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Feb 1, 2020
--The review contains spoilers--
A young girl struggling in school, soon to be sent to marry an unknown man, suffering physically, mentally from a starkly different past - memories that seem otherworldly considering where she is now. Her existence is defined by her name, but there were days where it was defined by her 'sister'. This is the life of Isabella York, Violet's next client.
This movie is not a direct sequel to the main series and is different from the other movie to be released in April 2020.
Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou is a movie which adapts Chapter 2 of the Violet
...
Evergarden Gaiden novel. For those who didn't know, Chapter 1 of the Gaiden has already been adapted in the main series (Episode 5: the letter exchange between the prince/princess).
As for when this is set in the main series' timeline, it is definitely after Chapter 4 (Leon, the astronomer) and Chapter 10 (Lux) but before Chapters 11-13 (flying letters and train hijack) from the novel. So essentially between 10 and 11. Therefore in the anime series it would be between Episodes 6 and 13.
Story: 8
The movie has a similar format to Violet Evergarden's adventures throughout the main series, except that it's much longer.
Since there is still no synopsis included in the main page, I will give a short one here. The movie is essentially divided into 2 parts:
Violet has been called to a special school for girls to spend 3 months with the daughter of a major noble family. The girl she has to take care of, Isabella York, is struggling to adapt into her school environment and its demands, as the movie hints her past.The second part focuses on Isabella's sister and her experience working for CH Postal Company. The 2 parts are obviously related, but I won't go beyond this.
Most of the focus is on Isabella and her sister, rather than Violet. It seems this movie was not made to entirely focus on Violet's development. She is already presented as an experienced AutoMemories doll, so the focus is more on the clients. I suppose this is better since some viewers complained about the lack of character development of the clients in the main series.
Its main message is one that is mentioned frequently in Violet Evergarden: "Letters can connect people". Another example of the recurring themes of relationships between people and how letters can facilitate/enhance them.
This time the adventure is about the relationship between siblings and their unique circumstances, the rekindling of a lost connection and the barriers against them. It seems there is a strong sense of separation between the siblings (physically) compared to other episodes, which emphasised the hopelessness of the siblings in being able to reunite. Violet's role was quite different in this movie - she seemed more open in putting herself in the clients' shoes, and helping out Isabella's sister work in CH postal mirrored scenes of herself being cared by Hodgins, showing a new side of her mature character.
The story as a whole is structured well with flashbacks for viewers to understand Isabella's past. The two parts are incorporated well enough so they don't feel too detached from each other.
The main flaw in the story is the chain of events that link Isabella to the York family. It is rather sudden and feels like it comes out of nowhere. This is indifferent from the novel and although without this detail the story would not exist, there may have been better alternatives for the reasoning.
In addition, I also had mixed emotions about the time gap between the 2 parts: 3 years. I understood the purpose of it, however it does extend the main plot's timeline a lot, which may affect the development of CH postal workers but more importantly Gilbert. In other words, this may be another obstacle to overcome for KyoAni if they attempt to explain Gilbert's whereabouts or absence from the main plot. But this is just speculation - more like me hoping Gilbert gets more screentime :(
Character: 9
The relationship between Isabella and Violet is the best feature of the movie in terms of character development. Violet's understanding of a client's past was at its best out of most of her experiences. Her growth from the initial stages of the main series has been immense. What looked like a typical client-doll relationship eventually led to something more than friendship. Events in their past, although different, forged a strong connection between them. The changes were clear - lessons were easier (or more bearable), communication became more relaxed and most importantly Isabella was able to open up to Violet about her past. Overall, their bond is unique and it is one that has not been explored in other episodes. Indeed, some scenes were more intimate than usual, which is unexpected considering the usual protective and reserved nature from Violet towards her clients. Yet more evidence of her growing emotional intelligence, you love to see it.
And let’s not forget Isabella’s sister - simply adorable. KyoAni really impressed with their attempt to give more of a story for Isabella's sister, which was one of the major flaws of the original novel chapter. Her importance was balanced perfectly with her older sister, and the ending was a perfect finale.
One other positive was the appearance of Benedict Blue - a well known postman at CH postal - and his direct involvement in the second part of the movie. Not only was it enjoyable to see one of the original company workers from the novel, this movie could also be a sign that there is potential for Benedict and Cattleya to get the screen time they deserve in future works.
Some areas could have been developed more: Isabella's thoughts on the purpose of the school - essentially preparing young girls for arranged marriages - may have been interesting. Her suffering from her past was overpowering almost everything else. Indeed, Isabella's relationship with her sister is memorable, but other aspects of her character seemed to be ignored, which was slightly disappointing. Assigning one event which defines his/her life can make a character boring sometimes, if you get what I mean.
As a side note, I enjoyed Luculia's appearance in the movie!
