|
Squidster posted:All true and likely intentional! It's also just not particularly fun. Yeah, I’d say it’s a one of a kind comic but not a very satisfying one. Then again I’m a bigger fan of the anime than the manga, I think the imagery in the anime and the music and voice acting really elevated what was already strong material in that section of the story. I’m hoping Studio Orange can do the same with their upcoming adaption of the ending arc of Beastars as that is a comic that went off the rails in a much worse way than Land of the Lustrous, but has the possibility to be redeemed in adaptation.
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 04:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 15:06 |
|
|
i think there is something very satisfying about everything being taken to the most extreme logical conclusion. going off the rails is such a bizarre characterization of where this story went though. sorry that you want something more joseph campbell or whatever.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 04:27
|
|
|
Look, if Phos doesn't save a cat in the first act, how am I supposed to know they're the good guy? Next you'll be telling me they don't Resist the Call or Avenge The Mentor!mycot posted:White Diamond realized their happiness could only be secured with the destruction of Black Diamond.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 05:06
|
|
|
I feel like everyone losing their identity on the moons and becoming different people was very much a thematic point, where Phos has spent the entire series dealing with becoming someone different constantly and was able to adapt and adjust and maintain some sense of personal continuity; but everyone else, who had only experienced being themselves as a single thing, once they reached any kind of conclusion their identities kind of hard-stopped and they were consumed by the moon. When this is finally done in a month I'm gonna have to do a reread tho because honestly I remember the entire thing so distantly it's like my memories of it are memories of someone else telling me about a thing they read. This is because I too like Phos have felt my identity been altered a dozen times and each time it's felt like a new person has taken its place, so I'm really excited to see the sun engulf the earth I guess because apparently that's what happens if you live like this
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 06:56
|
|
|
Its fine to dislike the direction but its weird to characterize it as a mistake or the author losing interest
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 09:29
|
|
|
i find it hard to care that much about the incomplete gem character arcs after they did phos so dirty. gently caress those jerks!
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 09:37
|
|
|
When you don't like the direction, it's perfectly normal to characterize it as a mistake. You think it was a bad direction. Which, in this case, it was. This series used to have very strong character writing, good pacing, and interesting plot beats. It stopped having pretty much all of those things. Rody One Half fucked around with this message at 10:16 on Mar 26, 2024 |
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 10:13
|
|
|
nah its cool. skill issue
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 10:47
|
|
|
One of the big themes over the whole story is change. Gem "society" was basically stagnant for millenia. New geeks are added every so often and some are taken away, but nothing ever gets resolved. Phos's actions are what starts to shift everything and eventually allow everyone to begin to move on and change. First, to reach the moon, a paradise of sorts, but not true enlightenment. Then to oblivion, which is fundamentally enlightenment https://twitter.com/keroswikee/status/1772119829975351734
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 12:26
|
|
|
I also didn't much like the series after all the gems went to the moon, but the little rock friends at the end almost redeemed that entire part, they're just so nice.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 13:30
|
|
|
In buddhist terms, the realm of the Devas is a realm without material want, where beings live like gods. However, even gods are still trapped in the wheel of samsara. The moon in HnK is simultaneously a deva realm and a hell realm. Before Kongo malfunctioned, he was able to absolve most of the normie residents of the moon. All that were left were the degenerates that Aechmea was supervising, who lived in a state of madness in a zone called the "wastebin" and constantly murdered and devoured each other ad nauseum, until Aechmea devoted himself to rehabilitating them. Kongo is revealed to be a manifestation of Kshitigarbha, the bodhisattva who vowed to postpone his enlightenment until every being in hell was purified. So even though by the time the gems reach the moon, it's a paradise-like place, it's still coded as being a kind of hell-like existence in the grand scheme of things. the reason kongo malfunctioned is because the fragments of human consciousness floating around in the oceans would occasionally manifest as gems and take on sentient life, and Kongo developed a tiny amount of attachment toward them, a desire for human life to stick around. The problem is that, on a cosmic level, the humans in HnK are entirely hosed, having had their physical forms sundered into three, and their spirits (the moon ghosts) are so old and so weary that they just want to peace out and reach nirvana. so the warfare in the first part of the story turns out to be a mostly pointless war for the gems; the gems and moon ghosts are fighting on a scale of eons, and even types of death that seem permanent (having your body scattered across the solar system) are ultimately solvable because the HnK cosmos is a closed loop, and there is nowhere "outside" of the system without Kongo's intervention. The gems built their identities around a military lifestyle, but once they reach the moon they learn about all sorts of other ways of living, like being a skater or a pop idol or a wife. But the ghosts are way ahead of them on that beat, and know that all of those identities are basically empty on the grand scale of things. Those identities are not suitable stopping points on a cosmic level. So all of that is going on to directly contrast with Phos's existence, as they are basically constantly on fire searching for some kind of meaning to all the suffering they've endured. Or you could say that Phos seeks meaning in suffering. Which is why, when Antarcticite and Cinnabar's problems are solved, Phos doesn't find peace. The peace that comes from the relief of suffering means nothing to Phos; they are only chasing the suffering itself, because Phos, who was always considered weak and useless, has lived their entire existence with a low key background hum of suffering. Phos eventually identifies that constant state of suffering as being the aggregate bits of humanity in them, which they describe as a mixture of desires and qualities like beauty, kindness, and cruelty. The gems, snails, and moon ghosts were all also fragments of humanity, but they were disparately severed. Phos is the first being who becomes truly human, and by being fully human they are able to transcend humanity. This transcendence happens both for Phos as well as for all the others. I think, looking back on the story, rather than Dia or Cinnabar or anyone else, the two central characters are Phos and Kongo. Kongo loved the gems too much to extinguish humankind, and Phos spent their entire existence wanting the gems to acknowledge and love them. So even when Phos achieves a form of enlightenment, there is still a lonely and gloomy tenor to their existence, because their entire existence has been marked by a separation from others. The little rocks are so pleasant and tranquil, see everything that occurs in the cosmos as good, and are so kind to Phos. When in chapter 107 the rocks take Phos to be their littlest sibling, it is a huge mercy for Phos on a character-arc perspective. But I think it's also a philosophical statement, because these are literally rocks; they have no trace of humanity in them. Phos has reached a point where they are able to feel kinship and connection and a sense of family belonging with the earth itself, with the very matter of the universe. the interesting thing is that it's Kongo's brother who saves that last bit of Phos to take on the ship to live with the rocks. In a way he is saving the savior. I think that's one of the interesting things about HnK. It seems to have this emotional investment in being kind and generous toward its savior figures, and imagines people being kinder and more charitable to them than they are to themselves. Cephas fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Mar 26, 2024 |
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 15:24
|
|
|
Thanks for the post! That does help clarify some things.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 16:04
|
|
|
Endorph posted:nah its cool. skill issue this. ADTRW really is full of freaks..
