Now that it has concluded, I want to talk about "This Communication" (contains spoilers from the middle onwards)
While I have an urge to jump straight into the core of my thoughts on "This Communication," it would be a disservice to the author not to promote it (as it is a masterpiece that compels me to say so), so I will introduce the first volume before unleashing my thoughts on the series up to the final volume.
Whether at school or in the workplace, or any community for that matter, there is always someone unpleasant, and there are often situations where you think things would run smoothly if only that person weren't there. So, how should one deal with it?
The answer that carries some weight changes depending on whether it is a management issue or a communication issue, but if you were to ask the protagonist of this work, Deruha, in the middle of a battlefield, the answer would be clear and concise. He would reply, "Just kill them." That is surely how Deruha, a soldier who is a rationalist lacking in ethics and possesses the bad habit of being a "friendly-fire killer," would answer.friendly-fire killer of the bad habit of being a soldier, would surely answer that way.
The setting is a modern society where technological progress stopped around the 1980s... but since it takes place primarily in a research facility buried in snow near the summit of Kamikochi, you probably won't even realize it's set in Japan while reading. The reason the setting is fixed is that the world is on the verge of destruction due to the invasion of the "Iperit."
It is easiest to imagine the Iperit as train-sized lampreys. In short, they are not opponents that humans can defeat in battle.
If humans cannot win, they must rely on something non-human, so the research facility performed human body modifications to create six girls with superhuman strength to counter the Iperit. They are called "Huntress" (female hunters). They are bundles of desire for self-approval, rushing out to defeat the Iperit in hopes of being recognized, but several die in every battle.Huntress (huntress, female hunter). They are bundles of desire for self-approval, rushing out to defeat the Iperit in hopes of being recognized, but several die in every battle.
If there are only six of them and people are dying, wouldn't the team collapse immediately? It's fine, because they are immortal. To be precise, a "regeneration" occurs to the state they were in one hour before the moment they died. Physical damage is rewound, and they are revived with their memories up to one hour prior intact.regeneration occurs to the state they were in one hour before the moment they died. Physical damage is rewound, and they are revived with their memories up to one hour prior intact.
The protagonist, Deruha, leads the Huntresses. If this were a story about him using his military expertise to repel the threat of the approaching Iperit... it would have been adapted into an anime long ago, but that is not the main point of this work.
Because the Huntresses are immature girls, they do not follow instructions and they fight among themselves. Keeping them together is a struggle. So, how should one deal with it? Since battles with the Iperit occur daily and the commander is Deruha, the answer would be clear and concise. He would reply, "
Just kill them."
Since they regenerate to the state they were in one hour before they were killed, and their memories from the hour before they were killed are deleted upon revival, it can trigger a "pseudo-time leap." You can add ingenuity to the instructions for members expected to disobey, and you can remove the causes of friction between team members in advance. This work is a "suspense manga where the protagonist controls the Huntress unit through memory manipulation via murder while confronting the approaching Iperit." It is the story of a devil-like man who kills the monster "Huntress" to kill the monster "Iperit."pseudo-time leap. Instructions for members expected to disobey can be adjusted, and the causes of friction between team members can be removed in advance. This work is a "suspense manga where the protagonist controls the Huntress unit through memory manipulation via murder while confronting the approaching Iperit." It is the story of a devil-like man who kills the monster "Huntress" to kill the monster "Iperit."
The Huntresses look like middle school girls and are pitiful victims. Because they cannot become anything else, they are impatient for success and try to outdo others; they head to the battlefield wanting to be recognized and praised, but Deruha mercilessly buries them. His judgment is to kill them if it is rationally necessary. It is a sharp manga. If a manga artist who says that manga gives people dreams were to read this, what kind of thoughts would they express...?
However, the style is bright. The author mentions "Taizou Mote King Saga" in the first volume's author commentary, and Deruha's facial expressions change the mood, so despite it being an apocalyptic series with frequent murders, it doesn't have a dark atmosphere. It is comedic, yet the story is constructed with logic, and it also has a sense of flair with the murders and the existence of the Iperit, which is beyond reason. It is a fun work that makes you want to re-read it, and in fact, it was reportedly ranked 1st or 2nd in the reader surveys almost every week in Jump SQ, the magazine where it was serialized.
