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Pourquoi Jim, océanographe de renom, veut-il à tout prix protéger Umi
et Sora, les deux fascinants « enfants de la mer », élevés par les
dugongs et accoutumés à vivre entre terre et eau ?
La réponse se trouve peut-être dans un souvenir de son enfance,
il y a plus de quarante ans... Son inquiétude grandit avec la fuite
soudaine de Sora, qui a rejoint Anglade, l'ancien élève de Jim –
un jeune homme ambigu, aux desseins troubles.
De son côté, Ruka s'efforce de soutenir Umi, désespéré par
la disparition de son « frère ». Ensemble, ils partent à la recherche
de Sora et d’Anglade. Ruka est déterminée. C'est sa mission,
elle le sait. Elle sera, en chemin, le témoin d’un phénomène bien étrange…

322 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2007

14 people are currently reading
433 people want to read

About the author

Daisuke Igarashi

47 books164 followers
Daisuke Igarashi (五十嵐 大介, Igarashi Daisuke) is a Japanese cartoonist, acclaimed for his refined art style and philosophical themes. His manga often use sci-fi or magical elements to touch on the relation between mankind and nature.
Igarashi began his professional career in 1993 on the pages of the magazine 'Monthly Afternoon'. Therein, he published the stories composing Hanashippanashi (1993-1996), a few other shorts collected in the volume Sora Tobi Tamashii (2002), as well as his first minor success, the series Little Forest (2003-2005).
In 2003 the author started a fruitful collaboration with the alternative manga magazine 'Monthly Ikki', in which he serialised his most famous works to date: the anthological Witches (2003-2004) and Children of the Sea (2006-2011). Both series were awarded an Excellence Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival, respectively in 2004 and 2009.
Igarashi's latest works are Umwelt (2017), collecting short stories appeared in various magazines between 2004 and 2014, and the 5-volume long manga Designs (2016-2018).

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5 stars
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225 (18%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
Profile Image for Dragana.
449 reviews46 followers
May 12, 2024
Čudan deo. Drugačiji od prvog i meni, za nijansu, bolji. Saznajemo više o Sori i Umiju.
Jako čudno, na neki uznemirujuć način. Ne umem da objasnim. Koketira se sa uvrnutim i ne znam kome bih preporučila. Ali sam nekako navučena i čitaću nastavke. Nadam se da će imati poentu na kraju.

Crtež je savršen.
Profile Image for Dave Schaafsma.
Author 6 books32.2k followers
January 4, 2015
The art again is the best thing about this series, the gorgeous work Igarashi does especially with nature: any ocean creatures, water, weather… he's a little less good with people, interestingly enough, but maybe because the global/cosmic themes are actually more important to him than the characters themselves. Many of the characters are mystical and ethereal and two of them look very much like girls but are boys, to no obvious purpose… but the cast is still interesting, just not as accomplished as the amazing art, which well fits the purposes of the story.

The central idea here blends science (marine biology, in particular) and mysticism to tell a story of something peculiar and concerning about the sea and the disappearance of fish. It also features middle school kids as central characters, so that's an audience issue, to get at the complexity of the known world and communicate that to teens (and older people, too!).

Two kids, Umi and Sora, have a sixth sense, though it is not about ghosts, but about the sea. Instead of seeing dead people or prescience, they can read some levels of the ocean, have a sense of what is going on with it. They also grew up IN it, not just around it, so that's a fantasy element. Ultimately, we learn as we go in the plot that we humans know very little about the sea, we are just scratching the surface and are as arrogant about it as we are about any sort of cultural or ethnic issue. The pace is slow, as Sora goes missing and Umi gets sick and we get some interesting backstory about marine biologist Jim who has known kids like Umi and Sora for forty years. He's not just a hard science guy, in other words, he gets it that the ocean is mosty unknowable and often mysterious. Much of what he is learning as a scientist is informed by Sora's mystical sixth sense, actually. Sora has been working with him. There's a big reveal at the end that is surprising and will make you/me keep reading, of course. This is a really unique manga..
Profile Image for Nelson.
369 reviews18 followers
December 4, 2020
"... In other words, more than 90 percent of the total mass of the universe is made up of this matter we can't identify. The world is full of things we can't see. The universe is more complex than our eyes can perceive.

