Haruka na Machi e

May 6, 2013

Recommended

If you were given a second chance, if you could live your life over, how would you live it? What would you do differently? Could you (and should you) change the flow of events that had transpired?

Fiction has always been fond of time travel. There have been numerous, some more, some less successful, attempts at exploring this concept. It is a potent theme that has tickled the imagination of many and to which many writers turn to. One of those writers is the author of Harukana Machi-E.
One may rightfully ask whether Harukana Machi-E can make something noteworthy with a tried and tired concept like this. ... The answer is, fortunately, a resounding yes.
Actually, I lied there a bit. Harukana is not really about time travel. Don’t let the synopsis fool you, that is not a theme this manga sets to examine. Rather, time travel is a plot device, a means of setting the story in motion and putting the protagonist at a desired time frame.

Coming from the pen of an award-winning mangaka, Taniguchi Jiro, Harukana Machi-E (translated as “A Distant Neighborhood“ in English) brings us a personal story of a middle-aged man, Hiroshi, who, during a visit to his mother’s grave, suddenly gets transported into the past, back to his middle-school days. With his adult consciousness, memories and abilities retained, Hiroshi finds himself in the body of his 14-year old self, 35 years into the past, at a period of a single crucial event that would have a profound influence on his later life. There he begins a journey of reliving and rediscovering his past, people and events. It is also there that, after realizing not everything is unfolding exactly as he remembers, Higuchi faces his big dilemma – should he try and change the past? And if the answer is yes, how could that influence the future?
Despite such a fantastical premise, Harukana Machi-E is very much down-to-earth. There are no crazy time traveling hijinks, no world-changing events, no super powers, no shounen heroes nor villains. Instead, what Harukana provides its audience with is a bittersweet, rather intimate and relatable story of a single person and his family that reads more like a literary work than a standard manga.
The plot is unlikely to keep anyone on the edge of their chair, nervously biting their nails in anticipation since it never tries to be neither bombastic nor groundbreaking. Rather, the story unfolds in a leisurely manner, never using the sense of urgency to force the reader to flip the next page. It gives the reader time to slowly savour the artwork, characters and their interactions, muse on the questions raised by the protagonist’s narration, and, bit by bit, gets sucked into the world of the protagonist’s small Japanese town and its residents.

In a manga like this plot would mean little without well-developed characters. And it is obvious that the author paid special attention to them. From the protagonist to his schoolmates, family and townspeople, Harukana Machi-E’s cast consists of realistic and relatable characters. There is no trace of artificiality; they truly come off as real people you meet every day. As a result, their feelings, interactions and reactions appear natural and believable.
Naturally, the focus is on Hiroshi’s character, but others, especially a couple of his classmates and family members receive a fair share of fleshing out as well. That is an impressive feat to accomplish in only 16 chapters and speaks volumes of the mangaka’s skill.
Looking at the premise, Hiroshi could’ve easily been an annoying, self-pitying protagonist that exasperates the audience. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen. Although often depressed, troubled and selfish, his character never crosses the fine line between being realistic and being obnoxious. Truth be told, the manga does approach the maudlin territory at a couple of occasions, especially when it tries to convey the protagonist's feelings about his mother. However, the author manages to successfully steer away from delving into unpleasant melodrama that would irritate the reader.
Whether intentional or not, Hiroshi’s father, Yoshio, is the one character that the reader may find too distant and hard to understand. His actions, especially towards the end, come off as somewhat unsympathetic and odd. However, he is most likely deliberately portrayed as distant and incomprehensible in order to reflect how the protagonist sees him since the story is, after all, narrated from Hiroshi’s point of view. This becomes even clearer as the story unfolds and we realize that Yoshio plays the role of a foil to Hiroshi, enabling the author to easily contrast the two characters and their life choices.
During the process of weaving Hiroshi's tale, the mangaka doesn't fall into the common pitfall of making the supporting cast too dependent on the protagonist. Instead, while playing their respective roles, most characters in the manga feel as if they have lives of their own, lives that flow with, not because of the main character. The protagonist is at the centre of the story, but is in no way at the centre of its world.

