Line #66 Manga/ChildrenOfTheWhales


1	[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/children_of_the_whales_vol1.png]]
2
3	->''"We loved this island, for it was our entire world."''
4	-->-- '''Chakuro'''
5
6	Year 93 of the Sand Era. In a vast, endless sea of sand, a lone colony of people live upon an ever-moving island known as the Mud Whale. Chakuro, the archivist of the Mud Whale, chronicles the lives and deaths of the people who live there. The five hundred souls of the island are divided into a majority of "marked ones", short-lived people who can use a psychokinetic power known as Thymia, and a small minority of "unmarked ones", who don't have any powers but have normal lifespans and rule the ship. While people on the Whale know nothing of the outside world, or if there even ''is'' such a thing, they live a simple but happy and peaceful life, playing around, cultivating their land and falling in love. One day, however, they come across an island not unlike their own, only to find a graveyard and a wounded EmotionlessGirl who calls them "the criminals of Falaina". This discovery may announce the end of their world…
7
8	''Kujira no Ko-ra wa Sajou ni Utau'' ("Whale Calves Sing on the Debris") is a shojo fantasy series by Abi Umeda. It launched in 2013, and has been licensed for release in English starting in November 2017 (it's been published in France by Glénat since 2016). An anime adaptation aired in Fall 2017 in Japan; it launched on March 13, 2018 internationally via Creator/{{Netflix}}.
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10	----
11	!!''Children of the Whales ''contains examples of:
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13	* EleventhHourSuperpower: Ouni develops the power to use Thymia in Nous passages when [[spoiler:Nibi dies]].
14	* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: The anime fails to mention how Liontari [[spoiler:survives falling into the sea of sand, which the manga states is due to Aima saving him.]]
15	* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Rasha used to give Shuan head pats, and Shuan later picks up the habit with Chakuro.
16	* AfterTheEnd: If the Empire is to be believed, the manga takes place after an apocalyptic event that wiped out earlier civilizations and introduced the nous into the world.
17	* AlienSea: The sand sea that covers much of the world. Somehow, it still supports a wide array of marine life, though people and boats will sink into it with no chance of floating without magical support.
18	* AllThereInTheManual: The volume releases tend to come with bonus worldbuilding details, such as various aspects of life on the Mud Whale or in the Empire.
19	* AmbiguouslyBrown: Lykos and her people are all dark-skinned, in contrast with the people of the Mud Whale.
20	* AnimalThemeNaming: Orca, Liontari, and Arachni, all residents of the Allied Empire, have names that have to do with animals.
21	* AnyoneCanDie: At some point, the OP almost starts to feel inaccurate seeing as how half the characters in it aren't even alive by the end of the series.
22	* ApocalypseHow: According to the Empire, there's a legend about how the world was destroyed by the gods, called the Karthartirio Rain, seemingly as punishment for letting their emotions run out of control.
23	* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
24	** The skin color of all the people on the Mud Whale is pale despite living in a desert, not to mention that their ancestors from only a few generations back were considerably darker as well.
25	** Most everyone quickly recovers from non-lethal injuries, and injuries you'd expect to be infected never are. Orca, for instance, recovers from [[spoiler:[[AnArmAndALeg losing a leg]]]] the day of.
26	* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: After the attack on the Mud Whale by the Empire, the village elders elect Suou as captain and order him to sink the whale beneath the sand, considering that extermination is inevitable and, in a way, deserved because of their ancestors' "sin" of choosing to live with emotions.
27	* BedsheetLadder: Chasmourito escapes house arrest with a rope made of Rochalizo's clothes.
28	* BigBrotherBully: All of Rochalizo's older brothers, who are generally dismissive of him. His eldest in particular is a DoubleSubversion--he frets over Rochalizo, but as Rochalizo himself calls him out on, it's because he likes Rochalizo as weak and useless because it makes him more "cute".
29	* CastFromLifespan: Thymia users on the Mud Whale rarely live beyond their thirties. It's later explained that [[spoiler:instead of absorbing people's emotions, the Nous Falaina absorbs their life force.]]
30	* CastingGag: [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Not the first time]] Creator/NobunagaShimazaki voices an older brother to a character voiced by Creator/HisakoKanemoto.
31	* ChildSoldier:
32	** Most of the imperial soldiers that the people of the Mud Whale fight are around Chakuro's age.