Art: 10
Amazing visuals as usual, the highlight was the dancing scenes between Violet and Isabella. Landscapes were excellent. At this point you start to wonder if anything's not going to be bright and pretty in Violet Evergarden.
Sound: 9
Most of the songs are the same as the main series bar the ED. The music during the dance was the highlight. Voice acting was great from everyone.
Enjoyment: 8
Another tearjerker for VE fans, but maybe not the cup of tea for those disappointed by the main series.
Overall: 8
Great as a side story and a nice addition to the Violet Evergarden works as a whole. Some minor disappointments but KyoAni did their best with the content they had from Chapter 2 of the Gaiden novel, as well as recovering from the tragic event that happened before the movie's release in Japan.
I look forward for the new movie in April.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 15, 2018
'Happiness does not walk on its own to you. You have to use your own feet to reach it.'
What is happiness to you?
A simple question, but the number of answers is almost infinite...
This may be a manga that could help you find your own meaning of happiness.
Story: 9
I decided to read this because it was done by the same author and artist involved in 'Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai' (KimiSui). This is based on the novel of the same name.
...
The story focuses on Nanaka and her interactions with various people as she tries to find the best answer for the meaning of happiness, a homework set by her teacher.
Mata, Onaji Yume wo Miteita introduces the reader to various forms of happiness. Minami-san, a high school girl who deliberately hurts herself. 'Abazure-san', a mysterious young woman. The old lady who lives alone in a wooden house. All these people have deep regrets in their lives as they try to rediscover their meaning of happiness along with Nanaka. The manga is very successful in trying to group all these different types of happiness together into one. During Nanaka's journey to find her own answer, the story naturally makes you question your own meaning of happiness and life... As if you're in a dream or under a spell, the story enters your mind and opens its world to you. This is why I really like the title of this manga.
'I Too Saw the Same Dream' is not just a story about happiness. It also presents us with hardships as well. Loss of loves ones, failing to take a chance, giving up on achievement, fear to build courage. These hardships enable us to try to move on, which is why, in a way, they may be essential. Seeing Nanaka witnessing/experiencing these hardships and learning step by step how she might cope/help was a joy to watch. Despite her age, she is such a mature character...
The fact that we have characters who not only live very different lives but also have varying ages is crucial. The views of various people on their own source of happiness highlights the ambiguity of the meaning of happiness. It gives us a picture on how one's meaning of happiness can change over time. Regardless of age, we always long for some form of happiness, even if we sometimes think we've given up. But those who think they are used to living without happiness will never be able to experience it... This is the main lesson I learnt from the story.
Pacing was great. It didn't feel like anything was rushed. However I haven't read the novel so I'm not sure if this is a good adaptation. I'll have to buy it and read it myself. I'll update this section by then.
Predictability is the only major flaw I could find. Until around half-way through the series, I didn't have a clue where this was going to lead. But after a certain point it became more and more obvious what was going to happen.
However I can kind of see that there weren't many options to make the story less obvious, considering the length of this series and the ending. Therefore, if you're someone who wants to read something unpredictable, I wouldn't recommend this.
Art: 10
The art is by the same person who drew KimiSui. So if you want to read a manga with similar art to KimiSui, I suggest you to read this.
Personally I think the art style fits better with this manga instead of the other one because the protagonist is of a lower age here. In KimiSui, the characters looked a bit too young to be considered high school students.
Character: 10
Nanaka is brave, determined and smarter than your average elementary school kid. She simply enjoys life without caring about how others see her. This is especially true when she ignores being isolated by the rest of the class due to her straightforward personality. It was refreshing to see a protagonist who is not a high school student.
Yoru Sumino manages to make Nanaka a mature character whilst still preserving the typical pure innocence you would expect from a child. This is perfectly presented through Nanaka's common lines on the meaning of life: 'Life is like...' By combining various features of daily life from a child's point of view and her broad imagination, we get quotes like these:
'Life is like a lunchbox. Because you can't put everything you want.'
'Life is like a fridge...'
'Life is like pudding...'
'Life is like lunchtime...'
Would an adult be able to say lines like these? Maybe, but I doubt a lot of people could. In the busy society we live today, adults would typically think more about the money side of things and living without any worries. To me this really emphasized how adults and children live in different worlds and view things in a different light.
Minami, 'Abazure-san' and the old lady all have some form of development along with Nanaka. As they give advice and hints to find her answer they also find their own happiness from Nanaka. I won't go into more detail than this because it will easily spoil the story. You will understand when you read it.
Enjoyment:10
Overall: 10
'To those who are weary, a sweet and warm story'
This is what was written on the cover of the Korean translation of the novel. I haven't read the novel myself (yet), but this phrase is what led me to read the manga...
It was true in many ways.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 25, 2018
Does a hero really need superpowers?
This is the main question explored by 'Hero Mask', a manga focusing on the 'Heroes Club', created to help anyone in need. With the introduction of the mysterious 'hero masks' spread around by an anonymous person, can Shibuya, who has lost hope in the existence of heroes, become one himself?
