Without Even Blinking
Taku Tsumugi's most famous work is 'Hot Road', but since it was adapted into a film in 2014, it took nearly 30 years from the completion of the work in 1987 to reach the screen. The author, Tsumugi-sensei, released her last work, 'My Gardener', in December 2007 and is currently on hiatus. There are rumors on the street that she is working as a pastor, but I am very much looking forward to her next work.
This author's cover art is very emotional and wonderful. I realized this after encountering the work titled 'Without Even Blinking' (Matabaki mo Sezu). The covers, which seem to have been drawn with a watercolor touch, are all delicate and beautifully express how light hits the subjects.
Now, about this work. It's not just the cover that's wonderful. To begin with, I found this work when I was surfing the net and opened a page with a title like 'Let's talk about interesting shojo manga.' Interested, I searched Amazon for used copies, but since it's a work from the 1980s, there were no used copies available, only e-books.
Even so, I have a mysterious obsession with the idea that 'books should be in paper format,' so I didn't read it on Kindle and left it on hold.
Shortly after that, I was able to accidentally find the paper version of this book at a used bookstore I visited with a friend. (Volume 3 was missing from the 1 to 7 set, but I decided that was fine.) I savored the luck, which felt a bit like winning the lottery, before opening the book.
My impression after reading it was, 'Wait. This isn't the shojo manga I know.'
It's as if a camera was pointed directly at a girl's daily life and captured it. Yes, even though it's fiction, it had a realism that made me think otherwise.
I even wondered for a moment if this was based on a novel. Anyway, I can't put it into words, but it's so realistic that sounds were playing in my brain while I was reading it.
I'm beyond surprised; I'm stunned. I never thought the day would come when I would 'hear' sounds in my head while reading a manga.
I think that's probably because the characters are drawn along with the scenery. No, you could say that in any manga, scenery and characters are drawn, but this author focuses on the scenery and natural sounds, and doesn't focus on the characters (like drawing people large) as often as is common in shojo manga.
I think people who have seen this author's manga will understand what I'm trying to say... I hope.
And, I will say it again, the greatest charm of this work is the excellent way natural light is directed. In 'Without Even Blinking,' all the light is warm. I feel 'love' in the light.
Also, the characters' expressions. I fell in love with Konno-kun's smile. (I'm dead serious.) The male characters this author draws are undeniably handsome. Even their backs are handsome. Perhaps it's effective that she includes scenes where she doesn't draw their expressions much, making it fun to imagine.
As for the story, it doesn't exaggerate things; whether it's about career paths, love, or bonds with family, it's crafted like adding color to the daily life that anyone might pass through. Therefore, the story is understated. Yet, I was able to read it to the end without getting bored. By the way, although it is a school story, it doesn't just depict up to graduation; it also writes about life after graduation, to the point where I think the story after graduation might actually be the main theme.
'Without Even Blinking' focuses on the protagonist's emotional growth. She worries, suffers, makes her own decisions, and moves forward on her own. Near the end of the story, there is a scene where she defies her father's opposition to go to Tokyo with her lover, and I think that from this moment on, the protagonist was struggling to become an adult rather than a child.
After graduation, there is a scene where the protagonist, on a bus leaving town, looks past her father who is chasing after her and heads toward Tokyo. High school graduation is the end of student life and at the same time a graduation from one's parents. That's how it feels.
Now, as for Konno-kun and the protagonist Kayoko-chan, who ended up living in Tokyo after this, they eventually return to their hometown of Yamaguchi because a family member falls ill or they can't keep up with the harshness of Tokyo.
Tsumugi-sensei does something quite Spartan, but it's a mystery that this story is overflowing with love from beginning to end even amidst all that.
The pure love between Kayoko-chan and Konno-kun, the love between Kayoko-chan and her family, the friendship between Kayoko-chan and her best friend...
This story depicts human love.
If you ever come across this work somewhere, I hope you will pick it up and read it.
I've talked at length, but it seems that when I reach the end, I can't maintain my concentration and get tired, so my writing becomes disorganized, or rather, I become dismissive. To overcome this, I suppose I just have to gain more experience.
As an aside, I'm glad I didn't read this work as an e-book. The 'Without Even Blinking' I met at the used bookstore that day had yellowed paper due to aging. Every time I turned the pages of that discolored book, I felt its history of over 30 years. It had been cherished by someone for such a long time and had been sitting on someone's bookshelf.
Being able to feel somewhat sentimental and nostalgic is the real pleasure of paper books.