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マージナル (全5巻) #1
マージナル 1 [Marginal 1]
砂漠の中に立つ都市（シティ）、モノドールへ向かって男達は進む。聖堂に住む唯一のマザ、この世界のただ一人の“母”から、彼らの子供をもらうために。――しかしマザは年老い、もう長い間子供は生まれていない。そして突然のマザの死。月が欠け、満ちるまでに、新しいマザをたてねばならぬ。若く、美しい、新たなる“聖母（ホウリ・マザ）”を――。赤子のいない、女のいない、男だけのこの世界で、命は再びはぐくまれ、営みは続いていくのだろうか――
195 pages, Paperback
First published July 20, 1986
2 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Moto Hagio
214 books218 followersMoto Hagio (萩尾望都 Hagio Moto) is a manga artist born in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture.
She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, and a member of the Year 24 Group (24-Gumi). She helped pioneer modern shōjo manga, modern science fiction manga, and BL manga. In addition to being an "industry pioneer", her body of work "shows a maturity, depth and personal vision found only in the finest of creative artists". She has been described as "the most beloved shōjo manga artist of all time."
Moto Hagio made her professional debut in 1969 at the age of 20 with her short story Lulu to Mimi on Kodansha's magazine Nakayoshi. Later she produced a series of short stories for various magazines for Shogakukan.
Two years after her debut, she published Juichigatsu no Gimunajiumu (The November Gymnasium), a short story which dealt openly with love between two boys at a boarding school. The story was part of a larger movement by female manga artists at the time which pioneered a genre of girls' comics about love between young men.
In 1974, Hagio developed this story into the longer Toma no shinzo (The Heart of Thomas). She was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1976 for her science fiction classic Juichinin iru! (They Were Eleven) and her epic tale Poe no ichizoku (The Poe Family).
She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, and a member of the Year 24 Group (24-Gumi). She helped pioneer modern shōjo manga, modern science fiction manga, and BL manga. In addition to being an "industry pioneer", her body of work "shows a maturity, depth and personal vision found only in the finest of creative artists". She has been described as "the most beloved shōjo manga artist of all time."
Moto Hagio made her professional debut in 1969 at the age of 20 with her short story Lulu to Mimi on Kodansha's magazine Nakayoshi. Later she produced a series of short stories for various magazines for Shogakukan.
Two years after her debut, she published Juichigatsu no Gimunajiumu (The November Gymnasium), a short story which dealt openly with love between two boys at a boarding school. The story was part of a larger movement by female manga artists at the time which pioneered a genre of girls' comics about love between young men.
In 1974, Hagio developed this story into the longer Toma no shinzo (The Heart of Thomas). She was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1976 for her science fiction classic Juichinin iru! (They Were Eleven) and her epic tale Poe no ichizoku (The Poe Family).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 16, 2015
Marginal explores a near extinction world of male population with a single female at its core for survival. In this male-only world, children are treasured and young males are prized possession of adult males who takes them in as sexual partners and provides for them like a husband would for his wife. Yet they are also viewed as trade-able commodity due to the decline of children in the community. Not very different from the status of a slave.
The story is fantastical but also quite disjointed at certain areas. Overall it was a compelling read. I was engrossed from the start till the end. I wasn't sure if I like how it ended for Kira the protagonist but perhaps that ending carries more impact and reason. Was it a HEA then? That, would highly depend on the perception of the individual reading it.
For fans of Sci-Fi mystery, government conspiracy and big adventure, this highly acclaimed shojo sci-fi manga series is for you. I have always enjoyed stories with gender-bender elements and single gender societies fascinates me very much. In addition there are also parts on body-modifications and that to me is a welcomed bonus indeed. Although the manga was under the shojo category, but without doubt it could fit nicely into the shounen-ai or even yaoi category.
* Reviewed on 11th August 2015
(This review is based on the whole series of Marginal, book 1 to 5)
May 17, 2021
interesting start...
but to be honest... a bit confusing since I'm not familiar with dystopian and sci-fi...
but to be honest... a bit confusing since I'm not familiar with dystopian and sci-fi...
August 10, 2025
loved it! desert planet fantasy with eventual sci-fi elements, a great ensemble cast. I also enjoyed the BL-tinged all-male cast, there's something refreshing to not having to read romantic things entirely through the normal man-woman framing in other stories
I feel like there's echoes of Hagio's work in other later fantasy stories from games, movies, anime, books, so this is a great manga to check out if you like that.
further reading/reviews on this work
https://www.colorado.edu/gendersarchi...
https://www.animefeminist.com/hagio-m...
I feel like there's echoes of Hagio's work in other later fantasy stories from games, movies, anime, books, so this is a great manga to check out if you like that.
further reading/reviews on this work
https://www.colorado.edu/gendersarchi...
https://www.animefeminist.com/hagio-m...
December 27, 2014
Zankoku na Kami ga Shihaisuru adalah salah satu karya Hagio-Sensei yg sangat fenomenal, mengangkat tema pelecehan seksual pada anak dan mendapat award karena tema psikologi yg diusungnya. Jadi aku berharap lebih juga pada karyanya yg satu ini yg juga mendapat award. Kali ini Sensei memasukkan tema dystopia dan sci-fi ke dlmnya.
