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伝説 #1
悲鳴傳
少年vs.地球 新的英雄傳說開始！ 他的名字叫作空空空。
是一個既不平凡也不常見的十三歲少年。
當怪異的少女劍藤犬個出現的時候，空空空原本或許還算稀鬆平常的某個部分就此宣告終結。
在終結的同時，一段壯闊無匹、荒唐萬千，可是卻出乎意料時有耳聞的故事也拉開了序幕。
為了拯救人類而挺身對抗巨惡的英雄究竟能否奮戰到生命的最後一刻呢？
是一個既不平凡也不常見的十三歲少年。
當怪異的少女劍藤犬個出現的時候，空空空原本或許還算稀鬆平常的某個部分就此宣告終結。
在終結的同時，一段壯闊無匹、荒唐萬千，可是卻出乎意料時有耳聞的故事也拉開了序幕。
為了拯救人類而挺身對抗巨惡的英雄究竟能否奮戰到生命的最後一刻呢？
592 pages, Paperback
Published November 23, 2016
About the author
NisiOisiN
290 books993 followersNisio Isin (西尾維新 Nishio Ishin), frequently written as NisiOisiN to emphasize that his pen name is a palindrome, is a Japanese novelist and manga writer. He attended and left Ritsumeikan University without graduating. In 2002, he debuted with the novel Kubikiri Cycle, which earned him the 23rd Mephisto Award at twenty years of age.
He currently works with Kodansha on Pandora, the Kodansha Box magazine, and Faust, a literary magazine containing the works of other young authors who similarly take influence from light novels and otaku culture. He was also publishing a twelve volume series over twelve months for the Kodansha Box line; Ryusui Seiryoin was matching this output, and the Kodansha Box website stated that this is the first time in the world two authors have done twelve volume monthly novel series simultaneously from the same publisher.
In February, 2008, his novel Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases was released in English by Viz Media. Del Rey Manga has already released the first volume in his Zaregoto series. His Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari and Katanagatari novels have been adapted into anime series. Nekomonogatari (Kuro) has been adapted into an anime TV movie, and Kizumonogatari will be release in theaters this year. Monogatari Series: Second Season, adapted from 6 books in Monogatari Series will air in July 2013. Another of his works, Medaka Box (manga), has been adapted into a two-season anime series.
He currently works with Kodansha on Pandora, the Kodansha Box magazine, and Faust, a literary magazine containing the works of other young authors who similarly take influence from light novels and otaku culture. He was also publishing a twelve volume series over twelve months for the Kodansha Box line; Ryusui Seiryoin was matching this output, and the Kodansha Box website stated that this is the first time in the world two authors have done twelve volume monthly novel series simultaneously from the same publisher.
In February, 2008, his novel Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases was released in English by Viz Media. Del Rey Manga has already released the first volume in his Zaregoto series. His Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari and Katanagatari novels have been adapted into anime series. Nekomonogatari (Kuro) has been adapted into an anime TV movie, and Kizumonogatari will be release in theaters this year. Monogatari Series: Second Season, adapted from 6 books in Monogatari Series will air in July 2013. Another of his works, Medaka Box (manga), has been adapted into a two-season anime series.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 31, 2024
This story is known as Nisio's take on superheroes, or maybe his longest story (at the time it was written; I figure Bakemonogatari can just keep going indefinitely). But it does have an interesting premise: what if the Earth itself suddenly killed one third of the total population with a sudden "scream", and there were organizations with sci-fi-like weapons trying to fight the Earth and the "monsters" it produces, in order to protect humans?
Enter our main character, a small boy, chosen precisely because of his ability to not let anything faze him (to give a positive spin to it). I don't usually like when Nisio Isin writes passive characters, like the male main characters of Katanagatari or Imperfect Girl, but there's something charming about the way our seemingly uncaring, unfeeling boy (that might care and feel more than he himself thinks) uses his wits and his minimal equipment to make the most of these new situations he finds himself in and to defeat powerful adversaries.
It's a sizable volume, easily double if not triple of the author's usual offerings, but you kind of feel like you don't want to give away much of the story; still, it gets a recommendation from me.
