Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit, Vol. 2

Ikigami #2

by Motorō Mase

Congratulations! You have been randomly selected by the government...to DIE in 24 hours!

Dear Citizen: Thank you for your loyalty. You've no doubt noticed that the world is a troubled place. People are apathetic, lazy, unmotivated. You've probably asked yourself WHY ISN'T ANYTHING BEING DONE TO STOP THIS SYSTEMATIC DECLINE? Rest assured that measures are being taken. Beginning today, we will randomly select a different citizen who will be killed within 24 hours of notification. We believe this will help remind all people how precious life is and how important it is to be a productive, active member of society. Thank you for your continued attention and your cooperation and participation...

Genres: Manga, Comics, Seinen, Graphic Novels, Dystopia, Fiction, Science Fiction

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2006

About the author

Kanji Name: 間瀬元朗.

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this volume more enjoyable than the first one, although a lot sadder.

[Johnny il.cacciatore.di.libri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secondo volume bello come il primo!

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um manga perfeito perfeito perfeito!

[Sylvia Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first story, entitled “The Pure Love Drug” has scarred me in a way that will probably be with me forever, so that’s cool. Enjoyed this volume more than the first, but good Lord are these in the bell jar.

If you were told that you were going to die in 24 hours, how would you spend your last day?

[Armando · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely preferred the two characters and stories presented here over the last. The second one in particular had an interesting twist, or rather, interesting take on who got served the Ikigami. But both were enjoyable, again teasing that 'what if?' Or 'what would you do if this happened to you?' Sort of questions.

[Maitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaaaa soo saad 😭💔

[Marianna Rainolter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un volume che mi è stato prestato ma che mi è piaciuto molto e voglio parlarvene. E' stata promulgata una nuova legge, la Legge per la Prosperità della Nazione, che prevede che alcuni giovani scelti a caso, per il bene della nazione, siano uccisi da dei chip innestati loro durante l'infanzia. L'ingrato compito di consegnare l'ikigami, ossia il messaggio che annuncia al malcapitato di avere solo 24 ore prima di morire, spetta all'impiegato dell'anagrafe Kengo Fujimoto. Lui cerca di non interessarsi alle persone alle quali consegna la loro condanna a morte, ma è tormentato dal suo compito, dal perché c'è questa legge e dal fatto che i suo rapporti con le altre persone sono irrimediabilmente compromessi. Che dire poi di chi riceve l'ikigami e ha neanche 24 ore di tempo per dire addio ai propri cari e sistemare tutte le situazioni rimaste irrisolte? Anche se è il secondo volume della serie, l'ambientazione viene ben presentate e si capisce subito che anche se Kengo è il filo conduttore della storia, in realtà ci si concentra sulle persone condannate dall'ikigami: la loro vita, i loro sentimenti, la loro voglia di vivere e di andarsene serenamente. Insomma molto bello, ma anche molto duro da leggere sotto molti punti di vista, e mi piacerebbe anche continuare la lettura ma è una serie vecchia quindi difficile da reperire ma chissà... Voi la conoscevate? L'avete letta a suo tempo? Che ne pensate?

[cinnamon girl ୨୧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/t7YDn-JnU4w listening to this one while reading The Ultimate Limit, part 2 was incredible emotional to me.
Lovely story 👵🏻💕
This one, Volume II, was much more emotional than the first one. ××

[ShahadDocs271 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of an average series, I don’t think I’ll be continuing it

[Tesutamento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yine çok güzeldi. Bildiri memuru Fujimoto'nun işinin getirdiği psikolojik zorluklar özel hayatını nasıl baltalıyor görmüş olduk. İlk hikaye fazlasıyla gerçek hayattan alınmış gibiydi. Kişilerin birbirleri için yaptıkları fedakarlıklar ve karşılığında gördükleri hak edilmemiş kötü muameleler ne yazık ki hayatın bir parçası. Hikaye başlarken kadın değil de adamın seçileceğini sanmıştım. Böylesi belki de daha güzel olmuş. İkinci hikaye fena değildi. Psikolog kısımları güzel olsa da yaşlı kadının kısımları bana pek geçmedi.

