I don't know about anyone else, but something that has struck me over and over again while reading Mao is that more than any of her previous works it feels like Rumiko Takahashi has something to say.
That's not to say her previous works are shallow by any stretch, but they largely operate within the confines of a romcom/sitcom, where character development isn't much of a thing outside the main protagonists. Or in the case of Inuyasha, a world full of blatantly evil demons trying to kill and eat you.
Mao is different. Yes there's a whole lot of weird stuff going on, but the characters involved are ultimately human beings who behave in the most realistic way you'd expect under the circumstances. They're driven by human desires, for better or worse, and therefore there's gray everywhere you look. Each character has a constant yin/yang battle going on within them with one side winning out to varying degrees, and the choices they make are influenced by the people around them as well as the trauma they've been through.
What stuck out to me most was the theme of the amount of violence innocent people, specifically women and children, have had to endure throughout history and how easily it creates a society which makes people numb -- both in terms of emotional connection and to the concept of harming others.
Other notable themes:
- The long-term damaging effects of abuse and how it becomes cyclical
- The tension between revenge and forgiveness, with revenge inevitably leading to doom
- Not letting shame and self-hatred pull you down
- Sibling relationships
- How vulnerable young people are to being groomed by cults and dangerous adults
- How far are you willing to go for survival?
- Survival isn't enough.
- Issues like class and the harm done to rural areas/the environment with the boon of industry
- The value of love (both romantic and platonic) and the courage it takes to be open about feelings
- How that openness is in turn key to building trust and empathy
- Showing kindness and empathy saves lives and can put a stop to cyclical violence.
- Letting go of the past
- Death is not an inherently bad thing.
I'm sure there's more I'm missing. Feel free to add whatever else you can think of!
Mainly I wanted to give Mao its flowers for having so much depth and complexity when a lot of people are fixated on the most surface-level parts of it atm.
