Earthian is a manga (japanese graphic novel) by artist Yun Kouga. It's about a race of extra-terrestrial beings called Angels, who look just like us aside from their magnificent wings. They've been watching us for millions of years, and have recently gone into debate over whether or not we deserve our planet. To decide, they send teams of two down to earth to live among us - one a "plus checker" and the other a "negative checker". They are to review the human condition first-hand, and return reports to Eden (their home world). If either side reaches 10,000, a decision will be made - destroy mankind or leave them be.
Now the reason I wanted to mention it here at Susan's is because of the parallels between the angels and mankind. They are superior to us in every aspect; being both remarkably beautiful and physically healthy. At the same time, however, they are totalitarian, and a strict, yet mostly flexible code of morality is governed over the land of Eden.
The biggest one that stood out to me was the law that forbids homosexuality.
The two main characters, a plus-checker named Chihaya and a negative-checker named Kagetsuya, eventually fall in love
(to not see this coming from chapter one would be like reading the book backwards, it's sort of thinly-veiled, and thus I won't consider it a spoiler) and they must maintain their healthy relationship as officers of Eden, as well as try to keep their private life private.
Along the way, many twists and turns, and Tarantino-style story telling arcs really bring the novel to life, and the beautiful artwork gives you faces to put to the characters you're reading about. It's three books long, with a special edition fourth book that ties up some loose ends and adds an extra little story arc. They're available from
www.blumanga.com.
Has anyone else read this?
