Quite an interesting read. The series is not at all subtle with its messages or with its mise-en-scène, but it doesn't need to, really. And it makes a point of showing that prejudice doesn't always come from ill intent, just an unfortunate social conditionning. It also shows that being gay, trans or whatever doesn't instantly make you an expert on those issues (as shown in the Tasuku & Misora arc); there can be prejudice even between LGBT+ people, and not everyone fits neatly into a specific box.
The ending felt… a tad lackluster, but on the other end I'm not sure what more there was to say. Except maybe for Misora, whose character arc is just kinda left up in the air. It's an almost unrealistically happy ending where every homophobic character ends up seeing the light, and in the end the drama that did happen throughout the series was always resolved fairly quickly. Hell, even the death of Mr. Tchaiko's husband was depicted in a happy way (and the scene was beautiful).
Did the author insist too much on the hopeful and positive aspects? Not necessarily. Not every story has to be gritty and filled with tragedy, and considering how badly a lot of LGBT-centered manga ended until not so long ago, you can't blame them for wanting to overcompensate. It also gives some representation to trans men through Utsumi, which is inexplicably rare in manga or in media in general (seriously, even on Youtube the trans podcasters I've seen are all trans women).
My favorite characters were probably Haruko and Mr. Tchaiko. The former for her loud and assertive personality that made her a good foil to Tasuku in the early parts, and the latter because Tchaikosvky of course. :þ Tasuku was… okay? I found him a bit annoying and whiny at first, but he learned from his mistakes. Tôma I never really managed to like. I don't know, even when he acted nice I felt like punching him, and his epiphany at the end of volume 3 was a bit hard to swallow.
I also have mixed feelings about the Host. She was this mysteriously beautiful figure that didn't seem to live in the same reality, and that made her kind of appealing… but if I met someone like that in real life she'd probably get on my nerves rather quickly. >.> Though I did find a bit of myself in her at times. That's also why I find this page absolutely beautiful.
That brief moment where her façade of indifference cracks and you realize that, yes, she's human after all. She's incapable of love, but not of affection.
So yeah, a nice read. It put a smile on my face while making me reflect on some things, and that's cool. Plus the art's beautiful. It would definitely make a good anime.
PS: By the way, I noticed that every main character has a name that's composed of two first names, one male and one female (Kaname Tasuku, Daichi Haruko, Misora Shuuji, Tsubaki Touma…) That's quite fitting.
The official French translation of the title (yeah, it's being published in France) is "Eclat(s) d’âme"
Which is a wordplay between multiple meanings of the word "éclat", which, without s, means brightness, but also shattered/burst/flare. But with an s, "éclats" means shards.
So, the title evokes "bright/flaring souls" as well "small pieces of soul"
Oooh… I wondered why they chose this title, but the double meaning had flown over my head. Shame on me.
last edited at Jan 24, 2019 8:55AM