Hi! I just stumbled in here. What's Land of the Lustrous about?
Well firstly hi and welcome to my tourney blog!
Land of the Lustrous takes place on a planet where all of the land has been reduced to a small island. On that island, immortal beings made of gemstones, called the Lustrous have formed a small society. The Lustrous are preyed on by beings from the moons, and as a result, many of them work to defend their home from the lunarians.
Enter Phosphophyllite. Phos is the youngest gem, at 300. They are incredibly delicate, and shatter into pieces even at loud noises. Phos wants nothing more than to fight, or to have some purpose in their society, but their clumsiness and brittleness has barred them from this for their entire existence.
The manga begins with Phosphophyllite being given a job, to write a natural history encyclopedia. As they begin their investigation, they meet Cinnabar, a gem more delicate than Phos, but much more skilled. Cinnabar works alone, at night, waiting to be kidnapped and taken to the moon.
Phos promises to find a job for Cinnabar that's far more fun than night patrols, and the manga continues from there, following Phos as their body and heart change.
At its core, it's a story about change, forgiveness, and it has a lot to say about Buddhism, particularly pure land Buddhism. It's 108 chapters long, written by Haruko Ichikawa.
I'd recommend reading it instead of watching the anime adaptation by Studio Orange, because the adaptation, while beautiful, stops right when the story starts getting really good.
Hope that helps, and feel free to send another ask if you've got any other questions :3
