Houseki no Kuni and The Flaw of Perfection

Change is something we all experience in life. Moral progression is something we all experience in life. The rush of normality, the chase for perfection, the cold hard truth of society. These are things, we all, experience in life. Haruko Ichikawa as an authour and illustrator set out on her journey of Manga creation to find answers as to how, and why we feel and experience the things I menrioned to you prior. So, in this video I'll be exploring and shedding light on these themes and queries showcased in her series "Houseki no Kuni" (Land of The Lustrous), and why the series spoke to me so much, along with Phosphophyllite, the series main character.
Houseki no Kuni and The Flaw of Perfection
Credit to the Interview Translations Here - japanesetranslationblog.wordp...
Large Thank You to Chewie Melodies for Permission to use one of their song covers! - • ｢Dragonspine - Snowfla...
Music Used in This Video -
Rhythm Amidst the Reeds - Genshin Impact
Early Afternoon - Houseki no Kuni
Apotos (Night) - Sonic Unleashed
Sea - Houseki no Kuni
Sleep Season - Houseki no Kuni
Dry Hands - Minecraft
Snowflake - Genshin Impact Cover by Chewie Melodies
Memories - Houseki no Kuni
Eternal Anamnesis - Genshin Impact
Phos and Cinnabar - Houseki no Kuni
Judgment - Sonic and The Secret Rings
Idle Away from Mountains - Genshin Impact
Main Theme - Houseki no Kuni
Dearly Beloved - Kingdom Hearts Union X Backcover
Secret of The Forest - Chrono Trigger
Opening Instrumental (Off Vocal) - Houseki no Kun
Video Tags: #HousekiNoKuni #LandOfTheLustrous #Phosphophyllite
Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

[@SaiScribbles]

I feel like Phos' progress could be best described as "A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth"

[@whoscatimi7590]

Gold

[@user-db1sm7sy3r]

@@whoscatimi7590 diamond

[@whoscatimi7590]

@@user-db1sm7sy3r emerald

[@user-db1sm7sy3r]

@@whoscatimi7590 Netherite

[@blindness9415]

Flourite

[@Abby-wc4lw]

"Even if Phos were lucky enough to wake up, I don't know if we could really call the resulting gem Phosphophyllite." - Rutile

[@happyvocal]

I feel like the main problem with these gems is their apparent inability for time to heal their emotional wounds. It's easy for humans, but for these gems it seems like their hurt sticks with them and the cracks just grow bigger over time. They're shown to mostly forget memories of things that happen, like when they couldn't remember well enough the event with Phos and the sea slug. But they are shown to not ever forget memories that are tied to strong emotions, barring losing pieces of the body like Phos did.

[@omegavital2072]

I think it comes down to the immortality part of the gems. For one to move on from losing someone, one must accept they're not coming back and that there's a need to move on. But due to they being immortal and even rebuildable at some level, it is easier to get attached on those memories, those feelings, traumas and emotions. "I have hope that one day Paparatscha may awake some day" / "i yearn for the day where Lapis comes back arrives". Part of Phos's path is that, first, there was little to no attachment to the School, maybe Professor and Antarc at the higher level, yet she's left alone. With nothing but distrust on others that has been feeding upon her and whatever happened to her, it was the hardest to hit and sink rock bottom.

[@chronred8190]

isn't that... just normal human nature? i don't think.. time ever truly heals anything; i'm 20 years old, and i've dealt with a lot of trauma in the past, and i've never been able to move on from it; some of it even though it happened like 8 years ago i still can't forgive or accept it; i learned to live life and stop thinking about this a majority of the time, but i never moved on, ever; and as a result of a lot of emotional suffering i ended up forgetting a lot of memories that haven't been tied to rage, sadness, spite, fear, guilt, shame, hatred etc.

[@kazuhabruhkaedahara4329]

​@@chronred8190 It is. Some people have wounds that are harder to heal. But trust me, just like real wound, with proper medications (psychological helps, philosophies, religions, therapies, etc) & time (and a positive environments, friends & families) those wounds will heal. It left some scars, but it's not bleeding anymore. But of course, there are people who are unaware of how to heal their wounds, thus why their traumas still bleed through. The gems (and lunarians i guess) takes it up to the notch. They live forever, they can let their (mental) wounds bleed forever and they wouldn't die, cannot die, physically or mentally. Plus, although it seems like they are aware of some psychological disorders that directly affect their jobs, such as anxiety & mental exhaustion, it seems something like envy, low self esteem, loneliness, basically every mental wounds that are harder to notice, and don't directly affect their works, just don't get discussed much Think of Dia & Bortz. Dia have low esteem because of Bortz verbal abuse and the gems expectation that the Diamonds must have been the strongest gems. Everybody knew, but they brushed it off because they thought that Bortz's abuse are born out of worry, and although it is true, Bortz should have been kinder towards Dia. Unfortunately, because they live forever, Dia's mental issues can stew for a very long time without exploding (before he went to the moon), Bortz unaware that his actions hurts Dia, and as far as the gems knew, they still did their job perfectly, so no problem here. (Damn the more i think of it, the more the gem's community sounds like our current capitalistic society) One of the reasons of why humans heal our wounds because we know our time is limited, we want to die, have to die, without regrets, or sins if we believe in the afterlife. But the gems ? the closest thing to death is for their shards to be scattered everywhere it become almost impossible to find, or be taken up by the lunarians. But they still cling to the idea that someday, their friends that "died" will return, because they never expirienced true "death", where no one will ever return. To bleed forever, and yet cannot die, is such a terifying concept, that HnK beautifully explores. Stranger of the internet, it sounds patronising, i know, but all wounds will heal, if we know how to heal them. They will leave scars, some more terrible than other, but it will no longer bleed. I hope you will find your peace. (PHEW Thank you so much if you read this wall of text, and sorry if this sounds weird, english is not my first languange👉👈)

[@yashsolanki589]

No series has blue balled me like this one. This series was hitting a great climax and was on course to become one of my favorites of all time and then it went on hiatus and has been like that for 8 months. Still one of the best manga series of the 2010s.

[@horuho245]

The hiatus adds to the story, I like it

[@Enderdude600]

Honestly I feel like where the manga has stopped right now works really well as an ending.

[@magicfist482]

when she said "10,000 years" it was really meant for the readers

[@heinrode7631]

Everything hits different now

[@UncleJaken]

We're going home - new chapter next month. All aboard the suffer train

[@falapadieu]

A quick sidenote, but hearing about Phos's personality of insecurity and the uneasiness of sudden change over the soft mellow music of Minecraft's C418-Dry Hands really hit hard..

[@falapadieu]

And right at this moment, that last quote before your closing remarks was incredibly powerful. "Why strive for perfection when you can aim for something more" Houseki no Kuni is one of my most beloved series, but this video took my understanding of the meaning behind everything that's happened several levels deeper than I expected. This video is underrated, to say the least. Huge props to an amazing video, Mr. Energy T~T

[@AFJAY25]

Listen cause I was dame there crying I love that song so much

[@BasedBuffet]

I’ve seen so many many people talk about this and I need to check it out. It looks so good

[@epicsponge9757]

Seriously! It’s my favorite series.

[@lollyguy1266]

Prepare for happiness then eternal pain

[@riymeep6708]

You probably have by now but Houseki no Kuni is my favorite manga and I loved the first season of the anime. Anyone who hasn't seen it should definitely check it out

[@GigiSleepy]

U ok bud?

[@Norbert_Sattler]

I think the Theseus Paradox isn't as fitting as many people think. What makes the "gems" who they are is not the mineral, but the microscopic life-forms living inside the minerals called inclusions. In a way even calling them gems is misleading, since the actual gem parts are just vessels inhabitet by the actual life-forms. So when Phos gets the new legs, the inclusions inside here spread into them and thus the new legs are as much the actual Phos as the original ones were... minus those that were lost in the ocean. The same goes for the alloys that replace the arms, though maybe also the eye the Lunarians replaced. Thus just like a Human with a prothetic limb isn't considered any less Human or anything other than a Human, because the brain - and if you believe in it the soul - remain the same, a "gem" with new parts attached is still 100 % themselves and not anything or anyone else... with two excpetions. One is memories. Memories of the gems are held by their inclusions, which are spread all over the entire body, so losing any part, head, limb or otherwise, will also lose memories. And then there's the issue of attaching parts that were part of other gems before and still contain inclusions (i.e. Lapis' head). That will make the inclusions of the two seperate gems mix together and create a new amalgamated personality.

[@krisynthiagomez5883]

I’ve always thought of Pho’s as being similar to Darth Vader; a kind but proud soul who genuinely wants to do good and be useful mostly by fighting, but continually being told that something about them makes them unfit. Losing loved ones and limbs and slowly becoming more powerful until almost no part of their original personality remains and they are lost to vengeance and spite. Even the story of midiclorians and inclusions is similar.

[@mintteafruitcandy]

we can see that Lapis is most act as gost memory, Phos's inclusions was shown as highly adaptable an active, so i assume,like most microorganisms, most populated incusions will kill less populated and weak (after long hebernation),so Lapis personality will be destroyed after some time , become only as some new ability from new gem materials ,it leads to any amalgamation will be only Phos after some time,just more traumatised

[@NielKlauss]

i feel like phos' reaction to waking up with a new head is a strong statement about the ship of theseus. about the meaninglessness of the question, an embracing of change through a rejection of the self as a concept.

[@pastelsploosh8914]

Its honestly so sad. Once antarcticite was taken and phos got new arms, he began to be valued and geeked over, but I can sense the "what's the point" of it all honestly you lose something that big for as simple as being able to fit in. Its devastating, even once she was broken up and was told she was forgotten and went to the lumarians again, all she could think about is how absolutely nobody loved him, even the ones that did but refused to show it in front of him. God it made me begin to hate cinnabar because she kept her mouth shut just to fit in and antagonize phos.

[@nkyfong]

I really feel sorry for Phos and now I know they're going through what I'm doing with not knowing what to do in my life. Thanks for opening our eyes Ichikawa and thank you Mr. Energy for informing us about it.

[@eldritchchaos2663]

I feel extremely connected to Phos because they're a lot like how I am. I used to be this pure innocent soul who radiated sunshine and just wanted to help everyone, but over time, the gradual accumulation of severe trauma has left my mind shattered and I've become generally apathetic to the world around me, even forcing myself to suppress specific memories as a way of preserving my own sanity. The evolution of Phosphophylite's design is a brilliant manifestation of the internal degradation of one's mind, and their final design especially feels like how I perceive myself to be; a fractured, manic abomination which overflows with self-loathing. The gold aspect especially spoke to me, because it is a reminder that Phos was not able to save Antarcticite, and was only able to burrow deep within themselves as an act of self-preservation, and while they do use their newfound ability to protect others, there is still the lingering pain of the knowledge that no matter how far they have come, they still failed when it truly mattered, and as someone who lost my brother to suicide despite my efforts to help him get through it all, this scene strikes a much stronger chord within me than it did upon my initial experience of the story. The entire concept of Phosphophylite's character is that they feel entirely powerless, yet still continue to try to help others as best as they can, even to their own detriment, and that's something that I am unfortunately able to relate to all too well.

[@fishboysss]

Agreed, Phos' final design is such an accurate representation of those feelings. So broken and ruined that it's impossible to tell what it once was.

[@marcinwasilewski3278]

That's how it is for everyone in capitalism. You either break or become evil.

[@yanvorona2808]

Never before had I seen a character that I could relate to to such an extent. As an autistic person, I understand very well this desperate desire to be closer to society and the frustration of realizing that all your efforts are useless, simply because you are the way you were born. Foss doesn't just lose limbs. Throughout the series, Foss consistently replace parts of themselves with something alien, more useful to others, gradually losing parts of their personality, memory. At some point, they can no longer remember what they were before and for what purpose they do it at all. I was especially struck by the scenes where the alloy of gold and platinum breaks Phosphophyllite. If you were wondering "what are these meltdowns that autists are talking about" - this is it. This is how it feels. It is impossible to get rid of it, because what keeps you whole and what breaks you are one and the same. This is my all-time favorite story, I've never been so hurt watching a character. It feels like the author got under your ribs and put the contents on the table so you can really see what's inside you.

[@phantomflower6749]

This is one of my favorite series. I'm happy there are more fans, It really needs more attention. Seriously I actually didn't like Pho's, in the beginning. But now they are the most interesting character I've come across. Their change is just so jarring and frightening...I find myself missing the sweet dumb childish Phos we started with

[@aaronbarthel6509]

I wonder if the Admirabilis ever recovered all of the Phos fragments such as the legs, arms and anything else lost in the ocean. I bet they could slap that together with some inclusionless phosphophyllite and have something pretty similar to the original Phos

[@user-nm1lx8qb3u]

Possibly.

[@kedarwaychal3854]

Binged the manga entirely a couple of days back, and I've been watching nothing but videos on Houseki to give answers to the anxiety I felt. As Phos kept breaking mentally more and more, my mind desperately tried to blame her for it. I've always thought that no matter the circumstances, people are ultimately responsible for their decisions. But when Phos questions herself at the very end after destroying everyone, that broke me too. It sinks in that while she wanted to be validated, one of her main intentions was to give Cinnabar a place, because that mirrored her own insecurities. And at the very end, when her warped intentions finally hit her, that was the point I felt Phos hit her lowest. A really, really good video, I'm glad I could experience this series

[@jfromstate9983]

This was so good. I’ve been waiting for people to make analysts of the whole story after the hiatus and I’m glad I finally found one that goes much more in depth with the themes and Buddhist symbology as so much of the HnK content you see is just about the anime or part of the manga since the last like 10 chapters turning the whole story on its head changed a lot of what is being said.

[@caIicomoon]

the editing of this video is fantastic and perfectly encapsulates how much I love this series. Idk why that shot right here 14:18 made me so teary eyed!! Never realized that parallel.

[@colox97]

imagine how is gonna be when and if s2 gets animated 😭

[@luxxen0]

had to stop myself from watching the whole video since I don't wanna spoil myself too much but from what I saw this vid is banging and it's really made me want to watch LOTL soon instead of keeping it on my plan to watch list for another few years. I'm definitely gonna come back to this video when i finish the show.

[@unolancelot]

sooooo how was it?

[@stefanofrancella13]

absolutely phenomenal video, for an absolutely phenomenal series

[@TensaShinra]

This series looks REALLY good, definitely going on my list

[@aliyawen5666]

21:02 no matter how paradoxical and ironic it may be, but in the manga everything turns out to be exactly the opposite of what you said. The war in Hoseki no Kuni does not act as an obstacle to development and move on, but as a contributing factor for development. Unfortunately, Phosphophyllite gained strength only by suffering and losing things that are really important to her.

[@SalomSands]

14:21 you tied the orginal question of this part with Phos so beautifully together.

[@Ragingvibrava]

I've been meaning to pick this series up for the LONGEST time

[@epicsponge9757]

This is a GREAT video, bro. You summed the series up thematically very aptly, you really deserve more views.

[@meirosama]

That was amazing, HnK is one of my favorite manga of time and im happy that people still talk about it. and i hope you’ll cover more mangas that are also less talked about manga like The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún. Subbed

[@sixthyonko4177]

phos best girl or should i say best rock

[@epicsponge9757]

Lapis, bro. Lapis.

[@stephysteph8558]

I recently watched Black Swan on Netflix, and the idea that once you get to perfection you have to stop, rings so true for that story. I see a lot of Phos in Nina , with both the striving to be useful (which means being perfect) and with the sense of self degrading as the peppy hero evolves into a person much more cynical through dissatisfaction with a roll. With Nina there is the implication (at least to me) that all the anger and the messiness Nina has repressed over the years to succeed in ballet and please her mom---all that is coming back with a vengeance as the image of the Black Swan., an image that confuses Nina until she realizes it's still herself. It think the story is truly sad because Nina still wants to say she's achieved perfection, but she has achieved so much more. She could move out, she could take on new roles, she could dance on her own terms --she's not just "perfect" - she's "Great."

[@CEO0FMILFS]

14:18 As someone who is dealing with a love one who has dementia, that part made me cry. It's a good comparison to make about what makes a person still the same person. Such a lovely essay. New sub for sure. 🌹❤️

[@kaylai.6586]

Excellent video, thank you for putting it together! It doesn't quite do the creeping anxiety and jarring change as well as HnK, but To Your Eternity also tackles some similar themes if it's something you haven't seen already!

