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悲終伝
人口の三分の一が失われた地球で、感情を持たないがゆえ、突如ヒーローに選ばれてしまった少年。生きるために逃げていたはずなのに、戦い続けるうちに死に損なっていた。彼の名は空々空。この少年の名前を、どうか忘れないでほしい。
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西尾維新
319 books17 followers NisiOisiN
1981年生まれ。2002年に『クビキリサイクル』で第23回メフィスト賞を受賞し、デビュー
--
1981年生，立命館大學肄業。
2002年以《斬首循環-藍色學者與戲言跟班》獲得講談社第二十三回「梅菲斯特獎」並以同作品出道。
2005年之前，除了在出道作為基礎延伸的「戲言系列」之外，另有「世界系列」、「人間系列」等多種嘗試挑戰之作。
2006年出版的「物語系列」在2009年夏天電視動畫化之後，原作因富有獨特韻律節奏的文體與充滿思考趣味的世界觀，備受文壇矚目，在日本年輕讀者間蔚為話題，並被視為日本〇〇年代文學代表性作家之一。其奔放旺盛的寫作意欲，年紀尚輕便已著作等身。
2014年推出「忘卻偵探」系列，集過往創作之大成，《掟上今日子的備忘錄》甫一上市便深獲好評，並於2015年十月影視、漫畫化。
1981年生まれ。2002年に『クビキリサイクル』で第23回メフィスト賞を受賞し、デビュー
--
1981年生，立命館大學肄業。
2002年以《斬首循環-藍色學者與戲言跟班》獲得講談社第二十三回「梅菲斯特獎」並以同作品出道。
2005年之前，除了在出道作為基礎延伸的「戲言系列」之外，另有「世界系列」、「人間系列」等多種嘗試挑戰之作。
2006年出版的「物語系列」在2009年夏天電視動畫化之後，原作因富有獨特韻律節奏的文體與充滿思考趣味的世界觀，備受文壇矚目，在日本年輕讀者間蔚為話題，並被視為日本〇〇年代文學代表性作家之一。其奔放旺盛的寫作意欲，年紀尚輕便已著作等身。
2014年推出「忘卻偵探」系列，集過往創作之大成，《掟上今日子的備忘錄》甫一上市便深獲好評，並於2015年十月影視、漫畫化。
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 29, 2026
I'm writing this chaotic review at 7 a.m., immediately after finishing the book.
I don't know what to say... It was a good conclusion to the series.
I'd divide the book into four parts.
1. The failed attempt to end the war with Earth through violence.
In my opinion, this is the best part of the book. The events unfold at a wild, breakneck pace.
It begins with a chilling scene where Sorakara abruptly cuts off Earth's monologue, climbs a mountain of corpses, and starts strangling them.
Right after that, we see Sorakara panic for the first time as he realizes that he only managed to gain his humanity at the very last moment. For the first time, doubt takes root within him: "Could it be that emotions have another side, and that not everything should be taken literally?" He also comes to understand that a child's immature sensitivity is something fragile and fleeting. The very quality that made him a hero and the humanity Sorakara longed for cannot coexist.
His failed attempt to end the war through murder is followed by what is probably one of the most absurd scenes I've ever seen: a satellite that has fallen out of Earth's orbit begins spinning, and with it, all nine corpses and the four living people inside the room begin spinning as well!
Inside the spinning satellite hurtling into deep space, Sorakara rushes to Chinou so she can revive the Moon and stop the satellite, only to find... Chinou peacefully asleep in her bed! Then this idiot puts on a nurse's uniform and somehow becomes the most useful member of the crew...
And that's only the first two chapters out of fourteen. You can really tell Nisio had a lot of fun writing this book.
2. Coming up with a plan to return to Earth + revealing the series' mysteries (the largest part of the book).
In this part, Sorakara talks one by one with everyone aboard the satellite. As much as the book's relatively modest length allows, we get a small glimpse into each character's personality. At the same time, they work out a plan to return to Earth while revealing the mysteries of the entire series. This part reminds me of Owarimonogatari 3.
During this section, Tebukuro's ridiculous pride, combined with an unfortunate chain of events, causes Mars to lose his composure and decide on a suicidal attack by dropping the Moon onto Earth.
Near the end of this part, Hidari rejects the plan that will ultimately be carried out anyway, thanks to Suitou's personality, Koya's survival skills, and Kenka's words that Sorakara doesn't actually have to kill his enemy in order to save humanity.
And Sorakara—whose empathy has finally awakened—sees his own reflection in Mars's emotional outburst.
I really like that Nisio didn't make Hakaimaru into some ultimate weapon meant to defeat the final boss, but instead a bladeless sword capable of turning a supernatural being into a human.
3. Successfully reaching a compromise with Earth and ending the war.
The story reaches its final chapter.
Sorakara decides to try solving the conflict not through violence, but through negotiation. Thanks to v8.
Earth appears: indifferent and cruel, yet at the same time caring and life-giving.
We learn that the Great Scream wasn't simply killing for the sake of killing. It was a population control mechanism: humanity had been reproducing too quickly while destroying its environment. It was a necessary mechanism to prevent humanity from destroying the planet.
To Earth, humans aren't "children," but simply a species that has grown out of control. Earth is guided by the principle of balance, with the long-term preservation of the planet and all life upon it as its highest priority.
I'd also like to mention the reveal about Earth's appearance: Earth takes on a different form depending on the observer, becoming someone the observer would be incapable of killing.
Earth also acknowledges how much Sorakara has grown as a person, noting that unlike during their first meeting, he was willing to "kill himself" back in the first chapter.
In the end, Sorakara proposes a completely insane plan that makes Earth burst into laughter and fall to the floor, and the two sides ultimately reach a painful but mutual compromise.
For the first time, Sorakara feels genuine anger at Earth's unserious attitude, saying:
"There are no winners in war. There are only losers and the dead."
Both sides suffered tremendous losses.
Saving humanity ultimately became possible only through a radical reset—death followed by rebirth.
4. Epilogue — Sorakara's dream comes true: a peaceful old age one hundred years later.
More than a century passes.
Sorakara is sitting in a park beneath the sun on a new planet, reading a false history book about the previous war—a conflict that has become something distant and almost unreal to everyone.
But even if that war is forgotten, one thing never changes: somewhere, conspiracies are still being woven, justice is still being carried out, disasters still happen, and alliances are still formed.
The same mischievous Chinou comes to visit him and reports that her mission to revive humanity has finally been completed.
We also learn an incredibly sweet detail: Sorakara ended up marrying Higami, and now has a huge family, complete with grandchildren who play gacha games lmao.
Sorakara is never mentioned in history.
To him, the small, ordinary moments of human life are more precious than great heroic deeds.
It's such a quiet and happy ending—not the epic final battle that so many people apparently expected from the conclusion of the series.
I don't understand what the people who disliked the ending were expecting. Did they really want a cosmic battle against Earth in the spirit of Gurren Lagann?
It was obviously impossible for humanity to defeat Earth without destroying the planet itself. Likewise, there was no reason for Earth to wipe out humanity completely.
I'm also really happy that Chinou devoted her entire life to rewriting history and resurrecting the five billion people who died during the Great Scream.
She's now, without question, my favorite female Nisio character. I want a spin-off!
Sorakara's final words, when he says, "I've lived to see the end," made me tear up.
My boy finally reached the peaceful old age he had always dreamed of.
And he has no regrets.
Throughout the entire book, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was supposed to be longer—that Nisio wanted to say more. But in the afterword, he reflects on creativity through the metaphor of a band and its record label. He reflects on the idea that by the time a work achieves success, it may no longer be what its creator loves most. That's why, despite being able to continue the series, he chose to end it here—because he had said everything he wanted to say about Sorakara youth. For him, it's more important to know when to bring a story to a close than to keep it going indefinitely.
