One of my goals for this year is to read (at my time) my readlist that I've been pushing to the side for years, I will ramble about every manga i finish and try to make a final post expressing my overall opinions. With that being said, I finished Homunculus.
Despite not being that popular as his peers of the genre, I have seen it throughout being compared side by side with other works as a "masterpiece", that is very depressing and very-many things. Since I can't completely deny my pretentious side, I decided to read it and well, it fell short. If I had to summarize all of Homunculus in a single panel it would be
Nakoshi eating his own semen. All born and end in here.
I assume the mini fame that this manga earned it comes from a male audience since this story touches deeply on the "modern male loneliness", and this story hits the nail on this topic really well. It frustrates me quite a bit because the concepts that were used and its premise in general are undoubtedly innovative and definitely interesting! they are an easy bait if you are looking for psychological and "deep" mangas. The creativity in which this author illustrates the human psichologycal struggles buried in the individual subconscious in such abstract and creative ways are magnificent. In fact there are whole pages that have helped me in my creative process, so kuddos for that.
As the story reached its last arc, I felt like the author took a few steps back. Some situations flew too convenient for the protagonist to justify... this (like, Ito knew Nakoshi wanted to trepranate himself. why he let him be after stealing his medical tools? anyways). But what bothers me most is that everything Nakoshi learned with each homonculi on his journey of self-discovery and with his relationship with Ito and Nanako ended in fucking nothing. That wouldn't be a bother if glimpses of his grown hadn't been shown chapter by chapter, but in the end what had the greatest weight was his obsession with himself, with his own misery locked in the barriers of his ego that keeps him from observating himself. In the end it's like Ito said, Nakoshi believed that he deserved an award for simply being empathetic and giving people their right to be seen and listened, a compensation for being an emotionally competent man in society. For this reason that I call homunculus an ode to male loneliness, ego, envy, demands and lies that capitalism impart on young men, the least attractive bird is the one who dies alone, where there's only room for resentment to grow, an allegory of the invisible man for the unlived easier life. That being said, the story is aware the only way to get out of your grave is to accept that the world owes you nothing, to stop licking your wounds and let them heal, which Nakoshi seemed to understand but never actually did. And just when I thought that "wow maybe acceptance and love is the solution" in how he looked so desperately for his first lover to reconcile with his past, everything goes back to zero.
Sadly, Nakoshi never loved Nanako, he only loved the attention she gave to him, yet he still abandoned her for other more beautiful yet hollow eyes. Nakoshi is just a clown looking for a circus, but for free and forever empty. I feel very sorry for Nanako, she didn't deserve anything that happened to her, to have trusted- puring her heart out to such a big piece of shit like Nakoshi. He ruined her life. I genuinely cried over her chapters and her past with him, and I totally agreed until the end with her inability to forgive him, until Nakoshi's face turned into a demon in the darkness and his obsession with himself, with his own semen, won him over.
Among the things that left me satisfied were Ito transitioning, the only character that I genuinely manage to appreciate and respect. I talked about them in another post but to summarize, I deeply hated at first how predatory they were with the sand girl, but in retrospect it it's brilliant how the author managed to illustrate through it their sexual confussion and gender identity crisis mixed with the yearn for their father's acceptance. They're the best character without a doubt.
I would recommend it? If you are looking for inspiration for your work because of it amazing art and concepts? 100%. If you are looking for a compelling pay-off story, no. If you want to eat your own semen waiting to get rewarded for doing the bare minimum, fix that idk.
Maybe some stories are told to end in pathetic tragedies.
Oh hohoho you guys. This chapter is a little shorter (21 pages including the title page) but it's full of sex so that makes up for it lol
I'm going to do my best to write this summary but as I just said, it's all sex so I don't know how well I'm gonna do. 💀
Detailed summary under the cut- SPOILERS ABOUND
The chapter opens right were ch 56 left off - Doumeki is on top of Yashiro, passionately kissing him.
Y seems to be overcome by D's passion and eventually pushes him away lightly saying he's had enough kissing. D has a look of slight desperation? Exasperation? Disappointment? in his eyes. He doesn't listen to Y and instead continues to kiss him, restraining Y's wrists above his head. Y attempts to protest but only gets out half of D's name before D's tongue is down his throat again.
D lifts Y's hips and their dicks touch. D proceeds to take both their dicks in his hand (the mythical double dick hand job!). Y makes a very lewd expression while he watches this and let's it happen for a while before he puts his hand over D's and stops him saying that D should just hurry up and put it in.
D again doesn't listen and bends down to lick Y's nipple while continuing to give Y a hand job. Y asks "Aren't you going to be cruel?" D ignores the question and takes Y in his mouth. Y protests saying again that it was enough, implying that he wants D to hurry up and put it in.
D kisses Y's thigh and right then Y has a flashback to the first time they had sex (the panel where D is kissing Y's ankle from ch 24). Y suddenly shoves D away. He has a look on his face like he's surprised at his own actions, huffing and out of breath. D just looks at him with a calm (like, too calm) expression then pulls Y back to him by his wrist.
Y recoils and pulls his wrist out of D's hand yelling, "You really are persistent". D sighs and says, "If you want to throw up, go ahead."
There's a slight time skip (it's almost like Y kind of blanks out for a moment). D is behind Y about to put it in. Y looks deeply distressed and very panicked. D is balls deep fucking Y sideways. Y's face melts into another lewd expression. D is gazing at Y's neck and shoulders from the back - but he wants to see Y's face (aw). D's expression softens as he takes Y's wrist and places it behind D's head so Y's arm is embracing D. D goes in for another kiss - Y's hand is hovering near the nape of D's neck, not quite touching him, while D's hand is cradling the back of Y's head (by the way this panel has an intense view of their nether regions, probably the most explicit panel Yoneda sensei has ever given us, but I was way more concerned with the hands lolol)
They kiss passionately, Y's hand continues to hover near the nape of D's neck until hesitantly resting on it (mostly out of frame - Yoneda Sensei you story telling genius).
They change positions so D is completely on top of Y. Y looks up at D's intense facial expression and laughs lightly. While reaching up toward D's face gently, Y says, "You're making a face like you want to do it really badly" (calling back to Volume 1 ch 1 😭). D responds, taking Y's hand in his, "What a nostalgic thing to say." Y doesn't understand what D's referring to (or at least seems to not understand).
D thrusts into Y as he bends down for another kiss, again holding Y's wrists above his head, against the pillows.
"And what about you?" Doumeki asks, implying that Y is also making a face like he wants to do it really badly. "Of course I'm not" Y protests softly drowning in D's kiss.
D continues to fuck the living daylights out of Y. Y objects but only half heartedly, commanding weakly under Doumeki's gaze that D stop looking at him while simultaneously wrapping his arms and legs tightly around D.
Time skips forward a bit more. They're finished and D is dressing, putting on his gloves and jacket. "I'll come again" D says. "To have sex?" Y asks snarkily. D just looks at him silently then leaves.
Y pulls out a cigarette and we get his inner monologue*:
As always, I'm such a contradiction.
Even though I blame him for being cruel,
The moment I'm treated with kindness I want to run away.
In spite of that, I can't help myself - I feel it (I get aroused and into it)
Human's are creatures of change,
But in my case, I'm just an unchanging animal (livestock) completely incapable of growth.
(*I might tweak this translation)
END OF SUMMARY
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Wooo boy, what a chapter. Y is so self aware! What the hell is D thinking?? Their peepees touched so much!
Yoneda-Sensei is slated to have another chapter in the next issue of ihr Hertz out on May 31st. She's also going to do the cover art so that's super exciting! She usually takes a break once a full volume is done so the fact that she's not taking a break is a sign that volume 9 is still ongoing (epic!)
Anyway - I'll get this chapter out asap but I have a lot of other work to focus on, too, so I appreciate your patience <3
Well… I have a theory. Griffith is Guts’ father, metaphorically. Hear me out. I can explain
So I think we have a case of the Oedipus complex appearing subliminally in this story. And it appears in most stories, especially in the old western myths and legends that heaviy inspired Berserk. So let’s look at Gut’s relationship with his adopted father, Gambino.
Gambino is abusive towards him, no doubt, but he does show signs that he loves the child, small though they may seem. Here he saves him from an enemy on his first battle and here he gives him medicine to heal him from the injury that he himself caused. I mean it ain’t much but it makes Guts, a small child starved for love, believe that Gambino cares for him. And so he keeps fighting, looking for small signs of his approval, until Gambino sells him out to Donovan and later attacks him, causing Guts to kill him in self defence. So Guts kills his dad, Oedipus complex #1. Later, he meets Griffith, a person with power over him, so a paternal figure of sorts. The point in which Guts truly opens up to Griffith, is when Griffith says he risked his life to save him for no particular reason. This proclamation of love (I selflessly risked my life to save you) is what he had always wanted to hear from Gambino. As a response, he decides to fight “for his sake”, and proceed to do all sorts of unethical things because Griffith asked him to, all in the name of friendship. When Griffith gives his speech about friendship, Guts’ dedication to him is shattered, just like when his father told him he should have died long ago. Him leaving the Band of the Hawk destroyed Griffith, and it could be interpreted as Guts metaphorically killing his father a second time. I mean after a year in the dungeon, Griffith looks like a literal corpse. The symbolic castration (Guts breaking Griffith’s sword)also ads up here, as in the Greek myth of the world’s creation, Kronos castrates his father with a scythe, which is seen as a classic example of the Oedipus complex in mythology. When Guts returns to the hawks and finds out what happened, he is plagued by guilt. Later, when he opens up to Casca and they have sex, he finally comes to terms with the guilt of killing Gambino. “I’m sorry father” he says. Immediately after that, the hawks go to rescue Griffith, and when Guts sees him in his ragged state, he hugs him and cries in remorse. SEE THE PARALLELS? I SWEAR I’M NOT INSANE So if in the Freudian analogy Griffith is Guts’ father, Casca has to be his mother. She is dedicated to Griffith, who perceives her dedication as a kind of given, and in the eclipse, what happens is the worst nightmare of the male subconscious. The father resurrects himself to punish the son, and show his his rightful place as the one and only lover of the mother. That’s the rape of Casca. Fun fact: in the play, when Oedipus finds out that he banged his mom and killed his dad, he gouges his own eyes out. Guts also loses an eye during the eclipse.
Now am I saying all of this insanity was intentional? Probably not. But there is something inherently familiar about the narrative of Berserk, and this analysis of the Oedipus complex in its narrative might explain what makes it feel so… I dunno. Mythological.
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