Story: 6
This could have been a 7 or above if it was longer than 29 chapters for more development and without the poor buildup to the ending. There's not much unique about this manga, but I read this expecting that.
The Heroes Club consists of Sasaki, the president, Kurumi, the Vice
...
President, Shibuya, Kabayama and Yagi.
The existence of 'hero masks' had mixed reactions from me. Although the idea was pretty good, their properties were not explored deep enough. When I finished reading this I still couldn't understand certain things - for example, why couldn't Kurumi have the power enhancement from the mask when she wore it, unlike Shibuya? Therefore, I wouldn't recommend you to try to apply logic over these 'hero masks'.
I didn't really understand why they introduced romance in this manga. The least they could do was to give us a proper conclusion... Instead it felt like they completely forgot about it. I understand that this is mainly about heroes but they could've done something...
The buildup to the ending, as I said before, wasn't the best. Some of the decisions made by certain characters were not explained in detail. I kind of thought that the chain of events were too convenient only to reach a predictable conclusion. This is why I think the manga should have been longer. On the other hand, I did like the ending itself, despite its predictability.
I also liked the way the members of the Heroes Club developed a strong bond with each other pretty quickly, which enabled them to dive into their adventures/cases right away. The challenges they faced came about at the right time to keep the reader interested. The development in their teamwork was pretty good too, although it could have been better with more clarity.
But the best part about this manga was the way there was no common villain they had to fight all the time. Their approach in the meaning of a hero is much more simplistic than others - often, it just involves helping out with school chores, patrolling certain areas and getting rid of graffiti. It's not always saving someone from a near-death situation. The definition of a hero here is realistic.
Overall, the story wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.
Art: 8
The art was really good and detailed. It's not all flowery either, basically suitable for a manga involving heroes. Only downside might be the length of the fighting scenes - they're pretty short - but then again there are people who wouldn't want fights getting dragged on for too long... Really liked Sasaki's character design.
Character: 7
Shibuya has lost his belief in the existence of heroes but soon becomes one himself through the help of a hero mask. His development is pretty predictable - he quickly becomes dependent on the mask and whenever he doesn't have the mask he stops becoming a hero. He learns a lot from Sasaki in the path to become a true hero. But there were also things I liked about him: his quick instincts and intelligent deductions, despite his usual behavior.
Sasaki quickly became my favorite character of the series. She's the equivalent of Captain Obi from Enen no Shouboutai or Mumen Rider from OPM. She doesn't have any powers since she doesn't find a hero mask, but she trains every day and has the most courage. That's what I like about her - she doesn't care about having superpowers and is always the first person to take action when someone is in danger - friend or enemy. The only thing I don't understand about her is - how could she not recognize the difference between Shibuya with the hero mask and without? Maybe I'm being a bit too picky.
The other 2 main characters are Kabayama and Kurumi. Kabayama initially does whatever he wants with the mask but soon changes and joins the heroes club. Kurumi has a strong trust for Sasaki - she admires her bravery - and that's why she became the Vice President of the heroes club. I don't think these two had enough development - I felt like we could've known more about them once the manga ended... There is also Yagi, the final member of the Heroes Club, but she was introduced too late to be even considered important. I didn't really understand her role in the story aside from what happened in one of the club's adventures.
Overall, there wasn't enough development for any of the characters except Sasaki and Shibuya. But considering the length of this series and importance of the two for the plot, I gave a 7.
Enjoyment: 8
I don't think this is one of those manga where you should expect something original, since there clearly isn't much to point out. I just enjoyed it without really caring about the rushed scenes and some parts which weren't properly explained. But this could be different for you.
Overall: 7
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 6, 2018
Before I start this review, I'll just tell you this: this is separate from the sequel movie announced by KyoAni. The movie is scheduled to be released in January 2020. Also, I wrote this review assuming you watched the 13 episode series first.
If you haven't please watch that first (though I doubt anyone would come here without watching the main series first). While doing so I'd recommend you to watch this between episodes 4 and 5 since that's when this is set.
Violet Evergarden Special is an unaired episode which is set between episodes 4 and 5 of the 13 episode series - between Iris' visit
...
to her hometown and the one involving Princess Charlotte's exchange of letters with the neighboring country's prince. No wonder there was a time gap of a few months between those 2 adventures.
Since this happens in the first half of the series we don't get any information about Gilbert's situation after the war. Therefore he does not appear (in a flashback yes, but it was shown before). In addition, for those wanting to know whether this episode has adapted part of the LN, this is an original episode.
Story: 8
Now, just because this is 34 minutes long does not mean that there's not much to say. In fact, this is probably one of the most important (personally one of the best for me) episodes in the series. The main reason is because this is when we can clearly see Violet struggling to write a letter for her client. In fact, it's the first time that Violet is taking care of a client all by herself (though technically she does get some help - after all, she's not experienced at this point). It also explains the time gap between episodes 4 and 5 - how did Violet manage to get a chance to write letters for a princess only after a few months from graduating?