Even so, I absolutely love this series and its cast.
On the back cover, Nisio asks readers to never forget this boy's name...
As if I ever could?
I spent almost twelve months reading this series!
I don't know what to say... It was a good conclusion to the series.
I'd divide the book into four parts.
1. The failed attempt to end the war with Earth through violence.
In my opinion, this is the best part of the book. The events unfold at a wild, breakneck pace.
It begins with a chilling scene where Sorakara abruptly cuts off Earth's monologue, climbs a mountain of corpses, and starts strangling them.
Right after that, we see Sorakara panic for the first time as he realizes that he only managed to gain his humanity at the very last moment. For the first time, doubt takes root within him: "Could it be that emotions have another side, and that not everything should be taken literally?" He also comes to understand that a child's immature sensitivity is something fragile and fleeting. The very quality that made him a hero and the humanity Sorakara longed for cannot coexist.
His failed attempt to end the war through murder is followed by what is probably one of the most absurd scenes I've ever seen: a satellite that has fallen out of Earth's orbit begins spinning, and with it, all nine corpses and the four living people inside the room begin spinning as well!
Inside the spinning satellite hurtling into deep space, Sorakara rushes to Chinou so she can revive the Moon and stop the satellite, only to find... Chinou peacefully asleep in her bed! Then this idiot puts on a nurse's uniform and somehow becomes the most useful member of the crew...
And that's only the first two chapters out of fourteen. You can really tell Nisio had a lot of fun writing this book.
2. Coming up with a plan to return to Earth + revealing the series' mysteries (the largest part of the book).
In this part, Sorakara talks one by one with everyone aboard the satellite. As much as the book's relatively modest length allows, we get a small glimpse into each character's personality. At the same time, they work out a plan to return to Earth while revealing the mysteries of the entire series. This part reminds me of Owarimonogatari 3.
During this section, Tebukuro's ridiculous pride, combined with an unfortunate chain of events, causes Mars to lose his composure and decide on a suicidal attack by dropping the Moon onto Earth.
Near the end of this part, Hidari rejects the plan that will ultimately be carried out anyway, thanks to Suitou's personality, Koya's survival skills, and Kenka's words that Sorakara doesn't actually have to kill his enemy in order to save humanity.
And Sorakara—whose empathy has finally awakened—sees his own reflection in Mars's emotional outburst.
I really like that Nisio didn't make Hakaimaru into some ultimate weapon meant to defeat the final boss, but instead a bladeless sword capable of turning a supernatural being into a human.
3. Successfully reaching a compromise with Earth and ending the war.
The story reaches its final chapter.
Sorakara decides to try solving the conflict not through violence, but through negotiation. Thanks to v8.
Earth appears: indifferent and cruel, yet at the same time caring and life-giving.
We learn that the Great Scream wasn't simply killing for the sake of killing. It was a population control mechanism: humanity had been reproducing too quickly while destroying its environment. It was a necessary mechanism to prevent humanity from destroying the planet.
To Earth, humans aren't "children," but simply a species that has grown out of control. Earth is guided by the principle of balance, with the long-term preservation of the planet and all life upon it as its highest priority.
I'd also like to mention the reveal about Earth's appearance: Earth takes on a different form depending on the observer, becoming someone the observer would be incapable of killing.
Earth also acknowledges how much Sorakara has grown as a person, noting that unlike during their first meeting, he was willing to "kill himself" back in the first chapter.
In the end, Sorakara proposes a completely insane plan that makes Earth burst into laughter and fall to the floor, and the two sides ultimately reach a painful but mutual compromise.
For the first time, Sorakara feels genuine anger at Earth's unserious attitude, saying:
"There are no winners in war. There are only losers and the dead."
Both sides suffered tremendous losses.
