2024 March 15
        
 (IMG) Milk Closet.
        
       I finished reading Milk Closet by Tomizawa Hitoshi a few
       days ago. The basic premise is that various universes in the
       multiverse are under attack by an insectoid species called
       the "ants." Universes are disappearing 1 by 1. In this
       universe, elementary aged children start mysteriously
       disappearing all around the world. A few of those children
       form symobiotic relationships with alien "tail creatures,"
       and those kids are recruited by an older girl to be part of
       the "Milk Squad." 
        
       The Milk Squad's main goal is to allegedly help retrieve the
       missing children and fight the ants. But there is a deeper
       plot, and the kids of the Milk Squad are in for a traumatic
       ordeal.
        
       Like the other works by Tomizawa I've read, its a bizarre
       story and very hard to follow. The focus really is on the
       plot, with many of the characters just being along for the
       ride. The main appeal of Milk Closet is the horrific things
       the main characters face and the anxiety generated while
       reading it. Similar to Tomizawa's other works, all the main
       characters are young children who view the world in a
       simplistic way. Their motivations aren't complex, which
       means it's very easy for them to end up in situations where
       we know they're going to make the wrong decision, but as
       readers we are powerless to stop them. I don't have kids and
       even I felt dread reading this story.
        
       The biggest flaw of Milk Closet is that it's occasionally
       incomprehensible. This may be due to the translation, but it
       seems to be a reucrring problem with Tomizawa's works. With
       more straightforward narration and less shallow characters,
       Milk Closet could be a fascinating work, but as-is, it's
       mostly just a curiosity.