houseki no kuni ch 99 no context
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Houseki no Kuni chapter 99 "Beginnings"
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"The chapter was great. I was having some AoT flashbacks but the direction 99 went was so cathartically depressing and peacefully sad at the same time. love how Rock-kun is the perfect embodiment of tranquility and peace with life; unlike Phos, who was constantly changing and chaotic. Rock-kun and Phos' conversation over contentment and regret in existence was wonderful. A measly pebble and a literal god finding common ground with one another is poignant as fuck; topple that with the final panel of having yet another beautiful scenery in such an empty time for the story... it hit me in the feels. The remaining mystery that needs to be answered is how Kongou's creator spoke to Phos, no? I'm expecting some flashback chapter right after this." (Wakivuu_)
"Personally I think 98 fits well thematically so I wasn’t that worried, I knew Phos would eventually pray for them as they attain enlightenment (much like Bodhissatva who prays for all sentient beings to “end their sufferings and pain of life” which in this case the Lunarians). And I really love that rock! Frizzle frizzle. I love his song. Also, the fact that Phos sleeping in the black panels was in a complete parallel to chapter 1’s Morga waking them up, only this time it’s Rock, and it’s been eons that has passed enough for the star to evolve into a white dwarf. Really amazed how Ichikawa can bring so much detail every chapter, I get too overwhelmed with the insufferable agony every chapter that I tend to miss out on parallels, I think I need another reread tbh. Loved this chapter, also hoping for a flashback!" (wallnosekyla)
ch1 and ch99 parallels. In both Phos lays down for a nap in the grass, at this point in his life he is purposeless and unfulfilled, existing to pass the time. In the first chapter he is called awake by Morga into a society that does not value him for the inherent characteristics of his body. Gem society is static, gems are generally content with the way thing are, and things only start getting shaken up when Phos pushes for something different and the others follow in his wake which leads to the eventual destruction of gem society and all of humanity. In the second set of panels there is no one left to wake Phos so he sleeps until enough time has passes that the sun has become a white dwarf, long enough for rocks to gain sentience.
The first gem red diamond wanted to be more like Adamant so Adamant molded the gems in the shape of humans, made them eyes, and covered them in powder. Phos in turn tries to give the rock all the things humans had like sight and mobility. However the rock is not dissatisfied with its existence, the rock does not want to become human. This is in contrast with all of the human descendants we meet who one way or another become dissatisfied with their existences; from the Moon People who are dissatisfied with existence and wish to cease existing, to the gems who through contact with the Moon People become dissatisfied with their gem bodies and wish to become beings of pure spirit like the Moon People, to the Admirabilis who struggle to maintain their populations and sentience.
Phos has become the only true human combining spiritual (moon pearl), mineral (phosphophyllite, lapis lazuli), and flesh (fossilized shell), as well as the last creation of humans (adamant eye), and a god or artificial bodhisattva, and this simple rock is more satisfied than Phos. (there's also probably some discussion to be made that humanity's final hope, the praying machine Adamant broke and it's only after humanity's descendants made another one out of their own that the souls of humans are allows to cease but I lack the relevant PhDs to analyze that so I'll leave it to someone else)
(in Shinto, everything has a spirit)
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People who read land of the lustrous need to be given a literary comprehension test before they can give and opinion on the story, seen 1 to many bad takes
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hi just finished houseki no kuni and im gonna make this
phos deserved better and man the whole entire manga made me cry, the fact that EVERYONE IS GONE phos has noone to turn to except for a gem they found in ch 99 is just AUGHHHHHHH 😭😭😭
euclase and cinnabar in the previous chapters were the only two people that thanked them while the rest of the gems didn't even give a damn about phos, phos even forgot about who they were in the past. seeing the other gems change was just so AGH-
dia changed into a self-centered, selfish, person and i cried for when they absolutely obliterated bort, bort cares about his sibling and god the "you changed" part of the manga, emotional damage right there
rutile turned batshit insane, and obsessed over padparascha, and man everything at that point was a HOT MESS
also fuck aechmea
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i finally found the scene the manga panel reminded me of :'
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