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Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou review
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
Apr 15, 2021
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou review
It is a brilliant stroke to tell a story about transience through immortal cyborgs. Maybe many Westerners would even find that counterintuitive, because transience--more specifically, mono no aware, the nuances of which I will not belabor here, but if you are not familiar, look it up, it's a treat--is a particularly Japanese literary theme, and most Western works focus only on the rapid change the future brings. But there is a constant in that, change and transience, and though we have the saying "the only constant in life is change", I don't think Americans have come to understand that paradox fully. It's given token observance in some speculative fiction, usually in passing dialogue, but nowhere in Western media have I seen the constant side of transience explored with a fraction of the depth given in YokoKai.

This is a world where few things are explained. In that way, it reminds me of Haibane Renmei. Mysteries are left open, and the characters come to open-ended conclusions about everything. There is no closure, and no loose ends are tied together. In this sense, YokoKai defies a cardinal rule of Western storytelling. And yet, it works beautifully. The mystery lends to the gorgeous atmosphere, and the gentle sense of wonder. The artwork is stunning, simple yet powerful pen-hatching.

This is a story about humanity, though sparse and pervaded by nature. An unelaborated ecological disaster has cleaved the human population, sea levels rise and carve out new landscapes. Life is simpler in this story, slow. This is, as Alpha says, the twilight of human existence. Humans will pass from this world, and the world will continue on without it. Yet, the world has been changed by the presence of humans, aside from the disaster--plants resemble human technology, and humans have left behind robots, sentient beings who will survive beyond the twilight. There is a gentle optimism in this, a strange constant in a story pervaded by mono no aware, an awareness of transience. But this is transience backed by the constant of nature, and of evolution. It is sentience that is sacred. Robots are treated no differently from humans, for they are human in that most important way. And sentience, the ability to reflect, has marked the world, leaving psychic residue that manifests as shadows, such as the plants.

The multi-task, multimedia-saturated generation must find it hard to imagine such a simple and slow life. The only technology seen in the manga is moderately old or unobtrusive--motor scooters, cameras, coffee makers. The characters communicate by snail mail. Nary a cell phone or mention of the internet, or even television, is seen. Alpha spends entire days doing nothing but painting the shop, riding about on her moped to take photographs, or fixing up an old well. Such a slow pace, unencumbered by entertainment, must seem like the setting for a profoundly boring life. I admit, though I can sit and daydream far longer than most of my peers, I usually want to be doing something cerebral, like reading, or playing a video game. I don't know if this is mostly because of my desire for 'efficiency' (like sitting around leisurely is a waste of precious time) or my scattershot Gen-Y attention span. I admit I have that urge to sit in front of my laptop far more than I should, as do all of my friends--you should see some gatherings, where everybody is in front of a screen--even though I know reading blogs is just as unproductive as sitting around daydreaming. But there is that illusion of productivity, when we sit in front of technology. Then again, plant me in a library, and I'll be entertained from opening to closing. Is reading a physical book any more inherently good, though?

This is also a world of work-life balance. The overworked Japan of today is gone. People work as much as they need to, with ample leisure time. Alpha frequently leaves her cafe for days at a time, and often receives only one guest per few days. And they can sustain this lifestyle because there is zero commercialism--they work for money to purchase what they need. No keeping up with the neighbors. No consumerist lifestyle. Sure, they live in simplicity, but they're happy. They have the basic creature comforts--nay, luxuries, like air conditioning and running water--but that is all they need. We could all take a lesson from this, given our hyper-commercialized and overworked lives. These people shy not from good, hard work, but they work to achieve a goal, not to spin their wheels, or produce more beyond what is needed for the sake of an edge. There is no blind cycle of consumption. And I have found hard work with a purpose is far more cleaning, and fulfilling, than work half as hard with no purpose.

Inherent in seeing the beauty in YokoKai will be the fact that some people will accuse of thinking too hard about all this crap. On its face, this is a manga about nothing, just mundane details of daily life, making coffee, re-building a cafe, riding into town on a motor scooter. That is a deeply Japanese aspect of the work, showing beauty through the mundane without further elaboration. It's left for the reader to decipher. I can't think of any American works even remotely in the mainstream (or sub-mainstream) that have such slow pacing. In pacing, it's decidedly un-American, un-Western. Quite literally nothing happens for long stretches of story arc. Finding meaning in it must seem to many as though one is trying too hard, or is being pretentious. And being accused of being pretentious is almost worse than being accused of being a hipster. I really think only a Westerner with zero exposure to Eastern works could think that.

Let us look at the concrete details. It is a story about cyborgs, the dying human race, and a world after an ecological disaster we caused. How many stories encompass these themes? And yet, YokoKai is utterly fresh, new, and brilliant. I do not say this lightly. Perhaps because I've had such extensive exposure to brilliant interpretations of the ways technology and life will intersect in the future, I've become vastly harder to impress. A lot of mainstream American science fiction has nothing of interest to offer me. See, for example, Avatar, which explores nothing new in science fiction, and explores it far less deftly than many earlier works.

I think some people interpret my cynical criticism of such movies as just that--the hallmark of a critical, cynical, and jaded person. I've been accused of 'looking for things' to gripe about. But I fancy that it is a sign of a life more deeply contemplated and exposed to superior, stunning art. I don't think this makes me inherently better than anybody else, but I do resent being accused of faux-jadedness, jadedness for the sake of being cool. I can be quite the enthusiastic appreciator of beauty.

I think the accusation of 'looking for things' to gripe about, be offended by, etc (itself a classic derailing tactic) occurs when somebody with a deep, extensive understanding of a subject (either through exposure, like art or ally activism, or through living it, as in the case of a member of an underprivileged group itself) is quick to see things others either miss entirely or see as entirely novel. There is a level of expertise common in the accused. Not that there aren't cynical, unhappy people who do find fault with everything, but activists and scholars deeply resent being lumped into that juvenile camp. And because it's an accusation hinting at juvenile nihilism or blind rebellion, the derailing tactic doubles as a discrediting tactic. That nihilism is the flip-side of hipster irony, liking kitschy things because of their perceived lack of value, but in appreciating irony you have to acknowledge there is something inherently inferior or unlikable about the subject in the first place.

Anyway.

Overall, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is a real treat. It's grand, sweet, and breathtakingly beautiful in its simplicity, yet brilliantly imagined. It features a world that unfolds organically for us to discover, and leaves us with a sense of open wonder. It makes me want to drive a moped down an open country road, just for the thrill of being.
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AKAZUKIN ELIZA
AKAZUKIN ELIZA
AKAZUKIN ELIZA
AKAZUKIN ELIZA review
AKAZUKIN ELIZA
Apr 13, 2021
AKAZUKIN ELIZA review
One word : Weird. It's not bad, it's not especially good, but it's weird.

Akazukin Eliza is about a girl named Eliza who fell in love with Wolf, a boy accompagned by his pet worm who can eat poison (yes). Eliza bring soup to her bodybuilt grandma everyday. Grandma who by the way doesn't want any man to come near her beloved grand daughter.

Even if the setting is kinda special, the art style is very cute (except for the gigantic worm). With its pretty heroine and considering it is an ecchi, the fanservice is obviously very present. After realizing it, the presence of this huge phallic-looking worm takes all its meaning. Or maybe I just have the brain deformed by too much hentai.

The story is some kind of rewrite of the tale of the Red Riding Hood. We can find some elements of the tale, like the fact that Eliza have to bring food to her grandmother or that the boy is called Wolf as a reference to the Big Bad Wolf, with just a massive worm of several meters added to the story. Yes, it's been several times that I criticize this particular "character", but I think it's time that we talk about it. What's he doing here ? Its function is to detect poison, which is very useful for the advancement of the story, yes, but why a worm ? It could have been any animal of whatever creature related to the original tale, but no, the author said to himself : "What if I used one of the most disgusting animal of this planet and who has, by pure chance, the same shape as a male genitalia ?" I know that his goal was probably to use an uncommon animal to add originality to his manga. But I don't know, I guess worms aren't my thing.

