Gestalt psychology, in a nutshell, tells us that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts; to seek not for purpose in individual acts but rather in the attainment of the achievement for which they are merely components. For example, a musical composition, although comprised of individual notes, is meant to be listened to as an aggregate piece of art. Perhaps that is the case in the manga series Gestalt, which is brought to us by the creator of Loveless and Earthian, and one should consider the plot as a whole, rather than the individuals which comprise it. If so, alas, it has failed to live up to its promise in a major way, instead becoming muddied and lifeless in the attempt. Assuming that was ever the case, of course.
The story begins in days long past with the battle of seven gods for supremacy – one of whom ends up being cast out, a demon god whose name is not allowed to be spoken, who is known by the appellation of "G", and who proceeds to carve a niche for himself on a farflung island fraught with danger and mystery. Fastforward to the present day. A pretty priest by the name of Father Olivier leaves the order which has raised him in order seek this strange island on an unrevealed but urgent quest. His superior, Father Messiah, sends a dark elf named Suzu after Olivier to retrieve him, but she ends up joining him instead. As does a mute girl he is given as a servant, named Ouri, who turns out to actually be a guy. It turns out that Ouri is one of seven siblings who are in a power struggle to become head of the family, and because he is more powerful than they, he was handicapped by lowering his spell abilities and changing him into a girl (which idea I find to be rather sexist and degrading to women, implying that they are inferior). A fortuneteller named Shazan follows them, joining their party, and later is revealed to actually be a holy knight. Is anyone channeling the Wizard of Oz yet? Can Toto be far behind?
Highlights
By the beginning of Volume 4 of Gestalt, our intrepid band has grown by another – the standoffish Sakata, who has been sent by an anxious Father Messiah to bring back his wayward ward. By now we have met most of Ouri's siblings and been subjected to their quirks and idiosyncracies, their motto apparently being the family that kills and/or maims one another is the best. (Maybe we should look for them on Springer sometime soon?) Thanks to a blunder on Ouri's part in Volume 3, Father Olivier is now armless, but he bears his burden with great cheer and fortitude nonetheless, never blaming Ouri for what has happened, although Ouri blames himself and absents himself from the group for a while. He tries to catch up with Olivier, whom he has grown to care for greatly, only to learn that he has been invited to enjoy the hospitality of a rich older man, and it's Ouri to the rescue! It seems that the man has a mute granddaughter, whom he requests that Olivier tutor, and the priest acquiesces, as payment for his hospitality. The girl proves to be something of a brat who, in a fit of temper, pushes the helpless priest onto the floor. But refusing help, he picks himself back up again. Typical Olivier behaviour – very much a turn the other cheek sort of guy. The old man wishes to give Olivier prosthetic arms, but Suzu and Ouri are both suspicious of him, and with reason. And they are also fearful of bringing out the inner Olivier, which they have dubbed the Black Olivier Ouri discovers a way of getting new arms of Olivier, which involves finding a man who was born at the same time and in the same place as the priest. Olivier very adamantly wants nothing to do with this scheme, and Ouri feels that he must learn the secret that the priest is hiding, so the group sets out for the place where it all began – back to Salsaroa – although they have no intention of staying. Messiah is happy to see Olivier, of course, and tells him he will never let him leave again, he loves him too much.
Overall
To be honest, I think that this manga is weak, the characters have no dimension to them, and can be confusing at times. They never held my interest. A man as weak as Olivier is portrayed as being would never survive. A pretty face only takes you so far, after all. There is a lot of gender-bender play here, but I don't find it particularly well-written for all of that. Ouri is a female outwardly, but still a male beneath, and I don't find that reflected in his behaviour. It almost reads like a very basic, very simple quest-type game, complete with spellcasting and power drains. It might appeal to very young teens, but I am not even sure about that. I know that there are four more volumes in this series, but I will honestly not read them, there are too many better series out there to take time with an inadequate one. Not to mention, this author has better work. I suggest you find Loveless or Earthian, and immerse yourselves in those – Gestalt doesn't cut it for me.
Comicsonline gives Gestalt, Volume 4, 2.5 out of 5 family feuds.
