Terrarium was Yūna Hirasawa's first series to be published in France. Exploring many literary genres, which can go from the autobiographical slice of life (Boku ga watashi ni naru tame ni) to war narrative (Shirayuri wa shô ni somaranai) or fantasy (Ryûi no Luca) with total ease, the mangaka gives us with this tetralogy a science fiction story where melancholy competes with philosophy.
History
Somewhere in the future, the known world is collapsing and humanity seems to be moving ever closer to extinction. A young girl and her brother travel together through the ruins of ghost colonies where robots tirelessly continue their tasks. Chico, an investigative technologist, and Pino, a strangely human robot, try to accompany these machines in their last wishes. But their goal is also to collect data to counter the collapse that is coming… and to find their mother, disappeared during the same quest. Will they be able to find the "key" that will save this moribund humanity?
Terrarium: science fiction and the future
A few months ago, the first volume of Terrarium had established itself as a unanimous favorite within the editorial staff. The following volumes pleasantly continue this enterprise of seduction. Yūna Hirasawa's line may seem simple at first glance, but it is very precise. The attention paid to mechanical designs and décor, sometimes to the detriment of human bodies, underlines the basic purpose of the manga: at a time when technology is so advanced, is there still a difference between humans and robots? What separates them… Or on the contrary unites them? This graphic counter-punch could therefore destabilize fans of the grandeur and details galore found in SF behemoths like Akira, Gunnm, or the latest (finally!) arrived, Five Star Stories. But Yuna Hirasawa uses it precisely to push the limits, those of the mecha universe, by merging machines and humans, like those of the slice-of-life. Indeed, if the manga starts slowly, with characters exploring ruined colonies bickering like so many brothers and sisters, tragedy is never far away. The echoes of a war are heard and reflected in the damaged bodies of the robots encountered by Chico and Pino. We then have the strange impression of perceiving the memories of a future to which real humanity could well claim…
Terrarium: very human robots, and humans at the heart of robots
Terrarium is part of a world governed by arcology. This concept imagined by the architect Paolo Soleri (1919-2013) brings together architecture and ecology, to imagine gigantic cities that are self-sufficient in energy. Very popular in science fiction, arcology puts us in mind images of vertical cities, both saturated with technologies and melted into their environment. Yûna Hirasawa demonstrates here a perfect mastery of her subject, and reveals the smallest workings throughout the four volumes. But like what happens in Harmony, work of the brilliant and cult Project Itoh, the world of Terrarium shows the end of this utopia where all boundaries are blurred. Chico and Pino are looking for an almost miraculous solution to avoid the collapse of the arcology. But this "key" and the revelations that accompany it may well call everything into question. A hierarchical pyramidal system is revealed, while these "new humans" are confronted with the shadows of what they have been. There is only one step to take to reach this ultimate question: what does it mean to be human? The various meetings that Chico and Pino will make will shake up their certainties, just as much as ours. Terrarium is therefore as much a science fiction manga as a philosophical reflection on anthropy. It resonates, forcefully, with the times in which we, readers, live. Thus, we find through the lines of Hirasawa's story, the echo of ambitions (building a harmonious future between Man and Nature) and terrors (climate and societal collapse, delirious transhumanism) of today's world. This is what makes the power and depth of this (too) short series. Once is not custom, the Glénat editions offer us with Terrarium a manga that transcends the literary work and flirts with the philosophical essay. A successful French test gallop for Yûna Hirasawa, we hope to read the other works soon! If you feel like it, discover an extract on this page !