33	** Unhappily, the Unmarked realize that for the island to stand a fighting chance against the Empire, they have to train the Marked--most of whom are children--[[ChildrenForcedToKill to fight and essentially become this]]. [[spoiler:Less unhappily, Amonlogia tries to conscript the Marked into the army, but Ouni manages to put an end to that.]]
34	* ChildrenForcedToKill: In order to survive the Empire's second attack on the Mud Whale.
35	* CityInABottle: The Mud Whale, though the leaders' decision to conceal what they know of the outside world, as well as the DarkSecret of the island, is more benevolent than most examples.
36	* ColorCodedWizardry: Every character's Thymia runes glow a different color.
37	* ColorfulThemeNaming: One that gets LostInTranslation, but the names of the Mud Whale's residents are derived from Japanese color terminology.[[note]]"Chakuro" = "blackish-brown", "Sami" = "light green", Suou = "raspberry red", "Ginshu" = "vermilion", "Nezu" = "mouse gray", "Ro" = lacquer black, "Masoh" = "cinnabar", "Tobi" = reddish brown, "Shuan" = "dark blood red", "Neri" = silk white, "Ouni" = "safflower red", "Kicha" = "yellowish brown", and so on.[[/note]] Ironically, these tend to not be the colors that feature heavily into their designs.
38	* CompressedAdaptation: While the anime scrupulously adapts every scene of the manga in the first 9 or so episodes, the last few episodes follow it much more loosely, notably skipping ''an entire volume'' of material before [[spoiler:the Mud Whale gets past the sand streams to head to Amonlongia.]] The stop at the mysterious time-distorting tower, as well as the entire flashback showing the origins of the Mud Whale [[spoiler:and the birth of the first "Daimonas" Midén]] are completely absent. Presumably it was too much material to fit into a 12 episode season.
39	* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Since the majority of the Mud Whale is made up of the Marked, whose lives tend to end at around 30, chances are if you're over the age of ten or so you've lost your parents. There's actually a system set up on the ship whereby unrelated kids will live together as family after their parents pass away.
40	* DeadPersonConversation:
41	** Neri somehow[[spoiler: manages to summon the spirits of all the people of the Mud Whale who've died, and Chakuro manages to converse with both Sami and Taisha.]]
42	** And later Ouni has one with [[spoiler:a recently killed Nibi after he fatally damages the Nous Olivines.]]
43	** Again, courtesy of Neri, [[spoiler:Ouni has a talk with the recently deceased Masoh, who encourages him to stand up and fight]].
44	* DeathSeeker: Shuan is the only one to support [[spoiler:the elders' plan to sink the Mud Whale]] even after learning that it would result in the deaths of everyone on board. [[spoiler:Orca]] is this as well. There are hints early on, largely [[spoiler:his tendency to stand in the way of attacks he could have attempted to dodge]], but it's confirmed when Suoh and Chakuro meet [[spoiler:him]] during the rescue mission.
45	* DistressedDude: Suoh's propensity for throwing himself into trouble turns him into this quite often. He has, at various points, been saved by Nezu and Ro[[labelnote:]]when he's thrown into the bowels for protesting [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled the elders' mass suicide plan]][[/labelnote]] (although by the time they reached him the danger was already over), by Shuan[[labelnote:]]from Liontari[[/labelnote]], by Shuan again[[labelnote:]]from Rochalizo[[/labelnote]], by Shuan ''again''[[labelnote:]]from Duke Dachtlya's guards[[/labelnote]], [[PetTheDog by Orca]][[labelnote:]]from imprisonment beneath Dachtlya's castle[[/labelnote]], and by Ouni[[labelnote:]]from Orca[[/labelnote]].
46	* DrivenToSuicide:
47	** [[spoiler:Sienna]] during the second attack on the Mud Whale. Not because of the Empire, but because of [[spoiler:her loveless marriage and her husband]]'s parting words to her.
48	** The elders, [[spoiler:again]], while being [[spoiler:held hostage with the other Unmarked in Amonlongia. However, this time they manage to talk the other islanders into going along with it. Shuan arrives just in time to stop them.]]
49	* DudeLooksLikeALady: Deiktis initially mistakes Suoh for a woman and attempts to take him as a mistress. Even after being corrected, he still sometimes forgets that Suoh isn't a beautiful maiden.
50	* EarlyBirdCameo: In the anime, Ginshu and Shuan of the guard briefly appear much earlier.
51	* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:After a lot of hardships, sacrifices and losses, the people of the Mud Whale get to live freely and happily at the end of the manga. The Mud Whale sinks and the Nouses go to sleep at the bottom of the Sea of Sand, allowing the people to live out their lives peacefully now that the Empire is gone and the Marked get a regular lifespan because their life energy isn't being drained anymore.]]
52	* EldritchAbomination: The Nous are surreal creatures that act as the "hearts" of the moving islands by feeding on the emotions of people. They are also prone to producing waves of hallucinations or flashes of the past under some circumstances.
53	* EmotionSuppression: The Empire considers emotions to be the evil that brought about the fall of the old world, so all of its nous-compatible citizens are required to sacrifice their emotions as sustenance to the nous they worship.
54	* EmotionsVsStoicism: One of the central themes of the series. The Empire believes that emotions are the root of evil in the world--but their lack has given them a LackOfEmpathy. Conversely, the people of Falaina prefer to live with their emotions (though they're not above more mundane means of emotional repression). On the other hand, emotions aren't always a good thing either, considering that [[spoiler:the entire tragedy of Duo and Miden stemmed from Duo's, with one civilian even wondering if [[VillainHasAPoint the Empire was right all along]]]].
55	* TheEmpire: Lykos's homeland, called such, and the main antagonist of the series. Its lack of any real name is noted InUniverse as an oddity.
56	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Chakuro and his childhood friend Sami are constantly teased about being together by pretty much everyone. Same with Kuchiba and his transparent crush on the captain Taisha, and Masoh who loves the oblivious Shinono. By volume 8, [[spoiler:Sami and Taisha have been killed, and Masoh eventually died of "old age" after overusing his Thymia. Having a crush is never a good idea in this series.]]
57	* TheExile: The founders of the Mud Whale were exiled from the Empire.
58	* ExpositionBeam: The Nous can sometimes transmit the memories of others into people's minds. Chakuro sees a vision of Lykos' childhood, and Suou [[spoiler: sees some of Liontari's past.]]
59	* FantasticRacism: In the Empire, people with emotions are treated as little better than animals. The people of the Mud Whale have it even worse, as they are hated by the Empire for having emotions ''and'' by Siderasia for using Thymia, the power of their enemy.
60	* FirstEpisodeTwist: At the end of Volume 1, the "outside world" comes to slaughter the Mud Whale.
61	* GenericCuteness: The shoujo art style leads to everyone appearing cute and young-looking, so information like Kuchiba and Shinono being middle-aged parents older than the main cast has to be spelled out in dialogue. The anime adds OnlySixFaces on top of that.
62	* GratuitousGreek: Most of the terms and names are in Greek, except for the people of Falaina, who have Japanese sounding names. The characters write with the Greek alphabet too.
63	* HeelFaceTurn: It quickly hits the now not-so-emotionless Lykos that the people of Falaina may not be the barbaric monsters she was told they were. [[spoiler:It runs in the family. Orca defects to Falaina's side as well.]]
64	* HonoraryTrueCompanion: Rochalizo and his subordinates become this to the Mud Whale. [[spoiler:Particularly after the Mud Whale leaves Amonlogia, as it's clear that Rochalizo and co. cannot stay with them forever, but they want to see things through to the end of the Mud Whale's journey]].
65	* HopeSpot: The people of Falaina have a big one in volume 9 [[spoiler:when it seems like they'll be able to live in Amonlogia and escape the curse of their island. Alas, Rochalizo didn't intend to just let them live peacefully, and basically sells them to his empire to be used as soldiers. Needless to say, they aren't too happy with the deal.]]
66	* {{Hypocrite}}: The Apatheia are told that emotions are evil and will ruin humanity, but their emotionless society is in a state of perpetual war with the other nations…
67	* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:Amonlogia holds the captive Unmarked hostage against the Marked in an attempt to conscript the latter.]]
68	* {{Immortality}}: The nous don't die of age or starvation. When Falaina starved at some point in the past, it only sank dormant into the ocean for a time before resurfacing later. The full extent of their immortality isn't clear, however. They can be KilledOffForReal by [[spoiler:daimonas]], but it's not known whether any other method can deal them a fatal blow.
69	* InnocenceLost: All of the people of the Mud Whale after the Empire's first attack, with special mention going to Ouni's group, who up until that point had always idealized the outside world. The discovery that the outside world they'd spent their whole lives wanting to reach was inhabited by people who wanted them dead did not go over well.
70	* InstantRunes: When a Marked uses their Thymia, a rune floats above their head and on whatever object they are manipulating.
