I have only read his earlier work Tokyo Kaido, but not his even earlier Dragon Head. According to the author, Chiisakobee marks his full commitment to writing manga the way he wants to, as opposed to what he thinks readers will like, with Tokyo Kaido being like a declarative meta-commentary. Some have described the new style as Wes Anderson-esque, but I disagree. If some artsy framing/paneling is all it takes, one could also compare Chiisakobee to Napoleon Dynamite's opening.
Instead, what Mochizuki seems to be doing, with his flat, clean art, bold lines with almost no shading, dialogue panels that often exclude the face of the speakers, and frequent camera cuts to various body parts, household objects, and the surroundings, is telling us to not be distracted by the unimportant details, and think about the macro. It's not just a pleasant distraction or for showing off. It forces you to be mindful, read between the lines, interpret his symbolism, and the panels saved by not obliging to draw the talking heads over and over is well spent fleshing out the material world of Chiisakobee despite its simple conflict and short length. The style keeps you on your toes and rewards re-reads. On some reads I find some developments too punctuated, but tasteful on other occasions. The dialogue is intelligent and edited to only include the meaningful conversations, so it's an interesting, almost ceremonial, manga all around and has a timeless quality to it.
