Reviews for Alien Nine

Alien Nine is a stunning and evocative little series with tons to offer in each of its attempted facets. It commands the reader's attention with a starkly idiosyncratic approach to visuals, appeals to the emotions, makes you care for its characters and gives you plenty to think/cheer about. One of the first things I noticed when I began reading was the nuances in visuals, namely, the juxtaposition of intentionally crude, cutsey character designs with frighteningly detailed, angular, gross images of alien's and their appendages. The effect this dichotomy creates remains consistent throughout the series, as the violence is never suppressed; Tomizawa pulls no punches in hisdepiction of the endeavors of grade-school girls and their battles with aliens.

Speaking of school-age girls, the three central characters are quite different and, thankfully, have some substance that only grows as the series goes on. Each girl starts with their own personality and reason (or lack thereof) for joining "the Alien Party." As the series goes on, each girl sees some truly dramatic changes in character, some psychologically, some physically... and watching these changes, how they come to be and what events they inspire, is what makes Alien Nine a compelling page-turner.

I think the manga's greatest strength, though, when considered with its characters, is the events. This is "Things Actually Happen: the Manga." Character development and arcs, plot revelations, subtle/not-so-subtle explanations of occurrences, it has it all. In keeping with this technique of moving of the story inexorably forward, the theme of body horror becomes quite important and it isn't cheaply depicted at all. There's plenty of terrific spectacles in the manga; I found myself thinking/saying multiples times; "holy shit, that actually happened!," or, "did she really just say that?" You'll focus on the images, as that effect/dichotomy I mentioned earlier in the writing is consistent but it's really about what's happening. In other words, it looks damned cool but focus on what the characters are doing and saying and the effect is dramatically improved.

Alien Nine is a criminally under-read piece of work and a stunning narrative application of the "Superflat" art form. It's story is just as important as its art and visuals, and taken together they make a powerfully memorable, evocative team.

This manga has a unique, extravagant-looking concept of alien symbiosis, plus psychology, surrealism and some hints of horror. Add in an apathetical society that is willing to risk children's lives (while also putting them in... questionable situations -let's just say that for now-) and you have the recipee for quite an experimental work. The cover art looks colorful and creative too, so it looks like it's worth a shot. At the very least you would expect it to leave some kind of impression. If not positive, deep or memorable. But no, sadly, that isn't the case right here. You know how sometimes japanese mangaka sprinkle-in someweird, off-putting scenes of fetishization in their works? If the vast majority of the contents are good world building, well written characters or a promising enough plot, sometimes you can ignore those other awkward, unfortunate parts of it. Some say that is the case with Made In Abyss, especially manga readers. Other times, you thankfully don't have to deal with those aspects while the existential dread of the innocent having to face a hopless threat outside of their control is succesfully explored. Madoka Magica is a good example of that.

This time though, it seemed to me that the entire concept was built AROUND the "lolicon" sub-culture. So much so that the first couple of chapters have almost no substance to them other than putting the girls in this weird inappropiate situation. And I say weird and innapropiate because there's a sexually reminiscent aspect of the symbiosis, where the aliens lick bodily sweat to stay alive and in exchange they protect their host. One of the girls is understandably off-put by that, but has to put up with it eitherway since her teacher assigned her to the task. The main characters are shown naked too while the aliens feed, which is totally unnecessary for how it's handled. Not only that, but they get covered in alien slime from enemies and the mangaka makes sure we notice how the symbiosis is very organic and biological (at least they connect head-to-head and not some other way, but those alien-hats have "fleshy" insides and cover the connective part of their bodies with their hands like it was a private area or something).

These kinds of aspects, and others like the tasks and enemies they have to deal with, are usually handled in the typical light-hearted slice of life way, but it still ends up being quite uncomfortable and sometimes even disgusting. The way the symbiosis is framed intially doesn't help, since they were supposed to "feed off of bodily waste" so it sounded even worse than it was and perhaps it gets worse after, I don't know. Up until chapter 6 I gave up putting up with the situation, I wanted to form an opinion and check for myself if the series at least improved after, since the psychological aspects had potential, but I couldn't. The whole thing gave me an upset stomach.

It's only fair to say though that, after skimming through the rest of the manga, the stakes go up. Horror and psychology do seem to deepen in some degree. Not so much to make it the serious story it could be, but I did catch some shocking scenes. The aliens got more imposing and with more inspiration to their designs and the plot did seem to get a bit more convoluted. Still, it didn't look interesting enough to go to those lenghts.

