Wet Moon
a review by DrFlapJack
a review by DrFlapJack
It's the 1960's in Japan, and the Cold War is at its peak. Overzealous rookie policeman Sada has just returned to active duty after a traumatic head injury sustained while chasing a wanted murderer left him in a coma. However, he just can't seem to adjust to the changes in his life that took place while he slept. The metal shard still in his brain causes him terrible pain, and his memory isn't what it used to be. Murder suspect Kiwako Komiyama is nowhere to be found, almost as if she never existed at all. Most troubling of all, Sada's trusted colleague was killed in the line of duty after digging a little too deep into the subcutaneous evil undermining the city of Tatsumi. Fighting against the splinter of lunacy burrowing ever further into his brain and an obsessive desire for his alluring quarry, our moonstruck protagonist must decide who he can trust in this den of liars. Quite a tall order for a man who can't even trust himself anymore, let alone anyone else.
The manga makes heavy use of flashbacks, and the interesting thing is that it doesn't always utilize the tell-tale black background to indicate a flashback. Sometimes the best indicator of whether a scene takes place in the past or the present is the lack or presence of a scar on Sada's forehead, which led to me eventually having my eyes screwed to his cranium, especially during the more baffling chapters. It's not that hard to follow if you make sure to take it slow and pay attention, so that's just something to keep in mind as you read. Overall, the manga did a very good job of putting me in the shoes of the protagonist. With the persistent gaslighting from the other detectives and disorienting scene shifts, I ended up feeling just as paranoid and confused as Sada undoubtedly felt.
In any case, I believe the core meaning of Wet Moon all ties into the events and general attitude of the time period in which it takes place, so I'll do my best to try and explain it in a way that makes sense, hopefully not getting too sidetracked along the way. I make no promises.
From Hipparchus's careful charting of the stars, to Galileo Galilei's improvements of the telescope, to the Apollo 11 crew's triumphant first steps on the lunar surface, humanity's eyes have been forever fixed on the heavens, the Moon in particular being a key object of fascination and reverence. Ever since they realized that it was a place that could be set foot on, people have yearned to go there, and this has been reflected in literature and popular culture for just as long. One of the most recognizable examples of such is Georges Méliès's 1902 film Le Voyage dans la Lune, imagery from which is incorporated into Wet Moon's visual symbolism.
Méliès's film was inspired by From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes, which was written by Jules Verne in 1865. And in case that's still not old enough for you, in the 2nd century AD Lucian of Samosata penned A True History, a satirical travelogue of his trip to outer space to partake in the epic space battles of the Moon men. Lucian claimed his inspiration for such a work was "because I had no matter of verity to employ my pen in (for nothing hath befallen me worth the writing)". If you ever again feel the urge to complain that modern writers are lazy and uncreative, just remember that authors running out of ideas and sending their characters to space has been a thing since The Roman Empire was still standing. But I digress, where was I? Ah yes, rocket ships.
The most vital period of space travel development was the Space Race lasting from the 50's to the mid 70's. The United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a cutthroat sprint for the finish line, each one desperate to be the first to test the waters of the final frontier. The publicly optimistic attitudes of their leaders gave way to cold cynicism in private. To them, space travel was not about the betterment of mankind, but about national security. It's this cultural and political environment in which Wet Moon is set, this time of feverish international distrust and fantastical leaps of scientific discovery the likes of which the world had never seen before.
It's also shorthand for insanity; in simpler times of science and medicine, mental illness was once thought to be connected to the phases of the Moon. It's why the word lunatic is derived from the Latin root luna. In the context of this manga, "go to the Moon" could be taken as an unusual euphemism for "go insane." Insanity is the foundation of Wet Moon. It nibbles away at everything like a colony of ants until Sada, and by extension the audience, can no longer tell where reality ends and delusion begins. It's also portrayed as sort of a defense mechanism, a way of running away from one's problems. Both Komiyama and Sada had guilt so strong that they wanted to run away from themselves, so they began their desperate game of cat and mouse, one which they have no intention of ever bringing to an end - after all, it's the chase that's the fun part, when you're still free to imagine what will happen when it ends.
In a way, the conflict is just as much cynicism vs idealism as it is sanity vs. madness. I don't think it's a coincidence that Sada's mental deterioration progesses alongside his increasing disillusionment with the law enforcement and its blatant encouragement of the criminal underground. The residents of Tatsumi have given up on dreams and honor, and continue to live in the immoral reality. Only Sada dares to go against the grain, and they all label him a madman for it. But is it really Sada who's the crazy one? Or is it the corrupt city officials who are crazy, content as they are to sit on their laurels and seek hollow carnal pleasure?
In order to reach the Moon, Sada must first meet with the mysterious informant Tamayama. And in order to meet with Tamayama, one must be insane, as Sada is. Insane enough to rebel against the hedonistic status quo, insane enough to believe he could set foot on the Moon, insane enough to chase something and someone that he knows he can't have. That's why everyone fears Tamayama, and fears those who have met him. People who have seen Tamayama are the kind who have given up reason and logic in order to swim against the current. People who could potentially accomplish the impossible.
I might be a bit cracked myself for saying this, but I'd consider Wet Moon to be a celebration of lunacy more than anything else. Because, like it or not, madness is a necessity for mankind's continued survival. After all, the craziest people are often the best innovators, the bravest pioneers, the most audacious artists. I'd go so far as to say that the very foundation of human history depends on the countless stupid, ill advised escapades of absolute nutcases that by all logic should have failed but somehow didn't. I mean, you'd have to be completely screwy to shoot a man into outer space, or dive into the Mariana Trench, or trek to the South Pole, right? Yet these are the kind of things that the boldest of us are inclined to do, and human civilization is all the better and worse for it. I think the deranged curiosity of humans is what makes them so endearing to me. After all, what other species on Earth would risk life and limb to cross an uncrossable boundary, simply because they want to know what's on the other side?
"Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. As you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth...." - Richard Nixon, July 20, 1969.
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