71	* ItsQuietTooQuiet: Not said out loud but thought by Lykos when she realizes that the Falainian unit infiltrating the Skylos has encountered surprisingly little resistance to reach the room of the Nous (the vital heart of the ship). [[spoiler:Sure enough, most of those who blindly charge forward into the room are shot dead on the spot by soldiers waiting in an ambush.]]
72	* KissingDiscretionShot: In episode 12, Orca is about to kiss his fiancée Itia right before the camera cuts away.
73	* LostInTranslation: Minor example: when Suou reveals the name of the "dark-haired boy" (i.e. Ouni), Duke Dachtyla repeats the first syllable of Ouni's name, likely mistaking it for "king" (as it sounds the same in Japanese) before he corrects himself. Obviously, this doesn't work as well in English, which simply has him repeat Ouni's name.
74	* MagicMusic: In volume 6, after [[spoiler:the Falainians get back the "tiller" of their ship and decide to head for Siderasia]], they move it by singing a song that they all had seemingly implanted in their head without knowing how.
75	* TheMagicVersusTechnologyWar:
76	** Though the Empire has access to Thymia users as well, Lykos notes that the people of the Mud Whale tend to be more powerful with it, which, combined with their less effective weaponry[[note]]the majority of the islanders use bows, with primarily the more skilled fighters using staffs and looted Empire blades[[/note]], means that Falaina relies heavily on magic to fend off the much more technologically advanced Empire.
77	** The Empire's war with Siderasia is this more explicitly. Siderasia, which doesn't have access to nous, has had to develop technology on a level to match the Empire's Thymia.
78	* MalevolentMaskedMen: The imperial apátheia soldiers wear clown masks as part of their uniform.
79	* MayflyDecemberFriendship: At 28 years old, Masoh is nearing the end of his lifespan, while Kuchiba, who he calls "old man", is middle-aged by the standards of Unmarked.
80	* MayflyDecemberRomance: Relationships between Marked and Unmarked. Unmarked try to avoid them because of it.
81	* MindOverMatter: Thymia is a power of the Marked that allows them to move objects through the air.
82	* MonsterClown: The forces of the Empire that first attack the Mud Whale wear masks that look like clowns.
83	* NaiveNewcomer: In volume 5, [[spoiler:the prince of a distant nation and a few followers land on the Mud Whale with the idea of claiming it or their kingdom and teaching civilization to its "savage" people.]] It doesn't help that they come right when the Falainians are bathing and deduce that they must live naked.
84	* NoNeedForNames: A partial case in the Empire. Lykos originally had no name and was known by a numerical designation, but there are other characters in the Empire who do appear to have names, including her brother.
85	* NostalgicNarrator: The series is narrated by Chakuro, but presented as his past records.
86	* NotEnoughToBury: Whenever [[spoiler:Miden]] kills someone, there's nothing left but a puddle of blood.
87	* OceanPunk: Mixed liberally with DesertPunk courtesy of the "ocean" being a gigantic desert.
88	* OneCastMemberPerCover: Each volume features a different character on the cover. The two final covers break the pattern as they feature multiple characters.
89	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Lykos doesn't have a birth name, Chakuro and co. only gave her this one because they saw it on her uniform. It's actually the name of the Nous that drives her ship.
90	* OnlySixFaces: The rather uncluttered art comes at the cost of having little facial diversity, which can be especially confusing for androgynous characters like Suoh. Though it's less glaring in the anime because of the colors.
91	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Inevitably happens to Unmarked parents with Marked children. As a result, Unmarked parents tend to distance themselves from their children early on. Kuchiba's son initially finds it odd when Kuchiba, after discovering the reason for [[spoiler:the Marked's short lifespans]], starts interacting with him more often.
92	* TheOutsideWorld: At the start of the series, it's completely unknown to the people of the Mud Whale, who aren't sure if one even exists. It doesn't take long before they find out one does--because they're here to massacre the island.
93	* ParentsAsPeople: In the case of Unmarked parents with Marked children, there's typically some strain in the relationship on the parents' end, knowing that they'll [[OutlivingOnesOffspring likely live long past their child's death]]. While in most of the cases seen (Kuchiba, Shinono, Kanae), it's clear that they still love their children anyway, it's why said children typically grow up with other children instead of in their parents' care.
94	* PerfectPacifistPeople: Downplayed. Some members of the Mud Whale do know how to fight (e.g. the Self-Defence Force), but as a whole, fighting is prohibited on the island and they're mostly peaceful people. This comes back to bite them ''hard'' when the Empire attacks them, as despite most of them having thymia--a deadly power when utilized in such a way--it's clear that they have no idea how to fight back.