The episode involved Violet writing a love letter for an opera singer. Bearing in mind that Violet is still in her learning stages for writing letters, we are shown her struggles a number of times, which is pretty obvious since Violet still doesn't know what 'I love you ' means. She manages to get help from her colleagues to improve and meet the singer's expectations. Just like other episodes about Violet's adventures, we get a glimpse of the client's past, which involves the painful loss of her love partner during the war. I won't spoil beyond this point, but you should probably know the conclusion from most of Violet's other adventures.
But how does this answer the question I mentioned before? Well, since Violet learns how to write love letters here, this is probably the main reason why her writing skills were significantly better than before in episode 5. It also partly explains why Hodgins chose her to handle an important client like Princess Charlotte - Cattleya was writing on the other side while Iris and Erica probably didn't have any experience writing love letters for important clients like Violet.
"Violet. I know this is no easy task, but you've completed a great many jobs over the past few months." - Claudia Hodgins, start of Episode 5
One of the "great many jobs" included this episode. Now some people may say that this isn't enough, which I perfectly understand, but 1 episode is better than none.
If I was to point out a major flaw, it would be the teacher's recommendation for Violet to write the letters. I mean, she only saw Violet write one letter... I don't think that would have been enough to be so sure to take care of a hard task like this.
Overall, I'll give an 8 for bridging the time gap.
Art: 10
Maybe it's just me but watching this after almost 2 months since the main series finished made me appreciate the art a lot more. I'm no expert in art, but everything was flawless to me, maybe even too flawless. My favorite parts were the water fountain scene and the candles. Just can't get enough of them.
Sound: 7
A new addition in terms of sound is the singing of the opera singer - her voice was really overwhelming and managed to captivate the audience's attention, including me.
Character: 8
Without this episode, Violet's development would've had a huge gap in her path to improve her writing skills. This was a massive plus for me and it's also why I give an 8 for character. Some people might argue that whilst this episode did help to cement the cracks of her development, the pace at which this occurs may still be too quick. I think it's understandable since all of her adventures involving clients are only 20 minutes long.
This leads me to Irma's character. Since she was a client it's obvious that there was a lack of development. I think this was the weakest part of this episode, even more so than others because her flashbacks felt too short for me to feel much sympathy for her. Maybe it's because VE has always been using the loss of loved ones on most of its episodes - Violet losing Gilbert, Oscar losing his daughter, Anne losing her mother...
Enjoyment: 8
I personally think this episode should've been included in the main series in the first place, to bridge the time gap between Violet's first and second adventures, which could have reduced complaints by some people questioning Violet's quick growth. Regardless, I still enjoyed this episode.
Overall - 8
Would recommend, though you may not be satisfied.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 1, 2018
As someone who thinks that the immune system is the most exciting feature of the human body, I always waited for a day I would find a manga like "Hataraku Saibou", otherwise known as "Cells at Work".
Story: 9
The story mainly focuses on a red blood cell (Ae 3803) and a white blood cell (U-1146). They aren't given names, but numbers. The red blood cell has a hard time trying to find routes through the body, so the white blood cell helps her out. Through this, we get to know what exactly happens in different parts of the body and encounter different types of cells
...
as well.
Each chapter focuses on a certain pathogen's invasion, a part of the body and cancer. I personally liked the chapters about cancer the best, since that's when the most fighting happens (both between immune cells and against cancer cells... )
Now the main question people might ask is - how accurate is it? From what I've learnt in Biology, I don't think it's high level Biology, but it's not too low either (in UK terms it would be between GCSE and A-level). The information they give is not complicated to understand (maybe not for names...) and they make sure to give the necessary parts.
Art: 10
This is amazing- very detailed. A manga about cells represented as humans would mean that it's hard to show their functions properly and structures within the body - heart, lungs, kidneys... - without straying too much from scientific data. But this manga nailed it. Of course, it's not 100% accurate - e.g. when bacteria are killed they spill out blood.
The way they represent harmful bacteria/viruses is sometimes a bit odd for me - some of them look more like aliens... (but I guess that's the impression they want to give to show that they don't belong in the body)
Character: 9
I like the white blood cell a lot. Let's say... He's much better at teamwork than the rest of the cells of the immune system... He is kind to other types of cells unlike the killer T-cell, who is pretty aggressive since he has to kill infected cells...
There is some development for the red blood cell, as she starts to know the routes within the body properly thanks to white blood cell.
Can't forget the platelets - so adorable!!!
Enjoyment: 10
Please, just read the first chapter. It won't be a waste of your time, it's really worth it.
Overall: 9
I'll give this a 9 - for now everything looks good but since it's still ongoing...