Apart from characters, Harukana Machi-E excels in the art department. Even at first glance, it is apparent that Harukana does not look like the majority of the manga fare. Taniguchi’s art is highly accomplished, crisp and clean. Again, just like it is the case with characters, realism is what makes Harukana’s art work. Taniguchi’s attention to detail in depicting background, whether scenery or urban structures, is impressive and, coupled with careful, movie-like framing, gives the manga near-photographic artwork. Thus, the author succeeds at bringing to life Hiroshi’s small home town of Kurayoshi and, in a way, invites the reader to embark on the journey into the past.
Similarly, the character designs follow the principle of realism as well, while also retaining a very small, but necessary dose of “cartoonism”. Worth mentioning is a certain Ghibli-esque quality to the author’s ability to effortlessly express a wide range of emotions on characters’ faces and this is quite a delight to look at.

Harukana Machi-E examines and explores a variety of themes and issues. The most apparent ones, which even become a sort of a leitmotif, are the themes of regret and loss. They permeate the manga, creating a sweetly melancholic atmosphere. In addition to those, this short manga finds time and space to tackle other, mostly related themes such as grief, frustration, remembrance, acceptance and appreciation. Never trying to be preachy or coming off as pretentious, Harukana naturally, through its characters and their actions, speaks to the reader about the importance of coming to terms with oneself, learning to appreciate and value what one has and accepting the inexorable fleetingness of life.

As perfect as everything said up to now may seem, Harukana, of course, is not impeccable. Although expected and understandable, the rather abrupt ending and resolution may feel anticlimactic and will probably leave some readers with a slight feeling of dissatisfaction. The lack of any explanation regarding the time travel aspect may have a similar effect. However, Harukana never was a story about time traveling, so one can’t really hold this against it.
Its length can be regarded as both a flaw and a strength. Being only two volumes long, it may be argued that Harukana's shortness doesn't allow the manga to fully spread its wings. However, at the same time, it means that the story never loses steam and no scene feels superfluous. “Short but meaningful“ may very well be the rule Taniguchi chose to follow with Harukana.

Personal and down-to-earth in its presentation, distinctively Japanese in execution, yet universal and timeless in themes it explores, Harukana Machi-E is a highly recommended read, especially if you are in search for a mature slice of life drama with believable, relatable characters that is very likely to make you think and reflect on life. Or if you're simply tired and want a breath of fresh air. In that case, I cannot recommend this short manga enough.
Oh, yeah, one more thing… Once you’ve read the manga, I suggest you keep it (unless you’ve borrowed it from a library, in which case you better not). You will probably want to revisit it several years (or decades) down the line when your own childhood and past starts feeling like a part of a distant neighborhood.

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May 17, 2009

Shuu-chan

Recommended

This was a very interesting read. It was a story full of heart and heartbreak and realizing who you are.

The story is, in a nutshell, about time travel. I wasn't very attracted to the idea at first, but I'm glad that I chose to read this. The story is carried out in a very literaturical (I don't even think this is a word, but whatever) fashion with Hiroshi narrating through the whole thing. After reading the first few chapters you start seeing the beauty of the story.

The art was very different than what I am used to seeing, but very good. The character's emotions really ...

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Sep 5, 2010

VeedonFleece

Recommended

For most of the people on this site, there are probably things in life we all regret. Things we wish we could have done differently if given a second chance. Even as a much younger reader than what the manga was probably targeted at, I can sympathize with the idea of doing things I’ve done in the past differently. Harukana Machi-E (hereby referred to in its English title A Distant Neighborhood) is a story that addresses this deplorable feeling felt by many people around the world, taking an 48 year old man back into a pivotal moment of his youth.

The main character of the story ... is Hiroshi, who upon the opening of the story comes off as a slightly bitter old man, suffering from a hangover, who suddenly finds himself taking the wrong train and visiting his old home town. Upon visiting his mother’s grave he faints, and wakes up to find himself stuck inside his 14 year old body, reliving his youth. However, he still has his 48 year old mind, and he finds himself remembering lots of things of his past. He comes into contact with old friends who would later meet their death, that would move away, and dreamers who would end up forgetting their dreams and living an average life. This memory adds a beautiful sense of melancholy to the story, and creates for interesting character interaction and development.

However, the real story comes into play when Hiroshi release that not everything is happening according to his memory. Thanks to his 48 year old knowledge, he finds himself excelling academically, and really just enjoying the simple things of life; this change in personality does not go unnoticed by his peers. After discovering this Hiroshi takes it upon himself to pave the road to a different future, much different than the life he initially lived where his family was broken apart and suffering. This is the true beauty of the story, it is a story of change, regret, youth, family, and the simple beauties of life.

