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Glass Wings
A collection of stories in which characters are afflicted with some sort of physical and/or mental ailment, but regardless of all the obstacles and interferences, love prevails against the odds.
176 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 2, 2020
Glass Wings is an anthology containing three unrelated stories, the first of which is the longest.
"Glass Wings"
Hagane is trapped by his own tainted blood, called "death blood." Death blood kills any living thing it touches, which Hagane learned to his horror when he accidentally killed a random girl he met by getting some of his blood on her. Now he lives with Tsubaki, a woman who claims to love him but who keeps him trapped in her home. Tsubaki has another captive, Ruriha, who Hagane finds himself drawn to. Will it ever be possible for Hagane to find love and happiness, or will his tainted blood continue to bring nothing but pain to himself and those around him?
I disliked the whole volume, but of the three stories, this one was probably my least favorite. The artwork was terrible - difficult-to-follow action, badly utilized screentone, a less-than-solid grasp of anatomy, occasionally odd facial expressions, etc. A bit too amateurish for a published work.
The story itself was great big gobs of sadness and suffering that somehow left me feeling nothing for the characters. At best, I felt bad for the bunny (you'd think Ruriha would have known better than to keep a pet around). And I absolutely was not expecting all the incestuous stuff -
I'm not sure Asaoka really thought this "death blood" thing through. If a person with death blood gets injured and falls into a body of water (which happens in this volume), you'd think absolutely everything in the water would die considering how potent the blood is.
"Firefly"
Yuinne needs to eat raw dead flesh in order to survive. After a traumatic incident, he vowed to only eat the flesh of beings that died of natural causes. He escapes the group of corpse eaters he was living with and tries to abide by his own rules but finds himself drawn to Mia, a kind human girl.
I suspect that this story was created after the first one, because the artwork was a bit better. Even so, it was still terrible. Once again, the main character was cursed/tainted in a way that hurt anyone who got close to him. Unlike Hagane, Yuinne didn't have even a single person he could get near without them eventually ending up dead.
The writing was awful. My favorite worst line: "My suffering is exploding pain!" (128)
"Jion Princess"
Soyogi is an orphan who is turned into Yura's yorimashi, a physical double who is supposed to take on all of that person's bad luck and sickness. Yura treats Soyogi terribly, but since Yura is also the only person who acknowledges that Soyogi is a human, Soyogi doesn't really mind. In fact, she cares deeply for Yura, even though Yura refuses to believe it. Unfortunately, the delicate balance of the two girls' lives shifts when Yura is forced to leave Soyogi's side for a while.
This was probably the best story of the bunch, although the character relationships were deeply messed up. Yura behaved abominably towards Soyogi, and Soyogi's devotion to her was entirely based on the fact that Yura behaved somewhat better towards her than everyone else did. It was abusive, and I disliked that Asaoka tried to twist it into something like romance by the end.
I'm still not sure whether Soyogi's existence actually improved Yura's health in any way, or if it was all a lie on the magical doctor's part. After all, it wasn't like Yura was 100% healthy, even with Soyogi around.
All in all, this volume wasn't very good, and it somehow left me feeling nothing despite its massive amounts of tragedy. On the plus side, at least each story was a slight improvement over the ones that came before it.
Extras:
A postscript by the author. Asaoka wrote briefly about putting more effort into Hagane and Ruriha's bodies than their faces (which explained some things) and about Tsubaki's background info and shipping her with Hagane (seriously? she was abusive, horrible, and also ).
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
"Glass Wings"
Hagane is trapped by his own tainted blood, called "death blood." Death blood kills any living thing it touches, which Hagane learned to his horror when he accidentally killed a random girl he met by getting some of his blood on her. Now he lives with Tsubaki, a woman who claims to love him but who keeps him trapped in her home. Tsubaki has another captive, Ruriha, who Hagane finds himself drawn to. Will it ever be possible for Hagane to find love and happiness, or will his tainted blood continue to bring nothing but pain to himself and those around him?
I disliked the whole volume, but of the three stories, this one was probably my least favorite. The artwork was terrible - difficult-to-follow action, badly utilized screentone, a less-than-solid grasp of anatomy, occasionally odd facial expressions, etc. A bit too amateurish for a published work.