Enter our main character, a small boy, chosen precisely because of his ability to not let anything faze him (to give a positive spin to it). I don't usually like when Nisio Isin writes passive characters, like the male main characters of Katanagatari or Imperfect Girl, but there's something charming about the way our seemingly uncaring, unfeeling boy (that might care and feel more than he himself thinks) uses his wits and his minimal equipment to make the most of these new situations he finds himself in and to defeat powerful adversaries.
It's a sizable volume, easily double if not triple of the author's usual offerings, but you kind of feel like you don't want to give away much of the story; still, it gets a recommendation from me.
April 15, 2026
What I kept thinking about while reading Himeiden was not just the idea of escaping reality, but how different characters deal with a reality that feels fundamentally unbearable.
To keep this from getting too long, I’ll focus on three characters.
Kendou Kenka
Kendou Kenka is a girl who has lived under constant psychological pressure since childhood, driven by her fear of losing control over her own actions. It’s not just fear of suicide—it’s fear of herself.
Three moments stand out:
1. She believes she was responsible for an incident where several children died from the “Scream,” while she survived only because she cannot hear the Earth’s Scream.
2. Because of this trait, she is discovered by the Army, which kills her family and then manipulates her into believing that the Earth—not them—is to blame. She is forced into the role of a “hero” who must protect humanity.
3. She fails to stop the “Great Scream,” which wipes out a third of the population.
Instead of confronting these contradictions, Kenka internalizes the role forced onto her. Her grief, anger, and guilt are redirected toward the Earth—not entirely by choice, but because it’s the only way she can keep functioning. It’s a form of self-deception that keeps her alive, even as it pushes her toward self-destruction.
I really liked that, by the end, with help from the doctor and Sorakara, she manages to step away from that path and do something that genuinely feels like her own decision—something after which no one could say she wasn’t a hero.
Hidari Zaizon
Hidari Zaizon might be the only character who doesn’t try to escape reality at all.
Because of experiments conducted on her by her mother within the Army, people perceive her as a dog rather than a human. Despite this, she calmly accepts the situation—but refuses to let it define who she is.
What she resists is not reality itself, but the possibility that she might one day start seeing herself as something less than human.
After waiting six months for a chance, she chooses to place her trust in Sorakara. Whether she dies in five minutes or in a year doesn’t matter to her—what matters is staying herself until the very end.
She appears only briefly, but she might honestly be my favorite character in the first volume.
Sorakara Kuu
Sorakara Kuu is a thirteen-year-old boy who can see monsters without any risk to his own health.
Three moments define him for me:
1. At the beginning, he doesn’t understand why he feels discomfort toward a baseball club senpai who jokes about mass death. The doctor explains that Sorakara perceives reality very directly, but lacks the emotional responses society expects. Because of that, he relies on learned “templates” of behavior—and envies people who seem able to live more freely.
2. In the scene where he walks into Kenka’s room while she is changing, his reaction is extreme: he almost decides to kill himself, not because of the act itself, but because he sees it as proof that he doesn’t fit within acceptable norms.
3. Near the end, he admits that he also “escapes” reality—by envying people who can live in ways he feels he cannot.
Even though he often acts based on external expectations rather than personal desire, his actions still have a real impact. Kenka is saved by Sorakara from being killed by an ally, which becomes the trigger for her liberation from Kakigaki. The doctor, in gratitude for helping his daughter, decides to help Sorakara and Kenka at the end of the volume. Or Zaizon, who chooses a foreign car with the driver’s seat on the opposite side.
By the way, I should mention how much I liked the way Sorakara fights. It feels simple and grounded, but still incredibly cool. He constantly does things no one expects from a thirteen-year-old.
It’s also interesting that the Earth’s “monsters” look exactly like humans. There’s no way to identify them without sacrificing another person’s life.
I think it’s awesome that the book has a scene where Sorakara’s task is to report how many monsters are hiding in a kindergarten. Kuu decides to lie and say that all the children and staff are monsters—just to make his colleagues’ job a little easier. Of course, not all the children in that kindergarten were monsters. And the mission itself was a test of humanity conducted by Earth.
The idea of the Earth having a kind of consciousness that can manifest in human form reminded me of early works by Kinoko Nasu (Tsukihime, Notes).
