Children of the Sea

The fact that I decided to write this review in English must seem ridiculous to most of you taking into account that Children of the Sea has been already published in Spanish by ECC. However, the Spanish edition is smaller than the English one, with poorer quality, printing mistakes and kinda expensive. Furthermore, the publisher has largely ignored their readers' complaints about the moiré effect and continues to print the volumes without any significant improvement. Thus, I've decided to buy it, read it and, of course, review it in English. If you don't agree with me in this decision I am sure you will find plenty of Spanish reviews in other blogs. This said, I can't wait to share with you my impressions on this bizarre but marvelous manga. I am not going to write a synopsis though, since I think it is pointless for such a strange story.

Since I read Witches (Majo or Hechiceras), I knew I would like everything or almost everything Daisuke Igarashi had ever created and it seems like I wasn't wrong. He has a very unique sensitivity which makes all his manga different from everything else I've read so far. Although this story is 100% supernatural, it has so many (accurate!) scientific information about topics ranging from marine biology to astronomy. I already knew several things but there were also a lot which I didn't! I just enjoy learning so much it was impossible I didn't like Children of the Sea. Biology simply fascinates me, the fact that every single being is necessary and has its own niche to colonize, that any (innatural) perturbation can be fatal for the whole ecosystem while the most (natural) violent event, such as a typhoon, is required to keep balance. And I am positive Daisuke Igarashi must love biology too judging by all his works (not just this one).

Actually, this manga appears as an incredibly rellevant read nowadays when there are so many signs that something's wrong in the ocean (well, also in the whole planet but the ocean covers most of it, so...). There are so many marine creatures that are massively dying with little or directly no explanation. Coral is going white everywhere. Chinese are chopping sharks' fins to make soup thus condemning amputated sharks to die in the bottom of the ocean. Marine biodiversity is decreasing dramatically and is expected to continue to do so in the next years. And, at the same time, new research efforts allow to unravel for the first time some of the secrets the ocean still keeps from us. A ghost shark has been filmed swimming for the first time ever, mysterious sea blobs have been genetically identified, underwater animal pollination has been described, submarine structures thought to be human-made have been now discovered to be the result of methane-consuming microbial activity and the the most recent new who directly resonates with Children of the Sea would be the identification of a really weird metallic sound accidentally recorded as a whale call.

Back to the actual manga, Children of the Sea is... just weird. As I said, it is a supernatural fiction where superhuman abilities, extinct creatures and atypical ghosts are its main protagonists. It is mystic, it is philosophical, do not expect a piece full of action and romance because you will not find (almost) any. It is more of an ensemble of monologues about life, and death, and what is in between. The duality formed by Sea and Sky (Umi and Sora), between Earth and Outer Space, marine creatures versus land creatures, how the role organs play within humans may be compared with the role humans play within the Earth and the one Earth plays within the galaxy. And then, it all goes semi-religious going back to the myths of creation, so different and so similar across cultures, with the ocean always playing a primordial role somehow.

As you may be suspecting at this point, Children of the Sea is not a conventional read at all, at first it seems like there is a plot, like that is a beginning, like it will develop following a somewhat predictable/logic/coherent manner. But don't let the author fool you, once you surpass volume two, it all goes so abstract and mystical, any shadow of a plot you could have thought you saw vanishes through the awesome panels depicting all sorts of marine fauna over and over and over again (the fifth and last volume has over 150 mute pages, you get the idea, right?). And that is one of the appeals of this manga, the countless animals the author bothers to draw in each and every one of the volumes, you'll see whales, killer whales, whale sharks, sharks, dugongs, turtles, dolphins, shrimps, nautilus, mantis shrimp, manta rays, krill, eels, and a ton of different species of fish.

Although the characters themselves are so in the background of the real story, that does not mean you won't absolutely fall in love with impetuous Ruka, a troubled girl with social issues who does not adjust with the other kids; sweet Umi, an ever-smiling boy who would rather do whatever he feels like doing before talking too much about it; and elusive Sora, an arrogant and spooky lad with no survival instinct who only seems to care about Umi. This childish trio is further complemented with weird old Dehdeh, crazy old Jim and crazy genius Anglade, who all have their own interests on the children of the sea... and their own personal views of humanity. The thing is that here is absolutely no character who you would rate as minimally sane; thus, empathy is difficult to be found across its pages but that alienation helps with the immersive experience to the fucked up world of Children of the Sea.

Children of the Sea is ultimately a philosophical piece; an essay about what does it mean to be born and what does it mean to die and whether they are so opposite as they seem or they are actually the exact same thing. Just keep in mind the author will only pose the questions, perhaps even develop them a bit, but he will never answer them.