The story itself was great big gobs of sadness and suffering that somehow left me feeling nothing for the characters. At best, I felt bad for the bunny (you'd think Ruriha would have known better than to keep a pet around). And I absolutely was not expecting all the incestuous stuff -
I'm not sure Asaoka really thought this "death blood" thing through. If a person with death blood gets injured and falls into a body of water (which happens in this volume), you'd think absolutely everything in the water would die considering how potent the blood is.
"Firefly"
Yuinne needs to eat raw dead flesh in order to survive. After a traumatic incident, he vowed to only eat the flesh of beings that died of natural causes. He escapes the group of corpse eaters he was living with and tries to abide by his own rules but finds himself drawn to Mia, a kind human girl.
I suspect that this story was created after the first one, because the artwork was a bit better. Even so, it was still terrible. Once again, the main character was cursed/tainted in a way that hurt anyone who got close to him. Unlike Hagane, Yuinne didn't have even a single person he could get near without them eventually ending up dead.
The writing was awful. My favorite worst line: "My suffering is exploding pain!" (128)
"Jion Princess"
Soyogi is an orphan who is turned into Yura's yorimashi, a physical double who is supposed to take on all of that person's bad luck and sickness. Yura treats Soyogi terribly, but since Yura is also the only person who acknowledges that Soyogi is a human, Soyogi doesn't really mind. In fact, she cares deeply for Yura, even though Yura refuses to believe it. Unfortunately, the delicate balance of the two girls' lives shifts when Yura is forced to leave Soyogi's side for a while.
This was probably the best story of the bunch, although the character relationships were deeply messed up. Yura behaved abominably towards Soyogi, and Soyogi's devotion to her was entirely based on the fact that Yura behaved somewhat better towards her than everyone else did. It was abusive, and I disliked that Asaoka tried to twist it into something like romance by the end.
I'm still not sure whether Soyogi's existence actually improved Yura's health in any way, or if it was all a lie on the magical doctor's part. After all, it wasn't like Yura was 100% healthy, even with Soyogi around.
All in all, this volume wasn't very good, and it somehow left me feeling nothing despite its massive amounts of tragedy. On the plus side, at least each story was a slight improvement over the ones that came before it.
Extras:
A postscript by the author. Asaoka wrote briefly about putting more effort into Hagane and Ruriha's bodies than their faces (which explained some things) and about Tsubaki's background info and shipping her with Hagane (seriously? she was abusive, horrible, and also ).
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
February 2, 2026
Man I just love sad mopey forbidden and tragic love stories. it'sa-good! 🤌🤌🤌👩🍳
I like the art maybe its not the best some of it looks a bit off (tiny noses, big hands) whatever i still love the style.
Maybe its not the best out there but dang it its got all the cliches that I like. So that makes it great to me.
Jon tron meme: 10 outta 10. 100 outta 100. best game, best game.
I like the art maybe its not the best some of it looks a bit off (tiny noses, big hands) whatever i still love the style.
Maybe its not the best out there but dang it its got all the cliches that I like. So that makes it great to me.
Jon tron meme: 10 outta 10. 100 outta 100. best game, best game.
April 15, 2022
Ali di cristallo è una raccolta composta da tre storie brevi autoconclusive, il cui tema portante è l'amore.
La prima, Ali di Cristallo, è la più lunga ed è divisa in tre parti. È quella che convince di meno: alcuni elementi della trama sono poco chiari e non viene sviluppata bene, nonostante l'idea di base sia interessante.
Racconta la tragica storia d'amore tra Hagane e Ruriha, ostacolata da una misteriosa donna di nome Tsubaki e dalla vendetta di Kazusa. Il sangue dei due innamorati è impuro (sangue della morte) e uccide ogni cosa che toccano, quindi vivono in una sorta di bolla e tengono gli altri a distanza.
Al contrario del sentimento che Tsubaki nutre nei confronti di Hagane, il loro è puro e leale. Sono pronti a proteggersi a vicenda. L'affetto sincero non ha nulla a che vedere con l'ossessione e con l'imposizione, due aspetti tossici in una relazione. Amare qualcuno significa anche lasciarlo libero e desiderare soltanto la sua felicità. L'amore, in questo caso, viene presentato come via di fuga.
