Finding one's purpose in life.

Saturday 19 May 2018

Homunculus Analyzed and Ending Explained - Perspectives (Manga Review)

Society is sorted out into classes and statuses, so much so that we of the same kind are segregated from each other. However, every individual knows that it is not status/classes that defines who we are, but rather how we choose to perceive the world. This is the case for our protagonist - Nakoshi Susumu: former salaryman turned nomad. He may be homeless, yet he does not act or think like one, and is left ostracized by both polarizing sides of society - homeless and the rich. And the author further alludes to this by placing Nakoshi's car in between an extravagant hotel and the park where the homeless live.

Nakoshi is then approached with a hefty reward to participate in an experiment involving trepanation, the drilling of holes in one's skull. While initially reluctant (and so he should be - it is illegal in Japan), he later proceeds with the experiment and gains the power of seeing Homunculi, which is explained as the repressed feelings of an individual by covering one of his eyes. The dilemma behind this phenomenon is whether it is supernatural or is Nakoshi just hallucinating? This is never truly answered, and is left to our interpretation. No matter how we interpret it, both conclusions can be correct. It's not just this question, rather the manga as a whole is left to our interpretation.

The homunculi that Nakoshi sees are usually vulgar and repulsive, since they highlight the hidden sides of people. We see many different types of homunuculi - a man with a penis on his head (haha he's a dickhead), or a Yakuza who appears as a child in a robot (which is the metaphorical representation of how inclusive and protective of himself he is - he's not open to anyone). As a reader, we could be shocked by this, but rather the main objective is to reflect Nakoshi's mental state after trepanation. There is many representations of his mental state like Nakoshi sleeping in a fetal state. But what is Homunculus? Nakoshi sleeping in a fetal state actually somewhat represents a homunculus since Homunculus are microscopic but fully formed being from which a fetus is born. Our interpretation of Homunculus is the medical representation and how it represents the neurological proportion of the human body for different aspects of the body. The homunculi that Nakoshi sees perhaps are based from this model, and how trepanation has warped his perception. Also, the Homunculus may represent how obsessed humanity is with love and sex (the hands, tongue, sex organs as being large), and for Nakoshi, it's not the lack of sex, but rather the lack of acceptance and lack of "true love", which is why he fantasizes about having sex with himself after trepanation. Nakoshi is unable to find someone who thinks more about him as a whole, rather than as a tool for sexual gratification.

For me, I seen many people who describe Nakoshi as a narcissistic, misogynistic, egotistical individual, and that is a valid interpretation of the character. Right from the start, we could interpret Nakoshi's nomadic life as his ego getting the better of him and his lines also further reflects how he purposely think he's neither part of homeless or the rich. Rather, he thinks he is something better since he mocks both sides. His newly gained power of seeing Homunculi also has warped his mind, fanning the flames of Nakoshi's ego. When he loses the power of Homunculi, he desperately tries to get it back, and even to the point of conducting self-trepanation which succeeds. He then proceeds to rape a teenager, leave his pregnant partner, and perhaps even kill women because he think himself as a god who wants to give others the power of seeing Homunuculi.

But .... aren't we being egotistical by mocking and looking down at Nakoshi? Instead, we should also interpret the sympathetic side of the character. From the start, we also know that he doesn't belong anywhere or any group in society. Rather, it was both the rich and the homeless's rejection of Nakoshi that leads to Nakoshi agreeing to be experimented on via trepanation. As we progress through the manga, we see Nakoshi becoming insane to the point where he eventually see his face on everyone's faces. This represents how Nakoshi is finally being "accepted" into society. Sadly, in insanity does Nakoshi finds acceptance and peace.

The ending is also a very debatable aspect of the manga, but the author purposely left unanswered questions to leave it to our interpretation. We can all agree that Nakoshi has become insane, since we learn that he has continued to conduct self-trepanation 1 year later after he becomes insane. But the problem is that we don't see him being insane. But remember, this manga was meant to be left to our interpretation since every individual is defined by how we choose to perceive the world. From an outsider's point of view, we see an insane Nakoshi, who is delusional about reality. However, from Nakoshi's point of view, he is at peace and feels ready to be accepted into society like the end scene, where he yells "Hey Guys" to a group of police officer and Ito with his face. The ending involving the woman he previously trepanated 1 year ago was a bit confusing for me. For me, it's just Nakoshi's hallucination since he killed her 1 year ago, and he hallucinates about her because he firmly believes that every trepanation attempt is a success since he himself has survived so many attempts.

Homunculus is a superb manga that is purposely left to our interpretation. After all, the manga's aim is to reinforce the idea that every individual is defined by how we perceive the world around us. There is no right or wrong interpretation of what happened in the manga, and that's what makes this manga so wonderful to read. Depending on our experiences and way of thinking, we perceive Nakoshi differently and any representation is correct. The manga rewards you for delving deeper for analysis and no matter how one interprets the manga, it is equally rewarding and satisfactory for everyone. Hideo Yamamoto has definitely made a big impression with Homunculus. While we may not be constantly happy with ourselves and our place in society, Homunculus shows us that it is how we think and feel that ultimately determines our role in life. And no matter what you do, things will never remain the same.

Overall Score: 9/10
Story: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Art: 9/10
Enjoyment: 9/10

17 comments:

  1. Just read this manga, thought it was pretty wild. I like your blog a lot! I have one as well actually, if you wanna check it out maybe share some tips or trade secrets I'd appreciate it immensely.>> uberdreww.com

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  2. That girl from the ending, is it Ito, the one who did a trepanation to Nakoshi?

