Unraveling past secrets.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Abi Umeda
Translation/Adaptation: JN Productions
What They Say
The Sea of Sand harbors many mysteries, and an encounter with one of them awakens deep memories of the past for the Eldest of the Mud Whale. But everyone is still reeling from the recently revealed harsh secrets about the true nature of their home. How can Chakuro and the others handle the new knowledge these strange visions grants?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
What seems to be a sudden new island in their path is actually a projection of the Mud Whale from the past. Memories from the past wash over the people of the Mud Whale and just as quickly the phantom ship fades away. Everyone is stunned by the ghostly visit, but Ouni is found unconscious. In a cryptic fashion, the Eldest tells them to look for Miden’s room in order to save Ouni.
With the help of the previous Mayor’s diaries, clues lead them to Miden’s room. When they find it, there are words written over the entire room. Chakuro is overwhelmed with the amount of words, but also entranced with the story it told of the ancestors that first came aboard the Mud Whale. Miden is a daimonas, someone who can destroy the nous. It’s also revealed that Miden is somehow related to Ouni.
Bonus story included regarding a snippet of time in the Empire.
In Summary:
It took me some time to fill in the gaps as the last available book in this series to review was volume four. I feel conflicted when I read this series. There is some serious beautiful art and interesting storytelling methods, but at the same time I feel a little lost. I feel I usually get stories that have a lot of loose ends, but this one leaves me wondering how much longer I want to continue reading it. In addition, this is part of Viz’s more expensive Signature line. Which really means for the most part that the size of the manga is bigger and some minor additional cover treatments.
So, what to do with a story that has a few amazing elements, but isn’t very fulfilling? I’m going to keep reading for now and hope all the dots are connected and I feel like I can tell everyone that this story is really worth your time and money. For right now, perhaps it might be best to watch the anime. I haven’t personally watched it, but I’m guessing the visuals are pretty good.
Content Grade: C+
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen+
Released By: Viz Signature/Viz Media
Release Date: 11/20/18
MSRP: $12.99
