Manga Review : Gyo
Technology as of WWII
In my previous post I mentioned how creepy Uzumaki can be in terms of psychology and body horror but Gyo takes it beyond a whole new level. It basically tests the limits of squick in body mutilation and although very disturbing, I find the realistic art helps to connect with the story. The characters are not drawn as the usual anime/manga bishounen or bishoujo. As with his other works, Ito Junji does include romance for those who like a good tragedy since Uzumaki was the closest one to a happy ending and still ends on a bittersweet note.
Ummm...yea...
Hmmm…where to begin? We’ve got self-replicating robots that swarm out of the ocean by embedding itself to marine life such as fish and sharks to get its energy. We’ve got self-replicating robots that can continue running on these marine animals even after they’ve died so we’ve got decaying corpses running around everywhere. It also turns out they are perfectly fine with land animals too! They also bring disease that causes living things to emit gas and turning them into sad bloated gas bombs awaiting their robot masters to take over. The process in which one of those robotic contraptions attach to a human isn’t pretty and may cross the border of disturbing for the average reader. The idea of the gas smelling exactly like human corpses isn’t very pleasing and once the whole population succumbs to the disease, you can imagine how the world smells since the ocean isn’t safe either. =P However there is a mad scientist, a devoted mad scientist’s assistant and a fail military so something for everyone!
Although Gyo is short, (compared to long running manga series) it packs quite a lot and gets pretty intense in the latter half. It’s an interesting scenario for the end of the world as we know it and the ingenuity of nature for taking man-made technology and combining it with natural evolution. I’m honestly a bit squicked out at the bloating and gassing but it’s a fascinating premise on the consequences of man’s hubris (I actually sounded academic o.O). We are ultimately left with a few people who are immune to the disease as they watch hordes of robot-humans scuttle and stampede around. Twas a most weird ending.
Can you guess where the third pipe connects?
So the future is the picture above multiplied by a few billion and now imagine them moving en masse and you will probably be one of them ^_^ Happy sleeping!
~Shiki
Next one is the last post I’ll do of Ito Junji’s works. Enigma of Amigara Fault.
Manga Reviews | Shiki | 
July 13, 2009 10:39 pm
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