スピリットサークル

SPIRIT CIRCLE

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
6
RELEASE
March 30, 2016
CHAPTERS
46

DESCRIPTION

Fuuta Okeya’s dad said second-year middle school students are unstoppable, and he’s inclined to agree. Fuuta’s determined to make the most out of his ordinary student life, but everything changes when the mysterious Kouko Ishigami transfers into his class. Not just because Fuuta thinks she’s pretty and likes her – but because she thinks Fuuta is her rival from a past life!

(Source: Manga Planet)

Notes:

Includes one extra chapter.
Nominated for the 48th Seiun Award in the comic category in 2017.

CAST

Fuuta Okeya
Kouko Ishigami
Lafalle
Fortuna
Vann Flantyr
Rune
Kouko
East
Houtarou Kajima
Stona
Flors
Roca
Fuuko Okeya
Daiki Takayama
Iwana
Lapis
Fone
Tetsuma Masiro
Rei
Mizuno Umishima
Kurokami no Majo
Kousuke Shakujii
Rei
Miyabe Nonomura
Rei

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

sadJoe
90/100
A Captivating Page-Turner That Encourages Us To 'Turn the Page' In Our Own Lives
Spirit Circle: From the Ground Up

Reincarnation is a concept that has accompanied human thought throughout the ages. Particularly within the dharma of Buddhism, the idea that all of life is in a constant cycle of death & rebirth is the norm. Not only is all of life intertwined and somehow connected according to this line of thinking, but each being finds itself caught up in an transcosmos railroad where each soul migrates, in attempt to be reborn in its next life.

While keeping this in mind, imagine that...(possible spoilers)

...you're a middle school student. You show up at school for an ordinary day, and there is a new student who has transferred to your class today. They're beautiful; you take a liking to them. After numerous attempts to befriend them, you realize that nothing is working because they seem to not like you. Not only that, but it is almost as if they behave as if they already know who you are. What would you do if that person later revealed to you that you had encountered each other in a past life before? Not only that, but perhaps you'd encountered them throughout multiple past lives in the course of a number of different timelines?

This is the fate that "Spirit Circle's" protagonist has been given. These are the cards that have been dealt to Fuuta Okeya.

Fuuta's encounter with Kouko Ishigami, a girl who seems to hate his guts, sends him headfirst into an ambiguous realm of rebirth. She is one who claims to be hellbent on revenge, yet he remains in ignorance as to why this is the case. I do not wish to spoil any of the story, so I will only say that as a result of this encounter, he is forced to acknowledge the footsteps of his own soul. Due to this predestined encounter with a pretty classmate, one whom he has "never met before," Okeya travels upon heaven's river to get a look into the past of his soul on the flat circle of time.

Satoshi Mizukami explores a lot of interesting concepts in this manga. Honestly, the majority of it whooshed over my head; it was somewhat difficult for me to comprehend the manga's physics. Spacetime, spiritual/non-material layers of the world, alternate dimensions, etc. were a bit fuzzy for me during those times when they become a focal point later on in the manga. Regardless, I enjoyed the way that they were presented and how Mizukami-sensei developed the story and his characters while maintaining the connections between everyone involved. It was a cool way of looking into what it means to be human.

This was an incredibly captivating story, from start to finish. There was never really a weak point, neither in terms of plot progression nor in how the narrative maintained congruity with the several different events taking place within the various timelines. Everything maintained connection. The mangaka knew what he was doing. He didn't leave any loose ends; no stone was left unturned. The relationships within the story are all cohesive, and there didn't ever seem to be an event which took place by chance. I really liked how the past, present, and future are presented and tied together within "Spirit Circle."

There are a great many of people that would be able to find something of worth in this story. The mangaka develops the moral of his tale without dancing around the point. His main character is dynamic, and he is incredibly human. I never cringed at anything that he did or said. I feel like this is somewhat of a rare commodity. Especially when it comes to a story of this nature, it wouldn't be unexpected of a character to lash out in some sort of edgy fits of hysteria.

"Spirit Circle" maintained its pace and kept me engaged throughout. This is a genuine story, one which encourages us to "turn the page"--both, in reading this manga and our daily lives. Learning how to let go of the past and begin anew is a lesson that we can all reap the benefits from. Bearing grudges only hurts, not only ourselves, but those closest to as well. This manga shows us that anyone at any point in time has the potential to destroy or save the world and those around them. Truly, "forgiveness is the power of salvation that restores all to as it should be."

A moving tale with the potential to benefit and be an encouragement to many in our troubling times. Even though it may be impossible to fix the past or make up for old mistakes, it is never too late to begin again. As long as we are still alive and breathing, "it all starts now."
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dont
77/100
A compact reincarnation story about regret, identity, happiness, and learning to let go of the past.
FULL SPOILERS

Spirit Circle is a manga I ended up respecting a little more than I outright loved.

Its biggest strength is easily how it uses reincarnation. Instead of the previous lives simply being flashbacks that explain the present, most of them become little stories of their own. In only a few chapters we'll sometimes see someone's childhood, ambitions, relationships, failures, and eventually their death.

I've always had a soft spot for this kind of storytelling. There's something very effective about seeing an entire human life condensed down like that.

The beginning was fine, but I wasn't fully hooked. Fone's story didn't do much for me, and it wasn't until Vann that I really started seeing what the manga could do.

Vann's life is basically filled with failure and loss. His career as a knight ends before it really begins, he loses the people around him, and eventually spends his days drinking. Yet the thing that finally gives his life meaning is something he never would've expected: raising Rei.

Watching Rei grow from a child into an adult while Vann grows old alongside her was genuinely touching.

Then came Flors, which was probably my favorite individual past life in the manga.

What made Flors so good to me was how perfectly his life contrasts with Vann's.

Vann would look like a failure on paper. Flors looks like a success.

Flors gets recognition, money, a family, and status, yet none of it actually satisfies him. Even his wife spends her life longing for another man she can never truly be with.

One small part of his story really stuck with me. When talking about getting married and having children, his reasoning is basically "you know how it goes."

I love that because so many major decisions in life can end up being treated that way.

Go to college. Get the job. Get married. Have a family.

Why?

Because that's how it goes.

We can start treating life like there's some formula we're supposed to follow and happiness will eventually be waiting for us once we've checked enough boxes.

Flors checks them. It doesn't work.

Meanwhile Vann, whose life looks far worse from the outside, dies content with his daughter beside him. Flors dies alone, reaching outward and desperately wanting someone to say his name.

That contrast was probably my favorite thing Spirit Circle did.

There isn't some formula where the right career, money, recognition, or relationship guarantees happiness. I don't even think permanent happiness is something we're capable of reaching. Happiness is an emotion like sadness, anger, or fear. They're all going to get their fair share of screen time.

Maybe contentment is closer to what we should actually be looking for.

After Flors though, I really felt like the manga needed to jump to another level, and that's probably my biggest issue with Spirit Circle.

Houtarou's life was a definite step down for me. It wasn't bad, but I wasn't nearly as invested, and at that point I started becoming more interested in Fuuta and Kouko in the present.

Volume 4 thankfully pulled me back in. Lafalle and Lapis were probably my second favorite past-life section behind Vann and possibly the most consistently entertaining one. Taking the story into the future also showed how flexible the reincarnation concept could be.

One of the more interesting developments to me was Fuuta slowly losing his sense of identity.

He's not just remembering random events. He's putting entire human lives inside his head. Their relationships, regrets, emotions, and deaths all become memories that he himself can experience.

Eventually he even starts confusing who he is.

At what point does Fuuta stop being Fuuta and become a collection of all the people he used to be?

I also enjoyed Fuuta and Kouko getting closer. I love a good romance subplot, man, so Fuuta finally confessing and Kouko refusing to properly answer him until everything involving their previous lives had been settled worked for me.

It also ties into what I think the manga ultimately becomes about.

Fuuta isn't Vann, Flors, Houtarou, Lafalle, or Fortuna.

Kouko isn't obligated to remain whoever she used to be either.

They inherit the memories and consequences of these people, but that doesn't mean they have to continue living their lives for them.

Everything eventually comes back to Fortuna, and while I liked seeing all the pieces connect, I think this is also where my expectations worked against the manga.

For several volumes I kept waiting for some huge revelation or emotional payoff that would push Spirit Circle from something very good into something amazing for me.

That never completely happened.

The Fortuna material was solid and the way everything connected was satisfying, but I never got that massive moment I had been waiting for.

I did really like the ending though.

Rune and East finally being allowed to return to the cycle of life and death, with the condition that they eventually be born as Fuuta and Kouko's children, was a really nice resolution.

By the end, I think Spirit Circle becomes a story about letting go of the past without pretending it never happened.

Fuuta can acknowledge Fortuna without becoming Fortuna. Kouko can understand the hatred of her previous lives without being forced to continue it forever.

Otherwise reincarnation wouldn't really be another chance at life. It would just be the same conflicts continuing forever under different names.

My only real frustration with the ending is that I wanted a little more of Fuuta and Kouko's future together. It's clearly implied where things are heading, but after getting invested in their relationship I would've loved even a few pages of them later in life.

The art overall was fine to me. Nothing consistently incredible, although there are definitely standout panels when Mizukami really wants a moment to hit.

Overall, Spirit Circle is a very good and impressively compact manga. Its strongest moments show how much meaning you can get out of watching an entire life unfold in only a few chapters, and Vann and Flors in particular are going to stick with me.

It just constantly felt like it was one more great volume away from becoming something I really loved.

It never completely got there, but it came close.
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MossheadDLost2745T
90/100
A story that acts as both a fun thriller and a deep introspective view of life
I have nothing but praise for this manga. It was an almost perfect extremely enjoyable read. So this manga does a great job of hooking you with a really strong central mystery from chapter 1 which it builds upon. It's a page turner, the cliffhangers in this manga are sooooooo good and almost every chapter ends in one. The cast is really well done and even side characters are utilized superbly. The mc in particular is extremely likable and well-written and goes through this astounding coming of age arc, going from this unbothered kid to an impulsive person to finally realizing the value of the present and the value of life. The plot is brilliant(won't go into detail cuz of spoilers). My fav thing about this manga is how it is stupid, dark, emotional, funny and thrilling at the same time so naturally. The comedy is elite and really well timed. It's perfect thematically and resolves every plot and theme by the end. The themes are also really well done. It uses the concept of reincarnation to explore identity, human cruelty, personal growth, and the weight of the past. Especially the way it showed humanity's potential to change and letting go of grudges was beautiful(kinda reminded me of the themes of FMAB) The ending is solid. The pacing is top tier. The thing that amazed me the most is that it balanced extremely high concept sci-fi/fantasy with emotional stakes in an extremely short chapter count. Also what surprised me a lot was this manga had better romance writing than actual romance series.

The only 2 issues I have with it is that when THE reveal of the series happened it wasn't as impactful as it should have been. It was still pretty good but I felt if they had showed a bit more of an in depth perspective and slowed down a little it would have been better. Second the resolution of the main conflict was dumped 90% on the protagonist and even though the other characters played a role in it the finale was almost entirely centered around the main character. I felt that Koko's(the other main character) role was really diminished even though her setup was almost flawless and her internal conflict should have been given more value, in fact this would have resolved both issues I felt the series had. But you can't have everything in 45 chapter. I can definitely see the art style turning people off but trust me this series knows when to get dark and some moments had me staring at the scene and saying OK WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!

I have no idea why it's so underrated but I was happy to see that it has quite a high rating.

A highly recommended series for people who like any and all genres as this manga caters almost all.

Truly an underrated gem and something you'll not regret reading.
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