The writing in this is beautiful. The insight we got into both Sak's and Lima's inner worlds was captivating, exciting and touching at the same time. It created enough tension to keep you on your toes, but it also showed depth to their inner workings and thus, relationship as well as dynamic. Their relationship progression felt a tiny bit rushed, but I can't complain too much, the story is just that good overall. I'd like to imagine they were both desperate to cling onto someone for their respective reasons. Sak was able to say the right thing and read Lima because of his highly analytical and pragmatic thinking, and Lima saw in Sak someone who understood him, seemingly emotionally, but actually cognitively (cognitive empathy). I also enjoyed the dialogues a lot and how analytical both Sak and Lima were, how they actively tried to read the situation for example during their escape from the academy, how everyone sort of tried to strategize and think ahead.
What I find particularly strong about this story is the depiction of the exploitation of children, and it made me very emotional at times. Children are the most vulnerable and exploited group in our history, and the child soldiers used for betting purposes illustrated that very well. The relationship Lima had with that other kid who could've been a potential core user was particularly tragic, it stayed with me for a while.
Another interesting take on the esper/guide concept, in this case core user/caller, is the fact callers are sort of universal amplifiers for core users, so the bond could happen with anyone and could be broken, too. The concept of mental energy and how the core user's intentions, mental state as well as attachment to the caller influence or even transform the core abilities, like what happened with Sak, is also intriguing and original.
The way the academy proceeded was indeed chaotic and not very well thought through at times. But again, I'd like to think people in a dire situation wouldn't have the best decision making abilities, and I think what happens often with such organizations and their heads, is tunnel vision and taking extreme measures to quickly achieve a goal. It really would've been more logical to keep Sak and Lima together, but then again, we saw how Sak's core adapted specifically because of Lima and the need to protect him (which rendered him dangerous, not just a cure), and there was also a part somewhere if I remember correctly, where it was mentioned the core can be amplified when there's separation, too, so maybe the academy wanted to experiment in that regard? Maybe the point was for Sak to focus on being the cure first and foremost, not attaching himself too much to the caller and thus, basing his core off him, and the caller just having to be in the vicinity like an instrument (underlining the cold, sterile approach of the academy, as they mentioned they see Sak as nothing but a vessel for a cure).
The side characters in this story could all have their separate plots and it would be interesting to read, like Hana or the doctor, and the director's son. It would've been interesting to see why they came to this decision about Sak and Lima for example, or what the director's true philosophy is, what her son is like, etc.
What I also didn't quite understand is how, despite the destroyed object that's supposed to amplify or even create a stronger bond, Sak was still obsessed with Lima. I think the only major consequence was the fact he couldn't read Lima's mind anymore. But then again, I'd imagine it would have more of an influence, and not just that, but the fact Sak was led to a caller by the academy , who he would hear in his mind long before he knew of his existence, but then we would later learn about the fact anyone can be a caller and any core user can attach themselves to one, meaning there wasn't a particular special bond between Sak and Lima since they didn't know each other until this point. (Contrary to Hana and Nana) So why then would the story allude to the fact Sak recognized Lima's thoughts as he knew about them from his childhood or so? Is that part of the attachment process - some sort of illusion created for the core user to attach themselves to the caller?
Overall a very solid read with a good plot, great writing, and some tiny bits of missed parts or maybe parts that could've been worked out even better. Still a 4,5/5 for me.
The writing in this is beautiful. The insight we got into both Sak's and Lima's inner worlds was captivating, exciting and touching at the same time. It created enough tension to keep you on your toes, but it also showed depth to their inner workings and thus, relationship as well as dynamic. Their relationship progression felt a tiny bit rushed, but I can't complain too much, the story is just that good overall. I'd like to imagine they were both desperate to cling onto someone for their respective reasons. Sak was able to say the right thing and read Lima because of his highly analytical and pragmatic thinking, and Lima saw in Sak someone who understood him, seemingly emotionally, but actually cognitively (cognitive empathy). I also enjoyed the dialogues a lot and how analytical both Sak and Lima were, how they actively tried to read the situation for example during their escape from the academy, how everyone sort of tried to strategize and think ahead.
What I find particularly strong about this story is the depiction of the exploitation of children, and it made me very emotional at times. Children are the most vulnerable and exploited group in our history, and the child soldiers used for betting purposes illustrated that very well. The relationship Lima had with that other kid who could've been a potential core user was particularly tragic, it stayed with me for a while.
Another interesting take on the esper/guide concept, in this case core user/caller, is the fact callers are sort of universal amplifiers for core users, so the bond could happen with anyone and could be broken, too. The concept of mental energy and how the core user's intentions, mental state as well as attachment to the caller influence or even transform the core abilities, like what happened with Sak, is also intriguing and original.
The way the academy proceeded was indeed chaotic and not very well thought through at times. But again, I'd like to think people in a dire situation wouldn't have the best decision making abilities, and I think what happens often with such organizations and their heads, is tunnel vision and taking extreme measures to quickly achieve a goal. It really would've been more logical to keep Sak and Lima together, but then again, we saw how Sak's core adapted specifically because of Lima and the need to protect him (which rendered him dangerous, not just a cure), and there was also a part somewhere if I remember correctly, where it was mentioned the core can be amplified when there's separation, too, so maybe the academy wanted to experiment in that regard? Maybe the point was for Sak to focus on being the cure first and foremost, not attaching himself too much to the caller and thus, basing his core off him, and the caller just having to be in the vicinity like an instrument (underlining the cold, sterile approach of the academy, as they mentioned they see Sak as nothing but a vessel for a cure).
The side characters in this story could all have their separate plots and it would be interesting to read, like Hana or the doctor, and the director's son. It would've been interesting to see why they came to this decision about Sak and Lima for example, or what the director's true philosophy is, what her son is like, etc.
What I also didn't quite understand is how, despite the destroyed object that's supposed to amplify or even create a stronger bond, Sak was still obsessed with Lima. I think the only major consequence was the fact he couldn't read Lima's mind anymore. But then again, I'd imagine it would have more of an influence, and not just that, but the fact Sak was led to a caller by the academy , who he would hear in his mind long before he knew of his existence, but then we would later learn about the fact anyone can be a caller and any core user can attach themselves to one, meaning there wasn't a particular special bond between Sak and Lima since they didn't know each other until this point. (Contrary to Hana and Nana) So why then would the story allude to the fact Sak recognized Lima's thoughts as he knew about them from his childhood or so? Is that part of the attachment process - some sort of illusion created for the core user to attach themselves to the caller?
Overall a very solid read with a good plot, great writing, and some tiny bits of missed parts or maybe parts that could've been worked out even better. Still a 4,5/5 for me.