Manga Movable Feast: To Terra…

It’s that time of the month again… Time for another Manga Movable Feast! The treat this month is To Terra… by Keiko Takemiya, published in English by Vertical. Our host this moth is Kate Dacey of The Manga Critic; head to the hub page for this month’s feast for more reviews and perspectives on To Terra… and Takemiya’s other works.

Okay, so tell me if you’ve heard this story: There’s a computer which exercises complete control over humanity; however, a small group of people with seemingly magical powers rebels against the machine, even though it means fighting against humans who have willingly, perhaps even subconsciously, accepted the machine’s dominance over their life. Yeah? Or how about this one: A new post-human race of mutants with superhuman powers is developing, and many normal humans, frightened of the unfamiliar and the obsolescence of their species, meet them with heavy persecution. The mutants debate amongst themselves how best to manage their relationship with the weaker humans: Assimilation? Segregation? Domination? Elimination?

While there’s a good chance that Keiko Takemiya had never heard of the X-Men when she started writing To Terra… in 1977, and obviously The Matrix wouldn’t come until decades later, her space opera in graphic novel form nonetheless tends to tread familiar ground, at least from a modern perspective. It’s… the future! and humans now live… in space! after the ecological devastation of Earth (though later parts in this series, which spans three beefy volumes, hint that it wasn’t entirely humanity’s fault this time, thankfully). Convinced that humanity was no longer capable of taking care of itself, humans in centuries prior built a massive computer named Mother to regulate every aspect of their lives; disobeying Mother is tantamount to badmouthing the leader of your standard totalitarian state.

Natural childbirth is a thing of the past (and a crime against Mother, presumably); all children are now conceived in test tubes and born from vats of amniotic fluid. However, for some reason, some children show evidence of telepathic powers endemic in an outlaw race of mutant humans called the Mu. Mother’s doctrine includes strict ESP tests for children in the midst of puberty; if they show evidence of telekinetic powers or mind-reading, they are promptly executed. However, a number of Mu have managed to escape the system, and are living on their own away from the long arm of Mother and her mindless followers. Where they really want to go, though, is back to Earth - to Terra. However, seeing as how the planet is already populated by the most elite humans intent on repairing the planet for human use again, the two sides are on an inescapable collision course. Specifically, we follow Jomy Marcus Shin, the initially reluctant new leader of the Mu, and Keith Anyan, a soldier created by Mother’s own cybertronic hand to be the perfect human, as they grow, fight their respective struggles, and have their fates intertwine in the end.

Despite feeling a bit like it has nothing new to offer from a contemporary perspective, To Terra… is nonetheless a complex, evocative story that can give you a whole lot to think about, if you want it to. Perhaps it’s a stretch, but observing the news of the the two Koreas once again skittering along the brink of war puts a real-life perspective on just how dangerous these sorts of fundamental ideological differences can be. Like all the best sci-fi, To Terra… brings a strong human story to the table, even though it’s told in the framework of the fantastic, such as interstellar space travel and telekinesis. The ending is tight, if perhaps a bit too sudden, and does a satisfying job of tying together plot threads and answering unanswered questions to a degree we often don’t see in manga. Does it have a happy ending? Well… I personally think it’s ultimately optimistic, in the long term… let’s leave it at that.

To Terra… is a product of the late ’70s, and looks it, art-wise. Though Takemiya, as it turns out, is considered one of the grandmothers of what we now think of as shoujo-style art in comics, the character designs will be quite different from what you’re used to if you’ve previously avoided manga made before the late ’90s. Some will love this style; some will hate it. Personally, as I stated in my look at Swallowing the Earth I really like these older character designs. It turns out Takemiya is also almost solely responsible for creating the shounen-ai manga trope - stories about romance and rutting between two beautiful young men, written for an audience of young women. So now we know who’s to blame… And this sort of thing does seem to pop up a bit in To Terra… too, with a suspicious number of scenes where one male character gazes at another longingly while the gazee is asleep - that sort of thing. At first, I thought it was just something which could be misinterpreted by those inclined to do so, but since I learned about Takemiya’s kink, I now figure it was probably on purpose… Well, all that aside aside, the mechanical design will be a little more familiar - the woman draws a mean space battleship and computer mainframe, and the crowded cityscapes that go on forever…

Publisher Vertical made an interesting decision in the localization; none of the sound effects are translated. Not replaced or subtitled with English equivalents as most other publishers do; there’s no translation for them at all. I wonder why they did this - I think it was a poor decision, because we do lose a good deal of context that way. I personally can read katakana, but that didn’t always help me; two characters are fighting hand-to-hand and “dosun!” is scrawled across the panel. What just happened? I don’t know, and no Japanese dictionary I’ve tried has a definition for “dosun.” (Not entirely true, but you get the point.)

So can I recommend To Terra… to others? Yes… with reservations. Though the story has potential to appeal to a wide range of audiences, I’m sure that many may see the similarities in story I highlighted above and grow bored with it if they’re unable to appreciate the time in which it was written. The art may be a turn-off for some, as well, for similar reasons. However, I think those who can dedicate the time and attention to make it to the end will be rewarded with a very serious, thought-provoking human story which ages well. Give To Terra… a look.