Lament of the Lamb

Quite honestly, I was surprised by how much this manga drew me in. I find that it's usually only the very good, but little-known manga that have this kind of pull on people. Anything that I write probably won't do Hitsuji no Uta justice, but I'll try anyways. The characters are extremly dynamic, and in a good way. Throughout the story, they change, mature, move forward, backwards, and forward once more. There is also nothing that is completely certain in this manga; it seems to lack the usual stereotypes and absolute courses of action that most manga are riddled with (not thatthey're bad, but something completely without them is somewhat refreshing). I'm not really that much of a fan of happily ever after, but this mixes tragedy and the happy ending together in a way that is satisfying for fans of both types. I just picked it on a whim because I had read Toume Kei's Kurogane twice through, but the art wowed me all the same. It keeps the same darkness, but adds an extra sophistication by using cleaner lines. Everything about this manga just overwhelms me; I really have trouble describing it. It's like one of those great finds at the bottom of the junk pile. When you're sick of reading mainstream like Naruto or Bleach, and have a taste for darker, more sophisticated manga, this won't dissapoint.

Hitsuji no Uta provides a pretty good psychological drama about a cursed family and their struggles with a few key interpersonal relationships. Most of the main cast can be melodramatic (the painter being the most egregious) but the sister carries well enough by being the most interesting and complex character out of the bunch. The art isn't bad either, it suits the tone of the story very well and doesn't intrude on the experience. The main issue is that the entirety of this manga becomes meaningless because the author decided to reset everything with the final chapter. Think of something akin to watching a movieand at the post credit scene the main character wakes up and realizes everything was a dream all along. All of the character development, growth, and emotions that were built up over the series were just thrown out the window. If the final chapter didn't exist, I would say this manga is about a 6, with some interesting (albeit over the top) characters and developments. However, with the last chapter making everything that led up to it redundant, I would've rather never read this manga in the first place.

Everybody already mentioned this in the other reviews but there's something in this story that keeps you reading it, even if it came across as slow you will find yourself entertained. The Tragedy genre is all over the story, but in a subtle way, going through the panels feels like swimming in a light but cloudy water, the story is pretty consistent with a good pace, although the lowkey Shakespearesque way to develop the story can be frustrating for some people I consider it bearable considering the concept of a romantic-vampiresque-tragedy theme. The art is decent as well, what I like themost was the use of visual elements like Chizuna's beauty, as a subtheme of the story, and the depiction of the relationship between Chizuna and Kazuna with textless panels, it feels like they are in a place where no one can reach and nobody can label, as their relationship. The story's characters' strong points lay in Chizuna and Kazuna, and the way they cope with their condition is well depicted and what stuck with me the most. The quote "We are lambs with wolves' fangs and wolves' hunger..." left the end with a bittersweet taste, even with the last chapter trying to reconcile the misfortuned nature of the story. I actually enjoy bittersweet stories and this one is no exception, I liked the pace, wasn't too fast or too slow it was just right, the length is good as well, and the art could be better but considering the year it's ok, I really like Chizuna's character design tho. And regarding the narrative, I'm not much of a fan of the way the story it's told as well so a 7 it's fair for me.

If you are wondering about whether to pick it up or not, I'll say only three words, "JUST READ IT". Yes it is that good. This story is something to be experienced. Don't be mislead by horror or other tags. Just go with it. It'll give you all kinds of feels you can imagine and then just will leave you heartbroken. And just after that it'll give you a consolation to ease the pain. Although I wanted it to be a small review but unfortunately Mal won't let me, so I'll give more teases about the Manga. The story is well paced and is brilliantly distributed amongthe volumes. It doest feels rushed or slow paced. Characters are well devolped and are not half assed. The story moves with intent and with a clear direction and concludes with a decent conclusion. So you, yes you, who's reading this review. Do us all a favour by stop wasting your time and start reading it XD