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 4, 2018
"As human beings, we all mature physically from childhood to adolescence and then into adulthood, but our emotions lag behind." - Bernard Sumner
This is the most memorable quote that had gone through my mind whenever I watched Violet Evergarden, and led me to ask myself this question: how do you learn an emotion?
Experience? Knowing its definition? Or perhaps... By writing letters for others? Thus is VE's answer.
Story: 7
I liked the novel, so obviously I liked the story. They did make me get worried with those original episodes at the start but later on they managed to adapt most of the best chapters. There are
...
quite a few which are standalone: 5,6,7,10,11. The rest involved Violet and her co-workers.
The first half didn't look that promising, but the second half improved a lot. I think it's because they put in a lot of her adventures in the second half, only involving Violet and the customer, which gave a lot more room for growth instead of being surrounded by the other workers. She's the type who learns fast when she's alone, you could say. Watching her change bit by bit a girl from emotionless and to some extent irritating to one who is able to experience emotions was very enjoyable.
The story is not unique in the sense that she's trying to find the meaning of "love", but as it unfolds she learns other feelings as well, and soon enough we don't get the "I want to know the meaning of "I love you"" line.
Pacing has sometimes been a problem, for example episode 6, where I barely got to know about Leon. They could've done more but I guess you have to expect that when you've got less than 20 minutes to cover an adventures. But in most cases they provided us with the right flashbacks and details to get to know the customers well.
The anime did remove parts of the novel which were pretty bad: I'll start with witchcraft, a giant battle axe almost twice the size of Violet. I just couldn't believe that she could maneuver the axe so well, before she even got those robotic arms. Glad they got rid of that. They also made Violet very pacifistic compared to the novel, which helped to emphasize her growth even more, but this was at the cost of making her fighting scenes towards the end of the series ridiculous, since she chose to go head on without weapons at all, but still managed to take them down.
Other reviews have pointed out the technological and cultural inaccuracies in VE, but personally it didn't affect me that much except maybe for those robotic arms which seem to be more advanced than one we have today... Rather, I was more annoyed by the battle scenes: a 14/15 year old girl fighting against trained soldiers, sometimes without weapons... I get that she is OP, but... the way her adventures unfold so conveniently at times was one of the main weaknesses of this show.
There were some parts of the novel I would've liked them to include, for example Hodgins was supposed to visit Violet quite a few times when she was in the hospital and that helped to develop a parent-child relationship. They kind of tried to fit it in in between the adventures, but I don't think it was sufficient. The other thing is Violet's origins. They didn't go deep enough on that, and made people think that she became emotionless because of her time in the army.
Art: 10
This is probably the best part and what made VE get such high expectations. The face expressions were great, the landscapes were great... If I was to point out the best ones, I'd say the scenes of the starry night (Ep 6), street lamps and the city of Leiden as a whole. I also liked the way they included flowers a lot throughout the series (especially Ep 5, you could see one almost very 5 seconds). The reason I'm mentioning this is because flowers are an important theme here: if you look at the names of most of the characters, they're all related to flowers.
"People’s names always have some sort of meaning." —Akatsuki Kana (author of VE)
If I was to point out a negative... Sometimes, maybe this was just once, they put too much emphasis on scenes which didn't really deserve it. In Episode 4, when Violet was first introduced to the villagers, they suddenly went all out with the animation, including sudden gusts of wind and leaves dancing everywhere. It was amazing, but not really worth it.
Sound: 7
I liked the OP and ED, but that was about it. It didn't make me listen to it over and over again like Aimer's Ref:rain (best ED for me this season). The background music was alright, but they were often hit or miss: they would sometimes repeat it for too long and in other cases the music just didn't match the mood at all. But still enjoyable overall.
Character: 8
From the blind obedience to kill to the development of a conscience which can heal, Violet's growth was truly remarkable, with the difference between her past and present crystal clear. Her blunt and fearless character had often been an obstacle against her success as a doll, but as the series progressed she managed to use them in the right circumstances. Her military salutes, her formal language, her expressionless face... They all changed. This is what the novel couldn't provide, those subtle details that show signs of growth.
Only disappointment is the development of the other characters, especially Hodgins, Cattleya and Benedict. The novel lacked this as well, but I guess it was expected since so much was invested into Violet and her customers.
Enjoyment: 8
Overall: 8
Good, but not a masterpiece.
Would I recommend you to read the novel? Give it a try unless you hated this. But there are going to be differences, both good and bad.
If you can't be bothered reading the novel but still want to know what happens, you can PM me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 19, 2018
"Youth... At times it can be wild, at times vicious. And yet, all those emotions from that age become an irreplaceable treasure. Although you may not see that right now..." - Masami Kondou
An injury, the fear of writing again... What do these two things have in common? Yes, they prevent you from pursuing what you want to do, and leaves you stranded alone while everyone else is moving on, as if time itself has stopped.
