Girls' Last Tour

[StLOrca]

Unbelievably good art and writing. I think I’ll pair it with that sparkling comedy, Grave of the Fireflies. /s

 

[Mast_Chacha]

I believe this is not the end for them. The black stone is some sort of machine. When Yu asks "What's that?", Chi says "Seems like some black stone." and then Yu replies with "Is it just a stone, or....". I think the author is implying that the black stone is not exactly what it seems. Even in the last panel you can see to left strange markings starts to appear on the black surface similar to machine code. The extra chapter takes place right after this as you can see Chi and Yu sleeping and the shadows are at exactly the same place. Notice not much of the black stone is revealed currently. Then the camera pans out, we some other parts of the city and then when we come back, a large part of the stone is uncovered and a machine code pattern is glowing. THEY ARE STILL ALIVE.

none of that "they never woke up" bs.

i rest my case.

 

[Doctor_Who]

In my opinion they would have done well to follow Kanazawa.

 

[RorqMayajo]

Just started and finished this series in an evening, my god it was good. Such a consistently heavy atmosphere intermixed with moments of joy, tenderness, and discovery. Thoughts on the ending in the spoiler below.

Spoiler

I'm sad the girls didn't get an overtly good ending, but I think the manga was made better by the fact that they didn't. Even if they had survived in the short term all the signs were clearly pointing towards the Earth itself being bound for an imminent death. And while the characters' deaths were sad, there's really no better way to go than falling asleep next to the person you love and not waking back up. I know there's a person in this comments section a few years back who suggested that freezing to death would be agonizing, but from (secondhand) experience it's really one of the most peaceful ways to go, especially if you do so in your sleep. Fall asleep, dream until you stop dreaming, then fail to wake up as your body slowly cools to the level at which you can no longer sustain your brain function. I'd like to think they both dreamed happy dreams before they slipped away.

Anyways, as I'm writing this I feel the twinge in my nose that suggests that waterworks are incoming, so I should probably stop before I get my keyboard wet. 10/10 manga in the strongest sense, highly recommend a read for anyone, though you must be prepared for some heavy stuff.

 

[RorqMayajo]

Spoiler: After Reading Shimeji Simulation...

Hmm. After having just finished the author's more recent manga, Shimeji Simulation, I have to say I think I agree with Mast_Chacha's interpretation of the ending. In Shimeji Simulation, we find out that the world is a virtual simulation stored in a supercomputer floating in space that holds the souls of all humanity after a plague and then a great war. Additionally, in the manga we see Chito and Yuuri in the world. While this could just be a throw-in for fans of Girls' Last Tour, the stories of both of the worlds seem to line up well. The plague and then great war happened, throwing humanity into a death spiral which they escaped by virtualizing their souls and heading off into space, which is why in GLT we don't see any corpses around the world. This would also be supported by the fact that in the GLT chapter with the rocket we see that the third rocket launched by humanity is still out there in space, somewhere far off. Then, at the end of GLT as Chito and Yuuri finally reach the highest point in the city, they come across the mysterious black stone that's mentioned, shown to contain machine code, but never elaborated upon. I would say that's most likely a transmitter, considering it's the only structure so high up. Chito and Yuuri, after waking up from their sleep, decide to investigate what the thing is (as we can see by the fact that in the final frame of the Volume 6 extra chapter there's a good deal of the face of the structure that has been wiped clean of snow), activate it, and have their souls virtualized and sent to the spacecraft, which is why they show up in Shimeji Simulation. I could very well be wrong about this and just hoping that the two girls survive, but at the same time it seems plausible to me that this could be the intended chronology.

 

[knopfir]

PEAK!!! ITS PEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mullidittx]

:''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

After reading, it makes me thing what happens when a place with voices (such as people from the internet) stops existing.
When a server goes down and everything gets deleted.
I read ancient comments and think about when will this site goes down. Or the people that wrote those comments... idk
With time, everything is gone.

 

[awm74198]

PLZ KILL ME TO MAKE THEM ALIVE

 

[TopAgarDealer]

Spoiler: After Reading Shimeji Simulation...

Hmm. After having just finished the author's more recent manga, Shimeji Simulation, I have to say I think I agree with Mast_Chacha's interpretation of the ending. In Shimeji Simulation, we find out that the world is a virtual simulation stored in a supercomputer floating in space that holds the souls of all humanity after a plague and then a great war. Additionally, in the manga we see Chito and Yuuri in the world. While this could just be a throw-in for fans of Girls' Last Tour, the stories of both of the worlds seem to line up well. The plague and then great war happened, throwing humanity into a death spiral which they escaped by virtualizing their souls and heading off into space, which is why in GLT we don't see any corpses around the world. This would also be supported by the fact that in the GLT chapter with the rocket we see that the third rocket launched by humanity is still out there in space, somewhere far off. Then, at the end of GLT as Chito and Yuuri finally reach the highest point in the city, they come across the mysterious black stone that's mentioned, shown to contain machine code, but never elaborated upon. I would say that's most likely a transmitter, considering it's the only structure so high up. Chito and Yuuri, after waking up from their sleep, decide to investigate what the thing is (as we can see by the fact that in the final frame of the Volume 6 extra chapter there's a good deal of the face of the structure that has been wiped clean of snow), activate it, and have their souls virtualized and sent to the spacecraft, which is why they show up in Shimeji Simulation. I could very well be wrong about this and just hoping that the two girls survive, but at the same time it seems plausible to me that this could be the intended chronology.

Spoiler

Out of your three pieces of supporting evidence: the second is wrong since we know humanity kept moving back down the tower so it makes sense why Chito and Yuri did not come across corpses.
Furthermore, Chito and Yuuri emerges from a lower floor that is similar to WW2, just before the birth of the Atomic Age, Space Age, and Computer Age. Their journey parallels non-existence at birth arriving to the non-existence at death, it represents the mortality of humanity. However, humanity's mortality also lies with it a piece of hope. Humanity's downfall does not end with its corruption by all the power it has accumulated and unresolved hatreds then degenerates back down to its origin, but with an innocent new generation that rediscovers all of humanity's accomplishments celebrating how far we've come. This is, in my opinion, why Shimeji Simulation takes place in a world beyond war and death because both war and death has already been finished in Girl's Last Tour.
Moreover, your theory makes no sense because there is nothing to suggest the black rock is a transmitter or a machine of any sort. It is an otherworldly "structure" that is reminiscent of other structures seen in Shimeji Simulation because that's what its supposed to be. By climbing up to the final floor, Chito and Yuuri have left behind the world of war and death and into the world that is elaborated upon in Shimeji Simulation. But, this doesn't mean Chito and Yuuri in Girl's Last Tour are the same couple as the neighbors in Shimeji Simulation, because the two mangas are separate worlds where Tkimz can explore the philosophical ideas unique to each one.

 

[RorqMayajo]

Spoiler

Out of your three pieces of supporting evidence: the second is wrong since we know humanity kept moving back down the tower so it makes sense why Chito and Yuri did not come across corpses.
Furthermore, Chito and Yuuri emerges from a lower floor that is similar to WW2, just before the birth of the Atomic Age, Space Age, and Computer Age. Their journey parallels non-existence at birth arriving to the non-existence at death, it represents the mortality of humanity. However, humanity's mortality also lies with it a piece of hope. Humanity's downfall does not end with its corruption by all the power it has accumulated and unresolved hatreds then degenerates back down to its origin, but with an innocent new generation that rediscovers all of humanity's accomplishments celebrating how far we've come. This is, in my opinion, why Shimeji Simulation takes place in a world beyond war and death because both war and death has already been finished in Girl's Last Tour.
Moreover, your theory makes no sense because there is nothing to suggest the black rock is a transmitter or a machine of any sort. It is an otherworldly "structure" that is reminiscent of other structures seen in Shimeji Simulation because that's what its supposed to be. By climbing up to the final floor, Chito and Yuuri have left behind the world of war and death and into the world that is elaborated upon in Shimeji Simulation. But, this doesn't mean Chito and Yuuri in Girl's Last Tour are the same couple as the neighbors in Shimeji Simulation, because the two mangas are separate worlds where Tkimz can explore the philosophical ideas unique to each one.

Spoiler

I'm not sure what you mean by "humanity kept moving back down the tower", could you elaborate? As for Chito and Yuuri starting off in a lower floor with WWII-esque technology, from their flashbacks we see that they come from a survivor community. With the vast majority of humanity dead, it makes sense that the survivors would only make use of technology that's easy to understand and utilize as opposed to more complex computer-based stuff. As for the black rock being a transmitter/computer, we see in the bonus chapter that a robot writes "machine words" out on a table, which are identical in structure to those expressed on the black rock in the volume 6 tankobon extra chapter. I see no reason why the black rock would have machine code on it if it wasn't itself a machine. The fact that we see these symbols in ShimSim when the world's being changed only further suggests this fact considering that the world of ShimSim is in a computer simulation and thus the world's rules would be written in code. As for it being a transmitter specifically, my main evidence for that is that it's the only thing at the very top of the world, the closest to space (where it would be the easiest to send signals to a floating supercomputer). What else would a lone piece of machinery on the roof be used for?
As for whether or not the Chito and Yuuri of ShimSim and GLT are the same people, yeah, who knows. Could just be a cameo from the author because the two characters are popular. But considering how much the backstory of ShimSim parallels with the story of GLT and for the reasons I've previously listed, in my mind it seems likely.

 

[TopAgarDealer]

Spoiler

I'm not sure what you mean by "humanity kept moving back down the tower", could you elaborate? As for Chito and Yuuri starting off in a lower floor with WWII-esque technology, from their flashbacks we see that they come from a survivor community. With the vast majority of humanity dead, it makes sense that the survivors would only make use of technology that's easy to understand and utilize as opposed to more complex computer-based stuff. As for the black rock being a transmitter/computer, we see in the bonus chapter that a robot writes "machine words" out on a table, which are identical in structure to those expressed on the black rock in the volume 6 tankobon extra chapter. I see no reason why the black rock would have machine code on it if it wasn't itself a machine. The fact that we see these symbols in ShimSim when the world's being changed only further suggests this fact considering that the world of ShimSim is in a computer simulation and thus the world's rules would be written in code. As for it being a transmitter specifically, my main evidence for that is that it's the only thing at the very top of the world, the closest to space (where it would be the easiest to send signals to a floating supercomputer). What else would a lone piece of machinery on the roof be used for?
As for whether or not the Chito and Yuuri of ShimSim and GLT are the same people, yeah, who knows. Could just be a cameo from the author because the two characters are popular. But considering how much the backstory of ShimSim parallels with the story of GLT and for the reasons I've previously listed, in my mind it seems likely.

Spoiler

Literally that, humanity continued the war by traveling down the tower to keep fighting with older technology once the newer technology was destroyed. Despite all the destruction and regression, humanity still chose to continue war.
Your second point is yet another massive jump in logic that lands into a bottomless pit. So both the rock and table has been inscribed with "machine words", but that doesn't lead any credence to the possibility of the rock being a transmitter capable of uploading electronic beings to a specific satellite far away in outer space more so than the table is. All the "machine words" proves is that the rock, like the table, is a solid surface to write things on, and that's it.
Lastly, the reason that rock is there is for the same reason those stairs are there: humanity ended with unfinished aspirations and not because it had accomplished some ultimate goal it had set out for itself. In fact, Chito and Yuuri's last words reflect this same exact meaning, rather than thinking of how to spend their final moment upon finishing their journey, they anticipated waking-up tomorrow, always believing in life. This is what Tkimz wants the reader to learn from Chito and Yuuri's "Last Tour": humans should not live life expecting how it will end.

 

[RorqMayajo]

Spoiler

Literally that, humanity continued the war by traveling down the tower to keep fighting with older technology once the newer technology was destroyed. Despite all the destruction and regression, humanity still chose to continue war.
Your second point is yet another massive jump in logic that lands into a bottomless pit. So both the rock and table has been inscribed with "machine words", but that doesn't lead any credence to the possibility of the rock being a transmitter capable of uploading electronic beings to a specific satellite far away in outer space more so than the table is. All the "machine words" proves is that the rock, like the table, is a solid surface to write things on, and that's it.
Lastly, the reason that rock is there is for the same reason those stairs are there: humanity ended with unfinished aspirations and not because it had accomplished some ultimate goal it had set out for itself. In fact, Chito and Yuuri's last words reflect this same exact meaning, rather than thinking of how to spend their final moment upon finishing their journey, they anticipated waking-up tomorrow, always believing in life. This is what Tkimz wants the reader to learn from Chito and Yuuri's "Last Tour": humans should not live life expecting how it will end.

Spoiler

I can agree with your point about humanity going down the tower and fighting with older tech, it would make sense if you were in a war that destroyed a huge chunk of your population to switch to more reliable and easily-producible weapons instead of ones that require knowledge from people who are probably all dead. Not sure how that proves my point about the plague and then a great war mentioned in ShimSim lining up with the GLT world well wrong.
Dude, you really need to stop acting like I'm directly insulting you or the creator. "A massive jump in logic that lands into a bottomless pit." Calm down man. How on earth is it a jump in logic to assume that an object with machine code written on it would be a machine, rather than a large, inanimate rock that somehow got up to the highest point of the world (it wouldn't even fit up the staircase) and then had this code written on it for no reason, the writing being uncovered in the very end frame for also no reason. As for it being a transmitter specifically, I've already explained my logic on that, and while of course it's a theory and not a fact, I really don't see why you see it as so unlikely.
As for the fact that you're explaining all this away by saying that it's just symbolism involved in the author's takeaway message for the book, is there anywhere that they've confirmed any of what you're saying, or is this just your takeaway from the series that you're expecting others to take as fact? Personally I had different takeaways from it, though yours certainly isn't wrong, people can get different messages from media. And even with your idea of the author's message, how on earth is putting a big black rock and then putting machine code on that rock important for that? I totally get how there being nothing on the roof represents humanity ending with unfinished aspirations, but that doesn't explain at all why there's a rock with machine code on it.

 

[TopAgarDealer]

Spoiler

I can agree with your point about humanity going down the tower and fighting with older tech, it would make sense if you were in a war that destroyed a huge chunk of your population to switch to more reliable and easily-producible weapons instead of ones that require knowledge from people who are probably all dead. Not sure how that proves my point about the plague and then a great war mentioned in ShimSim lining up with the GLT world well wrong.
Dude, you really need to stop acting like I'm directly insulting you or the creator. "A massive jump in logic that lands into a bottomless pit." Calm down man. How on earth is it a jump in logic to assume that an object with machine code written on it would be a machine, rather than a large, inanimate rock that somehow got up to the highest point of the world (it wouldn't even fit up the staircase) and then had this code written on it for no reason, the writing being uncovered in the very end frame for also no reason. As for it being a transmitter specifically, I've already explained my logic on that, and while of course it's a theory and not a fact, I really don't see why you see it as so unlikely.
As for the fact that you're explaining all this away by saying that it's just symbolism involved in the author's takeaway message for the book, is there anywhere that they've confirmed any of what you're saying, or is this just your takeaway from the series that you're expecting others to take as fact? Personally I had different takeaways from it, though yours certainly isn't wrong, people can get different messages from media. And even with your idea of the author's message, how on earth is putting a big black rock and then putting machine code on that rock important for that? I totally get how there being nothing on the roof represents humanity ending with unfinished aspirations, but that doesn't explain at all why there's a rock with machine code on it.

Spoiler

Nothing in what I said indicates that I'm acting insulted. All I said is that your theory is nuts. After you yourself brought up another instance of an object etched with machine language was a table, it only makes sense to believe that rock is just as inanimate. That rock is there for the same reason those stairs climb to nowhere, they were never completed, never to fulfill an intended purpose we will never know about. So your reason why that rock is a transmitter, the machine code and its position, can be debunked.
Also, you accusing me of "explaining all this away by saying that it's just symbolism" is entirely disingenuous. Never have I claimed the rock is "just symbolism". Saying the rock being part of an unfinished building next to an unfinished flight of stairs all atop an unfinished floor juxtaposed by Chito and Yuuri falling asleep right next to it similarly with aspirations for tomorrow never to be fulfilled is what I believe to be an intentional choice by the author and further supports my explanation for what the rock is. If you disagree, fine. Leave counter-evidence as to why it's all a meaningless coincidence. But don't just wave points away as "just symbolism" without critiquing them. I agree people can come away from media interpreting different messages, all I'm doing is proposing an alternative interpretation based on evidence that debunks yours.
As for why there's machine code: Maybe a robot wrote it there when he and his human friends were constructing the final floor? Maybe they wrote it long after the humans were gone? Possibly, as a message for future robots who might happen across it? Might be graffiti? Or maybe for the same reasons why Chito and Yuuri left their drawing in that art gallery despite knowing no human would ever see it? It's very open-ended, but it can't be a transmitter not because I am the only correct explanation but because there is textual evidence that points away from the rock being a transmitter.

 

[RorqMayajo]

Spoiler

Nothing in what I said indicates that I'm acting insulted. All I said is that your theory is nuts. After you yourself brought up another instance of an object etched with machine language was a table, it only makes sense to believe that rock is just as inanimate. That rock is there for the same reason those stairs climb to nowhere, they were never completed, never to fulfill an intended purpose we will never know about. So your reason why that rock is a transmitter, the machine code and its position, can be debunked.
Also, you accusing me of "explaining all this away by saying that it's just symbolism" is entirely disingenuous. Never have I claimed the rock is "just symbolism". Saying the rock being part of an unfinished building next to an unfinished flight of stairs all atop an unfinished floor juxtaposed by Chito and Yuuri falling asleep right next to it similarly with aspirations for tomorrow never to be fulfilled is what I believe to be an intentional choice by the author and further supports my explanation for what the rock is. If you disagree, fine. Leave counter-evidence as to why it's all a meaningless coincidence. But don't just wave points away as "just symbolism" without critiquing them. I agree people can come away from media interpreting different messages, all I'm doing is proposing an alternative interpretation based on evidence that debunks yours.
As for why there's machine code: Maybe a robot wrote it there when he and his human friends were constructing the final floor? Maybe they wrote it long after the humans were gone? Possibly, as a message for future robots who might happen across it? Might be graffiti? Or maybe for the same reasons why Chito and Yuuri left their drawing in that art gallery despite knowing no human would ever see it? It's very open-ended, but it can't be a transmitter not because I am the only correct explanation but because there is textual evidence that points away from the rock being a transmitter.

Spoiler

Alright, I misunderstood your wording, I apologise. Now, the way I see it is that the reason we were shown the machine language on the table at all is not that it was inanimate and the language on it unimportant, but that that scene of the robot etching code on the table was there so that we would know that the stuff on the object on the roof is code.
I would agree with your explanation of the object being there as just being something left behind from when the place was built and abandoned if the thing didn't have code on it. Yeah, maybe that code was written by some random construction robot for no explained reason. But it seems way too deliberate. Why are we shown specifically there being code in a close-up shot of a part of the rock with the snow wiped off if not to show that that code is very important? If the code is just a minor detail that's not meant to be looked at deeply, why is it so focused on?
When I referred to parts of your explanation as "just symbolism", I'm referring to how you're taking details like the presence of the code and glossing over them by not providing a specific reason for their existence, just saying it's all a part of the author's message without providing info on why that would be a part of their message. You provided a possible reason in your latest message, so that's no longer an issue. I didn't refute specific points within that part of your text because there's nothing to refute, it's just your opinions on what the overall message of the series is. Like yeah, maybe the author's overall message for the series is that you should live life expecting how it should end, but there's no way for me to refute that because it's your own personal takeaway from the series. I don't even particularly disagree with it, I just don't agree that that message means my theory is incorrect.
As for that last bit, what is the textual evidence that points away from it being a transmitter? In our argument so far you've provided theoretical other explanations for what it could be according to your own personal takeaway from the series, but none of those are evidenced textually, unless I'm missing something.

 

[JohnEsly]

]They lived happily, it's very sad but it was an inevitable ending, I imagined it would end that way, and honestly, it was the most peaceful way possible... I love both of them very much