95	* PlatonicBoyGirlHeroes: Chakuro and Lykos are the male and female protagonists, and their relationship is that of platonic friends. [[spoiler:At the end of the manga, Lykos gets married to Ro while Chakuro apparently stays single for the rest of his life.]]
96	* ThePromisedLand: Minus the usual mystical element of this trope, but [[spoiler:after Rochalizo arrives, his homeland of Amonlogia serves as this for the Mud Whale, who believe that once they reach Amonlogia, they can start their lives anew and be safe from the Empire. Unfortunately, as detailed under HopeSpot, it really doesn't turn out that well.]]
97	* RaceAgainstTheClock: Everyone who knows [[spoiler:the reason for the Marked's short lifespans]] wants the Mud Whale to reach Amonlogia as soon as possible in order to save a dying Masoh's life. [[spoiler:They don't make it.]]
98	* RousseauWasRight: For all the atrocities committed, no one is doing it ForTheEvulz so much as their actions are born from ignorance or a desire to protect their own home. It's a sentiment Suou echoes near the start of the series--that as long as you're dealing with fellow human beings, you can find a way to resolve things peacefully -- and while it doesn't often work out that way in practice, the heart of it always remains.
99	* SapientShip: The Nous ships are considered living beings, as they're made from the Nouses' bodies.
100	* SceneryPorn: The backgrounds are often gorgeously detailed.
101	* SeaOfSand: The story is set on the Mud Whale, an island that moves around on a seemingly infinite desert comprised of nothing but sand.
102	* SettingAsACharacter: The Mud Whale. Given that much of the conflict revolves around its existence, it plays a vital role to the story and to the characters.
103	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: The series falls somewhere on the idealistically cynical/cynically idealistic end. It's telling that despite Suou's best attempts at pacifism, they virtually always fail, and the others--Ouni especially--have to fight and/or kill to get things done. On the other hand, most of the characters are good at heart, and for all of the suffering the Mud Whale goes through, most of its residents see AWorldHalfFull.
104	* SmallSecludedWorld: The Mud Whale, aka Falaina. They've been so isolated that Ouni initially believes Lykos (the ship) to be the entirety of the "outside world", not realizing that the world is a ''large'' place and that Lykos is only one of the Empire's ships.
105	* SmarterThanYouLook: Duke Dachtyla's first son, who comes off as a coward busy panicking in his room when all of his other siblings are fighting on the front lines... but [[spoiler:he's also the only one among them who thinks to ''call for backup'']]. His subordinates remark that he's surprisingly shrewd.
106	* TakingTheBullet: Orca's habit of letting himself get hit by avoidable attacks comes around to bite him when [[spoiler:Itia]] has to throw [[spoiler:herself]] in front of him to protect him from a thymia attack.
107	* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: After the first attack, the Marked learn how to fight in preparation of the second, upcoming one.
108	* {{Utopia}}: Outside of living on an small, isolated island and living short lives, the Mud Whale can really seem like a near perfect society, with little-to-no conflicts or hatred, just enough resources and space for everyone and beautiful natural spectacles to be enjoyed once in a while. Needless to say, it has its DarkAndTroubledPast.
109	* WellDoneSonGuy: Rochalizo and his siblings desperately crave their father the Duke's approval, though it turns out that [[spoiler:Rochalizo had it all along and his siblings bullied him so much out of jealousy.]]
110	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The final chapter of the manga provides a description of what happened to most of the main characters after [[spoiler:the Nouses disappeared and the Mud Whale sank to the Sea of Sand]]:
111	** Chakuro [[spoiler:went to travel the world with Kikujin to compile more records.]]
112	** Suou [[spoiler:became the first chief of the new village named after the Mud Whale. Eventually, he became the captain of a ship to set sail on the sea of water. Ouni and Shuan joined him in his journeys for the rest of their lives.]]
113	** Lykos [[spoiler:became the new chief of the Mud Whale village after Suou retired. She later married Ro and had a daughter. After she retired from her job as chief, she and her family went on new adventures on Suou's ship.]]
114	** Rochalizo [[spoiler:returned to Amonlogia and was given a small territory. He and his friends still went on new adventures and often traveled the world.]]
115	** Orca [[spoiler:was welcomed to live in the Mud Whale village with Itia and Kannavi. There, he married Itia, had a son, and lived a fairly good life despite his injuries leaving him bedridden most of the time.]]

Context Manga / ChildrenOfTheWhales