What do you think?
Rate this book
Marieの奏でる音楽 / Marie no kanaderu ongaku #1
Marieの奏でる音楽 (上)
Ziemia Pirito to niezwykła kraina, gdzie tolerancyjni ludzie darzą sąsiadów poszanowaniem i sumiennie wykonują swoją pracę. Nie inaczej jest w Jiru, mieście-atelier. Jego mieszkańcy to mistrzowie w wytwarzaniu urządzeń pomagających ludziom w ich codziennych zajęciach.Obywatele Jiru wierzą, że czuwa nad nimi Marie. Czuje to również Kai, chłopak obdarzony nadludzkim zmysłem słuchu. Nie tylko słyszy odległe odgłosy, lecz uderzając w skałę jest również w stanie rozpoznać, jakie minerały kryją się w jej głębi. Co więcej, słyszy muzykę Marie…
Comic
First published December 1, 2001
4 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Usamaru Furuya
100 books176 followersUsamaru Furuya (古屋兎丸) is a Japanese manga creator from Tokyo. His production covers a variety of art styles and genres, such as horror, humour, slice-of-life, erotica, sci-fi, always with a personal surrealistic touch. Society oppression and the human condition are common themes in his body of work.
Furuya showed an interest in comics making since elementary school. He graduated from Tama Art University, where he had studied sculpture and oil painting.
His manga career started in the alternative magazine 'Garo', in which he published a series of one-page comics called Palepoli (1994-1995). He then worked on Short Cuts (1996-1999), a gag manga serialised in the mainstream magazine 'Weekly Young Sunday'. Other short stories from the same period were collected in the books Garden (2000) and Plastic Girl (2000).
Over the years Furuya has created work for a number of manga magazines, underground and mainstream. Among his series available in one or more Western languages are: the dystopian The Music of Marie (2000-2001); the surreal horror Lychee Light Club (2005-2006), loosely based on a play by Norimizu Ameya; the post-apocalyptic 51 Ways to Save Her (2006-2007); Genkaku Picasso (2008-2010); No Longer Human (2009-2011), adaptation of a novel by Osamu Dazai; Amane Gymnasium (2017-2020).
Furuya showed an interest in comics making since elementary school. He graduated from Tama Art University, where he had studied sculpture and oil painting.
His manga career started in the alternative magazine 'Garo', in which he published a series of one-page comics called Palepoli (1994-1995). He then worked on Short Cuts (1996-1999), a gag manga serialised in the mainstream magazine 'Weekly Young Sunday'. Other short stories from the same period were collected in the books Garden (2000) and Plastic Girl (2000).
Over the years Furuya has created work for a number of manga magazines, underground and mainstream. Among his series available in one or more Western languages are: the dystopian The Music of Marie (2000-2001); the surreal horror Lychee Light Club (2005-2006), loosely based on a play by Norimizu Ameya; the post-apocalyptic 51 Ways to Save Her (2006-2007); Genkaku Picasso (2008-2010); No Longer Human (2009-2011), adaptation of a novel by Osamu Dazai; Amane Gymnasium (2017-2020).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 2, 2021
Very Moebius in style of drawing which is always good. Interesting little story about how a technologically imposed monotheistic society might work, weird as unlike some dystopias I actually ended up preferring the way things would be under that dystopia.
August 12, 2024
gigantic reading slump. way too addicted to instagram reels so manga feels like a good way to get out of it. very cute drawings but i gotta say that the story was very hard to understand at first
May 18, 2017
Slow but fascinating...
I started reading this as part of a Manga Book Club - purely to expand my horizons and I'm glad I did.
Fair Warning - It's a slow read - at least for me, as the mangaka takes his time with the introduction and exploration of the world at hand..
Having said that - I'm glad he did - the world (in the manga) is absolutely fascinating. It has a very Steampunk-esque feel to it but doesn't shy away from the cross-comparison of more relatable aspects such as fashion, technology and experimentation, the bond of father and daughter, down to human courtship.
Oddly enough - all the above is only centered around the main island discussed and does not yet cover some of the sister Islands that are connected by trade routes - where traditions and culture differ wildly (eg: the Man-Women Island(s) - which are such fascinating concepts to think about).
The artwork strikes a rather noteworthy balance - the characters are drawn rather simply - clean lines without too much intricacy but full of emotions nonetheless BUT the mechanical artwork is extremely intricate - down to the gears and levers that help form the engines to power some of the creations within the world. I personally find this rather intriguing given that the author does introduce 'Marie' (or Mary I think as it is intended - given the similarities with the Bible in many aspects of the 'world' and its primary religion eg: Three Wise Men, Omni-* God-like being) with very human like design and yet does give us a sneak peak of the machinery that powers "her".
It almost feels as if the concept of 'Man and Machine' together is what creates "God" and yet it has to function with perfection given all the intricacies of building even a simple machine (which is also highlighted in the book when they walk through the Archives). There is an almost suggestion that "Marie" and 'God for that matter are who they are because to attain them is rather out of reach for most human minds - which is oddly reminiscent of most practised religions these days.
Despite so - the first Volume ends in a rather high paced note with 'Pipi' possibly injuring herself and what a cliffhanger that is.. Am looking forward to the next Volume - so thank you 'Book Club' and thank you Usamaru Furuya for a great 1st Volume
I started reading this as part of a Manga Book Club - purely to expand my horizons and I'm glad I did.
