Chito and Yuuri don’t know a world aside from the dead one they wander together. Girls’ Last Tour, Vol. 1 follows the quiet everyday life of these two companions as they search for food and shelter in a post-apocalyptic landscape.
SHOUJO SHUUMATSU RYOKOU © Tsukumizu 2014 / SHINCHOSHA
From the description of Girls’ Last Tour, I was expecting a lighthearted and funny yuri-esque romp through a parody of an apocalypse following two girls and focusing on their relationship with one another.
I did not expect what this series actually is.
Though the cute drawing of the girls on the cover indicates a cute story, Girls’ Last Tour is pretty somber in tone. Chito and Yuuri do a lot of things that seem cute when taken out of context — at one point, they take a bath in some sort of hollow container — but the greater context of the manga is pretty dark.
The reality of their world is dismal, and it’s a believable one when readers look at their circumstances. Chito keeps a journal — in part because Yuuri is barely able to read at all. Much of the story shows the two girls trying to find food, and what they usually find instead are weapons and ammunition.
[blocktext align=”center”]”How come they made so many weapons? If they’d made lots of nonperishable food instead… things would’ve been easier for us.”[/blocktext]
In today’s political landscape, some of Chito and Yuuri’s dialogue is utterly chilling. The girls exist in a world after a major conflict, possibly some form of nuclear event — or simply a world filled with war. Both of them are able to load guns, but only one is fully literate, even though they both appear to be high school-aged.
The pacifistic and anti-war message in Girls’ Last Tour is very noticeable, though the plot itself focuses on action and events. It’s so noticeable that it’s occasionally a little heavy-handed, although the plot starts picking up towards the end of Volume 1.
The art of the Girls’ Last Tour series isn’t especially remarkable, and in some spots it’s a bit plain for what one expects out of a manga set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The lines are very simple, though the backgrounds offer a haunting sense of the place they live.
I truly wish Girls’ Last Tour wasn’t as timely as it actually is. The story reads like a gentle light in a dismal world, and I think it’s a good depiction of what future generations may think about what we’re doing in the world we live in now.
Story: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Art: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
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