Line #82 Manga/Aposimz


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aposimz.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/NickCave They're whispering his name through this disappearing land\
3	But hidden in his coat is a]] RedRightHand'']]
4	''Ningyou no Kuni'' (lit. Country of Dolls), also called ''Aposimz'' is a manga from Creator/TsutomuNihei, creator of ''Manga/{{Blame}}'' and ''{{Manga/Biomega}}''.
5
6	500 years ago, the people of an asteroid world known as [[EternalEngine APOSIMZ]] lost their right to live inside the automatically-maintained Core and have moved to a surface of EndlessWinter. From then on, people lived to combat the cold, {{Mechanical Monster}}s, and a mysterious and contagious Frame Disease that turns people into puppet-looking mechanical zombies. At some point, the ambitious Rebedoa Empire has managed to grant its elite soldiers the ability to become Regular Frames, armored supersoliders that retain their minds and can maintain their skin, then decided to TakeOverTheWorld and breach into the armored and mysterious Core.
7
8	Enter Etherow, a sniper of the White Diamond Beam town. One day he and his friends notice a small mechanical creature chased down by Rebedoa troops. In an attempt to protect it, Etherow gets shot and his entire village gets destroyed. However the critter grants him the ability of a Regular Frame, reviving him, and introduces herself as Titania, the Messenger of the Core. She is hunted for carrying the [=AMB=]s, the special bullets that can destroy the Core's outer layer and are of interest to the Rebedoa. Etherow decides that the best way to protect the [=AMB=]s is to take down Rebedoa's high command up to the Emperor himself.
9
10	The one-shot was published in Young Magazine in May 9, 2016. The full manga begun publishing from Feb 25, 2017 and ended on 54 chapters.
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13	!! This Manga contains the following tropes:
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15	* AccidentalPervert: Etherow falls asleep in the bathroom and Keisha assumes it's vacant. Etherow gets an explosion in his face for waking up at an inopportune time.
16	* TheAgeless: Regular Frames don't age and don't breathe. If you don't get shot you can live for centuries and still look young.
17	* AffablyEvil: Fyuma never liked Yiyu for his cruelty and, believing that Titania is misleading Etherow, offers him a place in Rebedoa, which to his shame he refuses. Some other Rebedoa are pretty nice and JustFollowingOrders.
18	* AntiVillain: Rebedoa officers believe they are restoring humanity and try to minimize casualties, but the Emperor doesn't believe that [[spoiler:breaking into the Core will kill all remaining humans as a self-defense mechanism.]]
19	** The Church of True Core may have helped a lot of people to recover, but it's controlled by a DarkMessiah and he doesn't take members' or outsiders' opinions well.
20	* AnyoneCanDie: Late in the series a number of recurring characters start to pop off.
21	* ArtificialAfterlife: [[spoiler:What the Core really is, a virtual reality for all of the diseased, it's not reachable by physical means. But you can get out of it by replicating a body from data with some condition. Titania even responds positively to Keisha's BlasphemousPraise.]]
22	* BarbieDollAnatomy: A few females appear naked, doll and human, but it's censored and nobody around really cares. [[spoiler:Except when the giant Ajate accidently loses her clothes during a military assembly, resulting in orders to euthanize her]].
23	* BigBad: Nichiko Suou, the Emperor of Rebedoa, operates on UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans.
24	** BigBadEnsemble: [[spoiler:Kajiwan has been taking more and more of Empire's territory as of late while the Emperor is still struggling to catch Titania, so a shake-up seems to be at hand.]]
25	* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:After stealing Titania's arm, Kajwan stops being crippled, but by the time Keisha catches up to him he grew more and more body mass. He gets better.]]
26	* CameBackStrong: Those who don't turn into EmptyShell by Frame Disease instead gain HenshinHero abilities. Rebedoa's Regular Frames are called Reincarnateds and Church's are called Regenerateds.
27	* CrazyPrepared: Nichiko Suou, [[spoiler:thanks to his future vision]] can move himself and his officers in a way to counter anything thrown against him before the enemy even realizes what he did.
28	* CoolHorse: Fyuma is a horsed lancer. The horse is actually Aimu transformed.
29	* ColdSniper: Etherow specializes in ranged combat and is quite aloof.
30	* CosmicDeadline: After the {{Infodump}} that was the penultimate chapter, [[spoiler: it's all set for the FinalBattle between Etherow and Nichiko Suou. Come the final chapter, everyone else is killed off, Etherow kills Nichiko ''by throwing a screw at him'', then Etherow reunites with everyone in the Core. The end.]]
31	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Etherow snipes a Rebedoa solider before they [[KickTheDog execute a random villager]], blowing his cover. He does this again and again.
32	* CrapsackWorld: Humanity has been reduced to a series of villages and the population is being reduced further by Frame Disease. Those who are resilient enough not to turn into Dolls get hunted or scouted by Rebedoa Empire or the True Core Church for their expansionist missions.
33	* CreepyChild: Lieutenant General Goi looks like a 6-year old.
34	* DarkMessiah: [[spoiler:Kajiwan has grown into this]]. His followers are more than glad to fight "the evil Rebedoa", but questioning the leader about the methods will get you killed.
35	* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Yiyu likes to leave corpses of killed villagers to intimidate his colonies.
36	* DeadlyGraduation: Rebedoa officers are promoted by a tournament match with no one else left alive.
37	* DefectorFromDecadence: [[spoiler:Jate increasingly becomes disillusioned with Suou when it becomes clear he's more focused on obtaining the [=AMBs=] than actually managing his empire. Her tipping point comes when she sees he doesn't care if he allows his entire empire to crumble if it means he can breach the Core and she joins forces with Etherow and Titania.]]
38	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Even taking into account that it takes place in snowy regions, the manga is noticeably almost entirely white. Even in "colored" covers everyone besides a couple of people wear some degree of gray.
39	* DemBones: Regular Frames turn into skeletons when they run out of power (their skin and clothes being a manipulatable substance that they "wear"). Frame Disease victims are this permanently.
40	* DirtyCoward: Nayuta of the executioners. She claims that she can beat Etherow without any help, and in the next chapter runs away crying to Rinai once her team gets killed.
41	* DistinguishingMark: Almost all Regular Frames have a unique icon on them, which is where the injected Code stays.
42	** [[spoiler:Kajiwan's is the same as [[Manga/{{Blame}} Safeguard's]], and it becomes [[SigilSpam the symbol of his Church that Regenerateds wear]]]].
43	* DoomedHometown: Etherow's village got wiped out by Rebedoa soldiers in the first chapter with him the only survivor.
44	* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: [[spoiler:After almost succumbing to Frame Disease, the Code Kajiwan's been carrying activates, giving him Regular Frame powers and BadassCape. He laughs about it for quite a while and he has a clear idea of what to do next.]]
45	* TheEmpire: The Rebedoan Empire.
46	* EndlessWinter: The Surface has only one weather: continuous snowing. On top of that, staying outside requires a gas mask to avoid the Frame Disease. And it only gets colder.
47	* EpicFail: Titania calls this about what happened when several panicking Rebedoan soldiers tried to fire at Etherow at once only for their projectiles to collide mid-air.
48	* EverybodyLives: [[spoiler: It's revealed in the ending that Titania has been secretly transferring the surface humans' consciousnesses into the Core when they die, save for a few truly irredeemable individuals like Kajiwan.]]
49	* EvilVersusEvil: The Church of True Core starts off as a moderate TheResistance, but as the leader goes through several stages of SanitySlippage and gets a lot more members, the group starts to resort more into terrorism.
50	* ExtraOreDinary: Tosu can manipulate metal, [[SuperpowerLottery which conveniently is what most of the ground and Automatons are made of]].
51	* EyepatchOfPower: Etherow wears one on his right eye to hide that he's a Frame since his human form doesn't cover it. It's also the spot where he was killed. It doesn't really help when he's asked to show it by Rebedoa's patrol, but he still keeps it.
52	* FairyCompanion: Titania looks like a lizard creature that can fit on one's palm, though she has a [[MysteriousWaif human form]] for emergencies.
53	* FirstEpisodeResurrection: Etherow is killed by Yiyu of Rebedoa and revived by Titania in the first chapter.
54	* FromASingleCell: A Regular Frame can survive with most of his head if it's intact. If enough Placenta is provided they can completely recover.
55	* FuelMeterOfPower: Using Frame abilities depletes Placenta (meat) really quickly. Etherow could only do a few good sniper shots, but his capacity increases slightly with Placenta stolen from enemies.
56	* GiantWoman: [[spoiler:Ajate, Jate's clone. Rubidoa couldn't replicate a Code in it's usual size, so they've instead created a solider proportional to the size of the device.]]
57	* {{Geas}}: As the Guardian of the Core, Titania can't talk much about it. [[spoiler:Unless you're already inside.]]
58	* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The first execution squad as of whole. Nayuta wears NippleAndDimed, Nyan has a [[GagPenis 5th limb from below]], and Banasamu uses CombatTentacles.
59	* GreenEyedMonster: Kajiwan, the king of Irf Nikk starts as ReasonableAuthorityFigure and the only support for the people that have evaided Rebedoa. But Titania senses that he has a bit of TheChosenWannabe and is jealous of Etherow and Keisha since he's wheelchair-bound. [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope When he gets his hands on Titania...]]
60	* GoForTheEye: The weak spot of Regular Frames if nothing else works.
61	* HeadsUpDisplay: Regular Frames have this built-in.
62	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Jate trying to EnemyMine with Etherow against the Church made the Emperor mark them for death as well, so they don't have a choice now.]]
63	* HiddenElfVillage: Irf Nikk had 128 kings and has avoided Rebedoa's grasp by staying completely underground, though there is a danger of attracting Automatons.
64	* HighHeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Jate]], unusually cute in a world of angry bishōnen characters, eventually joins forces with Etherow and Titania.
65	* HumanCannonball: A quick way to deploy 40 Frames in a sortie.
66	* IAteWhat: Titania can process food into liquid for easier digestion, it's definitely "not a body waste". Etherow is not pleased with the demonstration.
67	* AnIcePerson: Yiyu can grow and throw ice crystals.
68	* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Brigadier Jate asks witnesses politely why would a mindless Frame Doll attack her soldiers, but they are as surprised as she is. Then she takes away their gas masks one by one and predictably they know a lot more about it.
69	* KickTheDog: Rebedoa soldiers at least justify themselves with quarantine. Yiyu just wants an excuse to kill people, even civilians.
70	** Dokobu the executioner isn't above using low-ranked soldiers as extra Placenta material.
71	* KillSat: [[spoiler:Kajiwan plan was to take crash land Ume, a weather satellite, on Rebedoa's capital. It would create a 180 km crater, killing civilians and soldiers alike, but he's too mad at them for destroying Irf Nikk. Unfortunately for him, Jate hacks the satellite right after and drops it on him. Kajiwan escapes in time, but not everything around him.]]
72	* KnightlySwordAndShield: Nayuta's Frame is equipped with a classic sword and shield.
73	* LivingMacGuffin: Titania is the key to Core and is hunted by Rebedoa Empire.
74	* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Etherow [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands manages]] to make one from ground to shield itself from Yiyu's attack. This is never used again.
75	* MacGuffin: The Anti-Megastructure Bullets that are key to breaching the Core, but they can [[GodzillaThreshold also be used]] to OneHitKill a Frame. Titania at the start has all 7 of them, and every named character that isn't in Etherow's party wants them. They can also [[spoiler:subvert Nichiko Suou's future vision.]]
76	* MadScientist: Tashitsuma of the Rebedoa's Science Council is a bit cookoo. It's because he was bullied for his unusual breathing illness as a kid.
77	* MindOverMatter: Zezo from Etherow's village can nail people into walls with a hand gesture.
78	* TheMinionMaster: Jate can overwrite otherwise-neutral Automatons to attack Etherow or for AnimalEspionage.
79	* MobileCity: Mors Ulve, the capital of Rebedoa Empire, it even looks like a typical starship.
80	* MisterSeahorse: [[spoiler:Just as Kajiwan laments how he's going to die as a spider monster, his belly explodes and a four-legged Titania replica comes out. Kajiwan completely recovers as well.]]
81	* NearVillainVictory: A few times Rebedoa practically has their hands on AMB, but Etherow manages to save them with miraculous chance. [[spoiler:Nichiko Suou speculates that Etherow's ''real'' ability is WindsOfDestinyChange.]]
82	* NeglectfulPrecursors: Long time ago a group of humans left the utopian Core and colonized the surface "to feel what it's like", despite all warnings. It was indeed horrible, but the Surface residents was too prideful to ask for help and the Core didn't want to disrespect their wishes. Codes and Frame Disease were the result of experimental technology. Now the Core is likely completely empty and Surface is almost uninhabitable and in constant wars, and Rebedoa and Church want to forcefully break into the Core.
83	* NonindicativeName: "Regular Frames" are the vast minority, with most frames being mindless zombies.
84	* NooneCouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler:Etherow and Titania just barely survived Jate's KillSat, and mostly because he was far enough from the center, while Keisha and Kajiwan hid enough deep underground.]]
85	* OneManArmy: Keisha can take an entire squad of soldiers solo. Etherow is slowly learning to be this as well.
86	* OnlyOneName: Nichiko Suou is the only one to avert this. Others go like ''Etherow of the White Diamond Beam'' or ''Keisha of Balladeer''.
87	** A minor officer Kudoh Denji becomes the second exception.
88	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Those who don't become Regular Frame after being infected by Frame Disease become docile walking skeletons with doll limbs, spreading the Disease around.
89	* OutsideContextProblem: [[spoiler:The Church of True Core founded by Kajiwan can turn victims of Frame Disease back into humans, which is something everyone thought is outright impossible. The fact that there a whole army of them and some can use abilities similar to Regular Frames shocks Rebedoa even more, and CurbStompBattle ensues.]]
90	* PillarOfLight: Successfully using the Code is followed by this.
91	* ThePlague: The Frame Disease, everyone would rather get rid of the infected before they mutate further. The True Core Church has learned to weaponize it.
92	* PraetorianGuard: Nichiko Suou is guarded by two giant spear-wielding girls which are stated to be the strongest of the Rebedoa.
93	* ThePromisedLand: The Core World, which Nichiko Suou wants to claim for the Rebedoa, is a place without the snow or Frame Disease, but only [[MacGuffin special bullets in Titania's possession]] can break the barrier that surrounds it.
94	* PowerTrio: Etherow, Titania and Kesiha for most of the series.
95	* PunchClockVillain: Some Rebedoa and Church members go along with their missions just because of better living conditions. Some were forced to and want to avoid the YouHaveFailedMe.
96	* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler:Nichiko Suou was Titania's previous partner, but at some point he grew ambitious of ruling over the Core and all the Surface, prompting her to run away.]]
97	* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: Keisha is Kajiwan XXVII's brother, making her the princess of Irf Nikk.
98	* RecurringElement:
99	** The MegaCity and GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke from Nihei's other works take major role in the background lore once again.
100	** Haighs Particles and Placenta return as AppliedPhlebotinum.
101	** Hand-sized WaveMotionGun are also prominent.
102	* RedIsHeroic: Etherow's Frame is bright red, and almost the only one that is known to not be greyscale.
103	* ReforgedIntoAMinion: Yiyu brainwashed Biko from Etherow's village into a loyal solider. After he dies, Biko promises to avenge him.
104	* {{Robeast}}: Some depths Automatons are monsters that vary in size from small worms to {{Kaiju}}. Since they are covered with Placenta they also count as food.
105	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Etherow isn't really interested in the Core, inner politics or how reasonable Rebedoa soldiers are. They've destroyed his city, so he's going to destroy them. Appears to have calmed down after a few beatings though.
106	** [[spoiler:Kajiwan steals Titania's arm and plans to activate Quorki Rikarhi in the Core, and ancient superweapon to fight against Rebedoa. Though his army of Dolls seems to do just as much damage.]]
107	* TheScourgeOfGod: {{Muggles}} believed that the weather satellites that were heating the Surface falling just a bit was a punishment for Rebedoa's activities, not aware that [[spoiler:Rebedoa was the one to drop the last one]].
108	* [[{{Seers}} Seer]]: [[spoiler:Nichiko Suou can use a CrystalBall to see the future as MultipleChoiceFuture. He also gives vague orders to his subordinates with "trust me" because of this. But when it comes to finally getting the [=AMB=], the future doesn't go as predicted.]]
109	* SelfFulfillingProphecy: [[spoiler:The first vision Suou had upon receiving his prescience was witnessing his own death at Etherow's hands, and all of his actions up until the present were a result of his efforts to try to change that fate. Ultimately though, it's his very actions that sets Etherow on his RoaringRampageOfRevenge against him.]]
110	* SensorCharacter: Titania can do it the best, but every Frame user can sense others if they use their abilities.
111	* SingleMindedTwins: Eile and Eime, along with FinishingEachOthersSentences. The two {{LightningBruiser}}s fight really well together.
112	* SixthRanger: Wasabu, a Rebedoa defector with a blue Frame with a {{Flight}} power, joins Titania's group but has hard time grasping what they are doing.
113	* ShockAndAwe: Keisha's power is electricity, and she can use lightning rods and areal discharge. Though mostly she uses SuperSpeed and can empty an enemy base before them being able to react.
114	* ShoutOut: Kudoh Denji's name and regular frame design is a direct homage of Nihei's previous work, Abara.
115	* SmallNameBigEgo: Yiyu, despite calling himself the fundamental part of the Empire, nobody really likes him and he's never brought up after defeat.
116	* SmugSnake: Yiyu is a BloodKnight that thinks he's the second strongest in the Empire despite not being high-ranked, and really likes to remind everyone about it.
117	* StarterVillain: Etherow fights Yiyu who turned his village into DoomedHometown but loses. After going through his men he manages to defeat him.
118	* SuperpowerRussianRoulette: A consumable Code can grant someone a Regular Frame, but there's a high chance it will result into Frame Disease instead.
119	* TakeUpMySword: In the beginning Titania attempts to give everything she has to Eo after being shot, but Etherow rescues both of them.
120	* TimedPowerUp: Titania can turn human, but her programming/Haighs particle count restricts it to about a minute per day.
121	* {{Telepathy}}: Titania can read minds. She can also use AstralProjection across the region.
122	* TransformationIsAFreeAction: Averted, as assuming the Armored form takes a bit, and Etherow just barely managed to avoid getting his face pierced a second time.
123	* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler:The true purpose and origin of Aposimz and its Core are never really revealed or elaborated on. However, since Aposimz is more of a large asteroid than actual planet, it very likely used to be a colony ship similar to [[Manga/KnightsOfSidonia Sidonia, but its size is much bigger - 120,000km compared to Sidonia's 28km]]]].
124	* VillainEpisode: Rebedoa officers (especially Jate) often get POV chapters when Etherow isn't busy.
125	* VillainTeleportation: Rinai can teleport himself and large objects by thinking of the location in the same style as [[Franchise/DragonBall Goku]].
126	* WeHardlyKnewYe: We get [[spoiler:Alto's backstory and how he grew the MightMakesRight mentality]], before Tosu [[OffWithHisHead decapitates]] him with two slabs.
127	* ZergRush: The Church uses Frame Disease victims like this.
128	* ZombieApocalypse: Frame Disease infections are a fairly common occurrence, requiring settlements and cities to be on alert for large packs of Frame Disease sufferers, but they are otherwise largely harmless outside of being a vector for transmission of the disease. This quickly changes when [[spoiler:Kajiwan forms the Church of the True Core and is able to exert control over the Frame Disease sufferers, sending them against the Rebedoa in a straight version of this trope.]]

Context Manga / Aposimz