Designs, Vol. 1

Designs #1

by Daisuke Igarashi

E se la scienza riuscisse a mescolare umani e animali? È questo il caso degli "Animali umanizzati" protagonisti della serie designs, i cui geni sono progettati a tavolino per donare a questi nuovi esseri ibridi delle capacità specifiche e straordinarie. Utilizzati a fini discutibili e creati per scopi misteriosi, gli AU potrebbero fare parte di un ampio piano che influenza il futuro dell'umanità intera. Etica, profitto, ideologia… qual è il limite? Designs segna il ritorno in Italia di Daisuke Igarashi, artista di culto, disegnatore raffinato e creatore di universi unici e intriganti. Un'opera di fantascienza complessa e affascinante, nella quale l'autore riflette sul post-umano e sui limiti della scienza e della tecnologia.

Genres: Manga, Comics

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2016

About the author

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).

Reviews

[Benjamin - Les Mots Magiques · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je ressors assez dubitatif de ma lecture de ce premier tome. J’ai plutôt bien aimé les dessins, même si c’est assez inégal avec des illustrations très travaillées et d’autres beaucoup plus brouillonnes et sommaires.

Mon souci principal c’est que c’est un premier tome sur 5 et que je n’ai pas tellement compris l’intrigue ni les enjeux. Même la narration ne m’a pas semblé terrible car c’est très morcelé, avec assez peu de liant. Assez décevant a priori.

Je pense qu’il y aura toute une dimension éthique par la suite puisqu’on parle d’hybridation humains-animaux mais ça n’est pas très clair pour le moment. En tout cas, les créatures sont assez malaisantes à voir.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

13×18 +[DJ]½flapped ¦ A.I. 01/2023 ¦ D.L. 02/2023 = eo(fr)
-›cover very delicate 'chrome' finish / [DJ] different fragile

Narrative: **
I was so happy about the name of the shady human-engineering company being "Sanmonto Group" which, to the reader minds that did the syllable swap instantly, is appropriately vilifying by comparison to the current corporation that I believe most evil of all businesses I know anything at all about who I totally believe would be the ones doing this Creator-folly.

But I couldn't understand what was going on most of the time and don't really care...

Visual: *****
Gorgeous AND exacting!

[giulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

magiko