All of it seems like an excuse for the author to work on the part that he really cared about. I say that because the aliens, even if weird, are not really remarkable or interesting. The hints of psychology and character development are generally no more than a background and barely seem to evolve further than giving context to the cast. There's also barely any horror other than the premise itself, the awkwardness of it and the bleakness of having adults in that world that are letting all of it happen. That's not explored directly either, it's almost all implicit. In some degree that is certainly the author's intention, but in other regards, it doesn't look like that was the element he cared about in this story (and you know what I mean by that).

Perhaps the author should be given the benefit of the doubt, since the icky aspects are not depicted as badly as it sounds and Japan does have some weird cultural tendencies that could be mixed-in with some mediocrity on the actual story and end up with this result, without further ill intentions. But, even if that could be the case, it wouldn't reedeem the missed opportunity to make something good with the psychological horror potential this manga provides. Further than that, I have to insist on the fact that I did feel disgusted about it, since it really felt like an excuse for the "loli trope" to develop.

At the end of the day, this manga gives the impression of being a bad twist on Evangelion: The aliens, an MC that is not up to the task but is pressured to do it, children having to save the day, the psychology of the characters, tidbits of horror, and the weird sexually reminiscent aspects in that context. A bad twist because it's mediocre in all those regards and in Evangelion there were at least thematic or psychological references in a coming-of-age kind of way that made the awkward aspects make sense to an extent. It may as well be a predecessor to Madoka Magica, Made in Abyss and perhaps even Dead Dead Demon's too, but all in bad taste. In my opinion, it has the worst approach you could make for a story like this, and that is, turning the whole thing into a gimmick to justify inappropiate situations. Not like they happen all the time or most of the time, but it's the basis of it all and that becomes almost evident when you realize there's not much else to it. With all the potential the concept has, it ends up not having almost any substance to it.

*Edit: I should add something else to the icky factor that maybe didn't get across correctly. The reason I got an upset stomach at the time I read it is because there's sort of a sadistic exploitative theme of the innocent. It's not direct or super clear, but perhaps you can get the hints from some stuff I wrote in my review. Someone else pointed it out on a review so credits to them. Since it wasn't very clear or easy to back up, I decided not to include it because it could have been just my impression. But time has gone by, I have let the topic sit and I still stand by my intuition that this mangaka had a "thing" for putting little girls in forcefully compromising scenarios. It really felt, disturbingly, like a sort of humilliation/control kink regarding the defenseless or submissive that he was projecting in this manga. I kinda didn't want to write about this, but I think readers should really consider it as well before making their decision.

Curious and imaginative manga, falls a bit short due to inconclusive ending but it's short and intriguing read nonetheless that's easy to recommend to people looking for something more strange and unique in their fiction. Story: Alien 9's most remarkable point for me is the world Tomizawa manages to craft over mere 30 well paced chapters. Right off the bat it starts with a class choosing a new member for the alien party, a group of 6th graders tasked with taking care of regular alien threat besieging the school and it only gets weirder from there. I can't say the plot is as intriguing as it doesn'treally go anywhere, near the end there's a reveal that contextualizes what was happening prior and could've taken manga in a whole new direction but the whole thing ends shortly after without wrapping things up in a way that would be satisfying. It's the "but the journey goes on" type of deal before they journey really got to unfold. As such I treat this mostly just as short glimpse into bizarre sci-fi world.

Characters are decent but too remarkable, main protagonist Yuri is a useless crybaby that remains such throughout the entire manga, she doesn't really change or learn anything, her main flaw remains until the end. Perhaps the only thing of note happening is her getting attached to her friend Kumi but it's mostly there to justify a plot point later on and has little effect on her character interactions or decisions she makes. Overall she's more of a blank slate plot device than a character.

Kumi and Kasumi are a bit more interesting cause roughly 2/3 of the way through they undergo some major changes revealing which would spoil too much but it adds another trait to each of them, changes the way they behave and overall is an interesting mechanic even if it's a pretty blatant and easy way to force character progression it works.

There are some themes of loneliness, abandonment, dependence, coexisting and puberty but all I can say is that they are kinda there, none of them are explored to any meaningful extent and are just thrown in there. You might get something out of them as like most things it's up for interpretation but there's nothing substantial in here to make any conclusion more than just guesswork or a stretch connected with vague symbolism.

Art:

While it's not quite refined or consistent with proportions and basics it's still quite imaginative. Character designs are cute and distinct despite some degree of same face going on. There's no shortage of detail when it would be needed aside from occasional backgrounds. One thing that I want to praise more than anything is how amazing alien designs are, they're unique, memorable and bizarre. There's a sense of mystery to each of them, you can't gather what they will be just from looking and it does feel like those things came from another planet even if some look like a twisted combination of animals you might know.

Overall it doesn't have that good of a narrative but everything else in there is worth taking a look at. It's a fun experience regardless.

Those are bizzare and surreal series that strongly resemble "Propeller Heaven". However, the problem here is that story leaves less impact than propeller heaven. The story revolves around a group of school girls that have to fight aliens by wearing helmets (That are aliens themselves). It is not really possible to explain more without spoiling it. The series have old school character graphics with round and slightly cartoonish faces, but this is contrasted by detailed depiction of aliens, surroundings and the like. It is very difficult to make sense out of the story, until at some point it goes and explains half of it in an informational dumpduring inroduction.

Characters have varying degree of although the lead(?) character behaves as a girl would, the rest are less coherent and more confusing.

In the end I think this manga is worth checking out largely due to surrealism and quality artwork. However, I feel like "propeller heaven" left bigger impact on me when I read it.

Alien 9 is an anime with a unique and somewhat whimsical touch, featuring girls with distinct personalities and highly detailed, original alien creatures. The contrast between these girls and the aliens adds a fascinating element to the show. The artwork by the creator is impressive, as it effectively conveys the speed and intensity of the battles between the girls and the aliens without relying heavily on speed lines. The story of Alien 9 is undeniably complex, and while the meaning behind the title becomes clear towards the end, it doesn't provide a neatly wrapped-up conclusion. The overall enigmatic nature of the narrative is, in my opinion, oneof the highlights of the series and showcases the unique storytelling style of the creator.

While Alien 9 may not be a series suitable for everyone due to its complexity and unconventional storytelling, I personally love it. admintest panda opanda

This was one of the more messed up anime/manga I've come across. Story It was a trope that feels to close to home with adults forcing the world's problems on the younger generation. While the kids have no say in it what's so ever. And I cant help but question a lot of the methods that are used in this alien human society. Characters So they managed to have 2 over achievers in the main group and the main star is someone who has no business being there. You dont send in someone with a crippling fear of aliens to capture them. May be some spoiler-ishStill all in all a decent read but still feel empty when is seem there is still more authoritative corruption with the sequels and it doesn't seem to give me the answers I was looking for

As a teenager I read and loved this manga. I was blown away by the expressiveness of the art, the interesting designs of the aliens, and even the occasional loli fanservice. I can see why it appealed to me and others, but years later the flaws stand out above all. The story is an inconsistent mess of objectification, exploitation, fanservice, and aborted plot lines. The more I think about it, the more my opinion drops. The art is the simplest thing to critique in this manga. It’s a double edged sword. On the one hand it’s incredibly expressive, even vibrant. I felt the dynamic actionon the pages in a way I rarely do. I could tell what happened in 99% of the scenes at a glance. In my head it felt like it was animated. The artist renders horrific scenes in startling clarity, and ingenuity. The designs of the aliens are excellent and unique.

However, the artist also made choices that cause many characters to look very similar to each other. The fact that I often could not tell who was who during scenes, or remember who a character was affected nothing probably speaks to the story issues. The 3 main girls have similar facial features, are dressed the exact same, and their hair is covered by nearly identical looking helmets. Even when they are not dressed identically, you are left with strange choices in shading and contrast that make it difficult to tell who’s who at moments. While scenes are rendered strikingly clear, they’re almost always rendered the same way. The perspectives, the framing, the lighting, and the general mood almost never change. It often contributes to the very samey feel of the art once the explosive gore and unique designs lose their novelty.

The characters are all distinct from each other in personality, however they do not grow throughout the story in any significant way. Yuri at the start is Yuri at the end, likewise with Kasumi and Kumi and the Teacher— Which is really saying something for a bunch of girls who get murdered, mind raped, eaten alive, vivisected, ressurected, turned into aliens, and so much more. Despite the relatively static nature of their personalities, I rarely felt if I knew them either as defining character traits would be added at random.

Despite the fact the girls are given a fairly in depth introduction near the start, and you see their home lives, the author will just decide to drop things on you that have major ramifications on the story. Kasumi is the worst case of this. I don’t recall much ever being said about her loneliness except that she had a brother, but suddenly at about halfway through the story her loneliness is a key plot point and carries through for the rest of the manga. Apparently her loneliness was a core thing driving her unhappiness. Her loneliness was not brought up previously, nor was her unhappiness. The author is content to drop these things on you at random, rather than build up to them or suggest them. Another example would be Kumi’s lesbianism which both appears out of nowhere and plays into harmful tropes.

The story does not hold your hand most of the time. The world building is fluid, and you learn about the world by experiencing it, which means that even when strange plot contrivances are dropped on you they rarely feel out of place. It can be refreshing at times, until the author reminds you that he’s making things up as he goes along. Dropped plot points are abundant, and other plot points or happenings clearly exist just to cater to the author’s fetishes.

For example, when the Sunflower aliens invade, what it’s showing you is that they’re simply trying to bond with the hosts but are inept at it and causing unknown casualties. What it tells you is that they made a concerted effort to attack and wipe out everyone at the other schools. Particularly bizarre is the repeated insinuations that the girls are being prepared for something, but never the reveal of what exactly it is. It can’t be a symbiotic bonding with the Borg aliens, because when that happens it’s listed as a failure. Yet, later on in the teacher’s desperation she attempts to force that on Yuri multiple times. At that point Yuri would be a failure regardless, so why? It could be inferred that the Borg are a part of the Drill clan, but not related to the leaders of it, but that’s never even implied. I just don’t know what the point of the experiments even was when ultimately super weapons like Kumi are failures. The teacher herself even seems to be in the same position as Kumi. Many things such as resurrection are relayed so haphazardly that it’s unclear what the girls even know about their world.

Many of the aspects that are unexplained or make little sense seem to circle around the author’s fetishistic desires. Boys are shown to be able to bond with aliens, but the Borg only choose female hosts. I cannot recall any explanation given for this, and it’s particularly weird since boys are repeatedly shown to be ultra willing hosts to just about any alien lifeform– Eager for the combat and the bonding. The Borg themselves feed by licking the sweat off of the kid’s naked bodies, which is quite a lot to take in. It also doesn’t make much sense if you read further and learn more about them, so you just have multiple scenes of aliens tongue bathing naked children. The fanservice does not really go toward a greater point, nor is it even consistent. At one point the chapter cover is a closeup camel toe of one of the girls, despite no other cover being of this nature. Sometimes there’s panty shots, sometimes the girls are respectfully covered. The author seems to have a Made in Abyss tier loli-gore fetish though.

The author often has a lot of negative influence on the story that seem to be typical of guys writing girls. When Kumi bonds with her Borg, we see a screen that lists her as no longer human. It goes on to say that this means she no longer has human functions, and its example is reproduction. It’s not important to the story that any of the girls be able to reproduce and also they’re still grade schoolers. It’s not that she doesn’t use the bathroom anymore such as with Vampires in fiction, or that she no longer needs to eat, it’s specifically reproduction. This kind of reduction in which being a human, or even a female is tied to your ability to reproduce is all too common in fiction.

I think it gets worse though, because it’s not until after this point that the author chooses to insinuate that Kumi is a lesbian. In Japan, lesbianism is considered a passing phase young girls will have then grow out of. The author further plays into this by having Kumi talk about her desire to be with girls, rather than explicitly state it. It’s worth noting that both girls only engage in this behavior when they are no longer fully human as well, and the character who is fully human never displays these tendencies. Lesbianism is okay when it’s young girls, who are not biologically female anymore or who are already othered by being turned into monsters.

These are story beats echoed by many stories of this nature. Take Madoka for example. It’s not uncommon for the other girls, all young girls, to be interested in each other without ever stating explicit identification of their preference, only implying relationships and implying desires. Furthermore, good friends who are ‘corrupted’ express this desire, and they in turn must stop the pure girl from becoming corrupted. The pure girl is largely useless, and a non entity in the story except as a magnet for things to happen around, or to be in the vicinity of plot events. Ultimately, the pure girl falls at the end of these stories. You’ve seen it a dozen times in these young girl, mature themed stories that contain all of these themes which further goes towards making the story less remarkable. It wasn’t a new plot trajectory in 2003 (certainly not when so much of the story mirrors Evangelion), and it’s even less fresh now.

The thing that really strikes me though, is how callous and uncaring the world and the author is. Friendships in this are not organic, they seem to be the result of a symbiotic, psychic link between the girls. No one in this world cares what happens to the children, barely even their parents. No one is concerned as the children are gored and forced into awful situations repeatedly, and neither does the author. It’s all in service of providing more twisted spectacle. It’s utterly devoid of compassion or empathy for the characters, which makes the story feel even more hollow. In the end I’m left with a feeling of emptiness and disgust. I may have well just gone and read some loli-gore-rape hentai with a slightly better plot.

There’s a lot more I could say as well about the fact the girls are forced into bizarre, sexually tinged relationships with these aliens. Overall, I would never recommend anyone read this, but the art is interesting.