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 16:37
|
|
|
The only bit that confused me was Kongo's brother. Who is he? Where did he come from? He just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 16:57
|
|
|
Mraagvpeine posted:The only bit that confused me was Kongo's brother. Who is he? Where did he come from? He just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I think he was first introduced (and briefly shown) in the big Achmea lore dump about Adamant's real purpose. He was the first robot of his type and his complete freedom is why Adamant was designed with so many restrictions.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 17:04
|
|
|
Partially talking out my rear end here, but(t): the emphasis on "humanity", and what does or doesn't have varying amounts of it, seems at odd with the Buddhist themes. Suffering is meant to be the default state of all thinking things, right? The manga seems to be suggesting "nah, it was just humans, they were weird"
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2024 18:15
|
|
|
https://mangadex.org/chapter/7c8e9218-72ed-4dc1-bbe7-decd0606161a/1 That's our Phos! So clumsy! *laugh track* Sindai fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Apr 24, 2024 |
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2024 23:40
|
|
|
What a run. I honestly can't say I'm a big fan of where the series went halfway through but it ended the way the author wanted and that alone is very satisfying. And no matter what, it was beautiful throughout.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2024 06:44
|
|
|
farewell phos
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2024 08:27
|
|
|
Brutal Garcon posted:Partially talking out my rear end here, but(t): the emphasis on "humanity", and what does or doesn't have varying amounts of it, seems at odd with the Buddhist themes. Not precisely the default state of things. "All conditioned phenomena are dissatisfactory" (sabbe sankhara dukkha) is probably the most precise rendering I have heard in English. As I understand it, the world is full of conditioned phenomena in the form of physical states of matter, and sentient beings generate conditioned phenomena in the form of mental states. The rising and dissolution of that phenomena causes sentient beings suffering. But Buddhism teaches that sentient beings can awaken to the truth of impermanence and dependent origination and become liberated from their dissatisfaction. So you know, it's maybe like being born with a pesky mote in your eye. In a sense that's the "default state of things," but also if that mote wasn't there, you'd realize that the underlying faculty of your eye was actually able to see clearly all this time, and it was just being blocked. In an interview from 2016, Haruko Ichikawa said this about humans: quote:Q: And so within this cast, there’s Phos, a character with a clear sense of purpose. “I want to be of help to everyone”. Believing even they must have some sort of role, Phos, using trial and error, continues to search. I felt there was something in common between Phos and the human soul. How are your and Phos’ souls connected?
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2024 15:32
|
|
|
I really liked the chill rock bros, best part of the manga in a long time. Goodbye Phos at least now you're happy
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2024 20:23
|
|
|
What an odd ending, but I still liked it.
|
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2024 15:24
|
|
|
That was a satisfying ending. I'm glad I read it all. I'm not sure what was going on in this last chapter. I feel like it would be easier to figure out what is in each panel if it was in color. Still good overall though.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2024 16:56
|
|
|
I'm GBH I'm not actually sure what's happening in this ending
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2024 23:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 15:06 |
|
|
it's a long time in the future and Eyeball is finally near the end of his lifespan. The last remnant of Phos is a tiny little gemstone of phosphophyllite with a childlike innocence. The planet they arrived in is a pure land without conflict or sorrow, where flowers bloom into gemstones. Phos hitches a ride on a friendly spirit moth, and tries to examine one of the new blooms. But they fall off and crash into it and chip into smaller pieces. They become so small that the 'camera' can't even see Phos any more even when zoomed in on the scale of pebbles and grass. The other rocks tell the remnant of Phos that the rest of them is traveling out there in outer space somewhere, possibly in the form of a comet. The tiny remnant of Phos hopes that if part of them is a comet, it can brighten someone's day. Ends on a shot of a gem who looks like the original Phos, alone at night, gazing up at a bright comet.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2024 03:05
|
|