In a postapocalyptic future where the human race has been decimated by a fatal disease known as crystallosis, brought about by a hostile alien race, provisional investigator Saya Ushimitsu painstakingly carries out her life mission: To dispose of the decaying corpses, and to look for survivors – provided that any are still to be found. Wandering around the ruins of a once thriving metropolis, Saya will have the chance to learn more about a world she never had the chance to witness, questioning her own existence along the way.
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For those acquainted with Japanese sci-fi comic books, the premise of “The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse” will sure ring a bell, as Hiroki Endo‘s masterpiece “Eden: It’s an Endless World” also begins with a virus wiping out a fair share of humanity, leaving the survivors to deal with ruthless corporations and warlords competing for world dominion.
However, a possibly even stronger reference is Tsutomu Nihei‘s “Blame!”, whose weapon and gear design is overtly paid homage to – the ray gun carried by Saya is literally the same model as the Gravitational Beam Emitter in possession of “Blame!” ‘s main character Killy, and the same could be said about her tactical suit. In addition, comic book artist Haruo Iwamune exhibits a comparable fascination for brutalist, decrepit urban architecture as well, whose hyperrealistic rendering is one of the merits of “The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse” – Iwamune’s first large-scale success as a mangaka, both domestically and abroad.
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That being said, there are indeed a few points where Iwamune distances himself from his predecessors. In terms of narrative approach, “The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse” provides a quite detailed explanation of prior events – apparently, some sort of global conflict followed by the invasion of the so-called “Executioners” – in the beginning. The true nature of Saya, the only surviving Eternal Children – an artificial breed made genetically invulnerable to crystallosis –, is also revealed early on, thus leaving the reader with no unanswered questions. It is fair to assume that this situation is bound to change, yet such overexplanatory remarks will hardly compel any reader to proceed to the second volume, as the whole aura of mystery of the series gets dispersed already around the third chapter.
Another domain where “The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse” does it its own way is character design, with the heroine and her chibi familiar Coo exhibiting a demeanor that is almost too ordinary for the nightmare-like setting they find themselves in. Unexpected encounters and quirky facial expressions, in a fashion similar to Panpanya‘s nonsense storytelling, contribute to create a paradoxically light atmosphere even in the face of tragic situations, such as during the incineration of the infected corpses, or upon encountering an android maid in love with her dead master.
In the end, while visually pleasing and aesthetically consistent with the genre it belongs to, “The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse” still feels more like a fairly executed work of imitation than an original manga feature, with no final cliffhanger and very few unanswered question marks worth following Saya’s adventure into the next chapters.
