The true history of the Mototsumitama reveals why they need contracts with humans to not only make them stronger, but to survive.
Creative Staff
Story: Dall-Young Lim
Art: Sung-Woo Park
Translation/Adaptation: Christine Dashiell
What They Say
At the dawn of history, the ancestors of modern-day Mototsumitama – the Genuine Ones – were charged with preserving the balance of nature in accordance with the will of Tera. But when a Genuine One named Thousand lends her power to a particular tribe of humans and aids them in becoming the dominant species on the planet, the Genuine Ones step in to restore the natural order. Though her tribe is forced to scatter, the children of Thousand, blessed with their mother’s power, continue to fight for their right to live. But even with their mother’s extraordinary gifts, can any creature match the raw power of Tera’s chosen stewards?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This volume continues with the history of the beings that are older and more powerful than the Mototsumitama, known as the Genuine Ones. The Genuine Ones are the true original beings that watched over the balance of Tera on the planet. They were almost immortal, and incredibly powerful, but they didn’t have any emotions. All the decisions about the plight of the planet and its species were made in a ‘Spock-like’ logical manner devoid of empathy.
The eventual creation of Mototsumitama’s came from the life of a failed Genuine One, a woman named Thousand. Always being different and weaker than many of the Genuine Ones, they eventually abandoned her after she was injured and unable to keep up with them. Left for dead, Thousand is shocked when a human rescues her and nurses her back to health. Eventually, Thousand falls in love with the man and learns emotions, setting her even further apart from the other Genuine Ones. As one might guess, it just so happens that body parts of humans and Genuine Ones are compatible, and they eventually have kids. And, since Thousand is incredibly long-lived, she has a LOT of kids.
With Thousand’s offspring possessing her blood, they develop powers no other humans possess, albeit not as much power as a full-blooded Genuine One. But at this point, the reader is asking, “what does all this have to do with the Battle Gene thingy that has made Kuro so sick?” Well, Thousand’s offspring, the eventual Mototsumitama, live a good life until their sleeper Battle Gene activates. That gene can activate at any time in their life, and it turns them into a mindless monster with nothing but the desire to kill. Fast forward and the Mototsumitama accidentally discover that swapping a body part with a human not only suppresses the Battle Gene, but it also makes them a lot stronger by forming a contract with that human.
This is the final blasphemy as far as the Genuine Ones are concerned. The Mototsumitama and humans have become the dominant species on the planet and thrown the Tera out of balance. They decide to completely annihilate the Mototsumitama in an attempt to return a balance to the planet, but Thousand convinces them to hold off. They take her captive and tell her she must decide how to cut down the human and Mototsumitama population. It is a terrible thing for her to be faced with, but if she has to decide between the death of all her offspring, or some of them, it isn’t a difficult decision to make. But it is terrible that she has to come up with the method to make it happen. How will she kill off her descendants? And what the heck is going on with Kuro? Kuro has a contract with Keita, so why is her Battle Gene making her so sick?
In Summary
I felt the last volume’s revelations about the history of the Mototsumitama was too short and not very satisfying, this volume is solely focused on that history and it explains everything from the origin of the Mototsumitama to the Doppleliner system and the reason for its existence. All this makes for a great volume as it uses love for your partner and your family as a vehicle to explain the history of the Mototsumitama. Yen Press also really made up for the low Packaging grade the previous volume received in my review. This volume not only has a few color pages on glossy paper at the start of the book, but it also has a few glossy color pages at the end of the first chapter. I assume it is more expensive for a publisher to place color pages in the middle of the book, away from the front or the back, so this is a cool touch. I honestly can’t remember the last time I read a manga that had color pages in the book itself and not all piled up in the front.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: October 30th, 2012
MSRP: $11.99
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