Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Yokohama Shopping Log, Yokohama Shopping Trip, Touge

Japanese: ヨコハマ買い出し紀行

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 14

Chapters: 142

Status: Finished

Published: Apr 25, 1994 to Feb 25, 2006

Genres: Award Winning, Drama, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life

Theme: Iyashikei

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Afternoon

Authors: Ashinano, Hitoshi (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.66¹ (scored by 19,244 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #68²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #206

Members: 75,938

Favorites: 5,177

Resources

Wikipedia

8.66

Ranked #68Popularity #206Members 75,938

MangaAfternoonAshinano, Hitoshi (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /14

Chapters: /142

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Synopsis

In a post-apocalyptic world where an environmental disaster led to the eruption of Mt. Fuji and the inundation of Yokohama, the age of humans is in its twilight. Alpha Hatsuseno is an android and the namesake of a small cafe outside Yokohama. As her owner is away on a trip indefinitely, she has been left responsible for running the cafe. Although she rarely gets any customers, Alpha remains outgoing and cheerful.

While Alpha awaits her owner's homecoming, she explores the vicinity with her scooter and camera. Throughout her journeys, she meets new people and other androids, making memories along the way.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is a beautiful, laid-back story centered around Alpha's daily activities, emphasizing the passing of time in everyday life.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou won the Seiun Award for Best Manga in 2007. Three drama CDs were released in 2002. In all three, Alpha is voiced by Hekiru Shiina and Kokone by Akiko Nakagawa, both of whom voiced the same characters in the two OVA series.

The series has been published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment as omnibus volumes since August 9, 2022.

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More characters
Characters

Hatsuseno, Alpha

Main

Takatsu, Kokone

Supporting

Misago

Supporting

Ojisan

Supporting

Takahiro

Supporting

Maruko, Maruko

Supporting

Koumi'ishi, Alpha

Supporting

Koumi'ishi

Supporting

Matsuki

Supporting

Ayase

Supporting

Reviews

Dec 2, 2023

Halcyon13

Recommended

It's a fleeting collection of memories, short-lived moments, and an undivided appreciation for all that exists and happens. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou can be best described as a rudimentary stage of observational meditations, capitalizing on the short-lived nature of learning something new daily, while loosely connecting these discoveries through either recurring characters or a continuation of small adventures. Ashinano's intended feeling of relaxation is steadily present, but past the initial intrigue of rarely traveling to new places and meeting new people, it becomes a matter of sustaining the attraction of following Alpha's menial livelihood. Certain chapters legitimately challenge our perception of Earthly attachments, questioning how one ... would continue to find purpose in a post-apocalyptic future, soon to be submerged under water. Then again, the series' best component is this deceptively idyllic setting, yet not nearly enough time is spent exploring, which gives rise to a relatively common issue, repetition that forcibly wanes interest.

As much as I've claimed that the narrative's mild ennui is dependent on Alpha's inactivity, she's also the singular foundation of why any of Ashinano's concepts work, more specifically, her carefree speech pattern and extremely friendly readiness to interact. Structurally, the majority of the stories are sourced around her curiosity or chronicle an acquaintance of hers, who often introduces her cafe to a new character. The constantly moving, circular rotation of almost every prominent personality arriving for a cup of coffee at the humble shop is a satisfying intersection of paths we assumed would cross at some point; it's a small world if you will. Alpha's keen view of behavior throughout the series sparks the bulk of the reader's engagement, as she contemplates where a gynoid's similarities lie compared to the human inspiration for her design. It's a shame the science-fiction principles are hardly addressed, as there's enough material regarding ridiculously high intelligence and sense of emotion for a humanoid robot for a sequel. The technological element is limited to fan service, occasionally posing a theory about how consciousness can be harnessed and replicated.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou's scenic value is largely credited to the texture-first approach to backgrounds, accentuating the emptiness of expansive rural areas. The landscapes are picturesque, maintaining distance and detailed intricacies in panels that are slightly more condensed. Coastal drawings experiment with characters swimming, sometimes evoking the sensation of soaring through clouds, visualized by dark ink-shaded streaks. However, Ashinano gives little attention to the actual dystopian parts of the worldbuilding, likely to remain on the lighter side of mystery, but I find the impending danger of water in a seaside environment a necessary geographical insight. There is no consistent plot or direction here, rather it's thoroughly engrossed in laid-back immersion, unable to be intellectualized nor extended beyond the comfortability we've already experienced. The minimalist sentimentality is exciting while it lasts, highlighting communities and living in the present.

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Feb 18, 2023

darkpixelftw

Mixed Feelings

TL:DR
Over-rated but not bad. Some loose threads in it "plot". Very unique atmosphere, similar to the "cosy dystopia" vibe of Girl's last Tour. Seems somewhat rushed towards to end. Beautiful art but it can't compensate for the characters and plot (or lack thereof). I recommend this only if you enjoy the vibe. There really isn't much else here.

