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181
18
Finished
Jan 26, 2012 to Mar 31, 2016
5.9/10
Average Review Score
36%
Recommend It
14
Reviews Worldwide
Brynhildr in the Darkness is a manga written by Lynn Okamoto. He will be more known for his other work mainly Elfen Lied . I am fan of some of his works including his short stories Flip Flap and Elfen Lied Brynhildr's plot was inspired of Old Norse mythology which makes for a way better and more complex plot than his previous works. However I honestly think that the actual core of the story is misunderstood so I wanted to share my interpretation because I really believe that although this manga is flawed it is also well written : ( Full spoilers) Brynhildr inthe Darkness presents an interesting story with main inspirations from Old Norse myths, including the Nibelungenlied (Nibelung), Ragnarök, and the AesirâVanir war. The Vanir side of the gods is represented in the heroes of the story. One of the older Norse(Germanic) gods is Nerthus, attested by the Roman historian Tacitus in the 1st century A.D., long before the tales of the Aesir gods (Odin, Thor, etc). This suggests that the more recent myth of the AesirâVanir war ( a story of a war between two god tribes) may reflect a historical clash of religions, where the older gods had to fall for new ones to rise. This is symbolically reenacted in Brynhildr with Nature / Love vs Technology & Knowledge. The legend of Nerthus tells of her traveling in a procession (notably with Freyja), bringing celebration and peacetime wherever she goes. During this procession, no one goes to war. This idea likely inspired the story of our main characters in Brynhildr, who fight Vingulf â or more accurately, struggle to survive its destructive forces. (AesirâVanir war) Letâs unpack the Norse mythology references: The Vanir ( Nature / Love / Fertility) Kazumi â Freyja Mythic Role: Goddess of love, fertility, beauty (AesirâVanir war) In Manga: Kazumi is brashly sexual yet selfless. Like Freyja, she is held hostage by the "Aesir," and misundestood by them. She survives multiple attempts on her life (AesirâVanir war). Ultimately, she sacrifices herself out of love. The actual Freyja in the manga is a false decoy god until Kazumi becomes a true goddess herself, granting Ryouta and Neko their only hope at romance. (AesirâVanir war) è„æ ćè Hatsuna â Nerthus Mythic Role: Ancient earth mother whose arrival halts all conflict; symbolizes death and rebirth cycles (AesirâVanir war) In manga, Hatsunaâs name (ćè, meaning âfirst sproutâ) and surname Wakabayashi è„æ "young forest" and her ability to regenerate symbolize her as a living representation of primordial nature. She endures the âRagnarökâ depicted in Brynhildr pushing the narrative that nature ultimately triumphs over human cunning. After hatching, she regenerates from her âDrasil,â reflecting her connection to an older Godess Nerthus that predates Odin and his control over gods as an "AllFather" figure. This parallels the theme that Drasil, NOT "Ygg"drasill, is a world order lacking Odinâs sacrificial act (Ygg=Odin in Old Norse) In essence meaning that the system Takachiho created is corrupt ( more on that later) Other Norse figures / Heroes who join the Vanir in the manga : Kana â Völva (the Seer) Mythic Role: The prophetic priestess of the VöluspĂĄ, the sole witness of the godsâ end (Ragnarök) In Manga: Kana, though unable to move, sees foresights and warns Neko of the Ragnarok (Loki awakening/ her having to use her hidden powers in volume 17) when captured by Makina. Her role in the manga mirrors the Völva: the seer who survives to tell the tale of the Ragnarök. Ryouta Murakami : Siegfried & Mimir Mythic Roles: Siegfried: The dragon-slaying hero of the Nibelunglied (linked to Norse Sigurd), famed for awakening Brynhildr He is the slayer of Fafnir( bearer of cursed knowledge = symbolically his family knowledge about the aliens in the manga) Mimir: The wise being whose head Odin consults for knowledge of fate and Ragnarök. Keeper of memory, sacrificed for divine insight. In Manga: Ryouta is a clear Siegfried / Mimir parallel â the âheroâ who revives Brynhildr (Kuroha) from her amnesiac, dormant state, and who becomes entangled in a tragic love he cannot fully control. He walks the path of doomed knowledge and his capacity to never forget dooms him to die an early death. In a way he is just like Sigurd who inherits a cursed treasure that spells the downfall of his line as his father gives ryouta the cursed renmants of Mimir's head ( and knowledge) Fun Fact Volume 16 Chapter 154 : When Ryouta says, "This is already the 3rd or 4th time Iâve died," which then is followed to a scene of Makina in the alien ruins in Dresden) it sounds like a throwaway line but itâs actually a hidden lore bomb. In the manga, we see him die three times: Killed by Saori during the flashback. Killed by Valkyria. Decapitated by Makina But hereâs the twist: The "fourth" death isnât shown until the very end of the story, when itâs revealed that Ryouta actually died back when he fell off the dam with Neko â the supposed "accident" from their childhood. Thatâs when his father resurrected him using Mimir's Drasill turning Ryouta into a living container of forbidden knowledge and linking him to the Norse myth of Siegfried, the bearer of the cursed truth. And MĂmirâs Well (his residence to be short) in Old Norse mythology is located beneath the YggDrasill root that stretches into Jötunheimr, the land of the giants So him being decapitated, the line "This is already the 3rd or 4th time Iâve died," and a follow up scene in the underground alien remains in Dresden is deeply symbolic and foreshadows Ryouta having Mimir's head. Neko (Kuroha) â Brynhildr é»çŸœ (black feather) evokes the Valkyrieâs wings and power. 毧ć (quiet child) reflecting her purity and tragic duality. Mythic Role: Brynhildr, Odinâs chosen warrior-maiden; valkyries choose who lives or dies (Nibelungenlied) In Manga: Neko can absorb or transfer physical strength like a Valkyria on the battlefield in the myths (only when in her awakened valkyria state in volume 15 to Kurofuku / also Onodera use that power as valkyria to knock Neko out in Volume 16). Her slow memory recovery echoes Brynhildrâs curse and awakening in the Nibelung. Her love for Ryouta places her at the heart of the Vanir cause. Like Brynhildr torn between Gunther and Sigurd, Neko is entangled between two âbrothersâ in our story. (Nibelungenlied ) She (like Brynhildr int the myth) commits essentially suicide to join Ryouta ( sigurd) in death Kotori â Grani / Idunn Mythic Role: A mix of Grani, the horse Odin gives Sigurd to save Brynhildr (Nibelungenlied); and Idunn, goddess of immortality who is killed during Ragnarok. In Manga: Kotori acts as Grani, Ryouta only reunites with Neko(who in her "awakened" or normal state is revealed to be Brynhildr) because of Kotori getting captured. When the Ain Soph Aur activates, Kotori sprouts 8 legs, evoking Sleipnir/Grani. She also reflects Idunn, as she defeats Valkyria symbolically the goddess of eternal life overcoming the man-made fake goddess of death. The Aesir (Power / Knowledge): Takachiho â False Odin Mythic Role: Odin, All-Father who sacrifices himself for wisdom but manipulates fate (Ragnarök) In Manga: Takachihoâs greyed-out lens echoes Odinâs lost eye (though Odin sacrificed it for wisdom at Mimirâs well, Takachiho sacrifices his family, not himself, for power, giving his son Ryouta the responsibility of Mimirâs knowledge). He predicts his death, like Odin foresees his doom at Ragnarök in the myth. Makina â Gunther / Deus Ex Machina Mythic Role: Gunther, the betrayer of Brynhildr under his fatherâs schemes (Nibelungenlied) In Manga: Like Gunther, Makinaâs pride and manipulation lead him to capture Brynhildr (Neko). His obsession with proving himself to his relatives as strong and worthy is his undoing. (Nibelungenlied) He's shown to be a "weak" demi god figure which aligns well with Gunther being a weak (physically) but powerful king in the myth. Valkyria â False Hel Mythic Role: Hel, goddess of death (Ragnarök) In Manga: Valkyria, with her white hair and deathly presence, embodies a fake Hel, bringing Niflheim to earth (Underground Lab of Ichijiku in volume 9-10). Sheâs defeated by Kotori (Idunn) through self-sacrifice life triumphing over death. (Ragnarök) Indeed as Kotori in her awakened "Idunn Godess" state nullifies Valkyria's power we can infer she is a fake version of a god. (more on that later) Drasil vs. Yggdrasill: Yggdrasill (myth): The World Tree, where Odin sacrificed himself for runic wisdom (Ragnarök) Drasil (manga): A man-made âtree of powerâ built without true sacrifice. Its rotting roots birth false gods, symbolizing the arrogance of science claiming godhood / fate Murakami family & the cursed treasure: Like Siegfried discovering Fafnirâs hoard (Nibelungenlied), the Murakami family finds the Yggdrasill remnants â a poisoned legacy that brings ruin to those who seek its power. This parallel deepens the mangaâs theme of cursed knowledge: both treasures promise divine might but bring only destruction. (Nibelungenlied) Old vs New Religion: Historical mirror: The AesirâVanir war reflects warrior cultures supplanting earth-worship traditions. In Manga: Vanir (Kazumi, Hatsuna, Kana, Neko, Ryouta ) represent natureâs endurance through love, prophecy, and sacrifice. The Aesir (Takachiho, Ichijiku, Makina, Valkyria ect) collapse beneath arrogance. Takachihoâs quest to kill the idea that god exists raises the question: Why do humans still cling to fate, even when we reject gods and religion ? Final reflection: Okamotoâs Brynhildr reimagines Ragnarök as a sci-fi saga where true godhood arises not from power or science, but from selfless sacrifice. The Vanir gods and heroes transcend humanity, meeting in the Edda â the mythic record of the gods. Meanwhile, the false gods (Valkyria as fake Hel / Fake Skadi / Fake Odin) fail, as their powers are born of corruption and often greed or control. My experience of Brynhildr is that as much as I dislike the reliance of harem tropes to make the story entertaining and sometimes distasteful use of ecchi (Fck Takaya) , there's a true attention to character development and Old Norse symbolism which made it stand out to me as a great manga. (also please buy this manga if you like it as the scans online dont include some details of the storyline I have detailed)
A tragic accident that took the life of his childhood friend, Kuroneko, fuels Ryouta Murakami to dedicate his life to what she believed inâaliens. Ten years later, Ryouta is the sole member of the Astronomy Club, and spends late nights hoping to find proof of extraterrestrial life. One day, a girl named Neko Kuroha, who looks suspiciously like Ryouta's late friend, transfers into his class. Denying any memory of knowing Ryouta, she disappears after giving him an eerie warning. It is later revealed that Neko is a witchâa scientifically enhanced magic wielderâwho escaped from being experimented upon in a secret research laboratory. Soon, other witches find their way to the Astronomy Club in an attempt to escape the tragic fate that awaits them. Witnessing the cruelty the young girls were subjected to, Ryouta takes it upon himself to protect the witches against their oppressors, and uncover the mystery behind Neko's bizarre resemblance to Kuroneko. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
I don't want to go too in detail but just to quickly sum it up. The manga starts off pretty decent, the characters comical interactions with each bring a nice touch, the plot (for the first half of the manga) was fairly interesting but sadly this is another one of those mangas where things start off great but at a certain point you start noticing it go down hill. At around the halfway point (similiar to where the anime ended) the plot development starts getting weird. So much is crammed in the remaining chapters (120-181) that you see the pace is being picked up and quickly rushed along up to the point where you are at the end of the manga; realising how many things were added and quickly forgotten about.Then you remember the start of the manga that there were the original questions you hoped would be answered but were completely brushed aside a long time ago. The manga is probably best enjoyed if you only read half of it similiar to where the anime ended, although it won't answer your questions you'll be more satisfied by how the turn of events came. Going any further only feels as if you are being bombarded by various ideas the author wanted in before it ended but there was not enough time to flesh out or explain the ideas but simply quickly slapped in "Okay, so X is here and Y is here and Z is here." but you don't get the why is XYZ there and for what purpose besides it simply being there. If you are looking for one of those satisfying mangas where you can start from beginning to finish and actually be satisfied at how everything turned out and the majority of reasons why things occurred. This is not one of those mangas, maybe one day I'll find another like that but not today.
This is honestly the saddest manga experience I have ever had, the first 100 or so chapters are absolutely amazing and might've possibly been the best manga I've ever read but the proceeding 80 or so chapters dropped my score from 10/10 to 1/10. I'm honestly not sure how the series went in the poor directions it did but some advice I'd definitely give, after the end of chapter 100 or 110 or so when it feels like a stopping point, just stop. You can read more but don't say I didn't warn you. It is hard to go over the problems with this mangasince they take place so far in but it's a combination of dragging on and simply insulting the reader, it almost feels like the author was mad at someone and started writing to mess with them, that's how bad it was. The story set up as a beautiful tragic romantic tale, and takes off with adrenaline packed chapters of mystery and intrigue without shunning any character development. A thrilling tragic atmosphere is set and maintained. After those first 100 or so chapters the quality drops dramatically with events taking place that don't matter anymore and vile things happening that are played off as "no big deal." It was sad to see the manga drop off so hard when it originally was so good. The art style is maintained and very good throughout the manga. The characters are fantastic but after the first 100 or so chapters, any remaining or new characters lost their charm (aside from one I suppose) and some of the new characters are just purely there to make you hate them even though they're actually on the "good" side. Enjoyment, first 100 chapters 10/10 one of the best ever. Remaining 80 or so, one of the worst drops I've ever seen in any story. I highly recommend the beginning of this manga but unless you're a completionist, just stop before it's too late.