As for criticism, the first half of the book felt a bit slow and overly focused on Sorakara, with not enough dialogue.
The overall scale of the story feels much more epic than I expected.
Also, the cover of the tenth volume is insanely cool.
I originally picked up this series because I was interested in Chinou Nomi from “Nomi Rule”, but i ended up really enjoying Sorakara and the rest of the cast in this first volume.
To keep this from getting too long, I’ll focus on three characters.
Kendou Kenka
Kendou Kenka is a girl who has lived under constant psychological pressure since childhood, driven by her fear of losing control over her own actions. It’s not just fear of suicide—it’s fear of herself.
Three moments stand out:
1. She believes she was responsible for an incident where several children died from the “Scream,” while she survived only because she cannot hear the Earth’s Scream.
2. Because of this trait, she is discovered by the Army, which kills her family and then manipulates her into believing that the Earth—not them—is to blame. She is forced into the role of a “hero” who must protect humanity.
3. She fails to stop the “Great Scream,” which wipes out a third of the population.
Instead of confronting these contradictions, Kenka internalizes the role forced onto her. Her grief, anger, and guilt are redirected toward the Earth—not entirely by choice, but because it’s the only way she can keep functioning. It’s a form of self-deception that keeps her alive, even as it pushes her toward self-destruction.
I really liked that, by the end, with help from the doctor and Sorakara, she manages to step away from that path and do something that genuinely feels like her own decision—something after which no one could say she wasn’t a hero.
Hidari Zaizon
Hidari Zaizon might be the only character who doesn’t try to escape reality at all.
Because of experiments conducted on her by her mother within the Army, people perceive her as a dog rather than a human. Despite this, she calmly accepts the situation—but refuses to let it define who she is.
What she resists is not reality itself, but the possibility that she might one day start seeing herself as something less than human.
After waiting six months for a chance, she chooses to place her trust in Sorakara. Whether she dies in five minutes or in a year doesn’t matter to her—what matters is staying herself until the very end.
She appears only briefly, but she might honestly be my favorite character in the first volume.
Sorakara Kuu
Sorakara Kuu is a thirteen-year-old boy who can see monsters without any risk to his own health.
Three moments define him for me:
1. At the beginning, he doesn’t understand why he feels discomfort toward a baseball club senpai who jokes about mass death. The doctor explains that Sorakara perceives reality very directly, but lacks the emotional responses society expects. Because of that, he relies on learned “templates” of behavior—and envies people who seem able to live more freely.
2. In the scene where he walks into Kenka’s room while she is changing, his reaction is extreme: he almost decides to kill himself, not because of the act itself, but because he sees it as proof that he doesn’t fit within acceptable norms.
3. Near the end, he admits that he also “escapes” reality—by envying people who can live in ways he feels he cannot.
Even though he often acts based on external expectations rather than personal desire, his actions still have a real impact. Kenka is saved by Sorakara from being killed by an ally, which becomes the trigger for her liberation from Kakigaki. The doctor, in gratitude for helping his daughter, decides to help Sorakara and Kenka at the end of the volume. Or Zaizon, who chooses a foreign car with the driver’s seat on the opposite side.
By the way, I should mention how much I liked the way Sorakara fights. It feels simple and grounded, but still incredibly cool. He constantly does things no one expects from a thirteen-year-old.
It’s also interesting that the Earth’s “monsters” look exactly like humans. There’s no way to identify them without sacrificing another person’s life.
I think it’s awesome that the book has a scene where Sorakara’s task is to report how many monsters are hiding in a kindergarten. Kuu decides to lie and say that all the children and staff are monsters—just to make his colleagues’ job a little easier. Of course, not all the children in that kindergarten were monsters. And the mission itself was a test of humanity conducted by Earth.
The idea of the Earth having a kind of consciousness that can manifest in human form reminded me of early works by Kinoko Nasu (Tsukihime, Notes).
As for criticism, the first half of the book felt a bit slow and overly focused on Sorakara, with not enough dialogue.
The overall scale of the story feels much more epic than I expected.
Also, the cover of the tenth volume is insanely cool.
I originally picked up this series because I was interested in Chinou Nomi from “Nomi Rule”, but i ended up really enjoying Sorakara and the rest of the cast in this first volume.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews