Land of the Lustrous / Hōseki no Kuni - Steven Universe but not shit

Kingu Cinnamon

too tired to sleep
kiwifarms.net
After the most recent chapter, I looked to see if there was a thread. Seeing that there wasn't, I thought that I would make a thread for fellow gem fags to discuss the manga and lament that we will never get a season 2

For those who are not familiar with Houseki no Kuni:

Houseki no Kuni is an anime and manga set in the far, far future where most lifeforms have gone extinct, giving rise to new life. One of these new beings is the Gems, a race of immortal but not invincible humanoids based on various gemstones. The main character of this setting is the youngest gem, the 300-year-old Phosphophyllite (often called Phos) who unlike the other gems has yet to find a role in gem society due to their clumsiness, their physical weakness as a gem, and their desire to become one of the warriors that protect the other gems, despite Phos's aforementioned fragility, from the Luniarinas, mysterious beings that come to harvest the gems as jewelry. The gem's lead leader, Kongo-Sensei, decides to give Phos the job of creating an encyclopedia, which leads to Phos meeting Cinnabar, a gem that has to be kept away from the others and given a useless job due to the poison that they emit. Feeling for Cinnabar, Phos decides to make it their goal to find Cinnabar a job that is better and only they can do.

The story has a great mixture of action, light-hearted humor, interesting themes borrowed from Buddhism folklore, and gut-wrenching misery that will make you wish that both you and some of the characters were dead.

The anime adaptation is great and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get into it. It is a 3D anime however, it is made by Studio Orange, who made Beaststars and Houseki no Kuni maybe one of the only animes that works better in 3D, and the 3D animation is done well (it's not Beserk 2016.) The manga is fantastic and I would highly recommend reading it after finishing the anime. It has some really stunning and beautiful minimalist artwork.

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Azafran90

Can't wait for people to shut up about COVID
kiwifarms.net
I just want to take this opportunity to say that the fabled sea arc was technically the first arc and that there's nothing interesting to get from the admirabilis anymore.

Also, people who keep asking "when will Phos be genki again" should be banned from reading the manga.
 

Pokemonquistador2

Electric Boogaloo
kiwifarms.net
The story itself is deep and philosophical enough to inspire lots of analysis sperging (over the lore and the Buddhist references.) If you watch the series closely, you can find little details to obsess over, such as the building the gems all live in looking like a beehive and Sensei (the leader's) priest robes having a honeycomb pattern on it. Which ties to the fact that the gems are all feminine-looking (but infertile/sexless) beings, like bees are. There's also the fact that the gems use luminous jellyfish to light everything up at night, which seems weird until you realize that fire damages gems IRL, so it would make sense that they wouldn't use combustibles for any reason.

I do prefer the anime to the manga, for the breathtaking artwork and for the way it slightly refines the story. It's sad that Studio Orange didn't continue it (although Season 1 does wrap up Phos' early arc for the most part.)

I should also mention that the soundtrack is god-tier, combining sweeping orchestrals with what sounds like Buddhist Temple music. The theme that plays whenever the Lunarians appear is skin-crawling and matches the uncannyness of their appearance.
 

Lime Rogue

Zesty Villain
kiwifarms.net
I hate getting up to date with the manga because Ichikawa fucking loves cliffhangers.

Chapter 94 was brutal, I should've waited a couple more months. All I have to say is fuck Aechmea, all my homies hate Aechmea
 

Kingu Cinnamon

too tired to sleep
kiwifarms.net
I hate getting up to date with the manga because Ichikawa fucking loves cliffhangers.

Chapter 94 was brutal, I should've waited a couple more months. All I have to say is fuck Aechmea, all my homies hate Aechmea
The one month wait after a cliffhanger is painful enough, the two-month hiatus wait is tantamount to torture.
 
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