Ranked #749

Koko ni Iru yo! (Manga)

Ever had a conversation on the internet that felt more meaningful than real-life ones? I’m sure you had. Anyone who has been on the internet for more than a week is familiar with this. The point is though, does this phenomenon take a place in your life? Does it matter to you whether the person you talk to online – and online only – is available or not? Sometimes, these kind of online conversation can mean so much to people, can be so helpful and encouraging. It can even upset them if the person they talk to is not available anymore. But to what extent are those online conversations meaningful?

I am here!
The phrase that sums up Sumino Hikage, the main character of the manga with the same title. She’s an 8th grader with a very reserved personality. If she gets picked on, she doesn’t speak up. If somebody bumps into her, she’s the one to apologize. She’s just someone who doesn’t want any problems and shows that in a way that comes off very lonely. See, nobody notices her.

Sumino could be the plainest girl you’ve ever seen in a manga. No eye-catching features, no bizarre personality, no weird clothes. And this works so perfectly in this story. Sumino struggles all her life with the fact that there is no one around that acknowledges her fully. Everybody just seems to look over her and then move on without wanting to know what kind of girl she is. This results in her being lonely with no real friends. And what’s worse, people THINK she wants to be lonely because she doesn’t really do anything to socialize. Blame it on her personality or her ordinary appearance, but this makes it very easy to sympathize with her.

This puts Sumino in a vicious circle. She does not want to be lonely but can’t get any friends. People see that she hasn’t got any friends so people think she likes to be lonely. And that circle, is what makes Sumino such a believable character. Anyone can understand this situation and has experienced it to some extent. But because she’s so invisible and reclusive, she just can’t break out of that circle even though she wants it so badly. It’s sad to see that something that appears to be so easy, is actually not possible to do without at least one other person. It takes two to break a circle, and lucky for Sumino, she’s got 1,5.

Because Sumino has an online blog. Not just any blog. A very personal blog. She posts pictures of nature there and writes articles to ease the loneliness. But sadly, that doesn’t work out either. Nobody seems to comment on her efforts. Even her blog seems to get overlooked without anyone caring about it. She even goes so far to make a public request to anyone reading her blog, to leave a comment. Anyone.

And luckily, her efforts were not in vain. She finally got someone to comment on her blog. A long-time reader and first-time commenter. Their online relationship begins to grow as this person comments more and more, boosting Sumino’s confidence. This person even begins to motivate and cheer for Sumino to find friends in the real world. ‘’Work hard! You can do it!’’. And finally, someone noticed her at school. From here on, Sumino’s real-life journey begins. Together with the help of the growing number of people who cheer for her online, she starts being pro-active and successfully makes friends. She’s even got a love-life starting.

Although the story of the manga is very well-told and makes freshly use of modern phenomena, there are some things that aren’t done very well. All the characters are your typical Shoujou-characters. Sumino is the shy girl next door who can’t do anything on her own. The first person to fully acknowledge her in real-life is the handsome and popular student whom everybody likes. Of course, he seems to be attracted to Sumino somehow. And the love-rival of Sumino is also your typical girl who picks a fight at every possible moment. The only ones who truly excel at being interesting characters are the people on Sumino’s blog. They seem to truly care about her and show that in a way that’s very touching. Helping people via the internet is very normal in the modern day but may be frowned upon by some. This manga shows that there is nothing wrong with online contacts and can even be a genuine source of help. These characters also become more and more important at the end of the manga with a nice plot-twist.

Koko ni Iru yo! is a story for anyone that can relate even a slightest bit to the idea of receiving help online for normal problems. The art is truly beautiful and highlights the innocence of particularly Sumino who does not chooses to be lonely, though she can’t really do anything about it herself. If you can stomach some stereotypical Shoujou elements here and there and focus on the message of the story, this will be one familiar ride you do not want to miss. read more

Enjoyment
This was formulaic and pretty syrupy, but still a very enjoyable read. I've always liked shy, quiet, timid heroines. The solitary girl whom no one ever notices is suddenly being pursued by one of the most popular boys in school, and he gradually coaxes her out of her shell. I like that formula no matter how many times I see it.

Story
It's a decent story IF you like the genre. I think more could have been done with her blog friends and I'm not sure I like who she ended up with. I was left feeling like the other one would have been better, and that that was where the author was taking things but that she was forced to end the story prematurely.

Art
The heroine was drawn really nicely. I've seen better looking male leads though. They were handsome, they just didn't have that beautiful, sparkly quality that you sometimes see in shoujo boys. I would've preferred if they'd all looked a bit older too, but that's really up to the mangaka and her target audience. I guess because it was such an innocent love story, she went with a more middle-schoolish look.

Character
Teru was very well-developed, thanks to a flashback and a scene involving his parents. Hinata was a lot vaguer, which is unfortunate considering that he got so much more "air time." As for the heroine, we know a lot about her feelings of loneliness and her desire to belong, but we never learn about her family or why she became such a loner, except that she broke her leg and started attending school late. I think one painful flashback that explained some of her fear of people would have helped.

Overall
Not a unique story, but it'll be memorable for me because I love the "shy girl rescued by a popular guy" formula. read more