Saving humanity ultimately became possible only through a radical reset—death followed by rebirth.
4. Epilogue — Sorakara's dream comes true: a peaceful old age one hundred years later.
More than a century passes.
Sorakara is sitting in a park beneath the sun on a new planet, reading a false history book about the previous war—a conflict that has become something distant and almost unreal to everyone.
But even if that war is forgotten, one thing never changes: somewhere, conspiracies are still being woven, justice is still being carried out, disasters still happen, and alliances are still formed.
The same mischievous Chinou comes to visit him and reports that her mission to revive humanity has finally been completed.
We also learn an incredibly sweet detail: Sorakara ended up marrying Higami, and now has a huge family, complete with grandchildren who play gacha games lmao.
Sorakara is never mentioned in history.
To him, the small, ordinary moments of human life are more precious than great heroic deeds.
It's such a quiet and happy ending—not the epic final battle that so many people apparently expected from the conclusion of the series.
I don't understand what the people who disliked the ending were expecting. Did they really want a cosmic battle against Earth in the spirit of Gurren Lagann?
It was obviously impossible for humanity to defeat Earth without destroying the planet itself. Likewise, there was no reason for Earth to wipe out humanity completely.
I'm also really happy that Chinou devoted her entire life to rewriting history and resurrecting the five billion people who died during the Great Scream.
She's now, without question, my favorite female Nisio character. I want a spin-off!
Sorakara's final words, when he says, "I've lived to see the end," made me tear up.
My boy finally reached the peaceful old age he had always dreamed of.
And he has no regrets.
Throughout the entire book, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was supposed to be longer—that Nisio wanted to say more. But in the afterword, he reflects on creativity through the metaphor of a band and its record label. He reflects on the idea that by the time a work achieves success, it may no longer be what its creator loves most. That's why, despite being able to continue the series, he chose to end it here—because he had said everything he wanted to say about Sorakara youth. For him, it's more important to know when to bring a story to a close than to keep it going indefinitely.
Even so, I absolutely love this series and its cast.
On the back cover, Nisio asks readers to never forget this boy's name...
As if I ever could?
I spent almost twelve months reading this series!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2025
And so we reach the end of the story, which I suppose is decent enough to earn 3 stars, though it can also be argued to be disappointing enough to earn 2.
It's really hard to discuss this final volume without any spoilers, so consider this your warning if you don't want the minimum spoilers at all.
After what happened in volume 8, Kuu and his party are still stranded aboard the satellite. One could think in this volume he's going to manage to get back to Earth, get the team back together, and brainstorm plans to defeat the Earth once and for all.
Well, that doesn't really happen: the volume starts by having many discussions with the crew up in space, trying to formulate a certain plan. And then the discussions around it continue, bringing more people into the mix. And even though the discussions manage to (more or less successfully) tie up all the loose ends brought up in the previous volumes, the reader gets this claustrophobic feeling like there aren't enough pages left as more conversations keep piling up... until we reach the end, with a very short epilogue where we can see how the plan went and how the characters ended up.
All in all, a disappointing ending for an original story with a lot of potential.
It's really hard to discuss this final volume without any spoilers, so consider this your warning if you don't want the minimum spoilers at all.
After what happened in volume 8, Kuu and his party are still stranded aboard the satellite. One could think in this volume he's going to manage to get back to Earth, get the team back together, and brainstorm plans to defeat the Earth once and for all.
Well, that doesn't really happen: the volume starts by having many discussions with the crew up in space, trying to formulate a certain plan. And then the discussions around it continue, bringing more people into the mix. And even though the discussions manage to (more or less successfully) tie up all the loose ends brought up in the previous volumes, the reader gets this claustrophobic feeling like there aren't enough pages left as more conversations keep piling up... until we reach the end, with a very short epilogue where we can see how the plan went and how the characters ended up.
All in all, a disappointing ending for an original story with a lot of potential.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews