and Aculeatus would not be amiss and I would gladly read it.

This is not that easy to achieve. At the moment, there are still a lot of characters who exist more or less as background but one has the impression that if the spotlight were to fall on any, the reader would find it deeply rewarding.

As someone who almost always wishes the main character were someone else- to the point I do not think I can name, off the top of my head, a single 2D protagonist who is also my favorite- I find this kind of approach very refreshing. It is one of the reasons why Durarara!!, Vol. 1 works so well, even though it does on occasion lead to a somewhat scattered approach.

Phos is obviously the main character, although Cinnabar is so important that they straddle the dual protagonist line, but Land is so rich a world that one could easily add to it by shifting the perspective. I expect fanfiction authors and doujinkas have a field day with this one. And that is yet one of the many reasons that make this a truly extraordinary manga.

[ania · Rating 4 out of 5]

the gems have such a brittle attachment to their bodies, and death is impermanent. there are faint nudges towards gender identity and something that could later become body dysmorphia. the lore just got a lot more interesting.

[Cielaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the volume where shits get interesting.
We learn more about the plot and characters, their history, myth, and origin. Characters are slowly getting fleshed out more, tho I wished for Bortz's perspective. She looks like someone who is burdened by everyone's safety as the most powerful gem out of them all, she looks like someone that sees showing emotion and affection as a sign of weakness that's why she's moody and tough to everyone, especially to Diamond because she doesn't want to get attached to her.
Characters here and there suffer internal problems and I like that, it makes them complex and more interesting.
This volume is a great continuation of the first book it makes you want to continue the story even more.

[Danicka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how the backstory turned out. We finally learned something about history and came across the interesting story how humans divided into three different races: bones, spirits and flesh. It also hints why there are Lunarians hunting for gems.

Phos leveled up a bit, I guess. Although I am not a great fan of character getting stronger by getting rid of his parts, I like that despite it has new legs, it is not so easy use them and here also comes the first big challenge, Phos is going to fight against Lunarians.

I saw the anime, but I still enjoyed reading this volume and remembered what I felt while watching it in motion. I liked the designs of slugs and Sensei's shaddy reaction after Phos mentioned humans. I hope I will find out more hints after reading next chapters.

[Sam Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡ADORO!

En este tomo se explican y aclaran varias cosas que quedaron un poco confusas en el primero, y también hay nueva información sobre los orígenes de las gemas.

Me encantan todos los personajes. Cada gema tiene una personalidad realmente interesante. Fos puede ser un desastre, pero es adorable y nunca se rinde.

[Eressea · Rating 4 out of 5]

20250708 2nd read
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20190825 1st read
努力在書中尋找佛教的蹤跡
雖然讀過幾本日本佛教史但佛經基本看不下去
所以還是去找訪談來看了
作者說從觀無量壽經中描述的極樂世界發想
經文說極樂世界寶石鋪地
作者可以想到天人下凡尋寶妝點天堂也是滿會想的XD

主要都是從異端認識佛教的
中毒太深的我看到這集說人類一分為三：魂是月人，肉是海蝸牛，骨是寶石
怎麼想都只想得到宋元時摩尼教的術語肉佛骨佛血佛阿
為了這個還翻論文確認：肉佛骨佛血佛可能是耶穌寶血概念的華化
看來魂肉骨確實不是佛教的概念
但也不覺得作者會從摩尼教發想就是了

[Ladz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introducing the whole structure, new characters, deep secrets, and even MORE angsting about Phos and their purpose among the gems. Still gorgeous af artwork.