Mushi to Medama to Teddybear (manga)

[serenade_beta]

Just read 1 volume, and this has already turned into one of my favorite manga I've ever read. Lots happen in one volume... Wow...

Anyways, the manga adaption of Mushi to Medama to Teddybear (translated as "Insect and Eyeball and Teddybear")!!

There are four volumes so far and is on-going.

Spoiler for covers:

Let's see, the basic set-up for the story goes something like this (basically, a short summary of chapter 1):


Sakaki Guryuu and Usagawa Rinne are a happy student-and-teacher couple. One day, while hurrying to Rinne's home, he passes by a fortune teller. The fortune teller calls out to him and tells him that Rinne is going to die. The fortune teller explains that Rinne will die painfully, by the hands of a demon holding a spoon. He also gives him an egg, telling him that he should hand the egg to Rinne and that it will protect her when it hatches.
When he gets to her house, he finds her there waiting for him and they enjoy his birthday together. On his way home, a girl passes by holding a spoon. Remembering what the fortune teller says, he tries to block the girl from proceeding further, but gets knocked out by her. When he wakes up, he rushes home... and finds Rinne laying on the ground, stained with blood, and a spoon in one of her sockets, with the other girl, Gankyuu Eguriko, beside her. After shooting Eguriko, he walks over to Rinne's corpse. The moment he tries to kill himself with his gun, Rinne gets up and asks him what's wrong.

--

Main character introduction (no spoilers, so not much information...):

Gankyuu Eguriko (yes, literally translated as Eyeball Gouging Girl) - She has knowledge of the supernatural events that occur. She uses spoons as her weapon and kills them through eyeball gouging. Prefers to be called "Guriko".

Sakaki Guryuu - A very rich guy from a very rich and powerful family, and handsome. Works as a teacher at Rinne's school. Loves Rinne A LOT. Gets depressed when she gets mad at him, to the point he might smack his head on the wall until there is a big blood stain.

Usagawa Rinne - A kind-hearted girl who gets killed in the first chapter, only to shortly resurrect...

--

Genre-wise... All kinds I guess.
Genre: Supernatural, Horror, Comedy, School Life, Romance(?)

--

Now for more spoiler-ish stuff:

Spoiler for character thoughts through vol.1 (including character besides main three):

Guriko - Definitely an interesting character. Her favorite line to say is "I'm going to gouge our your eyeballs".
Well, the first strange thing is of course, she knows all about the Insects and other monsters.
Then, there is her past. Apparently, she was an orphan (thrown away), but she got picked up by some family. Unfortunately, the family pretty much treated her as scum and didn't care much for her. Though her "family" got killed by Insects. The main thing... is that in the flashback, the people were wearing really old clothes, like many, many, many years back...
She ends up living with Rinne after transferring to Rinne's school and class.
She's not really that bad of a person, says Rinne...
She also has an Apple in her.

Rinne - Here we have a kid who had horrid parents too... She lived a normal life, until her mother left her father. Then, he started abusing her. It started out with simple shouting, but then it turned to abuse and stuff she can't even say... School wasn't any better either, since rumors about her family situation leaked and they teased and mocked her. In all of this, a teddybear (hence the title?) was what supported her. Though when it was destroyed and thrown away, she "broke" and went to the ocean to commit suicide. That was where she met Guryuu, who saves her.
When she was drowning, she had a vision of an apple tree. She ate one. Thus, she also has an Apple inside her.

Guryuu - So far, there hasn't been much information on him. His reactions to Rinne are funny though.
There is a chance he was suicidal too, since he says that Rinne is his reason to live, and for some reason, he was at the ocean too (during the time Rinne tried to commit suicide).
Also for some reason, he has a gun...

Hooded man - The fortune teller. He says that he is an Insect too, but later on, an Insect meets him and shouts that he isn't one, only to be killed by him right after that. He also has fangs...
He also fed and released a sealed up beast he calls "Legion Bandanna", which is really just a demonic beast with eyes all over the body that can travel through objects.

Spoiler for Terminology/Items so far:

Insect (蟲/Mushi) - From what I know so far in volume 1, they are an "entire" being and not "individuals". Thus, they are 蟲 and not 虫 (both kanji mean "insect", but the first kanji has three 虫 which shows a group). Kind of confusing to explain, but I understand the concept in my head... They all have red eyes and seem to hunt for Apples. As of volume 1, besides for the hooded man, they have all been grunt-leveled menaces.

Dream World Beast (夢界獣/mukaijyuu) - No information...

Egg (tamago) - The egg given to Guryuu by the hooded man. It is an egg from a Dream World Beast.

Apple (ringo) - More specifically, the "Apple of Eden". According to Guriko, thanks to the Apple, Rinne can no longer be killed physically. This explains why Rinne regenerated after being killed by Guriko. Also, apparently an Apple is BAD news. Rinne starts losing her sense of hunger right after the incident with Guriko. And the hooded man says that "you can still feel pain?"... Does this mean she will lose more of her senses?...
Guriko says that if she (Rinne) finds out what the Apples are, she will despair.
That aside, it is an Apple of "Eden", which clearly can't mean anything good...
For some reason, the Insects want it.

Yeah, I'm hyped up and ready to read the other volumes... Some other day... It's late.

Anyways, I recommend a read of this manga. It's great.

---

Volume 2 thoughts:

Well, another great volume. A certain event at the end was a bit iffy, but the reason for it was acceptable.
Also, on a more pointless note, it seems the manga is going past "Teddy Bear" and is going onto the "Sterilization Disinfection"...
Also, the manga art is definitely superior to the novels'. All of the characters look better here.

Spoiler for plot thoughts:

Well, that settles the deal with the hooded man. As expected since volume 1, the story took a lot from the Bible story about Eden and the forbidden fruit.
There were plenty of plot twists.
The Dream World Beast hatched and it was freaking huge and ugly, but it did have a mind on its own and even killed itself.
The hooded man turned out to be the "Snake" from Eden that tricked men into stealing the apple.
The time skip at the end was sudden though...
Guriko tried to sacrifice herself for Rinne and Guryuu's sake, but she managed to find a good way to survive. Just take an apple or two from the Snake.
Good. Not only that, but in this volume, Guriko also gets more settled and gets more attached to normal life. Basically, she's not so much of a loner anymore. The end of volume 2 was in full color, and it was cute in a great way.

Spoiler for new character thoughts:

Rinne - Yay! I'm glad she didn't decide to leave Guryuu for "his" sake like some typical shonen hero. That is definitely one point for her. Pretty painful to see her kind of break again after the Snake killed Guryuu, causing her to accept his obvious lie of a deal that he will revive Guryuu if she gives him her apple.

Guriko - She reveals she has lived for 1000+ years. She also can't feel pain, heat, or anything anymore. Was really cute this episode, when she started to actually have fun for once.
She had three apples that she collected through the years, but ends up giving one to Rinne (who lost hers) and Guryuu...
Turns out that her Apple, being so ripe, allows her to transform into this huge beast... Scary...

Guryuu - Welcome to being immortal. After getting killed by the Snake, he gets an apple in his body... Now he won't age or get killed either.
Turns out he really was at the ocean to commit suicide. But he didn't do it. Then the whole thing with Rinne happened. He really did fall for her on first sight, when she smiled at him and said thanks. His whole life (before then) was really "nothing" after all. Study, be fit to be the family successor, no time for any fun...
Guess Rinne and Guryuu both saved each other. How nice~

Dream World Beast - When it was in the egg, it fed on Guriko's dreams. Unfortuntely, Guriko only had nightmares, so when it hatched, it was a monsterous giant creature. Even so, it had emotions and intelligence and quickly killed herself...

Snake - Hah! As expected, a coward when he doesn't have the upper hand. He was so cocky when he was killing Rinne and Guryuu, but then Guriko came along, causing him to panic. In the end, he lost his Apple, but his life was spared...
His ambition was to, of course, take the Apples and become God. Failed miserably.

Spoiler for terminology update...:

Apple - More is revealed. Nothing too special, but it is revealed the Apple cause the holder to be immortal and unable to age or be killed.
Also, a holder can give their apple away, but they will die...

The Snake of the story of Eden was revealed... So will there be a God?

To the next volume!

---

Volume 3 thoughts:

And so, the story enters the second arc!
Compared to the first two volumes, this arc feels quite a bit more violent...
Turns out this is a manga-only arc.

Spoiler for plot thoughts:

Overall, it was a tense volume from start to end. The "comedy" from the first two volumes barely, if not at all, exist.
The story starts out quick with mysterious murders happening everywhere, and it ends in a cliffhanger.
Not much to say about the story, except it still is an absorbing manga. Just frustratingly sad at times...

Spoiler for character thoughts:

A lot of new characters in this volume.

Not much can be said for the three main character though.

Mabidera Shizuru - The older of the Mabidera brothers. Died around one month from volume 3's beginning.
Turns out he was killed by Sumire, and later eaten by Aquea.
Revealed that he mostly liked Sumire.

Mabidera Shinobu - The younger brother. Like Shizuru, holds feelings towards Guriko because she looks similar to someone they knew when they were little. This unknown person seems to also hold an apple...
Quite a brave person, standing up against Aquea, but ends up getting possessed by Aquea by the end of the volume.

Mayuzuki Sumire - Student at Rinne's school. Became jealous because it seemed like Shizuru liked Guriko and wouldn't look at her. After killing him near the ocean, Aquea took this moment of vulnerability to possess her, and ever since, has been killing high school girls.

Nageki Kurukiyo - Made a quick appearance this volume. Seems to be a detective of some kind. According to him, a lolicon. Has a ragged-ish appearance.

Aquea - The monster of this arc. It can possess living beings and control them to his will. Shown with Sumire and Shinobu, he can transform his body into pincers and other similar weapons. Seems to hate fire.
His name is romanized as "Acuea", but I spelled it "Aquea" since it might be based off "aquarium".

