Spotlight Manga: Harukana Machi-E MAL Manga Information Page: Harukana Machi-E MAL Score - 8.43 (by 370 users) Ranked - #139 Popularity - #1486 For the next week I would like to have a discussion about the manga that focuses on the key elements that we here on MAL use to critically rate a manga: Art, Characters, Story, and Enjoyment. I would like everyone to approach this thread as if you were going to write a review and structure your initial post like this: Art - insert rating Characters - insert rating Story - insert rating Enjoyment - insert rating Art - discuss any pros and cons of the art styling used in the series, try to include some specifics. Character - describe any of the things you liked or didn't care for in regards to specific characters in the series etc... If you are having trouble writing up a review or coming up with specific pros and cons, please don't worry. Just do the best you can with it and if you can only write two or three sentences about any of the 4 elements then that's OK. Not everyone here is currently at a level which will allow them to articulate their thoughts and opinions. After your initial post is made you can feel free to civilly discuss issues of contention. I am sure there will be many opinions expressed here that some of us will disagree upon and criticise and it is for that reason that this entire club exists. So I hope everyone has fun and I am really looking forward to seeing how this discussion will develop. RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL Harukana Machi-E was PERMANENTLYB inducted into the club Manga list: 24 Yes - 85.7% 4 No - 14.2% 31 Don't know this anime - 52.5% of the total number polled 0 Abstained - 0.0% of the total number polled *Since this manga has made the cut-off percentage-wise but has failed to gather enough votes, it is now once more available for nomination due to rule changes. (August 2011) RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL Harukana Machi-E was inducted into the club Manga list: 7 Yes - 77.7% 2 No - 22.2% 60 Don't know this manga - 85.7% of the total number polled 1 Abstained - 1.4% of the total number polled On 02/11/11 Harukana Machi-E will be voted on for a second and final time |
santetjanOct 24, 2011 5:11 AM
| You do not beg the sun for mercy. |
| An absolute marvel. Possibly Jiro Taniguchi's best work I have read so far. Familar to his other works yet different at the same time. The art is crisp and wonderful and Taniguchi is able to make a small suburban town and it's inhabitants as interesting as modern day Tokyo. The art draws the audience in and the story is the icing on the cake. Taniguchi steers so far from all the obnoxious melodrama which would have probably been present had a different author tackled the subject, and most importantly nothing in A Distant Neighbourhood feels artificial - the setting, the characters, their emotions and thoughts - it all hits the spot. This is getting a yes from me without a doubt. |
| This was a very close call for me. While I enjoyed it and it was well done, I don't think it will really stay with me very long. Despite that, I think this is a great gateway manga for people interested in finding mature drama storylines in manga. This was one of the few examples of such a story where the characters' actions were all completely believable. Despite rating it a 6 for lack of staying power, I'm still going to vote yes. |
| I'm going to vote yes, because the premise/plot of the manga has been played with numerous times, but always strays away from what is actually being depicted in a distant neighbourhood. So for many reasons, the manga is successful because of what it doesn't do; how it doesn't redirect the story into some super-powered shonen or historical adventure. The art is very accomplished. As we can also see in The Walking Man, and most likely others that I need to read. Characterisation is done well. I did not actually like Hiroshi, but it does not matter. |
| Sci-fi and fantasy elements coud be used as plot devices or as means of exploring some abstract concept. More often than not, their purpose in the story is either mundane or completely world-changing. What I don't find too often, however, are stories which use them in a more personal manner. As with Omoide Emanon, I found Harukana Machi-E appealing because it uses these elements in a much more down-to-earth manner. This manga in particular gives the very worn-out idea of time travel a personal touch by focusing on the lives of a single family. I found it easy to relate to the protagonist, thanks to the emphasis on his regrets and things he once took for granted. It really makes one wonder if they would take the same path again if they could somehow return to the crossroads of their life. |
| Sure deserves induction, very light reading but it was very entertaining. Art seems rather static and not as explosive in the drawings, but I very liked the character design, very realistic as well as the setting of the urban city and the characterization of these. The series finale was maybe: what the hell?... But overall, I liked and I felt really good manga. Perhaps it is another story of time travel, and trying to convey what you know, but as I said earlier, the characterization makes it good. Story: 7.5 Characters: 7.8 Art: 7.8 Entertainment: 8 Overall: 7.8 Is a manga short, light and very good, I hope people read this and do not fill many Idk. |
nada_Nov 6, 2011 10:27 PM
| Ok so maybe the story is closer to the Butterfly Effect than Dickens in regards to Harukana Machi-E plot design. The beginning was very interesting and the art seemed best in the first few chapters. The school setting was more real to life, no harem here. I see how people who read a lot of manga might be refreshed with the lack of supernatural shounen elements. I thought it was also interesting to see the comment that it was also refreshing that the story wasn't too melodramatic, common to shoujo. But I'm assuming this should be expected from a seinen series. I was instantly drawn into the plot, if not over familiar with the time travel idea having just finished Steins;gate, perhaps not the best anime to watch while reading this series, or was it? Although in contrast, HME was a lot more benign to fanservice obviously and doesn't cater to any manga/anime stereotypes. Instead it reads more like a literary work. The middle did seem to drag a bit and the ending was somewhat uneventful. I suppose you could say that the Static Elv1s mentioned could also be seen as boring. But perhaps it was part of this Manga's actual charm? It didn't try to do anything to pretentious, and it introduced the idea of time travel along with the rest of themes subtly as it could happen in real life as already mentioned. Unfortunately I haven't read any of this authors other works, so I really don't feel like I have enough perspective to say that this represents his best work and is something that should be added to relations. To be honest, I sort of feel like my opinion here is really baseless in that regard as a critic. I suppose I could either abstain or deffer to the others greater wisdom in his work and vote yes. |
| @IpfManiak: I thought the story was pretty much just saying to make the best of what life puts on your plate, don't run from it. It also seemed to point towards intelligent design. Even though he traveled into his past, he was unable to change his future. So make the best of it or just accept that it's your life even if it's not the one you wanted. I suppose there is more to it though. The scene where he confronts his father could be scene as his own subconscious urging to leave his own family or so that is what he thought before he received the book. It was not a dream, it was real, and he had the chance to not make what I think he believed was his fathers mistake in leaving a happy family. If you notice when he saw his father getting off the train. His father looked very run down and full of remorse. I don't know why, but that was how I interpreted how he looked. I suppose it is my own subconscious telling me he should be this way after leaving a happy family. I don't think anyone can truly recover such gifts in life, and his father must have learned that eventually? And yet there is more. I need to think more about his fathers dying childhood friend. I'm sure there is meaning there too. I think my own little elaboration here has just convinced me to vote yes. Edit: And yet I'm still curious of the reason Black and Tjan voted no? I was on the fence but after I slept on the decision and came back and gave the story a little more thought, it seemed to hold a certain "It's a wonderful life" quality and moral theme that seems very classic and somewhat often foreign to manga and anime. |
Orion1Oct 1, 2011 3:28 PM
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