I'm probably a little too harsh with this manga. After all, this is only a cute little comedy. It is stupid, yes, but it can be funny. Maybe if the story had been longer, I could have become more attached to the characters. If it didn't please me more than that, it could still please someone else with different tastes and a different sense of humor.

So, if you like comedies who leans toward the absurd and you're not disgusted by worms, go read Akazukin Eliza. It won't become the manga of your life, but it is still enjoyable.
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U19
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei review
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei
Apr 12, 2021
Aishite Kudasai, Sensei review
“Love is a temporary madness " _Louis de Bernières


The story is about a schoolboy who fell in love with his sensei. The two characters have known each other in the past as the teacher happens to be the MC's first-love.

None of all of this is original but what's interesting about this manga is that things takes a different turn. Now that the MC 's first-love is teaching Chemistry in his middle school, he won't let her escape...

The sensei rejects the boy's advances so he starts stalking her and showing his yandere side. This manga is not everyone's cup of tea. However, i liked the disturbing/unsettling romance in it.

I think the problem in this kind of manga lies with the fact that the author didn't explain much why the boy's behaviour became extreme like that. Was it because of love or parental abuse, tragic past, psychological illness or a form of love-driven madness...? What about the woman, did she love him from the start and was good at hiding it? What seduced her in him? etc. So i wouldn't call this one a psychological romance because there isn't much backstory to the characters nor sufficient explanations of their choices.

I think it's a really intriguing and enjoyable romance if you look at it from a different perspective.

If you like unconventional and weird/creepy/age-gap romances or you happen to like psycho-lovers, obsessed-stalkers, jealous-possessive-alpha-males, then this manga is for you.
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Angel/Dust
Iron Knight
Iron Knight
Iron Knight
Iron Knight review
Iron Knight
Apr 08, 2021
Iron Knight review
If you read this manga online, websites tend to present the one-shot version as "Chapter 0" and would highly recommend those of you interested in reading this to start with that first if you want to compare to the longer manga version. Otherwise, start with Chapter 1 (duh).

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this short manga and would say that it is fairly well executed short story. Reading some earlier reviews, I learned that some people are pointing out that it is a rip off of Attack on Titan. While I understand why others may consider it a poor imitation, I have to disagree.

The one-shot holds truer to the thought of an imitation, but if you read the completed manga, Yagi Tomohiro is able to make it his own. Though he keeps the basis of the Iron Knight in a post apocalyptic world, he incorporates his own ideas for the plot well.

Tomohiro also does a phenomenal job on developing Teppei's character! He is able to make the reader truly concerned for Teppei and empathize with his situation. Yagi puts Teppei in a better light as he exhibits Teppei's iron moral (pun intended) in facing each new challenge. At the same time, Yagi doesn't overdo the emphasis on Teppei's role as the hero by clearly showing his weaknesses often. He is misunderstood and beat down often but able to stand right back up and keep going. A great trait for a "strong" hero, but it is appreciated that Teppei's ability to withstand strife is not constantly preached by the mangaka. In doing this, Yagi makes Teppei seem more realistic, showing that he can keep going on his journey the same way that one moves on in life.

I enjoyed the overall simplicity of the art as it was intended to be a light read. I'm not saying that the drawing was rudimentary (quite the opposite), but it was nice to see that it paralleled the idea of the story.

I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates a story that, first of all, concludes, and is in itself an interesting read. I'm not going to label myself as having a refined taste for manga, I'm simply an enthusiast who enjoys manga. The Iron Knight really reminds me of the layout of a video game that I played (I can't remember what it was though). But, if this were the plot of a well executed video game, I would play it.
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Alive
Ashitaba-san Chi no Mukogurashi
Shinju no Kusari
Sekisei Inko
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