Title: Bibliomania
Author:
Macchiro Orval
Literary
level: Intermediate
Rating: 4/5
Published in 2016 by Macchiro Orval,
this is a psychological horror fantasy manga, short and sweet. The starts with
Alice dropping into a white room, a large door with intricate designs, and a
serpent-like being that instructs her the rules of the place. You have to stay
in your room until the rooms are filled to 666 guests; if you leave your room
your body will begin to rot; anything you wish will come true in your room.
Alice, with her blissful ignorance chooses to not stay in her room and actually
get out of the staying area holding the rooms. The Serpent creature gives
advice that there is a chance if she manages to reach room 000, yet he knows it
is impossible make it without rotting. From here on out is something to be read
because there is no way to accurately explain what happens.
This manga has me in turmoil. I
can’t explain how I feel after reading it. At the start you get a biblical
quote that you question what it actually means, then when you finish the manga
it starts to make sense. “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I
must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one
flock and one shepherd.” Joh 10:16. Most biblical verse I encounter in manga or
other readings aren’t as prophetic or as related as other. Most of them usually
are used as umbrella quotes like Dante’s inferno or Revelations 13:1-4 which
merely function as an introduction to the themes rather than to foreshadow the
story. The story itself transitions oddly and the twist may be predictable to
some, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that it is a novel concept that
doesn’t need further exploration from its short read. The designs are also a
beautiful yet grim addition. And this is all without mentioning themes like the
depiction of hell in accordance to every individual and how they perceive
heaven to be. The psychological trauma passed down after death, your soul being
tortured by your own will to avenge misgivings, the terrors of life.