Ori no Naka no Sorisuto/Soloist In A Cage is a captivating, short story.

 

I've ranted about and reviewed anime, their live-action adaptations and even some music inspired by and created for anime and manga. Now, it's about time that I made a blog post about a manga itself. After giving it some thought, I figured that a good manga to start with would be Shiro Moriya's rather short and yet thrilling psychological action drama, Ori no Naka no Sorisuto/Soloist In A Cage. Forgive me as this might not be the best review, it's my first time doing one for a manga after all.

Shiro Moriya's manga follows the story of siblings Chloe and Locke. The siblings live in what is essentially a large prison city which is run by a twisted cult and in particular, a young looking man that refers to himself as a God. Amongst the inhabitants of the prison city are those convicted of all kinds of crimes from petty theft to murder. Thanks to the help of a man named Ross Sandberg otherwise referred to as the Colonel who drops off food and supplies at their door, Chloe and Locke just about survive the harsh reality. 

One night, Sandberg and his colleagues organise an escape attempt with Sandberg seemingly expressing remorse for having to leave Chloe and her baby brother behind. Unbeknownst to him, Chloe had decided to follow along and brought Locke with her. Sandberg only realises this when pulling up the rope he and his friends used to escape, as Chloe tugs on it. This leads to one of the most heart-breaking scenes in any manga that I have ever read and I've read a lot. Credit to Shiro Moriya for having the guts necessary to carry out the plot. As Chloe is climbing the rope, a guard sees her and shoots both her and Sandberg. Chloe is hit in the arm, but refuses to let go of Locke... Until the fabric that is holding him snaps, sending him plummeting to the ground below much to the horror of Chloe who mourns for him.  

Following this event, Chloe spends several years training under the tutelage of Sandberg. She becomes a highly skilled fighter and when she's ready, she undergoes a mission to head back into the prison city and find and rescue her brother. She never gave up hope of finding him even after the years went by. Heading inside the city, Cloe's only leads are some of Sandberg's old contacts. 

The first thing that I have to highlight is the stunning artwork. Shiro Moriya has some of the most beautiful art I've ever seen and he created both a wonderful, (Albeit bleak due to the themes) world and rich, carefully crafted characters that each stand out with unique designs. They're detailed to the point where they're very expressive. I love adult Chloe's design. She's beautiful and elegant, with a hint of innocence about her. Moriya-san also has a keen eye for compositions and it would be incredibly easy to translate his work into a fully moving animation. His fight scene depictions might not seem as animated as opposed to some others in his field of work, but his style has a graceful quality which fits Chloe and her style of fighting. 

The story itself is rather short and left me wanting more. There's more potential in the world that could be further explored and I thought that it all wrapped up too quickly. Although, it's hard to judge harshly due to the fact that Moriya-san fell ill during the middle of producing the work. The fact that he managed to return to conclude the story after having to take a whole year off is commendable. The conclusion is also rather satisfying in regards to Chloe and Locke's relationship and Chloe as a character. It's poetic in an ambiguous sense and makes the title of the manga make sense in an elegant fashion. 

Now, I have to address some criticisms of the manga that I read about. I am of the opinion that Chloe is not a Mary Sue. Why? Because she is a flawed character and her flaws lead to consequences. Her naivety almost lead to the informant getting outed and killed. It actually leads to the death of an important figure later on in the story as well. She also isn't sure of how to deal with her situation when she is taken to the house with the kids. She's unsure of how to approach the situation and is wary of upsetting them. Sure, one could argue that her skill as a fighter is ridiculous, but it had limits as seen when she gets fatigued and injured rather seriously at a certain point. The killing also leads to her being haunted by certain individuals whose lives she took. Now, one criticism I have is the fact that the haunting just abruptly ends without going anywhere which is a shame as it could have reached a compelling conclusion with her forgiving herself or something. 

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Moriya-san's work with Ori no Naka no Sorisuto. When I first picked it up, I thought I'd skim through the first chapter and be done. Instead, I was immediately hooked by both the plot and Moriya-san's fantastic artwork. I wish I could draw half as good as he can! I highly recommend giving it a read and at a mere 20 chapters separated into 3 volumes, it's short, but sweet.