YMC #35: Chirality (NSFW)

Similar to Poor Poor Lips, I delayed finishing this one for unknown reasons. Also like PPL, I should have finished reading this manga sooner. This is Chirality.

Warning: Includes NSFW Material.

Genres: Action, NSFW, Seinen, Yuri, Romance, Lots of kissing, Gender-Bender, sci-fi

Number of Volumes: 3. 21 chapters.

Plot Summary:  In a not-too-distant future, the Earth has been overrun by a horrifying technovirus. Mechanical parasites, mistakenly created in an attempt to advance technology, attach themselves to human spinal cords and turn their hosts into cyborgs.

Desperate to rid themselves of this technological terror, the remaining human survivors must band together and learn to defend themselves against their android enemies.

As the plot summary explained, this is a sci-fi story taking place in a post apocalyptic Earth. I don’t know if the post apocalypse was as popular of a setting for a story as it has been recently but it is what it is. Also, since the story is one of science fiction, suspension of disbelief may be required. Oh, and readers who dislike mechas need not worry. There are only freaky robots in this manga. No giant mobile suits to be found.

The manga takes off immediately, not giving the reader a chance to breathe until the action slows down a bit. The setting reminds me of The Terminator’s dark future, where Earth is ruled by Skynet and there’s a very small human resistance left to oppose the GM (Robot army).

This is the least violent scene I could find.

The action scenes are brutal to say the least. It’s a violent manga. The beatings both human and robot take in combat, along with some other imagery that occasionally takes place, can be quite disturbing to some. Readers should keep that in mind if they have yet to read this manga and wish to do so.

The art style of the characters is drawn by the same person who worked on the animation for the one-shot hentai, Another Lady Innocent/Front Lady Innocent, the OVA Plastic Little, and the Growlanser video game series to name a few things he’s involved in. He also worked on another erotic yuri manga entitled Ragnarock City, but that is a review for another time. So those who have seen any of the material I’ve mentioned know what to expect from the art style. If not, then I’ll say it’s pretty good.

I can honestly say the protagonists, Shiori and Carol are very likable. At first, Shiori may seem like a cliche damsel in distress who requires constant rescuing by the stronger Carol but that is far from the truth. Shiori hates being useless and will do all she can to help Carol in combat or whenever she’s apart from her. Other than that, she’s a kindhearted and lovable woman who obviously hates the loss of life around her but will do what is necessary to help stop the war. Carol is the powerhouse humanoid of the two main heroines. My best advice to give to new readers after seeing Carol’s powers…just roll with it. She’s a humanoid with multiple abilities. Overall, she’s a woman dedicated to protecting Shiori and doing her best to save humanity…but it’s more about keeping Shiori safe and stuff.

The manga’s main theme is the power of love, which may make it come off as cheesy to some. I see it differently. I see it as two women who love each other deeply and are willing to go through the deepest depths of the netherworld and back if it meant being with each other. There is no pain, wound, broken limb or torture more painful for Carol and Shiori than the thought of possibly not getting to see each other again (One or the other woman dying). So yeah, two women putting it all on the line to save the world and each other from ultimate destruction. It’s rare to see the fate of the world being left in the hands of lesbians. Very rare.

Oh, and a minor het warning. There is a female character, Patty, who is straight. Same goes for the villain, but more so Patty. It is briefly mentioned during a chapter dedicated to her and her past but there are BARELY any hetero advances after that. There is one more, but it’s not worth mentioning. Point is, while there are hetero romances in this manga, it takes a backseat to the yuri and merely serves as a minor side plot.

Overall, while I personally enjoyed this manga, it’s not for everyone. The violence isn’t “Fist of the North Star” levels of gruesome, but it is nasty. There are also people out there who can’t get into sci-fi. For those people, I say that the manga is more about surviving the robot apocalypse and character interaction than it is about science jargon. The romance between Shiori and Carol is also well told and the power of their love is heartfelt. The fact some may see their love as unbelievable is actually a good thing. It somehow gives people with good hearts hope that their current or future spouse is as devoted as the person is to their spouse. At least, that’s what I think. Look at it this way, unlike Itoshi wo Tome, there are no strings attached in the romance of Chirality.

P.S.: One of Carol’s powers mainly serves as a “Super Mode” and not much else.