I am really surprised to read all those positive reviews here since I dropped the manga pretty quick. What can I say? First I was excited to read another story by Lynn Okamoto who created Elfenlied one of my favorite animes. But as before when I read the Elfenlied manga I was pretty disappointed when I read Brynhildr. Elfenlied was, in my opinion, pretty much saved by the anime studio. They cut the story off at just the right moment before Okamoto messed his whole story up. When I read Brynhildr I felt like he did not really dare to do something new or atleast somehow different. He used all the same imagery and storylines, mixed them up a little and sold a new manga from it. This really felt like a lack of creativity, so I dropped it pretty soon.
I'm reviewing part 1 here, up through the first half. I'm not as familiar with the 100s-ish chapters, so they aren't as fresh in my mind as the first half. Anywho, here goes my first review on this site. No spoilers, hopefully. This story is a great story for one main reason: the pacing. Everything flows together nicely. While a bit janky at the start, the crucial information is laid out and we understand who the protagonist is, thus allowing us to connect with this adventure. Apart from this one decision, though, the readers find out information when it's needed, and for justifiable reasons. Intelligent actionsare followed by consequences. If an action caused a problem for the main cast, Murakami knows not to repeat it. Unlike Elfen Lied, there is no justification as to why only women are given magic powers, but this series has forward momentum and goals to characters, while the latter tended to meander in its edgy scenes. Not much to say about art. To me, if it's serviceable and I can recognize the characters and the actions, it's fine. What sells art to me are the right amount of excess details. Foresight, basically. But that's more towards heavy action stories. Does this story have that? No, but it has minimal action, so I'm not too picky. One art thing I'll praise immensely are the evil faces. You'll know them when you see them, and you'll never fall asleep after seeing them. Okamoto Lynn can make nightmare fuel, and that's an important quality for an artist. It sticks in the mind. Now characters. Our MC, Murakami, is a great protagonist for two reasons. One, he is intelligent, and lord knows shounen magazine lacks intelligent protagonists. (It's a ratio complaint.) Two, he is proactive. He chooses to involve himself with the plot and engages the villains while they engage the magic users and unknowingly him. He also has a will and sass, making it seem like he deserves the female attention. Speaking of which, the rest of the man cast is pretty good. Kazumi, while being sexually active, existed before this crush, and continues to exist following it. A girl as forward as her is rare in this genre, and I find her quite endearing. The majority of the rest of the female alliance is good on a surface level, yet feel like real people. Possibly a tad trope-y, but these tropes are expanded upon a bit, so I like it. Kuroha is an exception. I'm not fond of her. SPOILERS BELOW This is all over the place. My problem is hard to nail down. Kuroha is two different people, and the most engaging of which shows up for a few chapters only to fade away. The first version we interact with for the majority of the story, she is a good person. After escaping her cargo hold, she wants to spend her remaining days helping people. This is fair, considering that she habitually forgets things due to her power, so having this desire for her supposed last days alive when nothing else exists in her mind, I'm okay with it. But past this, she gains nothing, and has nothing save her selfless attitude. Her affection towards Murakami is extremely immature, and since she is portrayed as smart and easily able to pick up on new things, this dichotomy rubs me the wrong way. The memory forgetting feels like an excuse to avoid her developing. Seriously, can she not find a hobby? Kana has an excuse for being bedridden, and Kotori enjoys the simpler things in life, and Hatsuna wants a normal life free of witch-related hassle. Kuroha has no excuse. The second version is full of life, and is proactive. This is the version Murakami knew a long time ago, and a major part of his character is the guilt he feels over causing her to die. We don't see Murakami adjust to the new Kuroha, or get ample time to reconnoiter with the old Kuroha. I can't empathize with a female lead that I can't follow. SPOILERS ABOVE As for the villains, the majority is nothing too special. For the most part, it's an evil lab that does experiments on girls for evil reasons. It exists for the plot. But while the setting is cliche, the people inside feel like people. Mostly. Putting aside the final villains (again, first half), the enemy magic users feel like people. Even those with brief talking periods, I understand where they're coming from beyond "bad guys tell me to do bad things". A couple humans even feel like humans, not simply of a "discarding trash" mindset. Overall? Please read this manga, the first half. It's very gripping, and Kasumi is among my wall of waifus. But mostly it has fantastic pacing and a setting fueled by smart decisions. I haven't watched the anime, but it supposedly condensed 99 chapters into 13 episodes. This story needs to be adapted in full. There's little to no filler, and everything plays too well into each other. If enough people favorite, I'll go over the second half with a critical eye.
