This revolutionary shoujo manga is one of my all time favorites. There is too much to say about it. From start to finish, I was so engaged with everything that happened, I can't even explain what it made me feel. I was scared to read the final volume because I didn't want it to end. Words are not enough for me to explain what this does to me, but I'm glad that the people who read the whole thing seem to like it, too (not everyone is into older Manga). Anyways, here are some thoughts:
[contains minor spoilers]
Before I get into my thoughts on this manga, I would like to address the concerns people have about the nature of some of the themes here. I very much agree with Oscar Wilde when he said that there are no moral or immoral books - they are either well written or they aren’t. That being said, I have no problems with the things I encounter in fiction at all. Especially in this Manga, which is loaded with things that I wouldn’t tolerate for a second should I happen to encounter them in real life.
That being said: I fell in love with this Manga, so my review will be heavily biased. When somethings stirs something in you, it’s hard to stay completely objective, although I will try my best to do so. You may want to keep that in mind should you decide to continue reading this review.
This Manga almost seems like it was written for me - meaning, it has a lot of elements I always look for or dream about, so seeing something so ‚dreamlike‘ in the real world, I got excited.
Set in one of my favorite historical periods (fin de siècle) in France, I expected a regular love story between two teenagers. It’s an all-boys school, so what else would happen, right? Well, to a degree, it is what happens, but the road to that is hard and long with no end in sight, and even when you think that they have finally reached their destination, this element of the story isn’t even half of what this story is about. Let me elaborate by talking about our two main characters for a bit.
Gilbert - he is the ultimate manifestation of addiction and fear. He has no sense of self since he was raised to be nothing more than a pet, causing him to lose himself in what he considers freedom - music, alcohol, dreams and of course, ‚love‘. He can’t be alone for a reasonable amount of time, and when he doesn’t get what he feels he needs, he will do anything to get it, anything - even if it inflicts pain on those the claims to love. The way he has been treated and continues to be treated by basically anybody other than Serge seems to only reinforce his idea that this is just the way things are. He can’t change. He doesn’t want to change, he wouldn’t mind staying like this forever, since reality is too much for him to handle anyways. The eternal boy.
Serge has always been a serious boy who is used to putting effort into everything he does. He soon realizes that being with Gilbert is to abandon everything - his dreams, his friends, his future. He suffers, but can’t leave Gilbert. Only when he realizes that he can’t catch this bird that is Gilbert, he sees himself forced to give up. Serge wants to save Gilbert and live a normal life with him, but Gilbert is not somebody who is willing to give up on his ways. Gilbert would be fine living like he did with Auguste (I’ll be damned if that man wasn’t modeled after Franz Liszt) except less cruel. Serge tries to provide Gilbert with a certain lifestyle, but to do that, he has to work and constantly suffer at the hands of his surroundings. Life with Gilbert makes him miserable, but he tolerates it for this impossible love. Each time there is a glimmer of hope, something goes wrong and it all has to do with Gilbert. Now, at the time, homosexuality was not considered a crime under the Code Napoléon, but that doesn’t mean that society did not frown upon such things nevertheless. He knows in his heart that there is no future for them, not only because they are both male, but because of Gilbert’s nature. Serge knows from his own father that you sometimes have to throw away everything you hold dear to be with the one you love, but unlike his father, Serge’s partner isn’t willing to do, well, anything. Gilbert doesn’t seem to care if he lives or dies, and Serge alone can’t take the burden which is both of their lives.
The story can get really over the top sometimes and a lot of the time, the character’s actions are completely unreasonable. In that regard, the story is a bit flawed and takes away from the realism for me, but in the end, I honestly didn’t mind that much because I got so emotionally involved in it. The main point, to me, is shattered hopes and dreams, and it can’t be helped that they do. It’s ultimately about the death of youth. It’s a classic tragedy.
Needless to say, I personally love the art. It's melancholic and beautiful.
This Manga just got me. It's an emotional thing, so I'm not sure how else to talk about it at the moment.
(-10)
(+60)
