Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit

no spoilers this is my first read for this mangaka mase Motoro and boy i did not expect it to be this good, i just kept reading i enjoyed it a lot. it was a surprise because i never heard of it before but i stumbled on it by a coincidence. the art is very good to look at and the characters are well build and what makes it even more enjoyable to me is that he separated the main theme into episodes three chapters each built around the main theme about the value of life and how to build a good society and to be agood citizen. each episode has its own idea that connects to the main theme. this manga despite the tag (action) has no action scenes like some shounen manga but its very dramatic and political definitely not for younger audiences. if you like this type of manga give it a shot you will enjoy it.

tl;dr: An episodic story that tells stories about the value of life in an interesting manner but that doesn’t land the ending in terms of wrapping up the overarching story. This manga certainly has an interesting concept. That people prize their lives more strongly and truly live when they think they’re going to die isn’t that novel, but that being tied into a dystopian system with the goal of achieving such an effect certainly is. A work where the government arbitrarily kills off 1 in 1000 citizens, I would normally expect to be about fighting the system. And while that does play a part, primarily towardsthe ending, that’s really not the focus of most of the work. The majority of the manga is a series of episodes that begin by first showing off someone’s personality and background, then showing that person receiving their Ikigami, then showing what they do in the time they have left while also showing the effect that has on others. The main character has a pretty limited presence for most of these, only showing small glimpses here and there that slowly build up to him becoming the focus during the final chapters. Still, in the end I didn’t feel that much attachment to him or his story all that much, especially compared to the episodes focusing on those that were going to die. These episodes are written pretty well and strangely enough are generally bittersweet. They show that people do live their lives more fully when they know their time is coming to an end, and that often does result in others also improving their lives as a result of the actions of the dying. Despite the completely strange situation that it arises from, while still sad, there is still an element of hope to these deaths. And that is part of what I feel makes the overarching story feel somewhat contradictory in that the final conclusion is that the system is actually something terrible that wasn’t created for the stated purpose. A system that arbitrarily kills people is horrible and obviously does not need an explanation for why it is so and the explanation that such a system could promote the value of life is immediately obvious as nonsensical. Still, having that be the conclusion of a narrative that for the most part was focused on cases where the system did lead to at least somewhat positive outcomes feels inconsistent. Furthermore, how it pivots from the previous message about valuing life to one about how society is spineless and selfish in that they much prefer the system over pushing for a change they don’t personally benefit from, felt pretty forced. The message very much does fit a narrative about such a society, but considering what the rest of the narrative was focused on it feels out of place. It also felt pretty hollow and superficial, because due to the big twist that happened towards the end and the last line, it felt like the author was reprimanding people for not criticizing society while also making sure not to criticize his own society. The ending itself in terms of the protagonist is satisfying enough, but due to all the other issues with it I didn’t find the ending that satisfying overall. In terms of art, it never seemed bad but never popped out as good either, so the best I can say is that it was adequate for telling the story the author wanted to tell.

This review contains spoilers for chapters 13-15. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ MORE~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ NOODLES~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ PLEASE!~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ I would like to say I love Ikigami, but I only love the second half of the series. The first half is quite predictable, but it was the good predictable. Everything they did in the first half was exactly what was needed to make me feel a certain way if that makes sense. There's a story near the beginning where a politicians son gets an Ikigami, he has a bad relationship with said parent and so he tries to kill her on his final day. It was something you could see from a mile away but it was still thrilling to read. The second half however wasn't predictable at all. You start getting chapters about the state of the country at the time and how people are feeling about the Ikigami system, as well as development for the MC (who doesn't get a LOT in the first half outside of a few panels during some stories). Alongside these though there's still stories about various peoples last day, and they are far better than the ones in the first half. Many many times did I cry while reading them and they went in directions I never would've thought too. The art is very well drawn and there are some double pages that really stunned me with how great they were especially when they shown up during the climax of someone's story. Even despite the first half's flaws I would still say that this is worth a read if you think it's interesting. The first half while predictable isn't a slog to get through nor boring so don't see it as something you need to get through to get to the "good part".

Great Manga. Well written with a well thought story. If you like dark, esoteric stories you are going to love ikigami. It is set in a country where there is a law which dictates that 1 in a thousand young people will die randomly within age 18-24. It follows different characters who were randomly chosen to die during their last moments while at the same time follows the main character fujimoto who is a messenger in charge of delivering the news to the choosen. The characters are introduce episodically and because of that we don't really have time to attach to them but still their storiesare compelling and provoke real lots of different emotions. The main plot takes a bit of time to unfold, we have to wait all the way to volume 8 or so for some real development but nonetheless following the different characters in their last moments is still worth the read. Highly recommend