Hajimari no Glashma
By Suekane Kumiko
Nippori: All the women in the world suddenly disappeared. So the Ministry established a Magic Section to monitor and assess the growing wizard population. One of the agents assigned to that division is me ^_^ ..... oh yeah, SENPAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII!!!!!!!
Gotanda: What?
Nippori: There's a magical monster chasing me! Aaaaahhhh!!!!!!
Gotanda: *prepares bat* You blockhead.
RATING: B- (PRETTY GOOD! Despite the flaws and silliness, it's actually pretty good~)
FAVORITISM: 3.5 Hearts ---> LOVE (4.5 Hearts to Uguisudani xD)
Nudity. Ecchi. Shounen Ai. Incest. (Implied) Sadism.
Once Upon a Glashma is actually like a fairy tale... though kinda violent, pretty twisted, quite ridiculous, and sorta WTF.... most of the time~
It's a fairy tale in a sense that an evil spell was cast on a once peaceful land. If the main characters had broken it and defeated the main villain, people will live happily ever after~ But Once Upon a Glashma isn't the usual fairy tale, for it doesn't even use the fairy tale stereotypes... no did it really end like one.
I guess you could say that it's a fairy tale for adults because of nudity and some mature themes. But it's not for adults that in a sense that it has a deep plot. Actually, it had a lot of plot holes it lacks a lot in plot background and development. (I don't think it was ever explained how the hell men got magical abilities just because women disappeared) What a waste of potential...
But oh well, perhaps one shouldn't bother to expect much plot on this since it's.... a FANSERVICE series. From bishies to magical girls to ecchi to cat ears to sexy maids and even to babies with diapers and bunny ears:
(OH MY GOD THEY'RE FREAKIN' ADORABLE xD)
And oh, to those with wild imaginations, some can see this to have shounen-ai fanservice too. I don't really see them as such though, but a line from one of the characters made me have doubts O_O;;; B-but that dude also had a female crush... oh this is quite confusing. Perhaps he's bisexual ^^;
I'm quite disappointed on the development on relationships in this series... because there had been none (except for one pair I guess, but it didn't progress much). You can't ever know how those opposites got a long, how a certain duo have such tension, and so forth. Too bad.
The characters didn't have much development either, except for Nippori perhaps... but that was really little. The lack of character background makes it even sadder... because we don't know much about them x_x It also sucks that majority of the supporting characters didn't have a role on the main plot at all. Though the main characters had the most chances to shine... something about them doesn't make sense to me. You see, the magical abilities of those two had never been specified... which makes it awkward since they're assigned on a magical division. So strange that the supporting characters had better characterization than them o_O
Oh well, at least the characters are fun~ They have all been cool and hilarious in their own way~ Some of them I admit could be pretty annoying (especially Nippori and the only thing that makes me incapable of hating him is that his character design is similar to Afterschool Charisma's Hitler) but I've gotta admit that they also have their charming moments. And oh, my favorite is this guy:
His name is Uguisudani (what a complicated namex_x). He appears to be some serious dude most of the time.... but he's actually quite evil and sadistic~ What's more surprising about him is that he could switch modes (as in, from "serious look" to "moe look".... complete with big eyes, tears, and a sad smile xD Haha!). He manipulates others in that manner. There's something wrong with him mentally.... like the rest of the cast, haha! (Someone: You just like crazy people, Pyro!!!) *ignores mr./ms. someone*
Believe it or not, though the manga is generally silly, it actually has some underlying themes/meanings. It had made me wonder and reflect.
Like for instance, this manga showed to us its idea on what the world could be like without women. The men won't miss them just because they have nothing to satisfy their lustful desires =P Women are cherished and needed. The longing could make them so desperate that they would have hallucinations of their women being alive or have satisfaction from just men-turned-to-women. (Too bad it hadn't featured the nostalgia and value of having a mother or sister. That would've been very touching and interesting.)
This manga presents the dangers of loving too much. It showed to us that even ugly fatsos can become beautiful. It reminds to us that you don't need to shoulder all the burden and responsibility... for there are friends that you can trust. More importantly, one shouldn't ever confine his partner in a cell and tie him up.... LOLz (Blame Uguisudani for making me remember that xD Hahahaa!)
Overall, I find this manga very very enjoyable to read. It may be nowhere near excellent plot-wise, but it had neat ideas and could be very touching and tragic... It's also freakin' amusing xD The silliness made me laugh so hard! I could tolerate the lack of character development because the characters as they are now are already so much fun~ This may not be one of Suekane-sensei's best works, but it's recommendable for those who want to read an entertaining fantasy story~
