Hello, and welcome to the official first post on my blog! As I’ve spoken of how I used to blog on Anime Amino, I was planning to do another take at reviewing a manga I enjoyed and had already critiqued before: Kasane. But after taking a look at what I had written in the past, I believed that my thoughts on the series have remained the same; and that what I shared with others then was decent enough to be posted once more on my own website!
While I did a recommendation (spoiler free), I was also criticising another individual’s poor analysis of Kasane which included one-liner explanations that didn’t give the series justice. This blog was made as a response in my temporary indignation as a result. I just did some minor touch-ups to what I originally wrote for the post here. Without further ado, please enjoy!
Before I was planning on writing about Kasane, I was actually curious as to whether anyone on this community had already done so recently. And unsurprisingly, there was already a post on it by the group MangaCosmos. I read the post for myself, but the peculiar thing was that I actually disagreed with it. Extremely. And so, while I present my views on this manga, I’ll be referencing this post made several months ago; arguing for why I agree, disagree and understand the post’s stand.
Disclaimer: The written content below is not, and will never be intentionally made to attack and or insult the group, writer, or post. I simply use it as a point of reference for why there may be certain views on this manga’s style and storytelling. I personally disagree with it, but as an independent reader you can decide that for yourself.
[ The link to this person’s blog is here if you’d like to read it. ]
Kasane (Details)
Author: Matsuura Daruma
Status: 11 Volumes, Ongoing. 26 Chapters translated. (Near-End of Volume 3)
Synopsis: Fuchi Kasane is a young girl; the daughter of an extremely beautiful and renown actress. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t manage to inherit her mother’s beauty and was born as a hideous child. What makes it worse is that her mother dies young, leaving young Kasane to fend for herself in this cruel world. There is no affection, no respect, and no love for Kasane and her ugliness. As a result, she struggles in school due to excessive bullying and mistreatment. Things, however, soon begin to change. One fateful day, she discovers her mother’s possession – her lipstick. With it, Kasane is given the ability to steal anyone’s appearance, so long as she wears the lipstick and kisses the face she desires. Will this token save her? Or will it lead to her demise?
My Thoughts Versus MangaCosmos’
#1: “Kasane is basically the only character who is constantly being focused on.”
This is absolutely true. But I must ask, why is this a con, especially when the probing of Kasane’s mental state and human identity is what this manga’s precisely about and excels at? It is true that side characters can elevate a story’s or even main character’s quality and depth through diversifying the cast and with the use of character interactions. But does giving focus to a single character lower the manga’s quality, or is this technique of storytelling universally considered a con? I beg to differ.
This manga’s called Kasane, so naturally it’s got to revolve around her and her experiences. In fact, I’d argue that this method of presenting the manga is pure genius. I wouldn’t be able to fully understand Kasane the way I do now, nor could I feel the strong sense of attachment and pity I do for her if it was done otherwise. With Kasane being the only major character in this series, we’re able to get an insight into not just some of her actions and thoughts, but all her actions and thoughts. Her pain, her anxiety, her malevolence; every single bit of it is delivered with such raw vigor and power that I’m astounded every single time.
If the mangaka were to share some of the focus with some of the side characters, say, her bullies, then the impact of how she’s been tortured at school wouldn’t be as strong as it is. Having more characters doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll make the manga better, nor does having less suggest that the author has bad planning on their part. Either method employed is perfectly fine, with neither being the better of the two.
Also, other characters such as Habuta and Nina do get the spotlight occasionally, so I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Kasane is the only one we get to see all of the time. The character interactions in this manga are also powerful and well-planned, so it’s not like there’s a lack of it just because Kasane gets so much focus.
#2: “…we don’t know much about Kasane.”
It’s literally said two lines later in that blog that she’s the only one who gets focus as a character. How can we not know much about her, especially since we’re given several insights into her character, internal monologues and emotions, if that’s the case? In view of this contradiction, I’d like to say that as a reader, I personally know lots about Kasane:
Despite her ugly appearance, she’s actually a very sweet and innocent child who just wants to make friends. This is only presented once throughout all the translated chapters, but it’s made so obvious that no one should be able to miss it. She’s only so thirsty for revenge because of what the world and society did to her; otherwise she would have turned out fine.
Her mother was the one who owned that magic lipstick, so it’s not a stretch to say that the beautiful actress actually never was. She probably tricked her husband into marrying her. Kasane’s thus a child born of lies and deceit, so naturally that’s the only thing she’ll be able to do. Karma carries on.
Kasane is no one. She has no identity; she has long given it up in order to become anyone she deems as “beautiful”. She’s a leech, an impostor, a shadow of her mother. But that in itself is what makes her who she is; a person that will never be one. It is because of this trait that we’re able to feel so much pity for her and her circumstances; because what she does is what every other human being does.
#3: “It lacks story development.”
Now this is what I’ll have to disagree with in absolute. There was so much development in just the first few chapters, couldn’t you see? If what MangaCosmos meant by “story development” was plot devices, then yes, there weren’t any glaring ones. It had such an amazing start regardless. I can understand why that review would say this though. The way the plot thickens and grows is different, so naturally some may have mistaken it for a total lack of it.
