It's not even past."

This quote from William Faulkner sums up what this manga seems to be developing into. I've always loved TOUME Kei's art, and her seriousness of purpose. That combination usually makes for seinen-type manga, and this one is no exception. When reading seinen, a certain amount of patience is often needed, as the author develops the setting and character. Here we have a collection of college architecture students using their free time to investigate fine old buildings in Yokahama. They are realistic characters, easily to distinguish from each other, and they're easily to identify with if you're a smart and curious person.

That curiosity they share inexorably draws them into a complex set of mysteries all resolving around old, pretty houses in Yokahama, most of which are planned to be, or very soon will be, destroyed. I don't know if every young reader can feel the sadness of that, buy I'm old and I sure did (For some reason when you get old, you come to appreciate old architecture that pre-dates you.) There is a sense that something great is being killed before its time.

As the story progresses, the characters are inescapably drawn back in the past, and they gradually uncover the complex ways their parents' and grandparents' lives overlapped, and the passions hidden in that history. After a while, the revelations come thick and fast.

It's a good story, and its got a heavy helping of that distinctive Japanese mono no aware in it. I love this kind of story.

... Last updated on July 27th, 2017, 1:39pm