That’s not to say the story doesn’t have his flaws. A lot of times Hiroshi just seems to forget that he has a wife and kids in his real life as a 48 year old, he does briefly think about them a couple of times before the end of the story, but the moments are so brief and uncommon that you really begin to wonder if he cares that much about his real family. While that is a major flow, it doesn’t hinder any of the emotional impact later in the story, and the overall story still flows extremely well and is beautifully written.

Despite only being two volumes, each character in the story feels nicely developed. Whether it be the members of his family or several of the his classmates in school, most of them have time to tell their own stories, and each of them play their part nicely. Hiroshi is, of course, the most interesting of the characters. The mix between a 14 year old body and 48 year old mind gives him an interesting, reflective train of thought, and none of the dialogue comes off as unnatural despite the odd mix.

The art is well drawn and has good detail, none of the characters look incredibly handsome, there are no cheaply drawn comedic moments, no mysterious flower blooming in the background-in short it should appeal to the audience it was targeted at.

I can’t really recommend this enough, all the characters are realistic, likeable, and well developed, the story is outstanding and should gain some sympathy among the readers, and most importantly it’s just a fascinating read that contains all the elements needed for a good story. It’s a shame the story isn’t well known, A Distant Neighborhood is a simple yet engaging read that has all the elements to appeal to a large audience, I recommend this to any fan of emotional, well developed stories, but it really should appeal to anyone who finds the story idea to be good. Truly a hidden gem of manga.

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Apr 5, 2019

Fleure

Recommended

Taniguchi often reads like some of the old impressionistic writers. Form, time, direction all seem to have their own shape; they breathe on their own accord. The world then is distilled down to sensory syllogisms, where truth and fiction really are just extensions of one another. Consequently, all that seems to matter is the continuity of perception and the exaltation of sense, transforming into ephemeral experiences embedded in some forgotten psychology. These are never presented as factual, but as fleeting moments offering glimpses into all that was lost. These stories are appendages of the self: ones that serve to internalize the world and externalize the ...

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Nov 16, 2009

Tumerking

Recommended

I had to wait a few days after finishing Harukana Machi-E before I wrote this review. I just couldn't believe how much I liked this manga. If I had reviewed this manga immediately after I finished it I would have done nothing but rain 10s down upon it. Now that it's sunk in, nothing has changed.

STORY: 10/10
What would you do if you were a 48-year-old man who was visiting your mothers grave. You closed your eyes to pray, and when you opened them you were 14 year old again? But you arn't the only one to suddenly lose 34 years. The world does too. You've ... somehow gone back in time, but you have the conscience of a grown man. What would you do? Would you date the prettiest girl in school? Would you try and stop your father from leaving? What else would you do differently? These are the same questions Hiroshi asks himself as he begins to understand his situation. The story, without a doubt, is beautiful. It is only two volumes long, but thats all it needs. The story isn't weighed down by countless arcs and dozens of useless characters. It is perfect from the mundane first word to the shocking last.

ART: 10/10
The characters have noses and eyes proportional to their face. It's not your typical "everyone is bishonen" artwork. The backgrounds are extremely detailed to the point of being photographic. It's almost like you can feel the water dripping down his face as he stands in the rain and smell the salt when he stands at the beach watching the waves crash into the shore. The art truely grants the story life.

CHARACTER: 10/10
Since Harukana Machi-E is two volumes long there arn't many characters. And each one adds something to the story. Weather it's the loving father who mysteriously left Hiroshi's family the first time around without giving a reason. Or Hiroshi's shy friend who wants to someday become a writer. Or Hiroshi, who is so caught up with being 14 again, he almost doesn't want to go back. They're all perfectly crafted to be as realistic and as enjoyable to watch as possible.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. Would the prettiest girl in school fall in love with him? Could he somehow get his father to stay this time around? Is he ever going to return to the future? This manga is incrediblely hard to put down and it keeps you wanting more after every chapter.

OVERALL: 10/10
Pursue your dreams and love your family. A beautiful message for a perfect manga. I advise everyone, manga fans or not, to read this manga. You'll be glad you did. This manga deserves nothing less than a perfect 10.

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Apr 28, 2012

_Rika

Recommended

The cycle of trials and tribulations is never ending. A few bitter experiences of the past may leave a permanent scar on our life and we often wish to go back into the past, hoping to do things differently that would perhaps prevent the ‘dreadful’ from happening. While it’s usually us who were responsible for our sorrows at one point of time, there were also things that we just couldn’t do anything about and we can’t do anything at this very moment either, and we question ourselves as to why it had to happen. But what if we are somehow given a chance to relive ... our past and try to reason out the happening of whatever had happened?
Harukana Machi-E is the story of a middle aged business man, Hiroshi. As monotonous as life can get, work seems to be his first priority over family and lately he has taken to drinking almost regularly. One day while returning home from a tiring business trip, he ends up taking a wrong train and learns that the train’s destination is Kurayoshi, his hometown where he grew up. As he walks down the familiar street of his childhood, he is engulfed by nostalgia and he somehow finds himself in front of the house where he once lived with his parents, sister and grandmother. He visits his mother’s grave and thinks of his mother who had to suffer a lot in her life after his father disappeared mysteriously, never to return back. He falls asleep and wakes up after some time to miraculously find himself in the body of a young boy who looked like what he did when he was fourteen years old. As unbelievable as it could get for him, he soon realizes that he is transported to his childhood when he was in junior high. Everything around him looks exactly the same as they once did and what’s more, he finds his same old family in front of him. As he relives his childhood for the second time, he resolves to do things he couldn’t do before and comes to know things he never knew. And for the first time he understands the value of family, love and little things that we often take for granted in our life.

If I have to define this manga in one word then it’s AMAZING. At first glance, it may seem like just another slice of life work with the much debated concept of time travel but as you read you’ll realize it’s something more than that. It’s a stunningly and very realistically narrated story through the point of view of the protagonist, Hiroshi, retaining the body of his former self- a fourteen years old boy but the mind of his present self- a forty-eight years old man. It is heart-warming and at the same time heart-breaking. It is bittersweet. It knows how to remain simple and comprehensible while keeping the reader hooked through the pages.

The characters are what make this manga interesting, really. They are portrayed in a very realistic manner with their own strengths and weaknesses. None of them are depicted as someone perfect or overly idealistic. You can easily relate to more than one character and see through their eyes. Whether family members or friends and classmates, their relations with the protagonist are convincing enough.

While the art is not something everyone can appreciate, especially those who are used to the modern style, it is good nonetheless. It is detailed and the characters’ expressions are very well drawn in my opinion. In brief, the manga has a clean look to it with well segmented panels.

I’d recommend Harukana Machi-E to anyone who is looking for a short, simple yet intriguing slice of life manga.

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Jul 29, 2011

misericord

Recommended

i think the obvious criticism of this manga would be its brevity. there was scope for a whole lot more. it really gave off the impression that taniguchi had been told by publishers that he needed to wrap it up.

i thought that taniguchi did well in playing a fine balancing act between agreeable formula and some more mature reflections on family life. it was respectable that he didn't go all ecchi with the school life, but i also think that all of the overwrought 'uwaa~ this can't be real...' stuff was a waste of panels.

all in all, a bittersweet little package on the realities of ...

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Aug 18, 2018

Paradise266

Recommended

Haruka na Machi e, to say the least, is an intriguing story about family, regret, and learning about who you truly are. It's a more mature take on the concept of "going back in time", in which the main character isn't a teenager with many hopes and dreams, but a 48 years old man whose life is already far weathered with many ups and downs. Nakahara Hiroshi, now in his 14 years old body but his memory still retained, struggles to decide whether he can change the course of his life, and relive his youth once more.

What's most interesting about the series is certainly the ... main character, and how his life unfolds through his interaction with the rest of the cast in the series. Unlike many stories where the protagonist is either trapped in an overarching plot with many mysteries and tries to break out of it as soon as he can or the protagonist actively seeks to change his life for the better, Hiroshi goes along with it, though he can't help but accidentally change details of his past due to his memory. He constantly juggles between living as a kid and as an adult, making him very out of place, the oddity within the cast. Hiroshi, throughout the story, always question himself, of what could have been his life, of what could have been his family. He explicitly shows signs of regret and conflict of living "another man's life", which directly correlates with the climax of the series. Hiroshi, as portrayed in the series, perfectly embodies the themes that Jiro sensei was trying to convey, and a great example of how nuanced a character can be and how a middle age man can realistically act in his situation.

