This manga written by Motorô Mase in 2005 tells the story of a Japanese society, in the 2000’s, where the government made a particular law on a vaccine that everyone must take : on the whole population that took the vaccine, one person in a thousand will day at their 18th birthday, to regulate the delinquence, the crimes and to square the society in a « natural way ». One day before the death of the victim, a note is sent to them, so they can spend a last day with their family and friends, the note is called the « Ikigami », and in this story we follow mostly the journey of a delivery-man, that send the deadly note to the family of the victim.
That delivery-man must give these tragic messages and write a report of the last day of these people, he works for the japanese government. Through these reports, we will live the last moments of these young adults, often in a complicated situation, such as the first condamned in the manga : a young man, bullied since high-school, who receive this death notice, and decide to take revenge upon his school bullies. This book shows us that the government seems to be a part of something greater…
Through this book, it will be difficult to stay insensible to the story of all these characters, by the destiny and the situation that awaits them all. This makes us think about some concepts we usually don’t explore, some ethical questions are slowly taking place in our heads, to know if the vaccine and this law are some good or bad things, if it helps society or put it in a cruel and autoritary system, that no one can escape.
As the death of it’s characters, this manga will make the reader think, because he will see and judge the las moments of these young adults, if their end gives honour to theur story or not. The style of the drawer strengthen the immersion in that universe, the main subject is a critic of a modern society and its laws, a very dystopic story in short.
This book doesn’t stay on the clichés of the science-fiction, with lightsabers ou space ships, to take us far in the fiction, but instead is basing off the probablitity of the facts, that makes us wonder « what if that happens now ? How would we react ? How avoid this situation ? » It is an excellent example of societal science-fiction, the social aspect is the main topic, because of a vaccine.