Kanata kara
From Far Away

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So after finishing this manga ngl I got a little misty eyed. Yes its cheesy and fluffy and shojo, but I think especially during these times, shojo is whats needed. Hell, I think the overall message of Kanata Kara is very important and relevant to 2020; how everyone is connected and even small acts of kindness has a ripple effect. The way the villain is defeated could be considered disappointing for some, but I think it suited the series perfectly. It’s exactly how Noriko and Izark would act. It’s a perfect example of how an ending should suit the world you’ve crafted and you shouldn’t ... be pressured to take the standard path with storytelling if it doesnt suit your characters. Idk I thought it was neat.

Noriko:
It featured a really cute protag. I enjoyed her, even if I somewhat wanted her to learn how to fight she still contributed and was pivotal during the final fight. Noriko adapted to her situation and that’s something to commend, considering she’s thrust into another world like your usual isekai fantasy. It was refreshing that she didn’t know the language and I LOVED the fashion in the different world.

Izark:
Izark starts out as your typical cold male lead but DAYME this boy has so many emotions. It’s so friggin rewarding seeing him slowly learn how to trust and open up to Noriko but you can see his kindness shining through even in the first chapter. I love that he smiles and laughs more later on due to spending time with her. Like have you ever seen a warrior sink to his knees under the weight of how much he loves a girl? Peak romance, we stan.

This isn’t even getting into the side characters and like there are so many memorable ones! They all contribute to the story. Like even the mayor from the first volume has a little backstory to let you understand where he’s coming from and how he acts. Each character is given just enough to flesh them out despite the simple adventure story structure. It makes the world feel very lived in.

Just overall dayme I wish this had an anime, but even with 25 episodes I’m not sure they could cram in everything. It’s a really sweet old manga that I hope more people check out, its been such a cute read for me during lockdown.

This is one of the best manga i have ever read. Why you ask? It's simple:
First of all, i really love how the heroine acts. She is not the type that just stands in the way like an obstacle, she always wants to help, tries to be brave even when she is scared, she tries to do her best all the time. But the most important think is that she is not clingy.
Secondly, i like how every character has it's role. The story isn't rushed, their feelings evolve not too fast but not slow either. Their relationship is too cute and pure, it is beautiful ... to see how they care for each other. I hope you give this manga a chance, I promise you won't be disappointed. :)

Noriko, a typical Japanese high schooler, is suddenly caught in a terrorist bombing and transported to a sea full of trees with giant insects and dragons. A mysterious man Izark with seemingly superhero strength saves her from giant worms, and she's now the center of a giant hunt as The Awakening, with the power to awaken the power of a mythical sky demon. From Far Away helped define many of the tropes central to modern isekai before the deluge of a lifeless, never-ending cycle of low quality isekai. So, although many of these tropes have been seen before and will be seen again, the story ... stands on its own because of how it manages to execute these tropes long before they were ubiquitous in Japanese media.

Despite the excellent plot twists in the first 2/3rds of the story, From Far Away suffers from a weak plot and poor characters at the end. Although not a short series, it introduces too many characters for us to get close to, and the entire story revolves around Noriko and Izark. This dynamic starts on an excellent foot, understand that a character transported to a new world cannot speak the local language, and how they slowly bridge that gap is engaging and fresh. That our lead may awaken a nearly omnipotent demon that will destroy the world is an interesting twist, a story suggesting moral ambiguity of a character who we relate to potentially being central to causing great evil. Despite this promise, it ends in lazy storytelling of extreme good versus evil, rather than the idea of good and evil being two sides of the same coin hinted at earlier. Rather than end with shades of gray, with characters with different moral compasses leading to thorny issues and an epic ending, or blue/orange morality on how a foreign land's ethics might be diifferent to our own, the villains are uninspired and comically bad. It's light against darkness, and it doesn't get less uninspired than that.

We also get little to no insight into Noriko's life back home, despite the pain Noriko must feel from leaving everyone she knew behind. This is haphardly reintroduced for moments when needed as a plot device, but never sufficiently explored.

That said, it's easy to judge From Far Away by the standards of today, at a time where these tropes weren't as commonplace. The execution in most of the series is good, and coupled with the plot twists still stands even today. The ending, however, and the deluge of poorly developed characters, drag this story down to barely above average.

As far as the art, it's above average for shoujo art of the genre, and Izark's design is quite well done. Despite the similarity between Izark and a few others, there's also a large number of supporting characters with good character designs superior to the norms of the time period. All in all, it's hard to recommend this series today. Not all classics withstand the test of time and this seems to hardly excel even at the time it was written.