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    1. Personally, I think it was a hallucination of Ito, because he was the one who did the trepanation on Nakoshi in the first place. That's why we see that Nakoshi says that this started all because of Ito, but he doesn't really blame Ito. Rather, he wants to impart the same gift to Ito himself (paying back a favor). You can even say that he is angry and he wants to have other people "feel what he feels, sees what he sees". Another interesting aspect is that Ito is the only one who doesn't have the same face as Nakoshi, because perhaps he has always felt at peace with Ito. Another possible reason for Ito's different face is because it's all just a hallucination, and the sad thing is that the idea of reality and imagination has been twisted around for him. It's a really sad story despite his narcissism. There's so many different perspectives and the author purposely left it ambiguous for us to decipher with our own experiences.

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    2. I think Ito has a different face because he wanted to be a woman his whole life, and that's what that fish scene was, and Nakoshi finally helped him realise it. He finally started dressing like a woman officially becoming transgender. I think it was also real, because the police found nakoshi somehow, so ito must have brought them to him. Agree that he probably doesn't blame ito, they both seemed to have nothing but sadness, regret and closeness in that moment, no anger.

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  3. But did he kill nanako? i mean it wasnt shown or anything i wanna hear your opinion cause i just finished the manga and im very confused. from my point of view he actually saw ito and that ito actually snitched on him with the police (explaining why the police was there) maybe because ito found out about nanakos death? but im not sure if she was killed but if she was and i didnt get it could you explain? thanks

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    1. Hello. I believe Nakoshi did kill Nanako because of the trepanation Nakoshi did on her, and that's the reason why we see the police get to him in a remote place. It's the only plausible explanation as to why police are shown in the final chapter (the police are definitely real). As for Ito, I'm actually unsure whether the Ito in the final chapter is real or all in Nakoshi's mind. Nevertheless, I believe Ito is the one that called the police on Nakoshi. Hopefully this clarifies any questions you had.

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    2. Ito likely discovered Nanako's body, or at least learned of Nanako's body, while searching for Nakoshi (it was clear that Ito saw Nakoshi as a friend at the very least and would've wanted to check up on him), and after a year Ito and the police finally found him. Ito would have rightfully felt responsible for the consequences of Nakoshi's trapanation when this action began costing lives, so his presence and actions during the finale made a lot of sense. The police could also have put Ito up to luring Nakoshi out of hiding.
      I very highly doubt that Ito was a hallucination, especially considering that scene gave Ito's character arc a ton of closure, and this would've been a waste if Ito didn't exist at all in this scene.

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  4. After reading your article I was amazed. I know that you explain it very well. And I hope that other readers will also experience how I feel after reading your article. Tech

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  5. One thing I noticed is that Nanako lied to Nakoshi about no longer being able to see homunculi. Before the yakuza showed up, Nanako saw a demon in Nakoshi's face, and fled the car.
    Why she chose the trepanation anyway after realizing this might have been out of her love for him. She'd rather risk her life to be wrong about him than live without him.
    Tragically she wasn't wrong. The demon was real. Nakoshi's self absorption hit an all time high around the time he started to see his face (and the one he bought rather than the one he was born with to boot) on Nanako's. When he killed her he played at tenderness, tucking her in and writing her a note about breakfast. I think at this point she really did pass out or fall into a coma, and he really did think she was going to be fine. It was the moment he turned around at the door that something changed. His eyes glazed over and he looked at her not with love, but with something like contempt, or maybe disappointment. At that moment he didn't give a damn about her. She was useless to him and he moved on to the next person who could potentially see him.
    I wonder how he would've reacted if she told him the truth in that car. That when she looked at him she saw the devil. Things might have gone differently.

    Also, I do believe that really was Ito confronting Nakoshi at the end. The police were actively searching for Nakoshi by this point, and Ito was a close friend who really was responsible for getting this ball rolling. Either the police got Ito involved or Ito got involved with the police to atone for his sins. Ito's change in appearance just implied to me that he took Nakoshi's advice and got the surgeries he wanted to appear more feminine. I also prefer this explanation to ito being a hallucination because it offers full closure to Ito's character. Ito began as a cold logician who buried his emotions and morals. Ito emotionally breaking down in regret helped illustrate that over the course of the series he became the opposite of the character who was introduced. If Ito were just a figment of Nakoshi's imagination, then the impact of Ito burying his face in his hands is lost entirely, and I don't think the author wanted that.

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  6. I finished reading the manga and it was very confusing especially the ending but you explained it very good

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  7. Author if you still read comments what is your number 1 anime/Manga. Because a lot of people have said this is the best character they have ever seen. What is your 10/10

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    1. Something is still confusing me,
      If ito was real and not just in nakoshi's mind? Then why he didn't appear inside tye car when nakoshi came out to the police?

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    2. He actually was, if you notice in the penultimate page of the manga, when Nakoshi goes to greet the police, Ito is seen burying his face in his hands while crying, thus proving that Ito is real and did not die.

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  8. I just saw this on Netflix. Curious to know your thoughts on the film adaptation. Thanks for the insights on the manga.

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  9. It was wonderful point of view and the analysis it was a cool great detail, I like it, I hope to find more reviews about other mangas.

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  10. The concept of seeing Homunculi as representations of repressed feelings adds a layer of depth to the story. The ambiguity surrounding whether it's supernatural or hallucination leaves room for interpretation.

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