That is all for my introduction to this work without spoilers. I hope you will read it. By the way, my favorite is Ichiko (I like her clumsiness and worries, which feel human). Below, I will share my thoughts—or rather, ramble on with illogical impressions—with spoilers up to the final volume.
There are only devil worshippers
It is a famous story that in "Parasyte," it is said that the creature closest to a devil is indeed a human. The protagonist of this work, Deruha, embodies the devil of rationality. His principle of action is to eat, and killing is merely a means to that end. Generally, the majority of people kill (animals and plants) to live, but he lives to eat, and is an existence that kills (Iperit, Huntresses, and even humans) to eat.
There is a scene where Yomi conspires with Deruha to fight other Huntresses, but she only goes as far as severing their limbs. It is emphasized that Deruha was responsible for the killings, but considering the eventual reconciliation between the Huntresses and Deruha, the solidarity among the Huntresses, and the salvation of the world, it seems they couldn't let the Huntresses bear the sin. It's as if they wanted to keep Deruha as the only devil.
The director, the Huntresses, the readers, and even the author are all followers of the devil known as Deruha. We are fascinated by Deruha's logic and actions, and we feel catharsis when he wins. As the protagonist, that is of course fine. I perceive this work as a work written to fully depict the deeds of a devil-like man as I see it.
However, due to the focus being on Deruha, some questions arose in the final episode. What did Michi feel when her family was killed?
Deruha gave Michi the bitter advice to "learn to interact with others," which she eventually overcame. In other words, building relationships with the Huntresses and her family was Michi's theme, but in the final episode, Michi's family was killed. Seeing that, what did she think?
Of course, it is not impossible that she didn't realize Deruha killed her family, but if she realized Deruha buried them after the tombstone size issue, it is almost self-evident that it was a murder by Deruha. Did she love Deruha even while being unable to forgive that murder? This was not depicted, so only the author knows.
Was communication the axis of this work?
I perceive that the title was recovered in the final episode. In other words, I do not think communication is the axis of this work. It should have been a story about controlling the Huntresses through memory manipulation via murder in order to stand up to the powerful enemy known as Iperit.
That said, it is not as if Deruha was not communicating with the Huntresses. For Deruha, who acts to survive, the power of the Huntresses was necessary for the defense of the research facility. Because it was necessary to communicate with them to organize the Huntresses as a team, Deruha tried to know them. In that respect, it can be said that he was sincere.
Yes, sincerity. Deruha criticized Yoshinaga for abandoning the sincerity that should be built up, just by throwing logical arguments at others. Conversely, although Deruha had problems with his self-satisfying purpose of eating, and sometimes with his methods like murder and drugs, there was definitely a sincerity in that he accumulated efforts to understand others.
Conversely, when the Huntresses engaged in communication with Deruha based solely on the sincerity of "if you commit murder, we will leave," it is stated in the work that "this is their internal growth, and if you play tricks on sincerity, it becomes a lie." There is no doubt that Deruha and the Huntresses were indeed communicating, but it was not something that was continuously depicted throughout the entire work, but rather something that was told at key points.
Rather, the flashback in the Oscar battle where he says love and affection are nothing but misunderstandings, and the "discommunication" (a Japanese-made English term; it would be better to say mutual misunderstanding) in the final episode were the blueprints the author wanted to do, and wasn't it a title just for the sake of wanting to do the final episode?
Did the Huntresses understand Deruha?
One of the main axes of this work is the growth of the Huntresses. Conversely, Deruha does not grow at all. He acknowledges the growth of the Huntresses, but he continues to follow his own instinct, which is rationality.
Did the Huntresses accurately understand that Deruha had not changed in the end? My answer is yes. Just by making him choose the path of not breaking their personalities, their actions have great significance, and it is neatly wrapped up as a story.