Ceritanya di dunia yg menurutku mirip populasi lebah ini, pada tahun 2999 itu Holy Mother, satu2nya wanita di dunia yg dipenuhi dgn pria ini, mati dibunuh. Belakangan terkuak kalo Mother memang sudah sangat tua dan tdk bisa melahirkan anak lagi, namanya juga usianya udah 78 tahun. O__O Sehingga pasokan anak dari pusat utk setiap kota di setiap tahunnya menurun drastis dari 12 anak/tahun menjadi 1 anak/tahun hingga tdk ada anak sama sekali, dan di kota yg tdk mendapat anak tsb lama-kelamaan akan lenyap krn penduduknya sudah pada tua semua. Kedengaran membingungkan dan tdk masuk akal bkn? Jadi begini, pria di dunia ini hanya bisa hidup sampai usia 35 tahun dan mereka menua dgn cepat stlh melewati usia 30 tahun. Sehingga jika suatu kota yg dipenuhi pria tua tanpa ada pasokan pria muda di dlmnya tahun demi tahun, maka bisa dibilang kota itu lama-kelamaan bakal tinggal nama.
Seluruh pria di dunia ini bersaudara dan memiliki satu ibu. Bagaimana mgkn seorang wanita melahirkan 12 anak/tahun? apalagi Holy Mother yg dibunuh ini adalah Holy Mother ketujuh. Krn baru baca buku 1, aku masi blm paham. Tapi krn ini cerita sci-fi dan dystopia, aku berasumsi kalo Mother ini sbnrnya mgkn adalah pria, namun dioperasi menjadi wanita. Tapi blm jelas apakah dia memiliki rahim atau tdk. Jika dia punya rahim, maka dia bisa produksi byk anak dgn setiap pria, dgn catatan setiap embrio yg terbentuk akan tumbuh sebagai bayi tabung? Itu dugaanku kalau ingin menjelaskan cara melahirkan 12 anak/tahun. Jika Mother diambil dari salah satu pria tsb, maka ini adalah kisah brocest, hahaha.
Para pria di dunia ini sama sekali tdk tau kalo bayi itu dihasilkan dari hubungan pria wanita. Atau wanita itu sbnrnya ada. Mereka cuma tau kalo Mother yg ada di pusat itu semacam pabrik penghasil anak. Ini semakin menguatkan dugaanku kalo dunia ini murni dunia yg isinya pria semua dan Holy Mother itu sesungguhnya pria yg dijadikan wanita. Aku penasaran dgn asal-usul dunia ini, dan juga sepertinya ada suatu rahasia penting yg disembunyikan pusat dari penduduk dunia ini. Terutama si Meyard itu, apa dia itu manusia dari dunia lain?
Ceritanya di dunia yg menurutku mirip populasi lebah ini, pada tahun 2999 itu Holy Mother, satu2nya wanita di dunia yg dipenuhi dgn pria ini, mati dibunuh. Belakangan terkuak kalo Mother memang sudah sangat tua dan tdk bisa melahirkan anak lagi, namanya juga usianya udah 78 tahun. O__O Sehingga pasokan anak dari pusat utk setiap kota di setiap tahunnya menurun drastis dari 12 anak/tahun menjadi 1 anak/tahun hingga tdk ada anak sama sekali, dan di kota yg tdk mendapat anak tsb lama-kelamaan akan lenyap krn penduduknya sudah pada tua semua. Kedengaran membingungkan dan tdk masuk akal bkn? Jadi begini, pria di dunia ini hanya bisa hidup sampai usia 35 tahun dan mereka menua dgn cepat stlh melewati usia 30 tahun. Sehingga jika suatu kota yg dipenuhi pria tua tanpa ada pasokan pria muda di dlmnya tahun demi tahun, maka bisa dibilang kota itu lama-kelamaan bakal tinggal nama.
Seluruh pria di dunia ini bersaudara dan memiliki satu ibu. Bagaimana mgkn seorang wanita melahirkan 12 anak/tahun? apalagi Holy Mother yg dibunuh ini adalah Holy Mother ketujuh. Krn baru baca buku 1, aku masi blm paham. Tapi krn ini cerita sci-fi dan dystopia, aku berasumsi kalo Mother ini sbnrnya mgkn adalah pria, namun dioperasi menjadi wanita. Tapi blm jelas apakah dia memiliki rahim atau tdk. Jika dia punya rahim, maka dia bisa produksi byk anak dgn setiap pria, dgn catatan setiap embrio yg terbentuk akan tumbuh sebagai bayi tabung? Itu dugaanku kalau ingin menjelaskan cara melahirkan 12 anak/tahun. Jika Mother diambil dari salah satu pria tsb, maka ini adalah kisah brocest, hahaha.
Para pria di dunia ini sama sekali tdk tau kalo bayi itu dihasilkan dari hubungan pria wanita. Atau wanita itu sbnrnya ada. Mereka cuma tau kalo Mother yg ada di pusat itu semacam pabrik penghasil anak. Ini semakin menguatkan dugaanku kalo dunia ini murni dunia yg isinya pria semua dan Holy Mother itu sesungguhnya pria yg dijadikan wanita. Aku penasaran dgn asal-usul dunia ini, dan juga sepertinya ada suatu rahasia penting yg disembunyikan pusat dari penduduk dunia ini. Terutama si Meyard itu, apa dia itu manusia dari dunia lain?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews