Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe (or just Quiet Country Cafe) is a sequel to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and an OVA adaptation of the manga of the same name. Having been made four years later, in 2002, and by a different studio (SME Animation Works, which would later become Aniplex), there are quite a few noticeable differences between the two OVAs as well as from the original manga source material.

Story: 9 (Great)

The story doesn't necessarily pick up from the previous OVA, and can stand alone on its own without having watched the other OVA before hand.

Alpha Hatusueno is a very human-like robot in the form ... of a young woman, who has befriended Kokone, another female robot much like her. Alpha runs a cafe on the outskirts of a Yokohama devastated by rising water levels as she waits for the return of her never-see owner; however, a strong typhoon approaches, and threatens to wipe the cafe off the map. Her human friend Ojisan comes to "rescue" her and wish her away to his gas station which can weather the storm better, but Alpha is still left to worry about the future of the cafe and of herself.

After the typhoon, Alpha decides that it's time to leave Yokohama and explore what the world beyond has to offer. In her absence, some of her friends will move on and explore the world in their own ways, while others will not be so willing to let go and explore Alpha's world in her absence.

The first episode corresponds to Chapter 62 Typhoon and Chapter 63 My Place in the manga, while the second episode is a massive condensation of what some fans like to refer to as the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (or Yokohama Shopping Log) arc, comprising the next 15 chapters, with more focus being given on some chapters than other (some chapters are compressed to just a few seconds). The second OVA also adds details not present in the manga - for example, focus is added to Kokone's relationship with Alpha, arguably changing the nature of that relationship in the process. The OVA also seems to suppose that the Misago is an Alpha-type robot, a notion Ayase shot down in the manga, plays up some of the dynamics between Takahiro and Makki (a welcome change) and other subtle changes YKK fans might be able to catch.

The remaining things the OVA changes from the manga in regards to story are generally done very well. Through the dynamic subtleties and nuances added through animation, the characters and story flow are able to expand and show additional depth. Though the story does suffer from the massive compression, like the OVA before it brings to life the story of Alpha's journey.

Speaking of which, Alpha's journey is given subtle yet significant changes as well. The manga presented it mostly as an exploration of Alpha's world through her eyes, but the OVA's presentation is set up more for exploring Alpha herself with her world as a backdrop (perhaps to compensate for the compressed time in which to characterize her). Personally, I actually like the OVA's presentation better in this regard, since Alpha herself is one of the reasons why I was drawn to the manga in the first place and why I find it so endearing.

Also, +1, yay, overtly lesbian Kokone ;) Also, boo, -1 for seeing Alpha using the restroom :p

Fun fact: Persimmons never grow to be that size, which, at best, are only able to grow to about the size of a grapefruit and are normally the size of tomatoes. YKK fans who have read chapters taking place after this would probably consider it an interesting clue as to some of the events responsible for Yokohama's devastation in the unseen past.

Art: 9 (Great)

In my opinion, the art doesn't quite match up with the manga and is even a slight retrograde from the previous OVA (despite being done four years later and by the predecessor of Aniplex, who would later be attached to such groundbreaking projects and personal favorites as FullMetal Alchemist and my favorite anime of all, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. The character designs are especially noticeable; don't get me wrong, they're still great, but somehow they strike me as being more "generic" compared to the manga. Not to mention, once again, for some reason, the colors still seemed washed out.

The scenery and backgrounds do get some improvement and benefit from the digital art technology that was becoming more in-vogue and mainstream in 2002. It really is something to see these locales come to life, to the delight of any YKK fan.

Sound: 10 (Outstanding)

The sound is pretty much unchanged from the first OVA, including the soothing, calm gekkin music. We're also treated to a new ED song, Furawura, Furawura (Wandering, Wandering which is just an amazing musical piece, and definitely worth sticking around for (not to mention the story continues after the ED, and even incorporates the ED into the storytelling). It is a rather saccharine scene to watch Alpha review her memories as the song plays.

Character: 9 (Great)

The characterization is overall great, and overall benefits from the transition to animation as with the previous OVA, but at the same time this OVA takes liberties to change perhaps the one key relationship in the entire manga. Particularly, the OVA goes out of its way to change the nature of Kokone and her relationship with Alpha; in the manga, for example, the relationship is presented in a rather neutral manner, allowing the readers to make up their minds on their own and fill in the details. There's an in-joke within the YKK fanbase that Kokone is a raging lesbian who has a hard-on obsession stalking Alpha, but for the most part their relationship is just presented as being on some level above a regular friendship. This OVA, on the other hand, takes the "raging lesbian" in-joke perhaps a little too seriously for some YKK fans to swallow - Kokone goes so far as to fondle sleeping Alpha's breasts in the opening of the first episode, and in the second episode appears to be having a little too much fun and anxiety (and perhaps even obsession) being in Alpha's room.

Alpha, on the other hand, is treated with more respect, and we gain a true sense of intimacy with the character (the good kind, for us, not the kind Kokone apparently wants). The viewers really do begin to feel what kind of person Alpha is, what brings excitement to her life, what her hopes and anxieties are, and some of the loneliness and nostalgia she begins to feel as she decides its finally time to head home. Once again, the animation, for the most part, uses the new medium to its advantage to add and intensify the characters through movement and voice.

Enjoyment: 10 (Outstanding)

Quiet Country Cafe isn't perfect; it isn't a perfect transition to animation and it's not even quite as good as its predecessor, but we're still treated to more of what many YKK fans have been wanting since the end of the manga: more of Alpha and getting to know her rich character in greater depth. Whether or not you'll enjoy the somewhat re-imagined characterization of Kokone or the attempt to compress 15 chapters into 30 minutes, you'll still come away with a great feeling of warmth and satisfaction from what this OVA has to deliver.

Final score for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe:

9: Great

Compared to the OVA prequel this OVA has more to give the viewer. Absolutely stunning environments and great character movements almost brings it alive in front of me, and somehow I wish that I was able to jump into the screen and just be lying there on the grassfield and watch up on the blue sky, counting the white clouds that move by.
Just like the prequel, this is just the right anime to watch when you want to relax and get the pulse down. Accompanied with a hot cup of coffée you are definitely on the right track!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this after watching the first one. The animation in this outdid the other. The backgrounds were absolutely gorgeous; the swaying of grass, the smooth water, trickling waterfalls were all animated beautifully. The characters were nicely rendered as well.

Like the OVA prior, it is again completely relaxing and pleasing to the eye. Nothing much happens as well, except for through the everyday life of Alpha a typhoon hits and she decided to move out of the comfort of her abode and explores more of the world. Now after watching this I want to go read some more of ... the manga. Even though I find the manga bit better, now I see that such a nice feeling doesn’t come off as well from paper and ink. The animation is just too beautiful in this… it’s certainly Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou’s best aspect.

The sound is nice, too. I like the background music especially. It reminds me of a barbeque... don't ask me why.. maybe it's because it reminds me of music we'd play on the records when we'd have a barbeque. (That makes me sound old but actually I'm still of adolescence XD).

I think I still like the old OVA better. The second one’s animation is much better, but I like the way the characters come off as in the first, and what happens, for some reason. Not so sure why myself. Anyway, if you want something nice to watch, if you’ve had it with violent shows, or you just had a bad day and need some relaxing time, this is the anime to see.

(Review originally from Letterboxd)

From the director of the criminally underrated coming-of-age nostalgia piece Ocean Waves comes a full-on animated tone poem about a young woman living a quiet life in a quasi-post-apocalypse.

To say that Quiet Country Cafe is understated would be itself an understatement. The dialogue is sparse, the story can be summarized in two sentences, and the worldbuilding is so vague that the sci-fi elements could be completely missed if not for one specific scene. It's all about the mood, and it works marvelously at evoking that tranquil feeling, warm yet tinged with an inner core of sadness.

Exploring the world, hearing the wonderful soundtrack ... play out, watching protagonist Alpha see new things and figure out what she wants with her life... it's nothing new or revelatory, but it still left lingering feelings of-- something-- inside me long after the credits rolled (with a lovely ending theme song too).

Unfortunately, the entire production is marred by the major factor that the animation budget is just too small, and the story is cut a little bit short for what it seemed to be aiming for. It's a two-episode OVA, so even with the ending theme songs added in, it's barely seventy minutes in total, just over the edge to be a feature film. It felt like it really wanted to go further, and I imagine there is probably a manga version of this story that goes on much further anyway. I didn't want it to end! And, sadly, because of the budgetary limitations, a lot of the beauty isn't that well-captured; the animation just isn't good enough to compensate for the scope.

Also, it's mostly in the first half of the first episode, but there's a lot of creepy pervy camera angles and pans that made me uncomfortable; they were completely out of place and really detracted from the tone poem feeling of the rest of the movie. Please don't do this, animation directors.

If you like quiet, country, and coffee, look no further than this movie here. It's short and beautiful even if it doesn't reach the fullest of its potential.

Honestly, I'd like to see this remade somehow, either in a feature film adaptation or a live-action adaptation from Korea/Taiwan or from an indie director in the U.S., or maybe even a video game? It's definitely the kind of story that would translate very well to other mediums and other styles of storytelling.

Quick take: Purely slice-of-life, the second set of OVAs continue to explore the concept of learning to find the beauty in everything around you and learning to understand what it means to live.

Whereas I felt sad most of the time in the first set of OVAs, I felt much more “at peace” and optimistic about YKK:QCC. We see that Alpha has moved on in search of experiences and her personality and emotions grow. It seems that in order to make this move and discover life, she needed a push. Through this transformation and symbolic destruction of her previous life, we experience new emotions with her; ... worry, fear and optimism.

I still enjoyed the art, much like I did in YKK. It felt like an 80’s anime much of the time, despite being released in the early 00’s. I was given some satisfaction from slight use of richer colors compared to YKK, but would've liked to see more. Sadly, YKK:QCC seems to have abandoned the world detail and lighting that made YKK so unique. The art is overall slightly worse, andtwith the loss of the detail and lighting, I can’t rate it as high as the first part.

Sound is great throughout the OVAs. Acting is well done (Japanese) and the music branches out into bossa nova and some classical while still retaining smooth jazz. In my opinion the music remains a perfect compliment for this slice-of-life show. The music was much more plentiful and enjoyable compared to the first OVAs and I will likely be adding some to my relaxing playlist on Spotify.

In my review of YKK, I talked about my concept of “surface characters.” This idea carries along to many of the characters again. In reality, this remains something that is not bothersome as the story really revolves around Alpha learning the meaning of life. Speaking of which, her growth is much more apparent and enjoyable in the second part, making the second set of OVAs more agreeable. Although the storyline continues to move slowly, it doesn’t feel nearly as slow as YKK due to this aspect.

So why did I get more enjoyment out of YKK:QCC versus the original, YKK? I’m sure partially because I was a little more prepared with what to expect going in. More than that however, is that the use of additional music and a more complete feeling of growth in Alpha makes the second part more tolerable. The situations are much more interesting and even the minute long scenes of her enjoying a moment feel more relaxing to watch.

So would I recommend this anime? Yes, still with, but slightly less, reservations than YKK. You’re treated to better relaxing music. Well drawn scenes are still present, although not as good or detailed as the first two OVAs. The storyline moves a bit faster, making it more tolerable and the story feels much more optimistic about the future. Most of this makes YKK:QCC slightly better than the first part in my opinion and worth a watch if you're looking for a slice-of-life anime.