Story: 9
Revolving around the conflicting themes of moving on to pursue what you love or staying still for love, this is a beautiful allegory of life and regret.
I'm pretty sure that
...
this manga is not mainly about romance. Although the theme of love is there, it is not as important compared to the main characters' interests and their decisions for the future.
Akira Tachibana is the best runner in her track club who has to take a break due to her ankle injury, and Masami Kondou is a family restaurant manager who has given up on literature due to various personal reasons.
With an age gap of 28 years (Akira is 17 and Kondou is 45), this manga tries to show the audience a different kind of relationship compared to what some people may think as a "normal" relationship. It is one where both help each other to reaffirm their thoughts for them to live the lives they want.
For me, any misconceptions about their age gap has successfully been removed through Kondou's personality. In the first few chapters they show how he gets scolded by his workers and the way he can't really handle his job. He is a very kind person and cares for his workers despite their criticism. Tachibana is rather blunt with her words, and seems more mature than others, except of course in "love", which she has experienced for the first time. Although they are somewhat similar I felt like they were a really good match allowing them to learn something from each other.
The symbolism of rain was very interesting in this manga. In fact, the reason I started reading this was because of the rain/umbrella on the cover. Obviously there's the melancholic but also refreshing feel, but in this case I think there was more. For me, it represented the length of Tachibana's injury or recovery, because when they first met: Kondou tells her: "I'm sure that it'll stop raining soon.". Now at this point he doesn't know that Tachibana is injured, but you can still say that he wanted her to go back and continue to live her life.
The use of metaphors was really impressive as well, for example the polished sea glass, the Rashomon story and the bookmark with the swallow. They helped a lot to emphasise this theme of making a decision, whether changing something or not. From unlikely things the author managed to connect them with the feelings of the characters. Fitting them into the plot itself mustn't have been an easy task either. Maybe it's just me who's bad at making metaphors but honestly, there were really good.
The reason I gave this a 9 and not a 10 is mainly because of the ending. It felt abrupt, and basically you could predict it from the start. However I do think it was appropriate and I guess you could say it was a beautiful ending.
Art: 9
I love the rain. I tend to try to find any manga with covers showing rain, despite the famous saying "Don't judge a book by its cover". And this manga perfectly nailed it in showing raining scenes. I don't ask for much, but there's this feeling that you get from looking at raining scenes and you really think you're there, you can hear the monotonous susurration or the heavy pattering sound. This was a perfect example of it.
Of course, rain wasn't the only good part of the art. I mostly felt like the art (overall) was cute, creating a relaxed atmosphere (except a certain point in the manga where I got really angry at a certain character. Manga readers/Anime watchers should know exactly what I'm talking about here). I also have to mention the eyes... Wow. especially Tachibana's eyes. They are simply mesmerising.
Only thing that prevented me from giving it a 10 is the sometimes very long and thin limbs and necks of certain characters... I know nothing can be perfect but just saying...
Character: 9
I completely fell in love with Kondou's inspiring lines throughout the manga... The one I showed at the start was just one of numerous examples. He is often cheerful (although he does lament himself for all the bad things his workers say behind his back) and a good father. Thanks to Tachibana, he experiences the youth he thought would never see again and this leads to building his courage again to write once more.
Tachibana is someone who still doesn't seem to know the real meaning of love, I think it's more of an admiration, and that's why I always thought that her relationship with Kondou as "friends" was interesting. Although she could be misunderstood to be a cold-hearted person, she is innocent and caring. Her interactions with Kondou shapes her choice to start running again as the manga progresses.
Haruka Kyan:
Lovely character who truly cares for Tachibana, as her long-time friend. She wants Tachibana to get back to running and does a lot to convince her. A lot of development between her and Tachibana, including flashbacks.
Yui Nishida:
Co-worker at the family restaurant, same age as Tachibana. She quickly becomes friends and talks a lot about her love interests and gets advice from her. I think she was an essential character to affect Tachibana's thoughts on getting back to running.
Would've been great if they showed how she was at the last chapter, but I guess that's asking for too much.
Takashi Yoshizawa:
He loves Tachibana, but it is unrequited. Annoying is probably the best word to describe this guy. I don't think he was particularly needed in the story (ok maybe at one point).
Ryosuke Kase:
Worker in family restaurant, in his 20s. I think his interaction with his sister was very interesting but the author didn't go deep enough.
Enjoyment: 10
I don't know what else to say.
Overall: 9
Give it a try unless you absolutely hate big age gaps no matter what.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2018
Mermaid Prince:
Probably the best story out of the 3, with some actual plot going on. The story isn't that great itself but I still liked it. Seeing the title I guess you know what it's about. I liked the characters, especially Mugi, determined to achieve anything at the right time.
Snowy Day:
This story was pretty refreshing. Although it's the shortest story out of the 3, it presented a lot about the contrast between the calm library and the busy city. Decent.
Ametsukigahara:
Now this one was odd. It's either because I didn't really get the story or the story's just bad. Some scenes were inexplicable for me
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and I didn't really understand the female lead's goals. Some of the dialogue was appealing to some extent, but that was about it. Don't know why they included sexual acts in this story... The ending was probably the only good thing.
The art was very good. Ir reminded me of Taifuu no Noruda's art a lot. Simple yet the small details stand out. You could say it's cute as well.
I enjoyed the first 2 stories, but not the 3rd one, since I was left a bit confused. Overall a 7.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 8, 2018
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." - Norman Cousins
Adapted from the novel of the same name, this manga is simply amazing in so many ways. Just by reading the synopsis, you can feel a huge load of emotions welling up right away. The novel has already touched the hearts of thousands of people, winning numerous awards. I bet it will do the same to you as well.
I've read the novel AND the manga. One thing I can tell you is that I was a bit disappointed by the manga, as some important
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aspects of the story were not covered in depth enough to have the same effect on the reader. But that's something obvious, since novels almost always show more than mangas.
The title:
I want to clear this up first. You may want to know why the title of this manga is like a horror manga title. For that, I must take a little extract from the manga/novel:
“If someone in the past had a part of their body that wasn’t well, they would eat the corresponding part of another animal.” - Sakura
Story: 10
I loved the story so much I read the novel and the manga 3 times. The story is simple: a girl suffers from terminal pancreatic cancer and only has a few years to live. She chooses to hide it and tries to live a normal life. She keeps a 'Disease Coexistence Journal", a diary describing her days before her death. However, this journal is accidentally read by a boy from the same school. She decides to share her secret with him and chooses to spend more time with him, as she is interested in their "polar-opposite personalities".
The manga focuses on their differences of these 2 very different people by showing a lot of their interactions: a boy who has been isolated from society and has decided to submerge himself into the world of novels instead, and a girl who has had numerous friends and has spent happy memories with them throughout her life, but without showing her secret. An odd pair, I first thought. But I didn't think this novel would be so successful in presenting them together throughout the story.
The story is told from the boy's perspective, which is quite interesting since we don't get to know the girl's feelings directly, only assumptions from the boy. This helps to make the girl all the more mysterious to me.That is the case until we discover what she wrote in the "Disease Coexistence Journal", where we are finally shown her thoughts. Also, another interesting part of this story is that we don't know the boy's name until the very end. He is always called "Secret-Knowing Classmate-kun" by Sakura, along with other nickname always ending with "Classmate-kun" by everyone else. I didn't really understand why the author kept the boy's name anonymous, my only guess is that it could have been used to emphasise his isolation, the fact that he doesn't care about what he's called.
Overall, perfect story with things that you may not expect at all connecting. 10/10.
Art: 10
Really liked it, the art carrying a melancholic feel but also a bright atmosphere as well. Perfect for this kind of story. I hope the anime adaptation does just as well on that.
Character: 10
Sakura:
The centre of the story, she is a merry girl who has many friends but chooses to hang out with the boy. The girl's determination to spend her days as happily as possible to create joyful memories of her last days surprised me a lot. She is almost always presented as a cheerful girl who seems to take the idea of death lightly (she often uses her death as an excuse when annoying the boy, which is quite funny.). But at the same time we are also shown indications that she is worried. I don't know how to convey this feeling but whenever she mentioned the word "death" I felt like my heart was about to stop. I questioned myself a lot, why can't this brave girl be spared from this disease? Honestly, Sakura had a really big impression on me after I finished reading the story.
Classmate-kun:
For the sake of you guys not knowing the boy's name I'm going to call him the same way the manga called him. He likes to read novels and prefers to stay alone than having friends as he sees no reason in having any. He is surprised by Sakura's behaviour as it is completely different from what you would expect from someone who suffers from a disease slowly killing her. He increasingly cares for her and becomes more and more attached to her as the story develops. An interesting character as well, as he is the one who learns most in this story.
Kyouko:
Sakura's friend, who always glares at Classmate-kun. She doesn't know about Sakura's disease even if she is her best friend.
The development is excellent. I can't use any other words than that. The boy's realization of the importance of being able to live and spend his days with his new friend (Sakura) and Sakura's amazing. I cried so much after reading this...
Enjoyment: 10
Rather than enjoying it, I was fascinated by this beautiful story. Of course, I give 10.
Overall: 10. You are very likely to cry for this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 30, 2017
After reading this 3 times, I decided to update this review a bit.
Before I start, if you're wanting to know more from watching the anime, I'll tell you this: the anime has done what the novel hasn't and vice versa. Basically, reading the novel won't guarantee what you want to know.
Even though my expectations were very high before I read this, it still managed to surprise me in every single chapter (not necessarily in a good way). This novel has the power to play with your emotions to such extent that you end up thinking about what you read for weeks, let alone days. The
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really descriptive narration enables the reader to picture the scenes perfectly, as if he/she was really there.
Story: 9
Positives:
This is a beautifully crafted story, pretty good to be the first work of Akatsuki Kana, I do sincerely hope she writes more stories. The story is mainly set in a country called Leidenschaftlich. Violet travels around the world to help her clients express their feelings to their receivers. Along with that, she learns to understand their emotions as well, ultimately to comprehend something someone important to her said a long time ago.
Although the idea of someone finding the meaning of "I love you" is one that has been explored quite often before, the method used to find this complex emotion's meaning is unique. By writing letters for other people, Violet learns the meaning of emotions other than love as well, as she encounters different people in different situations with different feelings to be conveyed to their receiver. And by doing this we also get to know the lives of those people as well.
Unlike being in a boring chronological order, the novel starts in a very unusual way: we see Violet carrying out her normal duties as an "Auto-Memories Doll" for the first 5 chapters. We don't get much information about her past, and we only get some slight clues that she was a former soldier and seems to be following someone's orders. I liked the structure a lot because I'm the type of person who likes stories which start somewhere unexpected.
Each of the 5 chapters are very interesting. They persuade the reader to become very attached to the characters (other than Violet), by showing their pasts in depth and the letters they tell Violet to write. It's as if they're one of the MCs as well. Now the best part about each chapter is that they all have an emotional ending, which never stops from boring the reader. The novel constantly shows completely unrelated, new adventures set in completely different places.
Later on we get a glimpse of the Violet's past. I think I liked these chapters the most in the novel. The development of Gilbert's feelings, who cared for her during the war, from a parental love to a different form of love was amazing to me. The depictions of the battles were very detailed and rich too, and emphasized a lot of the contrast between Violet's beauty and the horrible damage she caused to her enemies. She was basically presented as a killing machine. The idea of Violet being a 'tool' or the fact that she is described as 'it' was effective in carving in the reader's mind her inhuman nature.
After that, well it'd be going in too much in the story so I'll stop. I'll just say that the last chapter was truly great, almost like a fairy tail.
Negatives:
1. Violet's beauty was highlighted so much I can almost memorize her description... Here's one of numerous examples:
"Her soft, braided hair was held by a dark red ribbon, while her slim body was enclosed in a snow-white ribbon-tie dress. Her pleated silk skirt swayed gracefully as she walked, the emerald brooch on her chest glittering in sparkles. The jacket she wore over the dress was of a contrasting Prussian blue. Her long leather boots, worn for practicality, were of a deep cocoa brown."
I don't know whether you're the type of person who likes description which are all glittery like this, but I did think that mentioning her beauty almost every single time whenever Violet appeared was quite annoying, and felt like a waste of lines.
2. The novel completely skips Violet's development in becoming a doll and any kind of recovery from Gilbert's situation. I was pretty disappointed with this, because it made the story feel a bit disjointed. They were pretty important parts of the story ...
3. If you're the type of person who values how battles are presented, then you might not like this. I was particularly disturbed by the fact that one of Violet's main weapon is a huge battle-axe, almost twice her height. It just didn't make sense for me for Violet to use this weapon so efficiently. But then again this is fiction, and since she is OP...
Now this is just what I thought of the story. It is debatable that the separate stories are not useful because they focus a lot in the customers. But I think it's better than having none. After all, there are some indications in most chapters about Violet's development, even if they are just slight hints.
Art: 10
You guys should know this (well most of you should). If I could only give more than 10... I mean the covers are so beautiful I can't describe it in words... One of those times when you say to yourself, "I wish I could live in that world." I honestly would.
Character: 9
Violet's development is focused a lot, especially her transition from a 'tool' to a more humane person. You could even say the types of emotions which are learnt in each of her adventures. By learning them, she gets closer to understanding what Gilbert told her. However, as I said before, it isn't perfect: we don't get any development of her actually becoming a doll.
It only increases my curiosity as to why she was left in that island alone, and why she only understood the word 'kill' when she was first discovered. They didn't provide a single reason for that. I think this was another one of this work's weaknesses.
Gilbert's development is pretty good too, from his family's strict rules and their tradition of being close with the army to his strong determination to protect Violet no matter what, and going beyond that point. Hodgins was a slightly mysterious character to me. We are shown quite a lot of his interactions with Violet as well, presenting him as a protective guardian, but not much about himself other than the postal company he founded.
The main thing I was disappointed about the novel was the lack of development of side characters like Cattleya, Lux and especially Benedict. I think they were introduced a bit too late in the novel to get enough attention. They still felt like unknown characters to me by the time I finished reading this novel, but I guess that's just me moaning about how short the novel was.
Enjoyment: 10
I definitely enjoyed this novel to the fullest (despite some negatives) and I would strongly recommend this novel to anyone who liked the anime.
Overall, this deserves a 10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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