I think the universe is a lot like people. Inside each person, small fragments of memory float around. Until by some chance, several fragments join together, and the memory gets a little larger. And that larger memory draws in more fragments of memory. And they merge to create an even larger memory.

That's just like... what the birth of a star or a galaxy looks like..."
Profile Image for Zaz.
1,931 reviews60 followers
June 11, 2017
As with the 1st volume, the story was strange. In addition, it was also far fetched and difficult to follow at some points. I enjoyed the moments in the water or on the beach, and the kids' interactions, but not really the rest. The end was quite difficult to look at.
Profile Image for Tom.
52 reviews2 followers
January 12, 2025
Super, bien meilleur que le Tome 1 qui m’avait laissé sur ma faim ! Très mystérieux et poétique. Envie de lire le Tome 3.
Profile Image for Rosa.
1,831 reviews15 followers
May 2, 2010
The illustrations of the animals are absolutely gorgeous. The story is getting a little bit creepy and sad but I am still enjoying it.
Profile Image for Neil R. Coulter.
1,300 reviews150 followers
June 13, 2020
Ok, I've come to terms with Sora being a guy, but how in the world is Anglade a guy? Such strange art!

Anyway, other than not being able to figure out characters until someone else refers to them as "him" or "her," the story continues to spin in interesting ways, now connecting to mythological stories of the sea and stars. Curious to see how it progresses, and what the final crisis is that some of the characters fear. I'm also interested to see the recent anime; I suspect that motion and color will really bring this story to life.

The dialogue is not a huge part of this manga, but I like this insight about words, from Ruka:
Sometimes I lose my voice too. Like with my parents and my teachers. In my head, I have so many things I want to say to them. And the thoughts go around and around...but the more I try to put them into words...the more I can't say anything. Because when you put it into words...then everything you can't say with words doesn't exist, right? (192–3)
A final note: I would be much more worried about Ruka than her parents are. "Oh, our daughter ran out of the house at night during a typhoon, and we haven't heard from her in hours? Ah well, I'm sure she's fine. She'll turn up eventually."
Profile Image for Marko.
310 reviews5 followers
January 24, 2024
Pad u već drugom tankobonu. Možda se to ne bi ni mogla nazvati padom - već ne-skok. Priča ostaje da bude pomalo jednolična bez nekih većih preokreta i uzbuđenja.

Najveći mi je utisak što se manga jako lepo i lako čita, ali opet ako se napravi pauza i nastavi sutra, imao sam problem da se setim šta sam uopšte juče čitao i šta se desilo, a teško je i prepričati šta se desilo. Priča je poput onih italijanskih vina kuće što služe po italijanskim restoranima. Sva su dobra, svima sva prijaju, lepo se piju, ali ih se niko ne seća niti bi znao da ih opiše.

Dodati su neki novi likovi i događaji ali sve je to nekako ravna linija.

Utisak najviše ostavljaju legende i anegdote vezane za more i neke kratke priče van glavnog narativnog toka koje idu na par strana. Kao da je glavni narativni tok samo smesa za držanje tih priča na okupu.

Nadam se da će se u preostala tri tankobona priča i likovi i međusobna povezanost malo produbiti jer apsolutni ima prostora za tako nešto.
Profile Image for Chris.
1,987 reviews29 followers
August 26, 2018
It’s alright. Curious to find out what happens next.
Profile Image for Coke Fernández.
360 reviews6 followers
October 11, 2019
7/10.
La primera mitad es un poco cansina, pero en la segunda mitad vuelve a crecer el interés.
Profile Image for Crystalclearwpg.
355 reviews8 followers
October 8, 2025
The story is progressing slowly but comes across choppy through out this one. It jumps from one scene to another without a break in the flow of the story which made it hard to follow sometimes. I do like the concept but some more character development would be good. This story feels just like that, a story. I'm hoping the third volume comes across a bit better.
Profile Image for John Blacksad.
534 reviews55 followers
February 11, 2024
Biri bu seriyi @pixar ulaştırsın!

Evet bu bir manga ama hususiyetle Pixar dedim. Studio Ghibli’yi de çok severiz ama işin tam potansiyelini bulması için Pixar’ı yakıştırdım, Ghibli fazla Japonize eder olayı :) Hem Pixar Soul pikinden sonra (Elemental’dan -bir takım banliyö ve göçmen mesajları tamam ama- beklediğimi hiç bulamadım) boşluğa düştü gibi.