Deruha thinks this in episode 46: "The Huntresses misunderstand that 'Deruha is committing murder while his heart aches.' Guilt and fear are binding them here." I think this is inaccurate and lacks words.
In episode 47, Niko says, "Deruha is committing murder because killing is the best thing to do. I won't let him break."
*By the way, I thought 'Because they are family' would follow the words 'For me, already...', but is this a delusion?
The Huntresses held love and affection for Deruha, and couldn't Deruha understand those feelings? Because of that, couldn't he only express it with the words guilt and fear?
A lump of rationality is still better than a Deruha whose personality is broken, and a lump of rationality is a heinous devil who easily commits murder, but perhaps they chose to stay by his side precisely because he was a presence that could be called family to them. As a result, I think Deruha's interpretation of the Huntresses was inaccurate, and the Huntresses' interpretation of Deruha hit the mark.
Wasn't that development the best for the final volume?
Deruha's deeds are of course so, but the research facility's deeds are also ethically problematic. Personally, I feel 1/4 that I felt refreshed that they were destroyed, and 3/4 that I hope for a reduced sentence because there is also an aspect of emergency evacuation. Well, as the author, it was a Deruha service episode, so there probably wasn't an aspect of reward and punishment.
A story of reconciliation between the Huntresses and Deruha was definitely necessary somewhere, and I think it is the most refreshing reconciliation that rationality acknowledges their growth and Deruha loses.
And, on top of that, wasn't it necessary for Deruha to die...? I do feel like I wanted to see a story where he stays by their side forever as the Huntresses' parent, but in terms of fully depicting the growth of the Huntresses, the need to let go arises somewhere. Death is the most prominent separation, so this ending is the best.
Even if there is a gap between self and others, mutual misunderstanding is an everyday occurrence, and love and affection were nothing but misunderstandings, a relationship built on sincerity certainly existed between him and them. Since it is a story where that became the driving force and even saved the world, discommunication is not bad either.
A word about the characters
Yomi
I love how the early part features the story where she pressured someone into admitting defeat by asking "Are you strong?", and it's all tied together in the end with "You've become strong...".
Her heart was weak, but she was the most straightforward of them all.
Ichiko
I wrote above that she is my absolute favorite, and since the author mentioned they designed her with a general sense of cuteness in mind, I think I became the exact kind of reader the author expected. I projected myself onto the scene where she cries because she can't master gunnery.
Michi
I have the impression that she had the least amount of character development. There wasn't much internal monologue, but well, it's a story centered on Deluha, so it can't be helped.
It's touching that she wears the cat accessory handmade by Deluha.
Nana and Hachi
The character design, this is Yotsuba from The Quintessential Quintuplets, right...? If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, author.
Director
The bonus page in the final volume is great. In the first chapter, she says her dream is to smoke a cigarette in the middle of a field once the world is restored, and I'm glad she was able to make that happen. She also occasionally acts as the narrator.
Niko
The "Niko is the cutest" faction seems to like mean-spirited beauties. The reason she gets killed is pitiful. I couldn't help but think she held familial love for Deluha. Niko remembering "I'm telling you, we're the ones who will save the world" might have been the beginning of the end.
Itsuka
She was a good person from the start, wasn't she? She might not have grown much, but she didn't need to. She's the healing factor. Also, I thought the emotional reason for her blood ability was to make the Huntresses truly blood-related family, but another part of me is saying, "The author probably isn't thinking about anything that sentimental."
Mutsu
She stopped running away from responsibility. She used to keep her eyes cast down, but she ends the final page walking and laughing with everyone, and she's looking up in the bonus page; her growth is remarkable.
Deluha
A psycho-killer who makes meticulous plans only to be driven into a corner by unexpected elements. He creates 90% of what makes this work interesting. My favorite gag is Chapter 39, "Sometimes a Memo Comes." Don't young people not know about Tokimeki Memorial...? I love his "Are you hitting on me?" face.
In conclusion
It is a masterpiece of suspense that combines tension and relief (=gags), logic and the illogical.
I will definitely eat an Engadiner someday.
Postscript: Afterword