Sumi Eno’s dystopian fantasy manga is a criminally underrated hidden gem that’s writing circles around its contemporaries.
With newer and newer crops of manga vying for fans’ attention every waking second, sifting through the noise to find something with the staying power of a hidden gem is pretty much the perpetual endeavor of fans. One gem I’ve recently set my peepers on and can’t get enough of is After God, a manga that’s quietly been building one of the most intriguing fantasy premises I’ve seen in a long time.
After God, created by Sumi Eno, is a dark-fantasy manga that takes a dystopian spin on polytheism in the modern age. In it, the world is suddenly invaded by creatures known as gods because there’s honestly no better description for them with how inconceivably powerful they are. Their rules, as far as humanity has tried and errored in figuring out, are as follows: they can’t be captured by cameras because then their image would be that of a false idol. So, the only way to see them is, well, to see them.
But once you do, it’s already too late. Rumors have it that when you look into the eyes of a god, what you see is the most beautiful being you’ve ever laid eyes on in your entire life, leading to a sense of euphoric bliss. But what’s actually happening is more akin to an anglerfish luring in its prey. Once you’re captured, they basically blow a kiss at you, and you’re turned into water. That’s it. Done.
In their wake, these gods have developed a bit of a split following. On the one hand, there are anti-god researchers dedicated to finding a way to kill these gods, whom they refer to as Idolatry Prohibited Organisms (IPOs). On the other hand, these so-called gods are at the center of social upheaval because they’re treated like deities by folks who practice religion, are agnostic, or pledge their lives to science, yet have no choice but to bend the knee to IPO’s awesome might and influence.