Bu sayıyla birlikte işler gelişiyor, ortada seyreden hikayenin mistisizm yönü artıyor. Daha ayakları yere basan işleri seven biri olmama rağmen buradaki mistisizmi severek okudum. Bir defa hem yanıbaşımızda olup hem de neredeyse erişilmez olan denizler başlı başına bir gizem değil mi? En gerçek haliyle bile… Buna biraz yıldız tozu serpmenin mahsuru yok.

Temasıyla çok uyumlu şahane çizimleri, iyot kokulu hikayesi, yaratılış mitleri değinmeleriyle severek okuduğum bir cilt oldu. Bu seri her şeyiyle bir sürpriz attır. Ve hak ettiği ilgiyi görmemesine üzülüyorum. @gorilcizgiroman dan ikinci sayıyı alırken, ilk cildin neredeyse satmadığını öğrenmiştim. Oysa ki manga sınırlarını aşan, yetişkinlerin beğeneceği, çok kendine has, lirik bir iş var karşımızda. “Hidden gem” arayanlar, haydi!

Elbette öneriyorum.
Profile Image for Riana (RianaInTheStacks).
383 reviews24 followers
April 26, 2022
I just love this series so far. The art is gorgeous, particularly the parts that are in the ocean, which actually makes up a fairly large part. I really like Ruka’s character as well and seeing the interactions between her, Umi, and Sora. Of course the mystery is a big pull in the series as well. And I love learning and reading about the science behind things and how we are all “star stuff,” everything being composed of the same materials and looking at how that causes us to interact with the universe around us and vice versa. This series gets pretty deep into that.

The birth of galaxies, the fact that over 80% of the universe is something we can’t see (dark matter), a connection between the life-giving aspects of creatures begot of ocean begot of space. Honestly just the general tone of these books and the movie as well…it feels meandering in a sense but it in the best kind of way. Like floating on the surface of water, gleaming epiphanies from the shapes in the clouds.
Profile Image for Sunread26.
1,361 reviews
February 2, 2025
Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2025/...

Extrait :
Second tome de la série, pour laquelle j’attends, comme souvent, de trouver les tomes d’occasions pour continuer d’avancer. L’histoire est vraiment très intrigante et j’ai envie de voir jusqu’où elle va me mener. Un peu comme le titre « Le pacte de la mer », cette série déroute et évoque la nature de manière un peu fantastique. Une partie du folklore aussi sans doute, puisqu’il y a toujours beaucoup de légendes autours de la mer et ses profondeurs. Profondeurs qui sont à la fois attirantes, fascinantes mais aussi mystérieuses et flippantes.

Dans le tome précédent, Sora a mystérieusement disparu sans rien dire à personne. Umi en est donc très perturbé et cherche à le retrouver. Les deux garçons sont vraiment très fusionnels, Sora jouant le rôle de grand frère pour Umi. Sora semble également en savoir plus qu’Umi sur leur condition si spéciale. Ruka quant à elle, se sent impuissante face à la détresse de son nouvel ami. Elle finira par lui proposer de partir à sa recherche tous les deux, même si au final, c’est Umi qui la guidera. Chose étonnante, grâce à l’eau salée, ils peuvent se sentir l’un et l’autre et donc deviner où se trouve Sora. Ruka semble également commencer à changer, serait-elle en train de devenir comme eux ? Ou quelque chose d’encore différent ? J’avoue que la série n’est pas très claire sur pas mal de points, ce qui fait que je suis un peu perdue. Mais j’aime bien le côté fantastique et presque horrifique de certains passages. Umi semble être un enfant assez réservé, mais il faut dire qu’il n’a jamais vécu dans un lieu propice à communication. Un des événements de ce tome le marquera sans doute à vie, sa réaction sera dans le prochain tome. J’imagine que Ruka fera encore tout pour l’aider, même si elle ignore comment faire. Il faudrait que les recherches avancent pour le sauver, mais à qui faire confiance ? Son temps à lui est aussi compté, acceptera-t-il ou se laissera t-il dépérir ? C’est comme si une force mystérieuse les influençaient et qu’ils ne pouvaient rien faire d’autre qu’obéir. Pour le reste, je ne comprends pas, certes, ils disparaissent, mais rien n’est vraiment expliquer, que ce soit la lumière ou le reste.

Même si le tome est bien épais, je n’ai pas vraiment grand-chose à dire sur celui-ci. L’aspect scientifique explique certaines choses concernant le corps de Sora, mais c’est tellement infime… qu’au final, c’est comme si on ne savait rien. Je suis toutefois d’accord avec une phrase indiquant qu’il y a peu, on ne considérer notre monde qu’avec une longue vue, puis est venu le microscope qui nous a fait connaître des êtres plus petits. Qui sait encore ce que l’on pourrait bien ignorer ? On se pense intelligent, mais au final, on est toujours un peu dans l’ignorance. Comme le dit une certaine expression : le sage est celui qui sait, qu’il ne sait rien. Le tome en profite pour montrer le passé de Jim et sa première rencontre avec un enfant de la mer. Visiblement, cette rencontre l’aura bien marqué et c’est pour cette raison qu’il souhaite aider Umi et Sora, sans pour autant les mettre en dangers lors d’expériences. Mais pour tout cela, il faut de l’argent et donc des sponsors. Sora ayant disparu et les progrès étant faibles depuis quelques temps, ceux-ci ont un peu de mal à vouloir poursuivre avec Jim. Evidemment, à leurs yeux, les enfants ne sont que des bêtes de foires qu’il faudrait exploiter au maximum. Sora lui-même aurait aimé que Jim aille plus loin plutôt que de prendre des pincettes, après tout, tout ce qu’il souhaite c’est protéger Umi. Je ne sais pas si Umi se rend bien compte des choses, il semble vivre un peu au jour le jour, sans réfléchir. Il se contente de suivre Sora, ce qui pourrait devenir problématique pour lui-même.

[...]
Profile Image for Mal.
200 reviews1 follower
September 20, 2025
oh Sora. you did everything right yet it still wasn't enough. the board found jims experiments unethical and extreme, yet Sora pushed him to do it and called him cautious.

yet in the end, Sora was unfortunately proven right, no amount of study would have prepared or prevented what happened. its devastating. you work towards something your whole life, are famous in the scientific community as a miracle, you know your time will end soon. and yet, nothing of this world could have possibly helped.

the cover reflects this elegantly, the spotted sharkray which vanished is behind Sora, as hes effortlessly gliding through the waves. gorgeous its really a tragedy, yet in nature nothing of the sort exists, its only a natural cycle. Sora really is human, yet hes animal too. hes something in between both worlds. eerie

I really enjoyed this one. its beautifully bittersweet, anglade is a wonderful scientist and friend to Sora, and I adore everyone's dreariness in this one. the tone is so mellow, like its building up towards the end. like the force before a wave breaks.

heartbreaking.

5/5.

dark matter is terrifying. I wish I was anglade. hes such a cool marine biologist. a rebel without a cause or something. just so cool, I adore his philosophy <3

poor ruka thinks she has to cut her stomach open now lol
Profile Image for osoi.
789 reviews38 followers
September 11, 2019
Не оставляет ощущение, что во главе стола – море со звездами, а люди просто пробегали мимо. Еще чуть-чуть, и на пляже вовсе не останется их следов, и никто даже не вспомнит об их существовании. Еще чуть-чуть, и все мы превратимся в песок. Вот так странно и космически безмятежно заставляет чувствовать себя эта история. Она умиротворяет. Примиряет с неизбежным. Вместо смакования трагедии она пускает ее по венам, делает составной частью бытия. Остров захлестывает тайфун, а на берегу бродят призраки. По всему свету растворяются россыпью звезд обитатели морских глубин.

Автор вводит новых персонажей, рассказывает предысторию пары ключевых фигур, но при этом люди у него получаются менее живыми, чем море. И еще с первого тома у него совершенно правильный дождь. Не просто сыплющиеся с неба штрихи, а самая настоящая стихия – экспрессивная, яркая, рьяно хлещущая со страниц.

hisashiburi
Profile Image for Tatiana.
319 reviews53 followers
December 22, 2021
This is turning out to be very interesting (and I found out that there is an anime! Which I will watch after I finish the series).