[Dustyloup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much to add since volume 1 except that I thought the hero's perspective shift was interesting, kind of like a grieving process - volume 1 hes outraged and a kind of in disbelief that delivering the ikigami is his life. In v 2 he's trying to settle in and accept his job/his life despite the walls crumbling down.

Not too keen on the woman sacrificing herself for her man trope but it's manga so...

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

ILL request. The second volume features two lovers, one of whom gets the Death Paper notice ("Ikigami") while the other is a drug-addict trying to make it in the film industry. The ending is a BAD END in terms due to her taking the drugs he said for her to take (since they "extend your life for an hour or more after the heart stops" as the rumor goes) only for her to overdose ("do not take more than one! Otherwise *slit throat motion*").

The second story is more emotional. A 21-year-old retirement home careworker that seems to not be good for anything reminds a 81 year old woman of the man that left for war in the 1940(?)'s or so to never return. At first she can't walk because of this mental block but staying time with the 21-year-old she starts to open-up and think about walking. Only this decision to start walking again comes the last day the 21-year-old is going to live.

The ending for this one is she wanders off from the nursing home back to the rice-fields/"farm" where her and husband and three kids lived and before the husband left for war. The last scene is the 21-year-old imitating the husband and telling her to stand up. This becomes the "hope" for his life ending that will be carried into the future and the last scene is that old woman is walking around the retirement home by herself. Without help, because it is "what my husband wants me to do."

It seems the second halfs of the two collected stories so far are the stronger/more emotional ones for me. But the stories so far have all been pretty decent to go through.

Gotta see if ILL can find the third volume now.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is even better than the first volume. This dealt mainly with the people given the notices that they are going to die in 24 hours and how they (and their loved ones) spend that last day. We are still briefly shown the daily life of Fujimoto - the messenger of death - and how he has to learn to control his emotions (and how to handle a girlfriend) when he is the one who tells people they are about to die. Not an easy job.

It also seems that this society is like our own society and the death notices don't seem to be making that much of a difference. The purpose of the ikigami is to make each citizen do their best because they never know when their number is up but yet there seems to be just as much violence and drug use and bad attitudes and you-name-it as there would be without this rule.

Very interesting, thought-provoking manga series.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this volume, we see the toll that Fujimoto's work takes on his personal life as he also continues to question the work he does and tries to essentially brainwash himself into being okay with just "going with the flow" and accepting his role. At the same time, we are introduced to another 2 citizens destined to lose their lives. In the first story, a young woman in a rocky relationship with a drug addict wannabe film producer tries to make peace with her life and struggles to spend the final moments of her life in the loving embrace of her boyfriend. In the second, a young boy who selflessly works at a senior facility aims to give one of his elderly patients a reason to live even as he knows his own life is about to end...

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume maintains the quality. This series is set in a future Japan where a totalitarian government "promotes life" by killing 1 in 1000 of its young adults with a capsule given in first grade. And the stories are about those who get the capsule and about their last 24 hours alive, the only time when they're aware of the fact that they're among "The Chosen".

There is no solid indication of an ongoing plot structure yet, but some more details about the society are given and the standalone stories are as excellent as in the first volume, really exploiting the fascinating premise to its fullest.

[Bernadett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really cant tell why but the author manages to make every final chapter end with a real moral blow in the volumes which makes this so good.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:

Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Die Regierung hat Sie ausgewählt... in den nächsten 24 Stunden zu sterben!
Der Todesbote ist unterwegs und es gibt kein Entkommen. Das Auswahlverfahren ist rein zufällig: Bei Schuleintritt werden alle Kinder geimpft, in jeder 1000. Spritze befindet sich eine tödliche Nano-Kapsel, die sich an einem bestimmten Datum selbst zerstört. Diese drastische Maßnahme − offiziell der "Nationale Wohlfahrtsakt" − ist ein Gesetzeserlass der Regierung zum Schutz der Gesellschaft vor Unzufriedenheit, Faulheit und Chaos. Die Opfer sind junge Menschen zwischen 18 und 24 Jahren.



Cover:

Das Cover ist von der Aufmachung her an das Cover des ersten Bandes angelehnt und zeigt den Todesboten Kengo, welcher für die Regierung die Todesbotschaften übermittelt. Das Cover an sich ist recht nichtsaussagend, hat aber für Kenner der Reihe einen Wiedererkennungsfaktor.



Eigener Eindruck:

Kengo arbeitet im Auftrag der Regierung und überbringt die Todesnachrichten an junge Menschen, welche vom Programm für den Wohlfahrtsakt ausgewählt wurden. Da seine Freundin mit seinem Job nicht klar kommt, trennt sie sich für ihn, was Kengo nicht unberührt zurück lässt. Doch viel Zeit zum Überlegen hat er nicht, denn seine Arbeit wartet auf ihn. Er muss einer jungen Frau die Nachricht über ihren baldigen Tod überbringen, deren Freund Katsumura als Kameramann arg überarbeitet ist und sich regelmäßig mit Drogen vollpumpt. Als sie die Nachricht erhält trifft sie auf die Ablehnung der Nachbarn, weil sie am besten nicht in ihrer Wohnung sterben soll und Katsumura muss es irgendwie schaffen noch rechtzeitig zu ihr zu kommen – vielleicht ist die Droge eine Möglichkeit, um ihr Leben zu verlängern?

Außerdem muss Kengo einem jungen Pfleger die Nachricht seines baldigen Todes überbringen. Nun ist es an ihm einer alten Frau noch einmal den Mut zum weiterleben zu geben, obwohl er selbst an der Schwelle des Todes steht.





Die Geschichten rund um das Ikigami regen zum Nachdenken an und bieten eine doch recht postapokalyptische Szenerie, die man sich aber in unserer heutigen Gesellschaft leider genauso vorstellen kann. Das Ikigami trifft Menschen, so wie ich und du und macht ganz eigenartige Dinge mit ihnen. Der Mangaka schafft es wirklich gut Emotionen zu transportieren und so eine ganz eigene Atmosphäre zu schaffen und obwohl die Thematik wirklich brisant ist, so muss ich doch gestehen, dass mich die Geschichten doch auch ein bisschen gelangweilt haben. Zeichnerisch ist der Manga übrigens auf wirklich hohem Niveau gestaltet, aber trotzdem kann er mich einfach nicht packen. Nicht optisch und auch nicht emotional. Schade eigentlich. Während man von den sterbenden Charakteren also deren ganzes leben ausgebreitet bekommt beziehungsweise deren Seelenleben, bleibt Kengo doch recht im Hintergrund. Vor allem von ihm hätte ich mir doch ein bisschen mehr Story gewünscht, aber vielleicht kommt das auch noch. Noch habe ich Hoffnung.





Fazit:

Wieder recht solide Geschichten aus der Welt des Todesboten, welche zum Nachdenken anregen sollen. Kann man mal gelesen haben, haben mich jetzt aber nicht so vom Hocker gehauen.



Idee: 5/5

Charaktere: 3/5

Logik: 3/5

Spannung: 3/5

Emotionen: 4/5





Gesamt: 3/5



Daten:

ISBN: 9783551795724

Sprache: Deutsch

Ausgabe: Flexibler Einband

Umfang: 224 Seiten

Verlag: Carlsen

Erscheinungsdatum: 30.10.2012

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume follows the same format, but first we get a glimpse of the Messenger’s personal life. His GF dumps him for his line of work. He implies that he could report her for being a “miscreant” so I say she made the right move.

The first story is about a man who has been toiling as a PA for years and has dreams of becoming a director. He’s abusing a drug similar to adderall to try and keep up. This story reminded me of that episode in Paranoia Agent where the guy who works for the anime studio cannot keep up. His girlfriend wants him to stop abusing the adderall and they fight. He gets his big break for directing, and on the big day his gf is of course served with an Ikigami. He plans to just keep directing because this is his big chance, but he finds out that when he was hospitalized for “overwork” (it was due to the drug) she had covered for him. He realizes how important she is and tries to go home to her, but gets stuck in a traffic jam. He tells her to take some of the adderall because it’s purported to prolong life by an hour or so, much like a chicken with its head cut off. Unfortunately, in a romeo and juliet type situation, she dies a few hours early because of cardiac arrest from the pills. The man ultimately checks into rehab.

