The story of Kakutoshi no Yume focuses on the daily life of people in the slowly structural decaying city. The story of the manga is episodic, treating different subjects such as loneliness, love, longing, or just the encounters and interactions with different people, be it beggars or people from the underground. The narrative seems vague at times, which seems to be intentionally to make the reader dwell upon the story and the people.
There is a variety of characters, each with their own motives, goals and their own way of thinking. The characters behaviour is displayed realistically through dialogues and different ways of interacting with their environment according to their character. At times it is difficult to truly understand some of the characters; this is left to the reader to imagine through little hints, the narrative and art.
The art style of Kakutoshi no Yume is simple, and at the same time lacking. The different characters are very simple in design and are difficult to distinguish, making it for the reader difficult to follow the story, while at the same time leaving the reader confused whether the characters in each story allude to a previously presented one or not. The backgrounds are well drawn, though more detail would be appreciated as it would present the vast desolation of the city better.
Kakutoshi no Yume was overall an enjoyable read, through the different stories representing loneliness, love, interactions with people and the characters. What it lacked in character design, it made up with the story. I would recommend it to anyone who has interest in the psychological genre, beside being a relative short manga.
Thank you for reading.