L'inizio è molto confuso e dà al lettore l'impressione che manchi qualcosa, soprattutto per quanto riguarda il legame tra Hagane e Tsubaki. Anche i sentimenti provati dai ragazzi sono troppo repentini per essere credibili.
La seconda si intitola Lucciola ed è più convincente della precedente.
Yuin è un freak, un demone che si ciba del sangue in fase di decomposizione di qualsiasi essere vivente. Il ragazzo si oppone a questo istinto, decidendo di mangiare solo i cadaveri morti in modo naturale. Non viene accettato dagli altri, tranne da una ragazza di nome Mia. Yuin cerca di nascondere la propria natura agli abitanti del villaggio, è il primo che non si apprezza.
In questo racconto l'amore è sinonimo di accettazione. Il bene è in grado di lenire il tormento del protagonista, che non si sente più rifiutato dal mondo intero.
La terza e ultima storia, Himejion, è la migliore. Soyogi è un'orfana dall'aspetto simile alla signorina Yura. Diventa una yorimashi, una persona costretta a prendere il posto della propria sosia e che ha il compito di trasferire sul proprio corpo le sofferenze e le malattie degli altri. Soyogi si affeziona a Yura, tuttavia il suo sentimento ha conseguenze drammatiche...
È interessante il concetto di "bambola", che richiama lo stile gotico. Stavolta l'amore è sacrificio.
Himejion è un racconto coerente, con una struttura abbastanza semplice e chiara. Peccato che sia troppo breve, avrebbe meritato uno sviluppo più approfondito. Fa capire che bisognerebbe sempre essere onesti con la persona amata, di non abbandonarla e di sopportare il dolore in due.
Solitudine, distruzione e difficoltà si intrecciano per dare vita a un'opera particolare, struggente e dalle tinte dark.
I protagonisti di tutte le storie sono maledetti, l'infelicità è scritta nel loro destino. Cercano l'amore come ancora di salvezza, ma alla fine si rivela sempre fatale. La diversità dovrebbe essere un valore aggiunto, non una condanna.
Misuzu Asaoka ha una visione dell'amore troppo deprimente. Malgrado questo sentimento abbia una sfumatura positiva (altruismo, protezione, etc.), queste creature tormentate non possono viverlo.
Il tratto è ancora acerbo e singolare (occhi molto grandi, più cura nei dettagli dei vestiti che di quelli delle persone). La copertina invece è bellissima e convince il lettore a dargli una possibilità.
Consigliato solo a chi ama gli amori impossibili.
La prima, Ali di Cristallo, è la più lunga ed è divisa in tre parti. È quella che convince di meno: alcuni elementi della trama sono poco chiari e non viene sviluppata bene, nonostante l'idea di base sia interessante.
Racconta la tragica storia d'amore tra Hagane e Ruriha, ostacolata da una misteriosa donna di nome Tsubaki e dalla vendetta di Kazusa. Il sangue dei due innamorati è impuro (sangue della morte) e uccide ogni cosa che toccano, quindi vivono in una sorta di bolla e tengono gli altri a distanza.
Al contrario del sentimento che Tsubaki nutre nei confronti di Hagane, il loro è puro e leale. Sono pronti a proteggersi a vicenda. L'affetto sincero non ha nulla a che vedere con l'ossessione e con l'imposizione, due aspetti tossici in una relazione. Amare qualcuno significa anche lasciarlo libero e desiderare soltanto la sua felicità. L'amore, in questo caso, viene presentato come via di fuga.
L'inizio è molto confuso e dà al lettore l'impressione che manchi qualcosa, soprattutto per quanto riguarda il legame tra Hagane e Tsubaki. Anche i sentimenti provati dai ragazzi sono troppo repentini per essere credibili.
La seconda si intitola Lucciola ed è più convincente della precedente.