For the sake of explaining how Kasane’s story does have development, I’ll be using a simple model to determine the different aspects of its plot. There are three primary elements that I’d identify with plot/story development: the first being Dramatic Action, the second being Character Emotional Development, and the last being Thematic Significance. Dramatic Action refers to scenes where there’s lots of conflict, tension, suspense and twists. Character Emotional Development happens when we’re given opportunities to explore a character’s thoughts and emotions; we delve into the human psyche to better know them. Thematic Significance is a little bit more abstract in comparison to the other two. It’s usually used to impart a message or ‘moral of the story’; giving the story an added dimension and depth since it’s more than just a telling of people being involved in situations.
Kasane in particular uses Character Emotional Development and Thematic Significance in great detail; so much so that it almost overshadows the Dramatic Action that occurs within the story. As such, the lack of drama may be viewed as “lack of story development” to some, but this simply isn’t true. It just focuses a lot more on the telling of Kasane’s growth into a malevolent woman, along with how “beauty is but an illusion” is continuously emphasised throughout the story.
Kasane isn’t just your regular manga: It doesn’t have a regular challenge a protagonist must overcome, doesn’t have character interactions between friends since she doesn’t have any, and it doesn’t have a lesson that’s trying to be taught to us. So because of this, it may have seemed like there wasn’t story development. But in actual fact, it doesn’t even need any of that.
What Kasane does is that it’s purely an examination of human society through the eyes of someone discriminated by it. As such, we won’t get to see anything that a normal manga, one told within the boundaries of a society, presents. Kasane does interact with her community, but only ever as an outsider, an outcast. Most of the time, people who get discriminated are ‘saved’ by someone else and are brought into society. This is the exact opposite: everyone pushes her further and further away.
Through the experiences she goes through, whether good or bad, we’re given the opportunity to see how it’s shaped her as a person. The entire manga’s story is based on the development of this character; so if seeing Kasane reaffirm her motives for revenge and descending further and further into an abyss of malice as we read on is all we’ll ever see, I’d say that’s some pretty awesome plot development. Moreover, the setting and time is never constant either. We get to see Kasane as a child, a teen and then into an adult; making the development of the story even stronger as we see the changes in behaviors of people as they mature, including the people she meets along the way. If anything, the managaka actually does pays a lot of attention to the story and its characters. Daruuma-sensei’s understanding of the human mind is so shockingly accurate that my first reaction was to look away at the ugly truth presented right before my eyes.
#4: “Its kinda rushed,”
Now this one is true, and I agree. Kasane’s time as a child to a teenager is only given 6 chapters in total. What a waste! So much more could have been shown during her time as a child. Emotional trauma hits hardest when you’re young and naive, so additional instances of Kasane’s mental state being attacked could have made her seem much more broken and given her acts of revenge in later chapters a lot more justification. I must, however, say that the mangaka did this intentionally. It’s more than likely that he wanted to skip to her time as an adult, but decided not to leave out her time as a child. It’s harsher when you’re out in the world working anyway. Her time growing up which was quickly explored did however serve to do two main things:
First being that her time as a child in grade school taught her that she mustn’t trust anyone, ever. Everyone has an intention and a motive behind their actions, so never give them the benefit of the doubt. We’re all alone in this world, so act like it. With ideas like this being planted into her hand, the mangaka sets up her malevolent character. Secondly, her time in middle/high school allowed her to understand that she can never have friends. Even if someone approaches you with good intentions, those intentions may not always be beneficial. Because of this, she starts to live only for herself.
All in all, these two instances are used to do one more important thing: Set the stage for her character as an adult, in all her glory as a hateful woman. Now that that’s done, I’d like to give my own criticisms on this manga that I feel are more relevant.
#1 The use of symbols and themes lacks a significant use of tact
Gotta love ’em themes. This manga’s full of them, so it might seem a bit baffling at first since there’s so many ideas being explored all in one go. The way the mangaka presents them to us is also crystal clear: when it’s about the futility of beauty, it will only ever be about that. There are limitations to what can be inferred, which does dampen the fun of reading and analysing it for myself. Mirrors, make-up and costume symbolism are what’s to be expected for a piece like this, so it’s kind of disappointing when my expectations are met and nothing more.
#2 The Pacing’s a little quick
As I mentioned earlier, the manga rushes Kasane’s time as a child and as a teen. This was, however, done intentionally. It’s very obvious that the mangaka wants to explore Kasane’s life as an adult instead of that of a child. That itself is fine, but I thought an equal balance of focus could have been employed to allow readers to better understand Kasane and her actions. Seeing her grow up as a child for a longer period of time would have also made us more emotionally attached to her, giving later chapters a lot more weight to them.
Should you read Kasane?
Yes. Definitely. But I suggest you read this at a slower pace to fully enhance your experience. It’ll also make you feel as if Kasane is really growing (both literally and metaphorically) if you do this. Please do read this wonderful piece of work and support Daruma-Sensei!
Author’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/darumaym
Manga’s Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/kasane_fuchi
Sunney 