I am not interested in Ruka; I feel like she's an empty vessel that is used to experience the story/other characters. We dont really know anything about her, and she basically just exists to move the plot forward.

I like the hard science part where one of the characters explains what typhoons do for the ocean and the animals who live there. I hadn't known/never thought about it before.

Super excited to read the next volume since I really wanna know what is going on with Sora, Umi and all the sea animals!
Profile Image for E.
1,185 reviews51 followers
July 4, 2017
mythic and haunting... I'm not sure I understand the story that's going on, only partly because of having to read it in the reverse of my accustomed patterns.
I think it's dreamlike to the point of incoherent in spots... and I really wish it were color illustrations all the way through, because the undersea scenes would be easier to read.
Profile Image for baileys.bookshelf__.
44 reviews
May 29, 2024
This book was SOO GOOD! It gave the readers some more answers to try and piece the puzzle together, without giving too much away.

I also really enjoyed the moments of Ruka finding herself, and asking these provoking questions that facilitated such deep dialogue!

I will most definitely keep reading this series!
Profile Image for Lee.
200 reviews
August 15, 2025
This is a strange series, do I like the art (somewhat) but it's definitely not for kids...the library I borrowed it from had it in their Juvenile collection. Older Teens and beyond for sure. I don't think I follow the story very well...and what is with all the dead, dismembered kids??? Yeah, not sure about this series, but I'll probably finish it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lune.
284 reviews62 followers
October 24, 2025
c'est une DINGUERIE à quel point c'est bien!!! ce manga est beaucoup trop sous-côté!!! au-delà de la beauté des dessins, l'histoire est tellement prenante, tellement poétique + j'apprends plein de choses sur les écosystèmes océaniques et sur les catastrophes naturelles donc que demande le peuple ???
Profile Image for Bryn.
2,185 reviews36 followers
June 19, 2017
This is just not really my genre -- I will probably keep reading it until I run out of volumes loaned to me by my lovely manga-loaning friend, but I don't think I'll bother to finish the series unless it surprises me.
Profile Image for Child960801.
2,824 reviews
July 16, 2017
A strange phenomenon is happening to one of the boys. They all run off together to a private beach. A new character is introduced who I thought was a girl for pages and pages until someone called that character a guy. These books are weird.
Profile Image for Natasha Musa.
86 reviews6 followers
February 2, 2020
This was much better than the 1st book and I’m quite attached to the characters now. So sad to see Sora die. Waiting for book 3 and 4 to arrive in the mail. Book 5 is out of stock at my local bookstore, will need to hunt it down on Amazon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Gabriel H..
202 reviews6 followers
February 15, 2021
More and more intriguing. I'm probably gonna cry abt tides, memory formation, and dark matter later, in a good way. I do wish there was more watercolor, the scarcity of which I assume just has to do with the expense of reproduction, but!! It's so stunning, I want more!
Profile Image for jamie-ashton fabian.
284 reviews1 follower
July 27, 2021
lovely build up on the first story and breathtaking artwork. it follows ruka as she starts summer with little hope. she meets umi, a boy from the sea at her father’s aquarium. she then uncovers many secrets and adventures involving the strangeness of the sea.
Profile Image for Sherrie.
124 reviews
October 1, 2021
4⭐️: I really enjoyed this! I flew through it trying to learn more about what happened to Sora. I love the characters a lot, and this was a great second volume. Also, the ending broke my heart.

I marked down a star due to a lack of story, but I still liked it a lot.
Profile Image for Nazareth.
199 reviews1 follower
March 7, 2022
Wondering if I should read the first book.
I got the gist of the story all from the second book…and I’ve seen many reviews saying that the 2nd book was better.
Though, people also said it was confusing. I didn’t find it confusing once I realized how I was reading the scenes.
Profile Image for ej.
438 reviews6 followers
May 5, 2022
i really love this story, anglade’s a great addition - love his perspectives, i love how much depth sora n umi have to their mindsets - i wonder if igarashi had prior knowledge of marine life n science or if he researched solely for this story
Profile Image for Nebula.
5 reviews5 followers
June 13, 2022
I haven’t read the book. I watched the anime and I want answers 😭. Where did they go? Can they still communicate to her? Will they continue to? Why them? Why her? What do they mean “she smells like dad?”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews

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