Abara

Abara (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump from May 19, 2005,^[1] to March 18, 2006,^[2][3] with its chapters collected in two tankōbon volumes.^[4][5]

The series takes place in a dystopian universe characterized by towering edifices. It centers around a particular class of beings, termed Gaunas, who possess the unique ability to mold armaments and protective gear out of bone-like material. The plot centers around one specific Gauna, Kudou Denji.

It is licensed for French release by Glénat, for Polish by JPF,^[6][7] and for English by Viz Media.

In the future, humans are forced to live in cities connected only by a highway and tubes. Some humans mutate into White Gaunas which pose a threat to mankind. To preserve humanity's future, a group of scientists produced time machines powered by nuclear plants called mausoleums, which can send humans to a distant future to ensure the survival of the human race. They also use the collective energy from these plants to teleport all White Gaunas on Earth present to a separate timeline, and entrust their knowledge to the fourth Eon Group, tasked to ensure that at least a pair of humans can escape into the future. However, White Gauna mutation is still prominent, and as they consume the remaining humans, survivors begin desperately fighting over the time machines and mausoleums. As a result, all but one of the mausoleums are destroyed. The fourth Eon Group is wiped out, but not before uploading remnants of their memories onto computers embedded in the Raven, the Skull Man, and the Stick, with an Observation Bureau created to safeguard the truth of the mausoleums.

Hundreds of years later, the Observation Bureau study the White Gaunas to counter them and engineer a human-Gauna hybrid known as a Black Gauna, with the White counterparts' abilities, but retain their human minds. Two children, Denji and Nayuta, are used as test subjects. Nayuta is the first to be experimented upon and a control device is implanted in her. However, before they can implant the other control device, Denji escapes, killing several in the process.

A few years later, Tadohomi requests Denji's help to kill a White Gauna before more casualties occur. After Denji is wounded fighting the Gauna, Sakijima tracks down Tadohomi and arrests her finding his body. Meanwhile, the Observation Bureau sends Nayuta to bring Denji back to them by taking advantage of his wounded state. The boss of the Observation Bureau believes Black Gaunas are untrustworthy and are monsters akin to their White cousins. Sakijima is ordered by his bosses in the Ministry to release Tadohomi, decides to uncover the truth while harboring suspicions of the Observation Bureau.

A White Gauna spawns, but is able to consume humans before the Bureau takes action. They unsuccessfully send a team of humans, before sending Nayuta to subdue the big White Gauna. Prevailing against one more White Gauna, she falls dead soon after. As she is telepathically linked with her twin Ayuta, any damage sustained by Nayuta is also manifested in Ayuta.

Meanwhile, police officer Sakijima gains intel regarding the fourth Eon Group and the Gaunas through a colleague from an old man managing the archives before heading to Kegen Hall. The colleague is shot by a security guard whom Sakijima kills. Sakijima meets Tadohomi who plans to rescue Denji. Sakajima saves Tadahomi from a team of Kegen Hall guards, and they enter the room where Denji is held. A revived Ayuta awakens, mutating into a White Gauna. Denji fights Ayuta while Sakijima and Tadohomi flee on helicopter. The fourth Eon Group successors seek to activate a missile believed to be capable of killing the big White Gauna if it hits its spinal cord. Denji fights Anita while the missile is primed, with the Skull still hanging onto the missile, trying to attach the host-less Black Gauna to the projectile. Raven fires the missile with himself at the big White Gauna.

The big White Gauna is killed, but the nuclear reactor is beginning to fail, with the Forbidden Cage appearing due to insufficient energy to teleport the remaining White Gaunas. The Stick and the Raven guide Tadohomi and Sakijima to the House storing the time machine. The Raven is killed by Ayuta, whom Nayuta later kills. Tadohomi and Sakijima escape into the House just as an explosion seemingly destroys Nayuta. With the help of the Stick, the duo activate the time machine.

Many years later, the rest of humanity is wiped out either by White Gaunas or by infighting. Tadohomi and Sakijima depart the overgrown House and look up into the sky. Two Black Gaunas, revealed to be Denji and Nayuta, continue to battle with the White Gaunas, stranded in a separate dimension.

The manga was nominated for an Eisner Award in the category "Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia" in 2019.^[8]

• Abara at Anime News Network's encyclopedia