(Last name unknown) Kurage - Only learned her name this episode. Just a normal high school student.

Katou Katsumi - Friend of Rinne's from middle school. This was the time where Rinne was getting abused and laughed at, but Katsumi was the only one who continued talking to her as a friend. She had to move away, but she came back and planned to transfer into Rinne's school the next day.
Killed soon after parting with Rinne for the day by Aquea and is found dead in a nearby park fountain.

Time to wait for volume 4 to release...

[Sterling01]

Volume 4 is out

Spoiler for Cover:

[serenade_beta]

Hmm, the manga really is a lot lighter than the novel (heck, a lot of the volume is comedy). But that is also a good thing. A change from the gloomy atmosphere and have time to enjoy the characters.
The art felt a bit strange in a few places, but I'll ignore that... Besides, artwork makes the whole series very enjoyable, like Guriko's evil facial expressions or the chibi-artwork.
And I still wonder how the manga-ka plans to connect the manga-original events with the novel events... For one thing, I guess the story has to change a bit, since characters that don't show up later show up now and the interactions are slightly different.
This volume ended an original arc, but it seems the next volume has yet another original arc?

Spoiler for volume 4 thoughts:

Well, for one thing, they are using Kurukiyo in this arc... Won't this be problematic, I wonder... I guess it won't be too much of a problem.

Aquea proved to be a coward, when he(?) was about to be torched. Kind of even worse than Snake.
But it allowed Rinne to fight later (and do something, which was a problem she worried about), something she doesn't get to do in the novel.
Guriko gains a stalker admirer. Yay?

The chapters in the middle were... okay, I guess. It was funny and somewhat interesting, but couldn't beat the previous arcs.
For one thing, Yukinokouji Hijiri... her character design has problems. Most of her times, her eyes are so big, she looked like some bug or something, and it was painful to look at her. It got better as the volume went on though, thankfully. Character and personality-wise, she isn't much. A character easily forgotten.

Aoyama Nao was even less important. Detective, spy, and now he's Hijiri's lover.

More amusingly, Snake comes back, as a chibi. Yahh~, he was cute. Lost way to easily, but he was funny (and a wimp) while he appeared.

The last chapter was just . It focused on Echizen Kurage, her gluttony, and pure comedy.
It was pretty funny, especially when she ate Guriko's spoons and proceeded to chewing them. What fearsome power!


And so, a wait for the next volume. I hope the new (original?) arc will be better than the Hijiri events.

Too bad no group is translating this manga. Meh... Maybe in the future, some good group will do so.

[Sterling01]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Too bad no group is translating this manga. Meh... Maybe in the future, some good group will do so.

SCX released the first chapter
It can be found here.

I don't have the raws with me now so I can't say if the translation is good

[risingstar3110]

I'm regretting....
I'm regretting to read this manga when only one chapter was translated. Now I'm dying to see what is going to happen next. -_-'

[Izayoi]

If anyone wanna give me the script translation I can be editor since I phail at translating things due to my poor English. Well I am in mid way through volume 4 and damn this is amazing.

[frubam]

I've read the first 3 chapters of this, and I'm really liking it so far. Guriko is pretty badass, I loved her introduction to the class room. Her fighting ability is impressive as well, killing with spoons, she somehow reminds me of Mikoto Misaka(prob cuz i just finished a chapter of TKnR). I'm just disappointed that Sakaki hasn't had much of a role after the first chapter(well, I've only read 3 chaps, but I'm guessing he's not that much of a main character). He was pretty good in the first chapter though, so I hope despite his lack of strength, he'll be able to do a little something to protect Rinne.

I dont' have much of an impression of Rinne. She's an ok char, but other than being a victim, she hasn't done anything to have her stand out. I will say that having her be all super cute and moe and stuff, then her having to go through getting killed does make me feel sorry for her.

I'm kinda dumbfounded as to why the fortune teller would give Sakaki an egg that would help Rinne(assuming based on what Guriko said, it probably would) when he could have been launched an assault on her and took her away.

Also is the reference made here...

Spoiler for chap 3 pg:

refering to Rabuyan? I'm just curioius, as she's the only angel of love(if you can really call her that >.>) I know that sleeps in the closet.

Also this and the first villian in TKnR, I see that the power of spoons is not to be feared.

[frubam]

So the random new chapter appeared, and I decided to read it all over again. I retract my above statement that its like Railgun, but I will say that Guriko reminds me of that girl in Heikkon no AION(or however its spelled), except aLOT more likable. Well the plot itself is similar as well now that I think about it. Then again, I've only read 8 chapters of that one, so maybe i should read it further before making that comparison. But then again, I loved Guriko's personality from the start

Anyway, I somehow actually disliked Guryuu getting an apple. I was kinda shocked when he died, even though I knew it could have happened at any time, but, now, knowing he cant die[easily] somehow takes a bit of suspense out of things. I hope we see that Mabidara? guy again...I think Guriko could use an occasional love interest(other than Rinne of course), simply because how she would nonchalantly handle it (like the Nagatos and the Hitagis).