Force is the infamous fourth son of the Caluanthes family. He is the black sheep of the nobility: he dresses in over-the-top ‘bird of paradise’ clothes, stays only in shabby inns, turns every trip into his personal dining tour, and only has friends from lower-ranking noble families. Everyone mocks him behind his back, except Eiri Lawrence. Eiri is the total opposite: he is the perfect second son of the Lawrence family admired by everyone. A chance encounter brought him closer to Force and his entourages, and so the story of truth and deception within high society begins.
A.D. is a 2-volume manga by Aki that was discontinued after the second volume. (The author said in the cover jacket that it was gonna be after the first one, but there’s two.) It has beautiful and intricate art and an interesting set of characters.
Force is sort of a weirdo. He acts like a spoiled cat but actually cares about those around him. Eiri is the character whose POV the story is told from. He’s the perfect son of the family, but because of circumstances, he’s only seen as a ‘spare’ of his older brother. The most interesting is perhaps Riku. He’s Force’s entourage who has a knack for falling into bodies of water. However, that’s because he’s too concentrated in observing things around him. Riku has the talent of recreating anything he’s seen in perfect authenticity, including making life-like sakura branches or shining silverware from pieces of paper. He is so good at it that just by looking, nobody can tell that his crafts are only replicas. This talent of Riku’s play into the central theme of the story: if a lie is so real, then does it become truth?
A.D.’s story is kept light-hearted (since it was initially planned to be a gag comic). I like the mood of the story when it gets serious, though. There’s a certain magic to the story when accompanied by Aki’s beautiful illustrations. Putting aside the fact that the story was axed and ended in the middle of absolutely nowhere with no plot points resolved, this was a pretty interesting manga. I won’t recommend it to people who are looking for stories with a plot and an ending, but I would if they’re just here for the mystery and the vibes.
bonutzuu 