Fool Night, Vol. 1

フールナイト [Fool Night] #1

by Kasumi Yasuda

The earth of the distant future is covered in thick clouds, and the sun no longer shines. Plants wither, and oxygen is thin. To fight extinction, humankind has developed a technology that turns humans into plants, providing a small amount of oxygen. Is this process sustainable? Is it ethical? Toshiro Kamiya must consider these questions as he’s faced with a difficult choice—save his family or save himself.

Kamiya is at the end of his rope. His mother is ill, and his job barely pays for her medication, much less food. With few options left, he considers the life-changing process of transfloration. Ready to give his body up for a payday, Kamiya is about to explore the limits of society’s waning humanity.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Science Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Seinen

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2021

Reviews

[james · Rating 5 out of 5]

the only great thing i’ve read this year and the second volume won’t be out for months 😭

such a unique premise, very emotional story telling, fantastic art, love the body horror, love the characters - i’m way too attached to this already

[alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

[volumes 1-8] This is worth it just for the panel compositions, hatching technique, and the chunky, layered way Kasumi Yasuda renders hair, like gorgeous flaps of peeling wallpaper. Any 19yo who reads this is going to immediately revamp their entire art style. This is THE tumblr red nose of 2024.

The story itself is a little bit Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation trilogy, a little bit Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, a little bit Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Fire Punch, and has SUCH a strong opening hook that OBVIOUSLY I need to know more. It’s at its best when it’s scary and verging on surreal. If you’re a fan of conceptual body horror you HAVE to get in here.

The flow of action sequences IS kind of hard to follow, speech bubbles and cutaways aren’t always clear, and the cop shootouts/Reservoir Dogs style character lineups aren’t nearly as fun as when Chainsaw Man pulls it off, but you can always count on an extraordinarily beautiful drawing of the crown of someone’s hair to pull you through. There’s also a lot of neat, kind of understated character design choices, even in one-off appearances - although obviously the female bodyguard is my absolute favorite.

It IS kind of funny just how long, in a comic about a dystopian future where the government surgically turns people into plants to produce enough oxygen to survive, the anti-Turning People Into Plants group is (narratively) treated as the villain. I don’t CARE if they’re an accelerationist anarchist group that’s trying to overthrow the government, Yomiko! You turn people into plants!! “I can NEVER forgive what he’s done…killing a dozen people :(“ YOU TURN PEOPLE INTO PLANTS!!! “Damn…is it bad that we turn people into plants :(“ YES??????????

[Joshua Jonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fresh take on body horror finally within the horror manga community. From the first page depicting honestly horrifying imagery I was hooked. It’s to my hope that this one gets an anime and that it keeps the beautiful artwork of the manga. The storyline was really interesting as well and I hope to see our main character “grow” in more ways than one.

[Enairolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce titre fut une sortie du mois de mai que j’avais repéré et que j’avais hâte de découvrir. Bien que les histoires de science-fiction ne m’intéresse pas spécialement, du mois ce n’est pas du tout mon genre de prédilection. Mais là, le résumé me tentait vraiment beaucoup et j’étais très curieuse de pouvoir fourré mon nez dans cette histoire. Et bien résultat, ce premier tome je l’ai trouvé très bon. Je suis impatiente de découvrir la suite, je sens qu’elle va être pleine de surprises. Et je sens que l’on va découvrir tout un tas de choses surprenantes.

On va se retrouver dans un futur lointain; un épais nuage a recouvert la Terre et l’a plongée dans l’obscurité. Les arbres sont morts et l’oxygène s’est donc raréfié. Dans ce contexte, un procédé nouveau a vu le jour. Il permet de transformer les hommes en plantes, qui peuvent ainsi générer un peu d’air pur et garantir la survie de notre espèce. Dans ce monde, les individus seront obligés de choisir entre demeurer eux-mêmes ou abandonner la souffrance en basculant vers une autre forme de vie, celle du règne végétal.

J’ai vraiment beaucoup aimé ce premier tome, l’univers est tellement intéressant à découvrir. Ce principe de floraison dans le but de fournir de l’oxygène à la population, j’ai vraiment trouvé ça fascinant. Mais pour que les hommes se fassent implanter la graine, il faut bien évidemment qu’il soit consentant pour le faire. Pas question de le faire à l’insu des gens. J’ai beaucoup aimé le personnage de Toshiro, la vie ne l’épargne clairement pas et ce depuis son plus jeune âge. Il semble décidé à se faire implanter la graine pour y trouver la richesse intérieure comme il le dit. Mais il a une particularité c’est qu’il entend ce que les plantes disent, ce qui est inattendu pour le coup. Mais ça va lui être favorable puisqu’il va pouvoir se rendre utile. Ce premier tome est surtout introductif à l’univers je trouve, pas que l’on s’ennuie mais on découvre au fur et à mesure l’histoire.

Je pense que dans la suite va être de plus en plus palpitante. Ici on nous introduit à l’univers, on prend le temps de nous présenter toutes les choses. On comprend les choses petit à petit et je trouve ça tellement mieux. Ça nous permets de mieux comprendre cet univers assez complexe au final. Ce premier tome était vraiment très bon et il me tarde de découvrir la suite. Les personnages sont intéressants à découvrir, l’intrigue est elle aussi intéressante. Je sens que cette série va monter crescendo en intensité et se montrer de plus en plus intéressante. Ce premier tome est une très bonne surprise pour le coup!

[Méli · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK Y'ALL
To my bookseller friends, this one will be officially out next month in English! I've been obsessed with this one for so long!
Dying humans are transmuted into plants to create oxygen for the others! Everything is fucked! MC is miserable! Oxygen taxes are insanely high and no one is thriving! Very slow plot, but nice world building as the story process. Drawings are *chef kiss* unlike any other manga out there.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea is so off the walls I couldn't help but want to check this out and I'm glad I did. Though it's a lot bleaker than I expected but I appreciate that. Basically our main character, Kamiya who's broke as fuck, working to basically not make enough money, and a mother who is mentally ill.

In this world the sky is pitch black, no sun. And the planets are dead. Meaning no oxygen. Except humanity has created plants but they must of grow within humans till it makes the human completely into plants and they can't even talk (normally) anymore. They usually give this to people dying as a way to give back to humanity. So our lead decides to fake dying, and now is slowly becoming a plant.

But he can talk to the other plants who are fully transformed which no other person could do before.

This tackles broken healthcare systems, government control, poverty, mental health, abusive parents and so on. Heavy topics but I was intrigued the whole time. Will pick up volume 2

[Tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good manga that is thought provoking and this (and I’m only on the first volume) gave me everything I love in a manga. Likeable protagonists, morally grey antagonist (well, so far, he’s not exactly the ‘antagonist’ of the series, but he is for a character right now).

The irony of the capitalistic society and never having enough money (and in this world, oxygen), whilst your rent is extremely high and taxes kill your paycheque, and you can barely scrimp away enough to go to school to advance your education so that you can get a better job, is not lost on me. In fact, it feels all too close to home.

Even the ‘antagonist’ (the piano dad) was not teaching his daughter out of hatred, but because society molded him into this dark person. (First chapter, protagonist asked his teacher why all the adults were so angry all the time-ugh! Just beautifully tying moments together) His methods were very morally wrong, but I love how conflicted his daughter was when she had the lighter.

“Were you a good father or a terrible one?”

That entire line, along with the emotions and weight of that question could sum up this entire manga. People aren’t black and white. Though they seem to lose the ‘richness in their hearts’ as they age, that seem to be due to the lack of resources and the bleakness of the world.

“No one is ever happy, we’re all just enduring.”

Even our protagonist and his own situation forced his hand to get the transfloration process. I can’t see this manga ending happily, but man, will I be along for every step of the journey.

Easily a five star read.

[Janina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Sterne. Sehr coole Idee, ein Manga über eine Art von Transmutation: Transfloration. Dabei werden todkranken Menschen bestimmte Samen eingepflanzt - sie werden nach und nach zu Seelenblüten, existieren auch nach ihrem Tod als Pflanzen weiter und geben Sauerstoff ab, der dringend gebraucht wird. Die ersten Seiten, in Farbe, sahen so cool aus und wäre der Manga durchgehend coloriert, würde das sehr beeindruckend aussehen. Hat mich dabei ein bisschen an The Last of Us erinnert haha. Leider bin ich langsam etwas gelangweilt von den Plots, in denen Menschen sich der Regierung anschließen und dann jeweils so eine Art Fall der Woche ('case of the week') haben, den es zu lösen gibt. Gerade bei einem so spannenden Konzept wären andere Hauptcharaktere oder ein anderes Setting um die Welt zu erkunden für mich interessanter gewesen.

tw/cw: Tod, versuchter Mord, Gewalt, häusliche Gewalt, Selbstvergiftung, Transmutation, Krankheit

[marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Has potential, but I'm not impressed. While it does tackle complicated topics like capitalism and abuse, the pacing is slow and the characters aren't compelling. I enjoy the art style and certain paneling choices, such as the overlapping speech bubbles when Kamiya is interpreting what the spiriflora are saying, but they aren't enough for me to keep reading. Dropped.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like Jeff VanderMeer fans would love this. It’s utterly bleak, fairly imaginative, and sometimes funny. The art style did take some getting used to, though (those jagged, thin outlines tripped me up). Will be continuing.

[Reading_seas0n · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Thank you, Viz Media & NetGalley, for allowing me access to this volume to read and review honestly!

Life will find a way; even when the sky goes black, and all hope of oxygen and survival seems hopeless, it will find a way.
Fool Night Volume 1 shows us that. We discover a world where people near death have been converted into plant-like beings to provide oxygen and keep the world alive.
Just like any world nearing its end, the mental health of many suffers, and humanity is called into question.
We follow one man at the end of his rope and applying to become a plant-like being, and the program discovers he can hear those who have been fully transformed.

I love the strangely horrifying beauty of this apocalyptic world.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and intriguing first volume. The world described is rather sinister and oppressive, the atmosphere desperately dark. The idea of dying people voluntarily transforming themselves into plants - in exchange for money - to generate the oxygen needed to keep those who are left alive is as crazy as it is brilliant.

This first volume introduces us to Toshiro, a lovable loser who, to spoiler reasons, has the ability to feel the emotions of people who have recently been transformed into plants. This leads him to meet a pianist in search of the tree that matches her dead father. Hard and moving.
I have no idea where this story is going but I'm hooked.

Especially as the drawing is very original for a Japanese manga, with a very strong European vibe. I love it!

[Nicholas Gioletti · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is so good and I'm so sad there aren't any English physicals for this wtf

[Cédric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant ! J’ai pas mal hésité entre le 3 et le 4, puisque la proposition est vraiment intéressante et que le potentiel est définitivement présent pour en faire un excellent récit.

[Aras · Rating 5 out of 5]

No esperaba que me fuera a gustar tantísimo este manga, ni que fuera a desarrollarse así. Una maravilla.

[Nueromancer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is crazy

[Hugo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uau 😦 this was amazing!
Such a beautiful and unique take on dealing with the body horror. Love it and want more

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

in a dystopian world where the sun is gone and plants can no longer flourish, the only way to ensure oxygen production is to inject people with something that slowly turns their bodies into trees. To entice people who might not want to slowly become a tree, recipients of the injection also get a handsome government stipend to make their remaining 2 years of life as a human more enjoyable.

Kind of a million dollar stupid idea that I love. Has the desperate, high stakes setup of early Park Chan-wook/Chainsaw Man, but then pumps the breaks and the main guy starts helping a girl who's looking for her dad who got turned into a tree so that she could pursue becoming a concert pianist. Again, feels like the author is just riffing their way into a series of slam dunks. Also the art in this is bananas. Bar none the best hair I've ever seen in a comic.

My new favorite series probably.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fascinating concept: dying humans have the choice to become plants as a method of creating oxygen in a world where the sun's absence means plants don't grow naturally anymore. A person who becomes a plant is given money and an extra two years of life before they lose their humanity.

The main character is tired of suffering and sees this as his way out. But he has a unique talent to communicate with these plants that hasn't been seen before.

I don't particularly like the art in this, but I admit that the harshness results in sufficiently creepy plant people, and is a good reflection of a world in which everyone is miserable.

This is another heavy read, as it depicts some scenes of horrific domestic abuse. It's such an intriguing read though, and I'll definitely be reading more.

[Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

me fliiiipa el arte y el estilo de este manga da gusto leerlo, tremendamente expresivo, las plantas son preciosas pero también pone los pelos de punta en ciertos paneles. la premisa me pareció muy interesante al comprarlo y se ha desarrollado muy muy bien un worldbuilding muy bien hecho y que se siente muy real dentro de la fantasia que es todo esto.

[Mei ☽︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend recommended this to me and I love everything about it! The concept, the body horror, the emotions (of despair and pain and suffering 😂), and the art style. Can't wait to read the next volume.

[Myosothys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purée c'était si bien ??? 10/10 pour l'univers

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a not too distant future, the world has gone dark. Clouds blanket the atmosphere and keep sunlight from breaking through. Oxygen is thin. An endless winter has settled across the lands and the plants have all withered.

To fight an inevitable end, humans have developed a new kind of technology that transforms humans into plants.

It’s a procedure meant for older people and those suffering terminal illnesses—a final sacrifice to preserve the human race. But, the financial compensation provided to those who undergo the procedure has levees itself to some unethical situations.

If faced with a choice between starving to death or turning yourself into a plant for some cash and at least two good years of life before you succumb to the transformation, what would you choose?

This is a really, sickeningly GOOD story. Reading it, I felt a little unwell—in a good way.

We’ve got this immersive world, a collection of flawed but endearing characters, and a compelling narrative propelled by questions about ethics and the human condition.

This is just such good storytelling.

I really appreciate a story that’s able to have a twisted, convoluted and bizarre premise but still maintain that human thread. Especially when it comes to science fiction, I find that the most compelling narratives are those that seem very far removed from us but, are in fact, about who we are and what makes us human.

So far, this story has good pacing and a consistent tone. This author clearly knows how to construct a story.

Definitely recommend! Especially if you’re a reader who enjoys a sci-fi, horror, tragedy-esque type of vibe, I think you’d appreciate this one. I foresee this being a bleak one~

[Sei-Tan11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Memento Mori-
Este manga es honestidad, es tortura, es feísmo, espontaineidad, respeto por la vida, es admiración.
El dibujo me atrapa, completamente, no puedo sino quedarme obnubilado ante cómo este autor representa la vegetación, las flores, la naturaleza, y cómo los humanos perdemos todas sus bondades, al darnos a la vida cosmopolita y sus "lujos" impostados.

Pero no se queda en eso, explora los traumas que somos incapaces de expresar, tan poco capaces que las orquídeas, los claveles, las amapolas y las margaritas deben hablar por nosotros. Explora el totalitarismo, la muerte de la solidaridad, nuestra pérdida de sensibilidad como especie, y se pone al mundo por montera a la hora de retratar un mundo del que estamos muy cerca.

Quiero decir ¿Qué demonios le debe a la vida, un chico que solo quería tocar la guitarra? ¿Por qué debe aplastarle el tren de la bruja en el que todo un mundo está subido? Es fascinante, la crudeza con la que nos planta delante que la vida es una mierda, pero que, al levantar la cabeza del suelo, podrás ver siempre una flor caída que te devolverá las ganas de vivirla.

Fool Night empieza enamorándome, profundamente, y tengo muchísimas ganas de saber qué es de Kamiya, por qué puede escuchar a las plantas, cómo va a ser feliz, qué va a decir su vientre, cuando sus pétalos marchiten y se de el lujo de abandonar su tosca, inmerecida, humanidad florecida...

[Estibaliz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite inventive and imaginative, and I really want to know where it is going from here, as it might hopefully keep developing on our main character's transformation and the piano girl story, or maybe just get a bit more anthology style, with different cases of family looking for spiriflora... or both, I guess, but I'm just hoping it doesn't get repetitive.

Either way, the first volume sure looks promising and original. The art was pretty decent too, but I have to admit I would have given it a higher rating if it wasn't so trembly and shrill at times, and not only when it comes to the dialogue bubbles.

So far, a nice surprise.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5!
Super cool concept, cool and different art although the artist will try as hard as possible not to draw a full face. I hope he just doesn’t get more and more superpowers. I liked the moral story angles this has. The end scenario was a little fast to resolve emotionally, but I am genuinely interested in what’s next. If there is a larger plot or if we’ll get these mini stories over and over.

[Agnieszka Hofmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moja pierwsza manga. Tak, wiem, pewnie ze czterdzieści lat za późno. Fajny setting i ramy fabularne, ale dość skąpa ta historyjka, mam wielki niedosyt. No i jestem za ślepa, by rozszyfrować szczegóły.

[Tobias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the art style + plot but it felt like it dragged?? IDK I just didn't like it as much as I hoped.

[nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm not immediately too captivated, but i LOVE the art style im chewing on it. and it feels just enough like chainsaw man + tokyo ghoul with the body horror and weird government agencies preying on old/poor people "for the good of humanity" that i'm willing to stick it out and see where it goes

[Joshua Degley · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