| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Art |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Ah… I’ve struggled to come up with words to describe this… “lovely” was one, “nice” is another… yet, they both do it a grave injustice. There’s so much more to these stories than first meets the eye.
I’ve also been struggling to describe in words a story that is essentially about … well… nothing much really. The closest I can come is by comparing this to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou… er… without the apocalypse… or the robots… or scooters. In fact, it also doesn’t even focus on "mono no aware", but rather "ikigai" - which translates nicely as “joy and a sense of well-being from being alive.”
That
is a concept that this manga portrays beautifully - it is simply about enjoying life - taking time out from the hurly-burly of everyday life and taking the time to observe the little things around you. There’s a sense of calm that radiates from each page that must have been manna to the soul of tired salarymen on their way home. (That sense of serenity might have overcome the mangaka too, seeing as it took him 8 years to produce 18 relatively short chapters.)
Each of the self-contained chapters simply revolves around our protagonist setting out to wander around his neighbourhood. Nothing dramatic happens, although on occasion he does help a child rescue a model plane from a tree and even sneaks into the public pool for a late night skinny-dip. Other than that, it’s simply about appreciating the things around you; acknowledging other people (one lovely chapter sums this up brilliantly - without using a single line of dialogue) and basking in the simple joy of being alive.
In a moment of weakness, I once described this as “tranquillity on a page” and yet, I can’t think of any other words that describe the message and feel of this unique little manga. read more