Fair Warning - It's a slow read - at least for me, as the mangaka takes his time with the introduction and exploration of the world at hand..
Having said that - I'm glad he did - the world (in the manga) is absolutely fascinating. It has a very Steampunk-esque feel to it but doesn't shy away from the cross-comparison of more relatable aspects such as fashion, technology and experimentation, the bond of father and daughter, down to human courtship.
Oddly enough - all the above is only centered around the main island discussed and does not yet cover some of the sister Islands that are connected by trade routes - where traditions and culture differ wildly (eg: the Man-Women Island(s) - which are such fascinating concepts to think about).
The artwork strikes a rather noteworthy balance - the characters are drawn rather simply - clean lines without too much intricacy but full of emotions nonetheless BUT the mechanical artwork is extremely intricate - down to the gears and levers that help form the engines to power some of the creations within the world. I personally find this rather intriguing given that the author does introduce 'Marie' (or Mary I think as it is intended - given the similarities with the Bible in many aspects of the 'world' and its primary religion eg: Three Wise Men, Omni-* God-like being) with very human like design and yet does give us a sneak peak of the machinery that powers "her".
It almost feels as if the concept of 'Man and Machine' together is what creates "God" and yet it has to function with perfection given all the intricacies of building even a simple machine (which is also highlighted in the book when they walk through the Archives). There is an almost suggestion that "Marie" and 'God for that matter are who they are because to attain them is rather out of reach for most human minds - which is oddly reminiscent of most practised religions these days.
Despite so - the first Volume ends in a rather high paced note with 'Pipi' possibly injuring herself and what a cliffhanger that is.. Am looking forward to the next Volume - so thank you 'Book Club' and thank you Usamaru Furuya for a great 1st Volume
March 19, 2017
Never really read manga before, but I've been enjoying it. One thing that's sort of annoying is that everything seems to be sad for the sake of sadness. While I'm all for tragedy and melancholy, I'm not feeling it through these yet.
This story in particular has a lot to say about philosophy and humanity, which I love. The art is fantastic and the world is beautiful and well-crafted if not a tad too forced. Manga and comics seem to over-explain a lot of elements in their world-building instead of letting them develop naturally.
It's a bit tricky to create a world without explaining the structure of it, but it gets tedious being told how things work all the time. It's almost like playing a video game, you appreciate when they hide the tutorial and mechanics of the game in the world itself, instead of flat out telling you what buttons to press and when to press them.
So while the world is beautifully crafted, the entire thing felt like a tutorial up until the end. I feel like there is a better way to show me the world they live in. In fact I think I could have gotten a clear grasp on it just as it was with taking half of the explanations out.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. Again, sadness for the sake of sadness bothers me, especially in a story like this where I think sadness could have fit perfectly if handled a little better.
This story in particular has a lot to say about philosophy and humanity, which I love. The art is fantastic and the world is beautiful and well-crafted if not a tad too forced. Manga and comics seem to over-explain a lot of elements in their world-building instead of letting them develop naturally.
It's a bit tricky to create a world without explaining the structure of it, but it gets tedious being told how things work all the time. It's almost like playing a video game, you appreciate when they hide the tutorial and mechanics of the game in the world itself, instead of flat out telling you what buttons to press and when to press them.
So while the world is beautifully crafted, the entire thing felt like a tutorial up until the end. I feel like there is a better way to show me the world they live in. In fact I think I could have gotten a clear grasp on it just as it was with taking half of the explanations out.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. Again, sadness for the sake of sadness bothers me, especially in a story like this where I think sadness could have fit perfectly if handled a little better.
March 25, 2022
Definitely hints of Hayao Miyazaki here: ideas of flight, a protagonist that looks like a young Howl/Haku/Nono, some Nausicaa-esque architecture, and similar to Nausicaa a decision to make that shapes humanity's future. It lacks the depth that Nausicaa has, although the second volume starts to go that way, which made it more interesting. The first volume felt a little trivial at points. Kai's friend was an irritating character which didn't help. I would have liked to have seen the other cultures explored some more rather than a brief show of look here's one group with this characteristic, another with this one... etc. Had some quite aesthetically pleasing artwork generally.
July 4, 2018
A wonderful story set in a strange land, bereft of high technology, kept safe by a floating mechanical goddess named Marie. The story mostly explores the lives and strange customs of those who live under her protection, focusing especially on one boy who has a strange and powerful connection to her. There are several twists and turns toward the end, which had me reeling from anger to melancholic serenity as I read through them. A true masterpiece. The character art is somewhat flat, with most of the detail reserved for mechanical and environmental drawing, which is excellent.
August 27, 2021
I liked the steampunk
April 10, 2024
Bonito e trágico ao mesmo tempo. Muito bom.
February 13, 2025
L’histoire commence très lentement mais oh mon dieu à partir de la moitié l’histoire ça devient incroyablement bon!
August 3, 2017
Очень.
"Левой рукой ты откроешь врата. Правой рукой запустишь время."
"Левой рукой ты откроешь врата. Правой рукой запустишь время."
October 31, 2019
This 2 part series is great at making you question the morals of your reality.
November 22, 2012
Read my review --> http://ageha777.blogspot.com/2010/08/...
July 6, 2014
Simply amazing <3
February 27, 2015
Really beautiful. Too bad it ends up as advertisement for immorality.
August 13, 2016
rating for both volumes
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews