Land of the Blindfolded

Land of the Blindfolded (目隠しの国 Mekakushi No Kuni)

Publisher: Jap. Hakusensha English: CMX Manga

Author: Tsukuba Sakura

Gender: Romance Supernatural

Volume Length: 9

“If there were a land of the blindfolded, will people understand the concept of sight?... Sometimes my “blindfold” slips a little bit ” Those are the beginning words of one of the main characters in the story, Kanade Outsuka. She is able to see the future only from time to time when physical contact happens. Being the optimistic girl that she is, whenever she “sees” an incident coming, she will do anything to save the person, even if it lands her in a bad situation. When Kanade bumps into the new classmate, Naitou Arou, he reveals to her that he can also “see”, but into the past. Unlike Kanade, Arou can control whether he wishes to see or not and can also see from inanimate objects such as desks and walls. Unlike Kanade, she prefers to let things takes its course. Things only get more complicated with the arrival of Namiki Masahiro, another boy who can see the future. Unlike either Kanade or Arou, Masahiro would rather use his power for selfish reasons, such as gambling, or to watch and laugh as people walk blindly into their unfortunate futures.

On the surface, the idea of humans being able to see the past or the future is not new, but Tsukuba-san makes it an interesting, down-to-earth approach. There is no “we have to use our powers to save the world”; not even the argument on the ethics of using such powers. Instead, it follows the lives of three gifted teens as they try to balance their life with their abilities. So if you like a long list of characters and epic things happening, this manga is not for you.

On the story we have an obvious love triangle going on between the characters, but it never turns onto a dramatic play that takes up the entire story. Instead, it is almost casual, something rather refreshing compared to most romantic stories. There’s more exploration of the emotions themselves, showcasing several levels of ‘like’ and ‘love’…though much of that is spread out over later volumes. For me, it emitted a vive of hidden psychology.

Things are kept light due to the dash of humor. No single character is a comedic relief. Instead, everyone makes their own foolish mistakes, which was surprisingly nice. It is nice to see the three main characters alongside the secondary, filling various roles at random moments, sometimes it mirrors that of real life.

The art work for Land of the Blindfolded is nice and clean, although it doesn’t have anything special. Sometimes the panel argument makes it a tad difficult to know the reading order, but generally the art and panels keep a nice, flowing pace. (P.S. I might be a pervert, but the water and liquid in this manga look slightly wrong to me, but is cool.)

Overall, Land of the Blindfolded was fun to read. I really loved that this was a light manga to read. The chapters don’t leave you in a cliffhanger, you can simply read the manga, put it down, and read it again once the mood strikes. For those looking for a more down-to-earth approach to life, love, and special powers…Land of the Blindfolded is definitely worth pursuing.

Evaluation:

Story: B-

Art: C

Character Development: B+

Overall: B+