The first Ajin appeared 17 years ago and quickly became the most important discovery to mankind. While they appear to be human, Ajin are rare, immortal beings that are feared by the populace. Only 46 are known to exist in the world, and most try to hide their existence, for capture means being subjected to brutal experiments that never end. Kei Nagai is a boy who dreams of becoming a doctor to heal his sister one day, but after he dies – and revives – in a car accident, he learns the terrifying truth that he too is an Ajin. Now, Kei finds himself on the run from both human and Ajin monsters that wish to do him harm, while struggling with his new, unwanted identity.
this whole story kicks off because truck-kun fucking kills the protag and protag sits back up and goes oh fuck i’m alive again
and then we delve into a world of hyper violence questioning what qualities makes us human if you take away the vulnerability of death, while a huge fight between a low-empathy autistic and an actual psychopath absolutely crumples japan’s government like a beer can at a frat party.
that’s really a shitty short way to put it but after 17 volumes it fits what i just slammed back in like. two days.
see, i had picked up ajin eons ago and never got around to finishing it— i only got to around the end of the second wave before i caught up and fell off while waiting for updates. now i read it all at once and (nods) good times.
i like the examination of humanity being a sort of active choice— what stops a person from being a monster is the same across the board. choosing to care. choosing one thing to care about and giving a shit about it. taking something really, truly seriously. caring about some other people. even when being selfish is the logical, correct choice.
my especially favorite part is when things seem bleak, everyone is down, and people question Mr. Logical’s viewpoint in coming back. basically, “we don’t have a chance, isn’t that stupid? isn’t this dumb? doesn’t this go against everything you believe in?”
he basically replies with, “the most logical thing to do is try because even the smallest chance is bigger than none”
there’s some really interesting characters throughout— dr. ogura is one of my favorite side characters despite being essentially little more than a conveniently woven in information device and a mouthpiece for the author to deliver some narrative theories on the nature of the black ghosts for the reader to chew on. tanaka’s character arc is interesting as he changes from a revenge-seeking goon to a sympathetic pacifist.
and then you have sato. sato, the big bad. the guy who holds no value for life and only wants entertainment. he gets high off the thrill of fighting for his life. video games kind of give him a boost, but he wants to experience what he can do in reality. bro is absolutely fucked up. he holds no value in anything. not himself, not his people, nothing. he’s just a living :o… :D! out there living his best life while he pops bullets into people or killing literal thousands for the thrill. he’s the foil to kei nagai, the protag, mr. logical who is bound by bonds he can’t fathom, who wishes he didn’t care but he does, and it makes him so much more human than sato. sato is the demon lord to kei’s hero, but kei is… hero-ing not for something big. he is hero-ing for small things. not an obligation to the world. not even for his own ends. it’s not even because it’s the right thing to do. it’s because it’s something someone else needs him to do, and he’s the only one capable of getting it done.
there’s a lot about the human condition going on between shootouts and heists for severed arms and running away from the cops. it’s a good series and i like the art style a lot, too.