[@Helios178X]

Great video this series needs more fans

[@S7VEN03]

The deep dive I needed!

[@kyleo7945]

Houseki no kuni manga is a form of art and deserves a lot more attention. Thank you for the video

[@METAsMETAs]

HE HIS IS BACK

[@ajamid0145]

Such a well made video understandable and makes me feel self conscious ❤❤

[@johndole9810]

Your interpretation of this show is perfect.

[@malakai_adam]

Ive never seen an anime, or any show really, that struck me with the intrinsic mystical introspection that HNK does. It is truly a work of beauty

[@eunkwang_jpg]

I love this video so much

[@josephcharabin2641]

Thank you

[@beegilly]

Going to watch this series so I can watch this video

[@Ardeev_Murgan]

It was an amazing clip that left me shocked ✨⛄

[@aliyawen5666]

15:29 an interesting detail: the trace on the snow from Antarc is more direct than that one of Phos. When you stick to your principles all the time, without hesitation, you move straight. When you doubt, you try to change, the "trace" of your path bends. Especially when you are new to this snowy difficult path called life.

[@garagara4849]

Oh wow looks like I somehow missed an amazing in depth analysis of LOTL... It's okay, that's fixed now. Subscribed as well to stop myself from missing anything like this again

[@FlutterSwag]

this is so beautiful, and the cut at 14:18 its immaculate

[@BurritoDon]

Energy dropped yessir

[@angelecarre6699]

The problem is that you will never ever get why phos is the protagonist of the series

[@SimpDestroyer]

Thanks you.

[@EnergyTalks]

You’re welcomes.

[@krakenskull2557]

This is fcking underrated

[@animeaugie]

A video about rocks

[@dragonuh7915]

Neat voice.

[@chrishill3536]

This show should be call is a pure turn twisted monster by those who should care about them.

[@junerezende3216]

how did you get such high quality hd for the video ?

[@annalise9011]

I HEARD THAT GENSHIN BGM. I HEARD THAT!

[@ecave3435]

i am just surprised suddenly hearing dry hands in this vid lmao

[@princesspeachgaming4162]

QILIN'S PRANCE AS THE BGM I ALREADY KNOW THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD !!!

[@cytoplasm7015]

why does this have so little views

[@anonymoususer9197]

Well HnK fan base isn't the biggest and the hiatus has resulted in a plummet in activity which is unfortunate but hey I'm glad there's still people making content

[@ligavaivare7913]

myes the genshin music

[@CyanideOwl]

I got scared that my Genshin is going in the background xDDD

[@konstant_ly]

Man really used a Minecraft theme in the video. Based.

[@atlantiswhale]

Ur so cool

[@EnergyTalks]

You’re cool too :)

[@carlrodalegrado4104]

Ignorance is bliss?

[@achikin4466]

why is there genshin music??

[@funghoul693]

cuz genshin music is good

[@Jannat-hw3zu]

Why not?

[@user-db1sm7sy3r]

@@funghoul693 yup

[@sangonomiyakokomi5764]

I didn't even notice the genshin music at first- it seemed to fit so well with the video

[@user-db1sm7sy3r]

@@sangonomiyakokomi5764 yup

[@LeykiZenam]

What should I say?

[@LeykiZenam]

I made this comment halfway through the video. Now that I've watched the whole video, I want to say, "Plus Ultra!"

[@LeykiZenam]

Anyway, I didn't understand anything.

[@jxhttg5883]

Not to be that guy at some points I genuinely can’t understand what this guys saying cause of the voice effect😭

[@KrillWhisperer]

I never wanted to watch this bc of the ungodly unappealing to me cgi, but now that I know what it actually is about I may give it a try since I have no attention spam for manga

[@snacktimeforme7086]

Why does your voice sound like you are in witness protection

[@maarufkhan3129]

steven universe is better

[@HWBDUH]

LMAOOO No.

[@crow1628]

they're both good in their own way 😊

[@bibimboup]

They have nothing to do with this.

[@anonymoususer9197]

The only similarity is that there are gem people so this joke (if it even is one) is not funny