midnightdiddle

Ahem. Last night (or rather, early this morning) I was rather, er, excitable, what with spending the last several hours reading some ten or so volumes of Animal X at a very late hour. So.

A review of Animal X, Now with Coherence!

Call now, and get a second review free! :D

Basic Plot:

Ayukawa Yuuji (27) is a not much of a man. He faints at the sight of blood, has a somewhat weak constitution, and has all the emotional backbone of a slug, after its been salted. He's a dutiful son, dutiful fiance, and dutiful researcher, but really isn't much besides that. Also, he's better at cooking and sewing than most other "manly" things.

Asaba Minato (17) is a dinosauroid. He, like others of his rapidly diminishing race, can transform into a dinosaur. He's cocky, self-sure, and somewhat of a bastard. He views the human race as inferior, and sees no problem with killing people. The dinosauroids, however, have a problem. Due to years of inbreeding and DNA decay, there are few females born, and most, if not all, are born with severe defects and mutations. As such, the dinosauroid race is dying off.

Well. Yuuji is working as both a researcher and a willing experiment in drug treatments. Unbeknownst to him, the drugs are changing his body from that of a rather effeminate man to a hermaphrodite. When Minato happens upon Yuuji, Yuuji smells like a dinosauroid female. Minato, very pleased at finding a mate, begins to take (read: kidnap) Yuuji home.

Things, however, simply become more confusing for Yuuji. Since females are so rare, they have become a kind of property to dinosauroid clans. Any female is more or less free game, and all the males can mate with her, in hopes of offspring. And now, Yuuji's expected to bear the children of the men of the village.

So begins the series. Genocide, destruction on a massive scale, babies, man-boobs, more genocide, more destruction, more death, more babies, more man-boobs, and dinosaurs.

Could it possibly get any better?

Plot:

The plot was excellent. Over the past few years, I've become used to reading yaoi manga which were the ideal of PWP. Lots of sex, no plot. Animal X, on the other hand, is lots of plot, with some smut on the side. The sex, even, is plot-significant.

Possibly my favorite bit of the manga was that events actually had an effect on the story. In far too many manga, you see events that will leave a mark on everyone, but one chapter later, it's all but forgotten. Gravitation has to be my prime example. Shuichi's gang-raped, but one chapter later, it's entirely forgotten, and life continues.

Not so in Animal X. If (or rather, when) Yuuji is raped, it has consequences. Is he pregnant? Is he in pain? Is he sick? Does he ever want to have sex again? When Minato is in a fight, and is injured, his injuries stick around. He walks with a limp for a few chapters, he has bandages that are present here and there. Scars stick around. Issues stick around.

Yuuji's body is more or less used as an experiment, and because of that, his body is breaking down. He's weaker than the rest, and it shows, here and there. It's not some simple plot device that's forgotten seven pages later. Rather, issues stick around, and return here and there, often as unhappy reminders of the past.

A cough is never just a cough. It's a sign of things to come, and I love that.

My one issue with the plot were the timeline inconsistancies, though I think that has more to do with translation problems that the actual manga. At one point, Minato makes a comment on how he's now an adult, since it's his eighteenth birthday. However, all the events that previously took place took much longer than a year. Also, in Japan, the age of majority is twenty, so just ignore the "I'm eighteen!" and toss in an "I'm twenty!" Then the timeline works out quite well.

My other, very slight, issue is that sheer amount of dialogue. A lot is going on. You have racial issues, biotechnological issues, moral issues, big-business issues. There's a lot going on, and a lot of players. At the center of everything, though, is Yuuji and Minato, so it's really quite worth it.

Score: 8/10

Art:

Okay, the art. The manga is by Sugimoto Ami, who also did Birthday, if anyone frequents the yaoi scanlation bits of the internet. Her art is, at first, a bit off-setting, because it's not really-- Well, not really your average Japanese manga style. When I first read Birthday, I thought the mangaka was Korean, actually.

Once you get used to it, though, her art is really quite nice, and it simply becomes more and more beautiful through the series. For example.

And best yet? Best yet? The little things. Like the fact that Yuuji is walking the line between being a woman and man, and his looks are so androgynous. At times, you could swear he has boobs (which he does!), and other times he looks like, well, a boy. And then he'll stand a certain way, and my god, he has hips, and breasts, right? Right? Or is that just an illusion? I love it.

My only issue with the art is the dinosaurs. Frankly, I think they're rather ugly, but then, I've never really liked dinosaurs. But then again, dinosaurs aren't really supposed to be beautiful. They're walking tanks of destruction, after all.

Score: 9/10

Characters:

I think this is where Animal X is strongest. The characters are simply amazing. Each character has motivations, issues, ideas, etc., and they're all different. Yuuji reacts differently than Minato. Minato acts differently from Shirakawa. Shirakawa-- Well, you get the idea.

Some of the characters are ruthless. Others are too kind for their own good. Some of them betray their villages without a second thought. Others would rather die than ever hurt their family members. Each character has a life, and reasons for everything.

Better yet, the characters grow. This is especially evident with Yuuji. He begins as a weak-willed man. He grows, changes, becomes stronger and weaker. His body changes, but his personality changes, too. The same thing with Minato, Shirakawa, Takatori, and more. All the characters change, whether for the better or the worse.

Most importantly, though, there isn't an all-powerful character. They all have faults, though different faults. Yuuji is arguably the bravest character in the series, but his entire body is breaking down. Minato's one of the strongest physically, but emotionally and mentally, he's still a child. Takatori has beauty, power, money, and prestige, but he's lost his entire family. On, and on, all the characters have positives and negatives.

And really, I can't think of a character I hated. Rather, I loved most of them. Yuuji makes me scream with delight, Minato's rather loveable. Takatori and Shirakawa make me sob. Hiratsuka's really quite awesome, and Linea is like, freaking awesome.

Score: 10/10

Other:

This being, well, everything else.

This manga is certainly not for the faint of heart. Think Sex Pistols, with a side of Underground Hotel, some Birthday for kicks and giggles, and a nice helping of Ichigenme. Animal X is long, serious, and really, really not for the faint of heart.

People die in the manga. Truth, I think more people die than actually live. And the deaths are gruesome, and very clearly drawn. Sorta like X/1999, only with more dinosaurs. I know I had a bit of a problem with how much death there was, and how almost all of it was really bloody dismemberment. But, well, there are man-boobs, and anything's worth it, if there are man-boobs at the end.

As for sex, it's never graphic. Rather, the emphasis is on the aftermath of the sex (rape, as the case may be), rather than the act itself. And, of course, Yuuji's at his most androgynous during sex scenes, so that's just pretty awesome.

As for other issues, the manga deals with age of consent, rape, incest, abuse, kidnapping, death, torture, mutilation, genetics, racial identity, sexual identity, prejudice, biological experimentation, and morals in science. It's not a happy, fluffy manga. Nor is it a light read. It's really quite deep, dinosaurs notwithstanding.

Don't let this scare you off, though. The heart of the story is Yuuji and Minato, and how they're trying to survive in a world that is trying to tear them both apart.

Overall Score: 9/10

Also. BOOBS.

ETA: For those who might care. Aragami no Ichizoku, Daichi no Okite, and Genshi Sairai. The three story arcs, in chronological order.