Short Review: The Flowers of Evil vol. 11

[Vertical Inc]

Short Review: The Flowers of Evil vol. 11

rachellovescomics:




Hmm. The final volume of Flowers of Evil. The last time I remember being this confused about what was going on in an anime or manga, it was Serial Experiments Lain. Unlike Lain, though, Flowers of Evil radiates a feeling of a deeper meaning behind the chaotic actions of the protagonists. I’m going to have to sit down and read through the entire series again to really grasp everything that’s going on, but if I had to summarize it now with my limited understanding, I would have to say that this is a series about profound loneliness and the effect that it has on different people, as well as the standards of Japanese society; what is expected as far as acceptable behavior, and what those kind of restrictions do to a person on an emotional level. Nakamura, the protagonist, does something that not many citizens feel that they can do; she turns her frustrations outward, rather than keeping them inside in an effort to blend in. In rejecting those standards and remaining true to herself, she effectively isolates herself, magnifying her loneliness such that when she catches Kasuga in a moment of vulnerability, she is driven to bring him into her world of self-expression, albeit by devious means.
  A review of the entire series is something for another post, but I must say that I have been extremely impressed with every book in it from beginning to end. All of the characters have behaved in a manner that openly rejects all of the tropes of modern anime and manga at every turn. It has been profoundly entertaining in its unpredictability, and this final volume carries that strength to the very last page. Highly recommended.