Story: 4/10
The story follows Alpha's life as the people around her grow up, and she grows as a person too. Her interactions with neighbours and friends she makes along the way changes her, subtly. Maybe too subtly, it's hard to convey that the robot Alpha is now ... "human", or more human, when she was pretty much a regular person in the beginning anyway. The fact that Alpha (and some of her friends) is an android is simply superfluous.

People grow up, move out, the village Alpha lives in decays slowly. The world is dying, the apocalypse happened in the past, and yet nothing comes of it. The apocalypse, or humanity dying out really only comes up at the last chapter.

It really does feel like another manga about living in the country side. The fact that the world is ending, or that there are robots around, is simply unnecessary. You could rewrite the entire manga to be about a small village dying out and pretty much nothing would change.

So many elements of the manga feel tacked on or pointless. What's with the Misago? It never goes anywhere, was it supposed to represent growing up? If it was, there are far better ways to go about. What does the never-landing plane mean? Why was it included? I can't even guess.

I feel that there is a long period of relative stasis story-wise and then the child characters suddenly grow up. Maybe that was the intention, after all that's how it often feels like in real life, right? However, the languid pace the earlier chapters becomes light speed. I think it would have more impact if we spent more time with the characters, and they grew up at a slower pace.

Kokone's thing is trying to find the androids that came before her. And we sort of get a conclusion, that android were made from human experiences. No not uploading human brains or something dark like that but something more literal. If that sounds nonsensical, I agree. It didn't make any sense for me and that robbed any emotional impact it could have had.

The manga has a melancholic, bittersweet but pleasant atmosphere. Yet, when I read this, I often wondered what I was actually looking at. Sure, the child characters grow up, but we see them so little (and it happens so fast) that I didn't really care. Alpha never really changes, not in any way that I could actually describe. The friends she make get a few appearances each but they never have much of a presence. There's no plot, no drama or deepening relationships. This manga isn't philosophical or enlightening, I was never made to think about something. The more I think about it, the more I feel I wasted my time reading this.

Art: How can you even rate art?/10
Damn the art is good. The characters actually change clothes! Wow! The character designs are so cute and emotive. Some of the panels are practically paintings, if I saw some of them in a gallery, I wouldn't bat an eye. The manga has whole chapters with no dialogue and the minimalist style absolutely works! The panels are so well constructed and emotive. If nothing else, check out some of the wide panels.

And to address criticisms I've heard, I don't think this is a moe-bait manga. Yes, the character designs are cute and data between androids is transferred by kissing (sigh, I know) but it's never shown "on screen". There isn't really fan service.

Character: 4/10
Characters are idealised caricatures of rural folk, no drama, no real emotions. I don't think any of them has any depth to them. I really can't say more on the subject than that, there just isn't anything to say.

Overall: 5/10
This was a hard review to write. When I initially finished it, I had pretty positive feeling towards the manga. But, given time and fresh eyes, I find more and more to dislike. The manga has very meditative atmosphere which I love. There isn't a manga (or any work really) that feels quite like it. But, if I sat down and tried, I don't think I could tell you what I'm supposed to be meditating on. Maybe I just didn’t "get" it or maybe this manga just isn't for me. Lots of others seem to love it so maybe it will really resonate with you if give it a shot as it has so many others. As for me? I wouldn't recommend it. Except for the art, it's almost worth reading just for that. Great art and a unique vibe just can't compensate for no plot and bad characters

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May 31, 2024

PixelB

Not Recommended

It's old, feels old, and in general, I don't think it was that good of a read. It's an iyashikei sort of chill slice of life manga, but honestly, many other series are much more successful.

For example: Non non Biyori focuses more on nature and the character relationships are very nice. Minami-kei has nice manzai and slice of life interactions. Barakamon also just has way more recognizable characters. Overall, it just feels like this manga has no niche that it fulfills.

There's a bit of slice of life, supernatural, a bit of sci-fi elements. There's coming of age elements in the form of our ...

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Poll: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Chapter 6 Discussion accela - May 7, 2008	5 replies	by Supremestrawhat »» Jun 19, 10:20 PM
Poll: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Chapter 18 Discussion Vitka_Lynx - Dec 25, 2008	3 replies	by Nikoslovescoffee »» May 29, 4:08 PM
Poll: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Chapter 68 Discussion Cratex - Oct 4, 2012	2 replies	by Jinx_Araragi »» Mar 8, 10:08 PM
Poll: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Chapter 65 Discussion stAtic91 - Nov 15, 2009	5 replies	by Jinx_Araragi »» Mar 8, 10:01 PM
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Chapter 63 Discussion TheGenkiGuy - Dec 1, 2017	1 replies	by Jinx_Araragi »» Mar 8, 9:56 PM

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