The second story is about a young man who is a nursing assistant in an old folk’s home. Similar to the paranoia agent episode, he’s clumsy and bad at everything. But he really really tries. There is a patient in the home who has dementia and is giving up on the will to live. She notices him and reacts for the first time since entering the home. He reminds her of her late husband (she’s regressed mentally pretty far). The young man becomes her primary caregiver. He finds meaning in helping her, and she is able to find the will to walk again. When he’s served with papers he is initially upset but after talking with a therapist tries to find meaning in his short life. He realizes the way he has helped the old woman is an impact on the world and he feels satisfied. But then, the woman goes missing. He finds her and a parallel is made between the time her husband was drafted into war and the Ikigami. They both accept that a duty to the nation is more important than personal feelings.

These two stories, as opposed to the first volume, are tragic but they do kinda paint the Ikigami system in a more positive light because we can see how the characters find meaning in their lives and relationships as a result of the Ikigami’s deliverance. After talking with the therapist he realizes he needs to come up with a philosophy of life and death because he is becoming too jaded with his work.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember the last time I cried so hard while reading a story. Anything that brings out this reaction in me deserves 5 stars. This volume is even better than the first one. The two stories are written even more beautifully and feature genuine human emotions. Do yourself a favor and read this series at least up until this volume.

Because of his way of handling the job, Fujimoto loses his girlfriend. But not before warning her too that she should be careful what she says about it in public. The poor girl is brought to tears from fear alone. Fujimoto returns to his job and his doubt about the value of life and the effectiveness of the National Welfare Act.

Katsumura is an employee at a video production company. He has been working hard, hoping to catch his big break. It finally comes, making him look forward a promotion. His girlfriend can't be happy for him because of his drug addiction. When she gets an ikigami, Katsumura chooses to continue his job. Eventually he finds that she secretly helped him not lose that same job when he had an overdose. He convinces her to take the Ateromin drug which is said to extend one's life, so they can spend their last moments together as he desperatly rushes home. Ironically, she dies of an overdose before the nanocapsule was scheduled to kill her.

Asakura is an woman in an old folks' home. Her progressive dementia has her convinced she can't walk or speak. That is until she sees Takebe, a young, inexperienced helper, and mistakes him for her late husband. She becomes talkative again and her general state improves. Takebe gains confidence for having finally found something he is good at, but all of that is wasted when he gets his ikigami. Fujimoto is fascinated by the therapist who calms Takebe down by having him focus on his hopes and how to carry them on to someone close to him. Takebe soon realises that he has already managed to fulfull his hope of helping someone. He is told that his interactions with Asakura has helped her open up to others more, but she still isn't walking. He doesn't say goodbye to her personally to not worry her. Then he is told that she wandered off. He joins the search party and when he finally tracks her down, he encourages her to walk again using her late husband's words. The latter died in the war which took a toll on Asakura, but Takebe helped her get over it.

[Perrine Laurent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Une lecture malaisante, qui multiplie les sujets difficiles mais les traitent tous avec un détachement et une moralité douteuse. Vous l’aurez compris je n’ai pas été séduite par ce manga.

Tout d’abord le postulat de base: chaque collégiens reçoit une injection qui contient potentiellement une capsule mortelle que le gouvernement pourra déclencher à se convenance entre les 18 et les 24 ans de l’individu. Ce concept dystopique pourrais avoir une justification à travers l’histoire de l’univers, mais la justification apporte est pour ne pas trop se laisser endormir par la félicité de l’univers soit disant parfait….

Mais là où on entre dans l’absurde c’est quand on réalise que le sujet qui doit décéder n’est prévenu que 24h avant son décès et que l’univers est conçu pour que le lecteur ne découvre le protagoniste qu’au moment de l’annonce de son décès imminent. Il est alors particulièrement difficile de s’attacher au personnage principale.