Despite how well crafted Hiroshi is, I can't say the same about the rest of the characters. Though HaruMachi is indeed Hiroshi's story, and the chemistry between him and the supporting cast is splendid, I can't help but wanted to see more out of the people that also have their own struggle and regret, the people whose life that were decided by war and not by their own choices. I would have loved to see more of how Daisuke cope with the family he deems to be far from as happy as Hiroshi's, or how Tomoko deals with the pressure of society for being a woman, but I guess for a 16 chapters short there is only so much you can pack in.

The art is quite decent as far as I'm concerned. It's far from anything groundbreaking, has a relatively basic panel structure, and the character art is hardly anything expressive, with their expressions mostly the same throughout the series. It also suffers from a level of same face syndrome, where the female characters' faces ironically look like they are male's. Despite all that, it does a fine job at conveying a melancholic atmosphere, and the way the speech bubbles are always small and well panned out within a page makes it a lot more comfortable to read and a lot more natural for the small talks that the characters always have.

Overall, I would recommend reading this series. Haruka na Machi e is far from a masterpiece of literature, but it is extremely well grounded and solid. The story perfectly captures Jiro sensei's complete understanding of human relationships, and greatly shows how a heavily character driven story should be handled.

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Apr 29, 2019

skhead

Recommended

Haruka na Machi e is an interesting take on the time travel story. The protagonist, Hiroshi, is a middle-aged man with a wife and children. He misses his stop while coming back from a business trip, and ends up in his childhood neighborhood where he visits the grave of his mother. He ends up falling asleep there, and wakes up in the same place as a child, to the time before his father suddenly left his family without explanation. Upon going home and seeing his whole family together again, Hiroshi makes it his goal to find out why his father abandoned his seemingly perfect and ... happy family. What makes the story unique is that Hiroshi is not sent back in time on a great mission to change this key moment in his life, but rather to understand why it happened, and why it matters.

Much of the story deals with the day-to-day aspect of Hiroshi's life as a student. As a middle-aged man trapped inside a young body, his outlook on his much younger peers can often be condescending or careless, but he is always brought back down to earth in some way or another. His personality can get tiresome at times, but he is generally likable and relatable. Though not the most major point of the story, these interactions do serve to remind Hiroshi of the thoughts and feelings he had as a child, and perhaps those of his own children. It helps to change his perception of things.

Of course, the more important bits of the story revolve around Hiroshi's family. Throughout his story, Hiroshi strives to learn more about his parents, their past, and their personalities. As he's actually a grown man close to their age, he can relate to them now more than he ever could. He has an easier time uncovering and understanding their drives and desires. And as he uncovers more and more about them, the pieces start to fall together. Hiroshi starts realizing the reason that his father left, and how important it is for him to find this out at this point of his life.

Haruka na Machi e expresses itself very well. It's not hard to understand, but it's not overbearing either. Sadly, this doesn't mean that it was extremely entertaining either. The event that the story is based on is not particularly mysterious or exciting. Nothing is dramatized, and while it's certainly true that this method of storytelling is more realistic, it personally did not capture my attention as much as some other stories have. That's just a personal grippe, really. My most major criticism of the story is that it sets itself up sometimes to seem as if past events can be changed, but it doesn't bother to make a point that it can't or won't. Hiroshi's motivation is rather unclear, even by the end, when nothing has changed not because it couldn't, but rather just because it hadn't.

Personally, Haruka na Machi e wasn't really my kind of time travel story, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It's definitely worth reading , and maybe you'll do a bit of reflection afterwards.

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Oct 19, 2019

kyr0s

Recommended

Now, here's my take on time travel stories. Most of them are okay, very few of them are brilliant while others are just trying to jump on the nostalgia bandwagon, sci-fi cart, try to cram many concepts and basically ruin it.

Haruka na Machi e is about a guy who gets transported to the past (his childhood - in particular). That's where all the similarities with other stories I've read end.

Here, we don't focus on the time travel bit (I mean in the beginning we have the lead being surprised a lot) nor about how you might encounter your past self (He lives ...

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Haruka na Machi e
A Distant Neighborhood
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A Distant Neighborhood
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