Seraphim: 266613336 Wings

This manga has such a great plot. The ending is a bit disappointing but the writing and character development makes up for it. I highly recommend this to any ghibli fans.

Amazing! One of the best manga's I have ever read!

loved it somewhat politically dense but otherwise intriguing

It's unfinished.

Loved it.

Writing a review for Seraphim is difficult, which I suspect is the reason why no one has written a review for it yet. On a technical scale, Seraphim is fantastic while on an entertainment level, it's mediocre at best. A perfect analogy for this graphical novel would be editor Carl Gustav Horn's 29-page essay on anime located in the back of the book. A 29-page essay on anime is impressive, but you're still reading an essay. At it's core, Seraphim is about two men and a Basset Hound accompanying a young girl to the "cordon sanitaire", a quarantined area where people have been infected with Seraphim, a disease that makes them lose their minds and grow wings from their backs. The story's main draw is the intriguing setup and answering the presenting mysteries including: why is this group going inside the cordon sanitaire, and just exactly who is this young girl? Unfortunately, story-wise Seraphim doesn't deliver very well. For the first twelve chapters, Mamoru Oshii retains more creative control, and this isn't a good thing. Oshii has a distinctive style of focusing on symbolism and cinematic angles rather than story. While I found them to be great in his movies (Ghost in the Shell, Skycrawlers, Patlabor), it's not so enjoyable here. The beginning contains so much symbolism on Christianity it almost feels as if Seraphim is smacking your face with a bible. The narrative suffers from odd choices too, including the use of two different flashback sequences after eight pages of prologue. For me, I felt dazed, not understanding what was going on nor comprehending the political undertones until around 60 pages in. The feeling that things are happening, but you don't really know what they are persists for 12 chapters. After that, Satoshi Kon's style comes into play and the pacing issues become a lot better, although it's too little too late as Seraphim only contains 16 chapters and ends prematurely without giving the final fates for any of the characters. Despite these enormous flaws, I still feel compelled (after a lot of deliberation) to give Seraphim five stars. I believe that ratings should depend on what the manga was trying to accomplish and how well it's done that. Seraphim more than anything, is trying to present this idea of rebirth after collapse using the dichotomy between physical destruction and institutional ones. Oshii uses this for an unconventional plot twist that did blow my mind, but only after I finished reading and spent some time thinking about what exactly I had read. The art is nothing short of spectacular with attention to detail including crumbling buildings and use of fantastical sequences like the main characters standing on a field of skeletons of the infected - wings and all. The use of a political thriller environment feels authentic and sets the mood. Seraphim is through and through a Mamoru Oshii work. Dark Horse has done a really amazing job with Seraphim and all their other works (including Opus and Domu), which is why I think they're the best people in the business. The translation is impeccable, which is particularly impressive given the difficult political dialogue. Extras include a two-page color poster, concept art, and a long essay going into the history of Seraphim's production, Oshii, Kon, Animage, and the manga industry among other things. There is a lot of love that went into the creation of Seraphim that will not be lost upon the readers. For those of you wondering "should I get this?", I have a few suggestions. If you came upon this because you're ONLY a Satoshi Kon fan, I'd personally wouldn't get Seraphim and instead would get the much superior title, Opus. For those that can appreciate Mamoru Oshii, this is definitely a solid title even without the story being officially concluded. From a symbolical point of view, Oshii accomplished all that he needed to, which is why I believe he was okay with leaving it as it is. If you're the type of person that enjoys looking at the deeper meaning behind things, I heartily recommend Seraphim: 266613336 Wings.

This is incomplete (my fault for not checking into this title before ordering it). Apparently the collaborators on this split up years ago, with this project unfinished. One guy is dead, the other has no interest in working on this anymore. The book just ends, no resolution at all, just when I was really getting into as well. Don't buy this, rent it from your library or borrow it from someone - but don't buy it. I'll be selling mine someday (or donating it), as there is no conclusion to this at all.

I don’t get people who say the story is good! I think Satoshi Kon (rip) wasn’t good at world building and character development. He always threw us in the story without proper introduction and you end up not understanding anything! This makes me not care about the story and characters. Absolutely boring. Good art and cover though. It’s nice as a collectible. Other than that, wouldn’t even give it more than 2/10!