Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru
SoreMachi: And Yet the Town Moves

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

This manga deserves more reviews, and so I am writing one.

The synopsis gives a good description of the events at the beginning- the first 2, 3 chapters. I will be clear that this is not a romance manga and there will be no resolution to any love stories. I wish it was not so, but things stay exactly the same at the end as they were in the beginning- apart from Hotori moving to her 3rd year of high school and one of her seniors (Kon-senpai) graduating.

The characters are where the real charm of SoreMachi lies. You have the Arashiyama family, the 3 regulars to ... Seaside Maid Cafe, Hotori's High School friends and various others. The chapters are (mostly) stand-alone stories, sometimes a mystery Hotori solves, sometimes just a normal day in her life. Keep in mind that the chapters are in a non-chronological order, I first noticed this when Hotori's hair length kept changing between successive chapters. Still, the episodic nature of the manga ensures this is not a big deal (until the last chapter).

There are some supernatural elements too, like aliens, heaven, alternate dimensions, ghosts, monsters, a memory erasing gun etc., The supernatural aspect is the least developed though and only comes in once every 10 chapters or so. But it serves to freshen up the stories once every now and then.

Lastly, even though the serialization of the manga has ended, the story itself does not give any sense of having ended. Its like we were given a tiny glimpse into the lives of the people in the shopping district. Life will still go on for them (figuratively speaking), but we won't have the pleasure of knowing what happens afterwards. Sanada has still not confessed to Hotori. Tatsun has also not confessed to Sanada yet. Ebi-chan and Takeru (Hotori's brother) are a cute elementary school couple. Kon-senpai has started college and has moved away to another town. If only we could see what happens after graduation for Hotori. 'And Yet the Town Moves'.

There's something really special about Soremachi as a manga that really gets me. A manga from the talented Masakazu Ishiguro, it has gone pretty much unnoticed among the Western community but has gotten critically great reception and awards from Japan, winning the Excellence award for the Japanese Media Arts Festival in 2015 and amazingly, the best scifi manga in the Seiun Awards.

People say slice of life as a series can get boring over time but Soremachi has proved that wrong time and time again. In Soremachi, you follow the charismatic and bumbling but lovable fool of a character in Hotori Arashiyama - a high ... school student working in a maid cafe for 3 years of her high school life. That's it. Yet, the story of Hotori's life throughout these 3 years is so well-done, seamlessly weaving through her life - interacting with the many characters, solving various mysteries and dramas, and just living her life her own way. What really stands out is the growth of Hotori in these 3 years, you can truly feel that she has evolved as a person the more you read the manga and by the end, I couldn't help having tears in my eyes like a proud father watching her daughter grow up.

What Soremachi does right, among many things is quite simply knowing how to nail slice of life in the best way. The series is full of life with many diverse characters from all walks of life in the small bustling town of Maruko Shopping District. And they aren't cookie-cutter characters either, but characters that have their own story, personalities, quirks and charm to them with great interactions with the main cast. They have their own families, brothers and sisters as well as parents which do not magically disappear like most manga do. It feels so goddamn organic and that's why they feel so real as well as the town itself and the moment I flipped the last page, I already have missed the characters like they were my very own family.

The many stories in this series really appeal to me. They never come off as generic but instead feels natural with every chapter building up to a certain event in a future chapter and there's this feeling of continuity that is oh so satisfying. Some chapters can be real emotional and some can be super funny. This mix really shows the many colours of life one can go through and it never gets old. The comedy in this series as well is top notch. It stands out simply because it is so different (and much better) from the many romcoms and SOL type of comedy out there. There are no cheap and overused gags with random references but very smart comedy with a lot of buildup which gets so satisfying when you reach the punchline. I adore this kind of comedy, smart and interesting.


Lastly, this series has this amazing blend of what is already amazing SOL elements with surrealistic and sci-fi elements as well. It's a masterpiece in a sense that it never feels out of place when something out of the ordinary happens and that I felt that it actually suits the town in a way. It's hard to describe but it really does feel special and I always smile reading these chapters and how genius it turns out to be.

I urge everyone to try giving this a read and def stick with it for a few volumes or more for this manga as the introduction of the characters happen early on. Once I started getting into more chapters, this is when Soremachi really started being a masterpiece. You know it's a great manga when it all ends and that emptiness starts filling your heart as you leave the town of Soremachi behind - and yet the town moves.

It's no less than amazing. I've already written a review for the anime adaptation of this work, so I'll keep it short.

While I do admit that Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru's anime adaptation is better than the manga, it's still one of the funniest mangas I have read. The artstyle is just perfect. I really like all the facial expressions, movements, and paneling that this manga has, and it really elevates it. I really can't read ugly looking manga, and a lot of comedy/4 Komas tend to be lacking in detail (D-Frag) and just end up looking like a rough draft. This manga has such a ... clean, nice artstyle to it that can't be replicated. Like I said before, the simple facial expressions just make the manga that much better. There's not too much clutter, but there's a good sense of detail.

As for the characters, they're also good. They manage to integrate a lot of characters into the story, and all of them have distinct personalities and as a result, when you see chapters involving different characters, it's like a different story. While the main character is clearly Hotori, there's a lot of variety when it comes to chapters since there's always a difference mix of people that are involved in wacky scenarios. While it is a comedy novel, by involving characters in different settings and interactions, you really get to naturally know their personalities as the story progresses. No character is limited to their initial personality/archetype, and they all get expanded as chapters including them increase. Kon's my favorite character, but there are just a good variety of characters that you won't get bored for the entire 16 volume run.

Another reason why this manga is so fresh is the setting. It takes place in a simple town, so the manga involves the entire town. You're not limited to a classroom, or Hotori's home, but rather, you're able to take a look at characters doing things at various places in the mundane town. Plus, the contents of each chapter is so different. Sometimes, it's about romance. Sometimes, it's slice of life. Sometimes, it's supernatural. And there's always a lot of comedy sprinkled into each chapter, regardless of it's theme, genre, or characters.

It's such a lively town, it reminds me of Gintama, but honestly, Gintama focuses more on characters, while Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru focuses on the completeness of a single town. It's really cool and unique in how many different and varied chapters there are that just involve the same cast of characters and same town.

I suck at reviewing comedy series in general, but basically: it's really good.