Yuin è un freak, un demone che si ciba del sangue in fase di decomposizione di qualsiasi essere vivente. Il ragazzo si oppone a questo istinto, decidendo di mangiare solo i cadaveri morti in modo naturale. Non viene accettato dagli altri, tranne da una ragazza di nome Mia. Yuin cerca di nascondere la propria natura agli abitanti del villaggio, è il primo che non si apprezza.
In questo racconto l'amore è sinonimo di accettazione. Il bene è in grado di lenire il tormento del protagonista, che non si sente più rifiutato dal mondo intero.
La terza e ultima storia, Himejion, è la migliore. Soyogi è un'orfana dall'aspetto simile alla signorina Yura. Diventa una yorimashi, una persona costretta a prendere il posto della propria sosia e che ha il compito di trasferire sul proprio corpo le sofferenze e le malattie degli altri. Soyogi si affeziona a Yura, tuttavia il suo sentimento ha conseguenze drammatiche...
È interessante il concetto di "bambola", che richiama lo stile gotico. Stavolta l'amore è sacrificio.
Himejion è un racconto coerente, con una struttura abbastanza semplice e chiara. Peccato che sia troppo breve, avrebbe meritato uno sviluppo più approfondito. Fa capire che bisognerebbe sempre essere onesti con la persona amata, di non abbandonarla e di sopportare il dolore in due.
Solitudine, distruzione e difficoltà si intrecciano per dare vita a un'opera particolare, struggente e dalle tinte dark.
I protagonisti di tutte le storie sono maledetti, l'infelicità è scritta nel loro destino. Cercano l'amore come ancora di salvezza, ma alla fine si rivela sempre fatale. La diversità dovrebbe essere un valore aggiunto, non una condanna.
Misuzu Asaoka ha una visione dell'amore troppo deprimente. Malgrado questo sentimento abbia una sfumatura positiva (altruismo, protezione, etc.), queste creature tormentate non possono viverlo.
Il tratto è ancora acerbo e singolare (occhi molto grandi, più cura nei dettagli dei vestiti che di quelli delle persone). La copertina invece è bellissima e convince il lettore a dargli una possibilità.
Consigliato solo a chi ama gli amori impossibili.
February 27, 2020
It took a long time and a lot of patience to go back through this particular collection; heck, it was a chore just trying to find a copy of Glass Wings for purchase. It was worth it though, in my opinion. This was a manga volume I recalled borrowing briefly from a friend to read on a lunch break, and I think some aspect of the stories and their darker nature always stuck with me. If Hot Topic in the early 2000s had actually had a token manga, it would have been this one.
The first three "chapters" are one entire story, and the two "chapters" after that are two other, separate stories. I would say that the first story, Glass Wings, is easily my favorite, and Jion Princess, the last story in this volume, is a close second. I am not sure I care much for the story Firefly; it pales in comparison to the other two in terms of emotional impact.
Beyond that, I'm not sure I have much to say this time around. A future re-read will probably bring better insight and more intellectual analysis. For now, I'll just leave this at the fact I enjoyed it and I'm happy to finally own a copy.
The first three "chapters" are one entire story, and the two "chapters" after that are two other, separate stories. I would say that the first story, Glass Wings, is easily my favorite, and Jion Princess, the last story in this volume, is a close second. I am not sure I care much for the story Firefly; it pales in comparison to the other two in terms of emotional impact.
Beyond that, I'm not sure I have much to say this time around. A future re-read will probably bring better insight and more intellectual analysis. For now, I'll just leave this at the fact I enjoyed it and I'm happy to finally own a copy.
July 2, 2022
Three dark yet beautiful tales. The first one does have some angel sanctuary/vampire knight issues... if you know what I mean, but each story is very creative.
