I've read this manga, it's only two volumes, based on the novel by Sakurazaka Hiroshi; the manga is written by Takeuchi Ryosuke and the drawings are Takeshi Obata. It's really tough, and thrilling. I liked it very much, although the ending was sad and cruel, but also right, in a way.
It starts with Keiji Kiriya waking up from what he thinks was a very bad dream. He had been killed, and he thinks he's just his nerves, because tomorrow he'll go to his first battle against the big alien enemy that is trying to conquer the Earth. He never fought before, and when the time comes, he's killed in a few moments. He wakes up again the morning before the day of the battle, and understands it was not just a bad dream. He tries to escape, because he doesn't want to die, but is found and killed by the enemy. He tries killing himself, but again he wakes up the same morning before the battle. He understands there's nothing he can do to change things. If he dies, he'll wake up and it'll all start again, so he decides the only option he has is : do not die!
He asks his sergeant to train him, to help him for the battle of the next day, but is told that's not something he could teach him in a day: he became a better warrior only by fighting various times. Keiji understands that he will only learn how to fight by fighting. He writes on his hand the number of times he has repeated this same day, and starts paying attention to an american girl, Rita Vrataski, who is said to be the greatest of warriors. He studies her, how she fights, and understands why she carries such a big sword, and why she wears her armor more light. As he understands he needs to be faster, he modifies it to resemble hers, and has a special sword made for him too, because bullets and such can run out much faster than the number of enemies, so he needs something that won't. He becomes a better fighter, and one day, on the battlefield, Rita watches him, how he moves and fights, and seems to understand something. She calls out to him, and asks him how many loop has he done yet. This was the end of the first volume.
The second volume takes it from here. The next loops he goes to Rita and talks to her, making her realise that he's trapped in the loop, since she doesn't remember talking to him. She cries, relieved to find someone who experienced the same thing she did, and tells him of how she became the full metal bitch so famous among soldiers all around the world. She fought to survive, and was trapped in a loop just like him. She learned to be a great fighter, and explains to him how this happened. The enemy, called Mimic, has one central nexus and various antennae among its "soldiers". They can control their own loops, and that's why they've been so unbeatable, because they can go back knowing when people will attack them and how, but somehow by killing one of those antannae Keiji got trapped in it too, and that's the only chance they have now of actually defeating them. Rita also tells him that what they have to do is to kill all these antennae and only at that point they will be able to defeat the nexus without him being able to go back.
Working together, Keiji and Rita are formidable on the battlefield, and manage very well, and yet when Keiji thought they had done it, he wakes up again. Rita understands why, but doesn't tell him right away. They spend a whole day together, getting to know each other, but when the mimics arrive earlier they have to get ready for battle. They fight them all, they kill them all, then Rita turns against Keiji. He doesn't understand why, and only then Rita explains to him that their brains, because of all those loops, have become like those antennae, and to stop the loop one of them must die. She starts fighting him, telling him to react. He does so, and manages to kill her. She knew he would, he knew he would: he had learn how to fight by watching and studying her. She dies happy knowing that he will go on, that he'll fight the mimics till the end, that he'll win this war. Her death is very painful for him, there was a bond between the two of them, and now she's gone.
Keiji then takes her place in the war, promising that he will win this war for her.
She wore a red armor despite the fact that she didn't like the colour. He understands it was because she wanted to attract all the attention of the enemy, to save her fellow soldiers. He will choose to paint his a different colour: blue, the colour she told him that she loved.
It's only two volumes, but it's very intense, and has time for little, heart-touching moments. My favourite moment was when he goes to tell her who he is, and has to do it more times. The last time he looks at her crying and thinks "I made her cry again".. it was touching. She's actually crying of relief, but still crying. She's happy she's no more alone in the world, and the great unbeatable warrior that people call Full Metal Bitch and think she's icy, for a moment turns back to being a young girl.
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento