Houseki no Kuni

Read Manga

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Japanese: 宝石の国

More titles

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 13

Chapters: 108

Status: Finished

Published: Oct 25, 2012 to Apr 25, 2024

Genres: Action, Drama, Fantasy

Theme: Anthropomorphic

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Afternoon

Authors: Ichikawa, Haruko (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.97¹ (scored by 53,001 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #15²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #80

Members: 157,738

Favorites: 17,121

Available At

Kodansha USA

Resources

Wikipedia

8.97

Ranked #15Popularity #80Members 157,738

MangaAfternoonIchikawa, Haruko (Story & Art)

Add to My List

Volumes: /13

Chapters: /108

Land of the Lustrous

Volume 1
$10.99

Read Sample

Edit
Synopsis

Long ago, Earth was struck by six meteorites, creating six moons and leaving a lone island in their wake. Those who could not make it to the island sank to the bottom of the ocean, where, over time, they slowly turned to crystal. As countless millennia passed, 28 of these crystallized lifeforms, known as the Lustrous, rose from the depths and resided on the island. Led by the wise Kongou-sensei, they must defend themselves against the seemingly infinite number of Lunarians, inhabitants of the moons who seek to harvest their valuable bodies for crafting weapons and jewelry.

Houseki no Kuni centers around Phosphophyllite, a young gem about to turn three hundred years old. Clumsy, extremely fragile, and having no visible talent, they are one of the weakest gems around, unable to help in the fight against the Lunarians in any meaningful way. But as the battle with the otherworldly invaders rages on, they soon learn that power comes at a cost that no one should have to pay.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit
Background

Houseki no Kuni ranked 10th in the 2015 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! for the Male Readers division. The series was nominated for the eighth Manga Taisho Award in 2015 and placed 13th in the final ranking.

The series has been published in English as Land of the Lustrous by Kodansha Comics USA since June 27, 2017. It has also been released in Spanish by ECC Ediciones since September 17, 2019; in Brazilian Portuguese by NewPOP Editora since November 5, 2021; and in Polish by Studio JG since May 24, 2024.

Edit

Related Entries

More characters
Characters

Phosphophyllite

Main

Antarcticite

Supporting

Diamond

Supporting

Cinnabar

Supporting

Padparadscha

Supporting

Bort

Supporting

Lapis Lazuli

Supporting

Rutile

Supporting

Yellow Diamond

Supporting

Alexandrite

Supporting

Reviews

Jul 3, 2025

andiabrudan

Recommended

Houseki no Kuni shines like a brilliant gem. A beautiful story that takes sudden and unexpected turns. It never looks back, it doesn't stop to take a breath, and it braves through the uncomfortable.

At its core, this is a story about the relentless transformation of its protagonist, Phos. The narrative delves deep into how much she is willing to change, how those changes influence her, and the evolving nature of her ultimate goals.

Phos reminds me a lot of Vin from the Mistborn trilogy. You may spot more than one similarity, but I believe the defining trait that they both share is that constant push forward ...

Open

Gift

Apr 18, 2025

vrataski_

Mixed Feelings

One of the most recently published manga I have read. Calling it unique is an understatement, as I'm not even sure who this appeals to. It has strong shoujo manga tropes, as well as an all-girl lesbian fantasy feel to it, but somehow mixes a religious and psychological backdrop to it all. In fact, the character cast feels like a japanese version of Steven Universe, the setting is very unique and the art is also very refreshing. These are obviously all very good things, but these pros quickly became cons the longer the manga went on for.

- The character cast is too unstable (as ...

Open

Gift

Mar 1, 2025

y_u_do_dis

Not Recommended

Funny

Spoiler

This is a very subjective, opinionated review. The score solely reflects my overall feeling after having experienced the anime and the manga. There will also be spoilers, so please keep this in mind when reading.

I, like many of the people who decided to read this manga, were people who originally watched the anime and wanted to know where the story goes. I absolutely loved the OST, the animation and the ideas that were being thrown around and just the world building in general. Humans being split into Bones, Flesh and Spirit... How cool is that!

So, I read the manga with the above in mind. ... I may not have much experience with manga, but even I can tell that the art was really nice. And initially, I was honestly having a great time. I was intrigued by the Sensei’s secrecy, the relationship between the 3 human forms and the balance of the whole “ecosystem”.

However, one thing I left out in my initial impression of the show was how I always felt uneasy about how incredibly mistreated Phosphophyllite was throughout the show. The only time she ever got praise was once she started replacing her body parts with parts that made her “better” (and in turn, cause her to loose her memory, and by extension her sense of self). It was quite easy to drown out this uneasiness when watching the anime, since I was distracted by the amazing visuals and the OST, and she still seemed kinda happy with her “family” so I didn’t think much of it.

The manga makes this whole “suffering builds character” thing much more front and center, especially around the time that Phos finally reaches the moon, and its also the point in the story where I find myself building a distaste for the story.

Another thing that really irked me is the whole "relationship" between the Prince and Cairngorm. It romanticizes their relationship throughout the whole manga even though its predatory, icky and manipulative. I assumed that they would eventually turn this into a plot device later and make Cairngorm "snap out of it" but that never happens. They just end up getting what they wanted even though they backstabbed Phos at every turn. This leads me to my biggest issue.

Phos sacrifices her sanity left and right just so she can finally have some peace with her family, but they all end up betraying her one by one. The story ends up boiling down to a cycle of Phos suffers -> Someone else gets what they want. Rinse and repeat until the story is done. The people who betray her never get punished, but instead get rewarded for it. What was the author trying to achieve here? Are they just trying to say “Humanity bad”? Humans will betray you at every turn to get what they want because they are selfish? No good deed goes unpunished?

The one good thing I was interested in was the world building, and I felt like that took a huge back seat once Phos reached the moon. I felt like the Admirabilis did not get enough development. Outside of the 2 rulers, they felt like they just kinda existed and did not have much effect on the story. Another thing was the whole thing with the ice voices. We learn they are human souls that got trapped in the water, but again, they don’t get used much in the story outside of that. And this whole asspull with the doohickey machine that turns the gems into Lunarians was a stupid ploy to get rid of the whole cast as soon as possible so the author can focus on maximizing Phos’s suffering. It genuinely felt like the first and second half of this are completely different beasts, with the second half being a huge departure from the story that I fell in love with in the anime.

With all of this in mind, why do people love this manga so much? Is this a form of Stockholm syndrome, where people were in such a long cycle of being depressed that they start liking it? Seeing someone who is as happy and innocent as Phos get constantly put down at every turn, while the people who decide to become Lunarians and use her in the end to get their salvation after leaving Phos to suffer on Earth alone for 10000 years just made my blood boil. And after all this bullshit, it all ends with Phos deciding to commit suicide on Earth cause any form of humanity is “bad”. This was not satisfying, there were no revelations, I just feel like I wasted my time.

TLDR: Being Phos is suffering, and this whole manga is a massive fuck you to anyone who wants to see her rewarded for her efforts or see her achieving any sort of happiness.

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

INNOVATIVE Worldbuilding (1)

by SpicyShakes

50 Entries · 24 Restacks

reads to cherish

by flopanya

46 Entries · 2 Restacks

Queer Horror Manga part 2

by Keizakomu

8 Entries · 1 Restacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

View All

More news
Recent News

Manga 'Houseki no Kuni' Concludes Serialization

Haruko Ichikawa's Houseki no Kuni (Land of the Lustrous) manga will end in the June issue of Afternoon on April 25, according to the May issue released on Mond...read more

Mar 25, 2024 9:36 PM by Vindstot | Discuss (30 comments)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for August

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for August. Week 1: August 1 - 7 Anime Releases Dragon Ball Z Season 1-9 Collection Blu-ray [2023 ...read more

Aug 10, 2023 8:49 AM by Aiimee | Discuss (1 comment)

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Houseki no Kuni Chapter 84 Discussion Dessssy - Nov 24, 2019	23 replies	by Jim_Heart »» Jul 1, 9:36 PM
Poll: Houseki no Kuni Chapter 54 Discussion Catalano - Feb 1, 2020	7 replies	by Jim_Heart »» Jul 1, 8:51 AM
Poll: Houseki no Kuni Chapter 46 Discussion Catalano - Jan 25, 2020	4 replies	by Jim_Heart »» Jul 1, 7:51 AM
Poll: Houseki no Kuni Chapter 95 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Aikotoba - Dec 24, 2020	99 replies	by Kyrisuu »» Jun 19, 1:55 AM
Poll: Houseki no Kuni Chapter 90 Discussion orangeskull - Jun 25, 2020	18 replies	by Kyrisuu »» Jun 19, 1:32 AM

Houseki no Kuni
Land of the Lustrous
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Related Entries

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Houseki no KuniLand of the Lustrous Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

EditSynopsis

EditBackground

Related Entries

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More charactersCharacters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations Recommendations

More newsRecent News

More discussionsRecent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Houseki no Kuni
Land of the Lustrous
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Edit
Synopsis

Edit
Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion