History Manga / LandOfTheLustrous

* HumansAreBastards: Posthumously, Humanity is not given any kind words by its successor races, up to and including [[spoiler:the woman who built Sensei]]. They were constantly described as getting into wars pre-extinction, their remains as the Ice Floes are both pitiful and can be malicious to otherwise innocent beings, and the story often portrays more overtly "human" behavior in a negative light. [[spoiler:Sensei, despite being built to pray the remains of humanity away, also sees the race as pitiful and barbaric. Phos similarly comes to the opinion that ''any'' trace of humans left will start the vicious cycle over again, and [[DeathSeeker wishes to elinimate themselves]] so that the Earth's next inheritors will live their lives free of what they consider a toxic influence.]]

* TheyWouldCutYouUp: [[spoiler:Kongou's "sibling" spooks the Rock-Forms with this when it describes humanity. As a whole, humans are depicted as monstrous, selfish aliens who would rather satisfy their curiosity with other species by takeing them, dissecting them, and running experiments on them.]]

** And even after all that, there's ''still'' a big time skip. [[spoiler:Phos completes the prayer that wipes away all of the Lunarians and converted species, and almost immediately falls into a deep coma that lasts for eons. They wake up around the time the Sun around Earth has become a white dwarf.]]

Enter Phosphophyllite, who on top of being TheKlutz, is structurally weak and needs to be glued back together after breaking apart from a slightest injury. As they are useless for combat, they're tasked to write an encyclopedia instead, along with Cinnabar who is [[PoisonousPerson poisonous to other gems]] and lives in isolation. As Phosphophyllite tries to prove herself useful, the island faces more and more trouble.

* ShipSinking: The Bort/Dia ship took a huge beating as of chapter 84, when Dia's resentment of Bort [[spoiler:has grown into full blown hatred and Dia decides to go to Earth explicitly to [[DeaderThanDead grind Bort into dust.]] They are on much better terms after converting to Lunarians, but the ship is sunk for good in ''The Party After the End'', which has Bort state that they've cut ties with Dia.]]

* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: [[spoiler:Phos, being the only human-derived specimen left, worries about {{Humanity Ensu|es}}ing in a similar manner to Evil. They fear that as long as some trace of humanity is left, it could influence species into taking on their ideals and lifestyles, and eventually into recreating their mistakes.]]

In a world inhabited by [[CrystallineCreature crystalline lifeforms]] called gems, every unique gem must fight for their survival against the threat of the {{Lunarians}}, who routinely show up to kidnap gems and make them into jewelry. Phosphophyllite, the most fragile and brittle of them, longs to join the battle, but is instead assigned to complete a natural history of their world, which they consider a dull and pointless task. But this new job brings Phos into contact with Cinnabar, a gem forced to live in isolation. Can Phos' seemingly mundane assignment lead both Phos and Cinnabar to the fulfillment they desire?

* {{Foil}}: [[spoiler:The new, rock-based lifeform plays this role for all of the humanity subspecies. It has no humanoid form, no obvious sexual characteristics, and couldn't be understood by anyone for eons. However, it's the ''only'' lifeform that was intelligent enough to understand what it is and be ''completely satisfied'' with itself, never wishing for more or to become better. This is especially in contrast with Phos, who when young was listless and wanted to be useful and as an aged deity figure realized too late that they did all they did because they just craved the affection of their peers.]]

* BookEnds:

** [[spoiler:The entire cast outside of Phos becomes another level of this by the end, seeking full CessationofExistence.]]

* AndIMustScream: Gems can't die physically. Even if they are completely destroyed, they would still be alive. But they be unable to move until someone fix them. [[spoiler:That even includes gems that are grinded to dust. And the Moon was completely ''coated'' of gems' dust]].

** The Lustrous once surmise that the Lunanrians are taking them because they want to break them down and use them as jewelry. [[spoiler:''The Party At the End'' shows the converted ''Lustrous'' doing this, ''to their own now lifeless bodies'', albeit as a way to reclaim themselves.]]

** [[spoiler:10,000 years pass after Phos fully absorbs Sensei's memories and powers while the former Gems adjust t being Lunarians.]]

** The Lustrous once surmise that the Lunanrians are taking them because they want to break them down and use them as jewelery. [[spoiler:''The Party At the End'' shows the converted ''Lustrous'' doing this, ''to their own now lifeless bodies'', albeit as a way to reclaim themselves.]]

** Kodansha's English translation of the manga addresses this by wording each gems' dialogue so that no gendered pronouns are used, opting for "[[GenderNeutralWriting this/that gem/they/them/you]]" or simply referring to the other gems by name as a replacement when needed, likely to avoid the inevitable [[AmbiguousGender gender]] [[DudeLooksLikeALady debates]] among the English speaking readers. The dub also mostly follows this pattern, but they also add "it" to the mix at points.

''Land of the Lustrous'' (''Houseki no Kuni'', or ''Country of Jewels'') is an Action/Fantasy {{Seinen}} manga series created by Haruko Ichikawa in 2012 and published in Kodansha's ''Afternoon'' magazine. It has been released in the United States by Kodansha USA. A 12-episode CGI anime adaptation by [[Creator/RoughDraftStudios Orange]] covering the first four volumes aired during the Fall 2017 season.

* {{Heaven}}: [[spoiler:the Other World. Its actually more similar to depictions of Nirvana, keeping up with the Buddhist motif the series has.]]