Customer Reviews

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World Volume 1

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When two good friends start talking about girls, and one of them draws a sketch of his friend's "dream girl," you can bet pretty heavily that the girl he drew will be showing up within a few pages. If that very same dream girls happens to fall from the sky completely naked, and then declare her eternal love for you, so much the better.

That is pretty much the set up in this first volume of Studio Gainax's "The Ugly Yet Beautiful World" (a direct translation of the Japanese title "Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai", first serialized in Young Animal magazine in 2004). This is the manga version of the anime of the same name which also debuted in 2004.

Billed as a Sci-Fi/Romance, the first volume is more on the romance side than the Sci-Fi. There are two best friends, Takemoto Takeru and Ninomiya Ryou, who are students at the same high school. Ryou is popular with the girls due to his kind nature and good looks, and attracts a gaggle of followers wherever he goes. Takeru is more cold and stand-offish, and only really the object of affection to his cousin Mari with whom he lives. Since Takeru doesn't seem to take an interest in any girls, Ryou asks him what type of girl he would be interested in, and proceeds to sketch out Takeru's dream girl.

That night, on a bike ride home, the boys encounter a bright flash of light, and a beautiful naked girl appears from the sky. She is not alone, however, as a giant monster appears with her and Takeru finds his body transformed into a warrior with a sword for an arm so he can defend the girl against the monster. Naming the girl Hikari, meaning "light" in Japanese, Takeru takes her home and vows to protect her. Meanwhile, Ryou has found his own naked girl appearing from the light, although his is quite a bit younger. Ryou names her Akari, meaning "bright" and also takes her home. Thus the adventure begins.

The first volume is mostly set-up, and introducing the characters. All of the Sci-Fi elements are out of the way within the first ten pages or so, and the rest of "This Ugly Yet Beautiful World" is devoted to scenes of Hikari adjusting to living as a human, and to Takeru coming to terms with having this beautiful naked girl throwing herself at him at every turn. Some conflict is established, as Hikari and Akari have some sort of mysterious past that neither seems to remember, although Akari is initially terrified of Hikari. Takeru's cousin Mari becomes jealous at the sudden romantic rival, and Takeru is torn between the two girls. Of course, everyone finds time to go to the beach.

The art in "This Ugly Yet Beautiful World" is definitely on the beautiful side. There is a fair bit of nudity here, and artist Morimi Ashiita doesn't shy away from showing all the girls taking a bath together, or Hikari's inability to understand why her new body needs clothes. That's not really the main draw of the series (although it doesn't hurt!), which is really the kind of character-driven storyline we have come to expect from Studio Gainax.

This first volume is on the lighter side storywise, taking the time to develop the characters and getting the plot set up. From the anime we know things get much heavier as the series progresses (End of the World, anyone?) so this first volume almost exists to lure you in to a sweet romance/comedy before smacking you in the face with some darkness.

Great stuff all around. I am looking forward to the rest of the series!

Flawed with Hints of Sweetness
On each & every clip of anime in Youtube somebody is always rambling how the manga is 500000000000 times better. Well in this case, the anime is what inspired the manga. I watched This Ugly Yet Beautiful World a little over a year ago, so I already know all of the heady secrets to be unearthed in this tale. None the less, I will be reviewing this version of the story as if it were the only version.

Takeru is your average teenaged boy, a little on the lazy side, & beginning to feel bored & unfilled in his monotonous life. His friend Ryo is kind & cheerful, acting as a parent to his little sister. Both sets of their parents are out of the picture.
While on a late-night errand run, the two are surprised by a beautiful beam of light that rushes through their bodies & morphs into two nude young women, each one sweet, innocent, & without an identity. Takeru names his girl Hikari & Ryo his Akari. (Actually, Ryo discovers Akari several days after Takeru meets Hikari, but none-the-less...) Hikari becomes infatuated with Takeru upon simply hearing his voice & Takeru---confused yet enchanted---vows to protect her. Ryo decides to leave for home, leaving the two alone. Within moments a massive insect-like beast emerges from the forest & attacks Hikari. Takeru, at first helpless & distraught, becomes angry & transforms into a beast himself. He slaughters the creature, returns to human form, recovers an unconscious Hikari, & carries her home to his Aunt's & Uncle's house.
While the opening to this story sounds action-packed, it soon slides into the breezy romantic/comedy genre, only returning to science-fiction/fantasy on its final two pages.

Something that bothered me throughout this entire volume was how easily everyone accepted these two strange girls into their lives, the largest example being our protagonists' first meeting. Takeru's reactions to finding a girl from the sky & evolving into a monster are mild & passive. Ryo doesn't even act like the event is anything out of the ordinary. I don't understand why the authors couldn't donate a few panels for some serious mental anguish.
Still, there are moments of soft charm & gentle sweetness, & there's enough potential here to invest in a second volume. The characterization is pretty thorough too.

Now if you're looking at the cover & thinking, 'that's some gorgeous artwork,' understand that it in no way matches the interior, which doesn't pay much attention to detail & features characters whose eyes take up half their face. I found it too simplistic to score any title beyond mediocre.
Meanwhile, the paneling is inconsistent. Actually how effective the paneling is depends on the genre TUYBW embodies. The personal scenes between characters are kinetic & natural. However, when the story attempts to display action the paneling becomes rushed & confusing. This volume doesn't contain much action, so for the moment this problem isn't dominant.

As a final note, this manga is crammed about as full as an OT manga can be with fanservice (although TUYBW is inexplicably rated M). I don't mind fanservice so long as it doesn't substitute story, characterization, or charm, & in this case the boobs are merely icing. But if you find nudity distracting, I'd avoid this series.

2.5 stars.