February 23, 2016
Loved it
October 15, 2018
In this book, there are three stories/episodes in this. The first is about two pretty teenagers whose diseased blood kills on contact. Their greatest dreams are to live together and alone, happily in love and away from any people they could kill. To achieve this, they run away from a seductive woman who may or may not be their mother, and may or may not want the boy to be her lover, and speaks of possessing him while torturing his sister and/or girlfriend. But they return to her, and go back to their initial routine of being seduced and tortured until they aren't anymore. In the next story, a boy is being chased by someone who wants him to give in to his curse as a corpse eater. A girl is kind to him, but he ends up alone and devastated and prodded by his pursuers anyways. Lastly, an orphan is able to siphon disease off of a princess whom she loves-despite said princess thinking her savior a pile of dirt and letting her know it with constant abuse. They come to some kind of understanding in the end, featuring two pages worth of the princess being somewhat less nasty to the orphan. This book is Gothic and confusing, and it would be better if the stories had their own book, though overall, it was good. The gore, and the actions is what interested me. For example, on pages 58-64 of episode 2, Kazusa talks about how she feels, and her sadness takes over, she takes out a gun, and proceeds to shoot herself, "No! I told you not to do it! Why the hell did you pull the trigger?!" This scene was beautifully drawn, and the feels really hit you as you can see Ruriha's pain. Out of all the stories in the book, this one was my favorite, because the plot is good, and the actions are intense and gory. Lots of fighting is shown, and so are the sacrifices. I recommend this book to people who are a fan of blood and intense fighting, as well as a bit of romance. The plots were creative, as I've never read a book anything similar to the ones here. I just suggest you don't read all 3 episodes/stories at once.
February 3, 2019
No.
This was one of the worst books I've read in a very long time. The stories all had potential, though, which I think was the most disappointing part of the whole thing. The author's main mistakes were thrusting us into the middle of the story with no background or context, and relying on "themes" that were actually tropes and really didn't help to tell the story. For example, we have the "I have a curse and hurt those closest to me" trope and the "Abusive character convinces cursed protagonist that they are the only ones capable of loving them."
There were twists in each story, but they came so completely out of left field that I really had trouble following them. "Surprise! I'm in love with you and have been trying to seduce you from that girl you like, but I'm actually your mother! Which makes her your sister! But, you should still love me only since I love you!" or "I was always so mean to you, but I'm actually in love with you and this could have been yuri but now it's nothing because you're dead." What?
Not much else to say, except that I didn't like it.
This was one of the worst books I've read in a very long time. The stories all had potential, though, which I think was the most disappointing part of the whole thing. The author's main mistakes were thrusting us into the middle of the story with no background or context, and relying on "themes" that were actually tropes and really didn't help to tell the story. For example, we have the "I have a curse and hurt those closest to me" trope and the "Abusive character convinces cursed protagonist that they are the only ones capable of loving them."
There were twists in each story, but they came so completely out of left field that I really had trouble following them. "Surprise! I'm in love with you and have been trying to seduce you from that girl you like, but I'm actually your mother! Which makes her your sister! But, you should still love me only since I love you!" or "I was always so mean to you, but I'm actually in love with you and this could have been yuri but now it's nothing because you're dead." What?
Not much else to say, except that I didn't like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2025
Don’t really know what I should think about this, I did like the gothic theme though
December 19, 2008
This manga is beautifully and gothically done, creative and delving into a bloody, though intriguing world. But I foolishly read all three stories in the same sitting, and got pretty depressed by the middle of the third one, haha. The happy endings aren't fairytale happy endings we know today, more like bittersweet with strangely/sadly happy for the characters that had gone through so much. It grips your heart, man. So if recommending it, I don't recommend reading it all at once...or alone. Make sure someone is close by and you'll feel less so, I'm sure, haha.
I give it a 4/5 stars :3 <3
I give it a 4/5 stars :3 <3
May 24, 2021
È un volume unico che raccoglie 3 storie brevi. La prima, più lunga delle altre, è quella che secondo me merita di meno, tipo 2 stelline. Le altre due, invece più interessanti, ne meritano 3.
È una lettura che consiglio solo agli amanti delle storie gotiche e drammatiche. Non aspettatevi il solito shoujo, qui dell'amore infatti viene mostrato solo il lato tragico e doloroso!
È una lettura che consiglio solo agli amanti delle storie gotiche e drammatiche. Non aspettatevi il solito shoujo, qui dell'amore infatti viene mostrato solo il lato tragico e doloroso!
May 17, 2015
I didn't really understand what what going on throughout the story. There were 4 different story lines with in one book and I felt like all of them could have been extended into there own book instead of just a chapter. I don't know if there is a book two when going to the library today I couldn't find it anywhere.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews