Last Quarter… The last phase of the lunar cycle before the moon fades into perpetual darkness. Kagen no Tsuki (Last Quarter) is a Shoujo, Supernatural, Mystery, Romance with a story unlike anything Ai Yazawa has conjured up but still manages to retain the style she is renowned for.

Plot / Story
Well similar to Ai’s more well-known manga Nana, Kagen no Tsuki starts of with an incredible prologue (one of my best in fact) and any unsuspecting reader would not believe it to be a prologue until it hits them. It is then that the story truly begins. Trying my best not to spoil anything; Kagen no Tsuki follows a group of four kids who unintentionally get caught up in another girl’s wish to find the man she yearns for. However there are a number of mysteries that surround this young girl: Who is she? Why can’t she leave the empty house? And what is the object of her desire? With romance taking a back seat in this story, the kids take it upon themselves to uncover these mysteries and come to some sort of conclusion in this profound case. With an intricate array of plot development and surprise twist, it’s no shock that it all eventually links together to form this complete masterpiece of a story.

Characters
The four kids mentioned before are not the kind you’d imagine to even be in this kind of surreal story but they become the characters that grab hold of the limelight. There’s not much character development given to the them since it’s all reserved for the young girl in question (Mizuki) and I must say she was developed quite nicely. Nevertheless I would have liked to see more romantic development between the four kids and that other characters wouldn’t have been pushed aside as if they were unimportant (Mizuki’s friend).

Drawing Style
In regards to the artwork, Ai fans or pretty much any shoujo manga fan would love it for it’s elaborate approach to simple things like: the aesthetic features of the empty house and the expression in ones eyes. On the other hand people not used to this style, especially when it comes to the character designs, may struggle to get used to it.

Overall / Enjoyment
All in all Kagen no Tsuki was a short, surreal, story that expressed so much in such small amount of time. What’s interesting is that the mystery about the young girl was like one of those cliché scary (tragic love) stories someone would tell in an eerie situation when the mood calls for it, yet there was nothing cliché about this story. It was a heartfelt tale about regaining a lost love, through the help of some empathetic individuals. Having such a sombre mood throughout, a bittersweet ending is probably the best one could hope for. So in the end, is this the kind of mysterious story you’re looking for? You have until the end of the Last Quarter of the Moon to find the answer.