Et ça c’est sans parler du copain violent qui frappe sa copine juste par égoïsme. Et qui en plus se drogue pour des motifs fallacieux. La conclusion de l’histoire qui en vient presque à valoriser cette usage de drogue. Et sans compter non plus sur le jeune homme courageux et persévérant, qui redonne le goût de la vie à une vieille dame traumatiser par la guerre mais qu’on va quand même sacrifier par pure sadisme.

Et j’ai finalement reposé définitivement le manga quand, par dessus le marché tout ce recentre sur le porteur de mort, qu’on idéalise et pour lequel on essaye de nous faire ressentir de l’empathie parce que, le pauvre, il est en pleine déprime à cause de son job. C’est vrai qu’il est assez mature pour accepter un job donc les notions de moralité et de justice sont plus que douteux mais pas pour le quitter quand il réalise ce qu’on en est vraiment !

Tentez ce manga si vous voulez vous faire votre propre opinion mais attention aux thèmes abordés et à la manifs y ils le sont.

[Anhie Greenish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Setelah di buku 1 kita diberi gambaran singkat tentang world building Ikigami ini, ada baaaaaaaanyaakkk pertanyaan yang muncul di kepala. But, what makes it good adalah buku ini emang pelan-pelan nyeritain bagaimana mekanisme dari proses Ikigami itu sendiri.

Nah di buku ke 2 ini kita diceritakan bagaimana proses pembuatan hingga delivery dan proses penyuntikan dan bagaimana sistem yang bekerja benar2 random tanpa satupun yang tau siapa yang akan mendapatkan vaksin tersebut. Interesting but still creepy.

Untuk 2 cerita di volume 2 ini lebih mengharukan dibanding yang pertama. I felt really sorry for both of them. Its a bit irony when one of them said "Be brave cause you sacrificed for the country".

[Francine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the first, this volume contains two stories. Unlike the first, no trigger warning necessary.
(Still feels so weird that the first story in the first volume was like that. They really wanted to push that seinen rating, huh?)

Both stories in this volume were a little melodramatic, like the musician story from before. The second story, about an old lady with Alzheimer's, made me cry.

The Ikigami Messenger can be a real jerk. Even though he seems conflicted about his job at times, I can't really root for him. I don't know where this series will take him, but I am hoping for an ending like George Orwell's 1984.

[Bennybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 nouvelles histoires plutôt émouvantes cette fois-ci sur l’amour. L’amour récent et l’amour de toujours.

Fujimoto est toujours notre « dieu de la mort » mais ses questions autour de son travail, ses interrogations sur la gestion de la vie et de la mort en font un personnage intéressant même s’il est peu développé pour le moment.

En tout cas, c’est une série à découvrir pour nous mettre à la place de ceux qui reçoivent leur Ikigami et nous interroger sur : et moi comment je l’aurais vécu, comment j’aurai réagi ?

[Barışalp(BaBi) Tamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

“İkigami” Manga serisi çok güzel ve sürükleyici bir halde devam ediyor. Hikayesi, işleyişi ve okurken kitapta anlatılan karakterler ile bütünleşmek ve onun yerine geçmek gerçekten çok güzel bir duygu. Hayatınızda ilk kez Manga okuyacaksınız kesinlikle herkese tavsiye ederim. Teşekkürler Marmara Çizgi.
Herkese Güzel Okumalar Dilerim.

[Marikiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

En este segundo volumen me he sentido mucho más cómoda en la lectura, disfrutando de los dos episodios y del aprendizaje que puede sacar de cada historia. Definitivamente, esta saga se va a convertir en mi lectura oficial de bus :D

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,75
Les 2 histoires étaient encore une fois INCROYABLE et plus émouvantes que celles du tome 1 😔mais je trouve qu'il manque un petit quelque chose pour que ce soit un vrai 5/5. Je n'ai pas ressentie ce quelque chose que j'avais ressentie lors de ma lecture du tome 1

[Sandra Delgado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tengo que releerlo.

[dilara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Güzeldi.

[Vesper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Temi davvero importanti narrati con grande sensibilità. Per ovvi motivi le storie sono davvero drammatiche.

[Zedil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5✨
Mükemmeldi, ilk ciltten daha güzeldi.