Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 1

As the sea assaults continents, slowly but surely, humanity is declining. Telecommunication is no more. Government gave way to local organisation. Quietly witnessing this apocalypse unfold, humans are living peacefully.Among the many ways fiction depicts apocalypse, "peacefully" is uncommon. We like to think of the world ending in brutal, dramatic and lightning fast ways. Of humans against their fate struggling. But the end of the world in this manga is gradual, slow enough to give mankind the time to accept his fate, sit back, and enjoy the last hour of his age. Whatever will be will be – the die is long cast.So unfolds the twilight of a transient humanity. And our little humans get many occasions to experience the transience of things – the transience of the world and that of themselves. Time and again, the beautiful melancholy of the dying world touches and overwhelms. The story unfolds at roughly the same pace as its monthly publication; we follow the characters as time passes, and as the curtain falls on the remnants of the world. The sea rises, and the landscapes that were dear to us disappear like smoke in the air. The machines that once served mankind meet their end too: aeroplanes, or engines, are for their last time used. Characters pass away during the series, but death is a fact of life that the living have accepted. As such, death is merely implied, and mourning but hinted at. Such is, among other understated occurrences of drama, what makes Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou a wonderful experience: the lament of its dying world, quiet yet staggering.I think YKK is a story about a people that lost so much that it stopped taking anything for granted and started cherishing the things it has left. And, with its masterful art, atmosphere, and writing, it makes you cherish them too. It makes you cherish life, the characters' things, your own things. Here's a quote from the manga to illustrate my argument: "There isn't as much difference between the seasons as there used to be; however, I think we take greater pleasure in those differences." One common translation of "mono no aware", the manga's driving force, is "sensitivity to things". More precisely, the contemplation of things' impermanence and how it amplifies their beauty.But YKK isn't only about treasuring what the characters have. It's about losing some of it, too. The characters' everyday life slowly changes, falters and disappears as the slow apocalypse has its way with humanity. And it's okay. The characters already accepted it, because "acknowledgement of the transience of things makes them more beautiful". Because of this peculiar way YKK handles tragedy, the dramatic parts (as well as the blissful ones) are extremely understated. And it makes them all the more powerful – even if it means that more attention and sensitivity is demanded from the reader.Moments such as two characters' reunion after a long journey convey strong feelings like melancholy, surprise, and happiness. These moments are often handled without words, using panelling, faces and body language to convey feelings. In the saddest moments of the series, very little of Alpha's thoughts is given, trusting the readers to know our main character well enough to empathise with her sorrow, and form their own reaction to the happenings, finding their place in Alpha's journey.The art is exceptional. Inanimate scenes are like poetry in motion. Alpha loses herself in many sumptuous landscapes, inviting the reader to follow suit. From the still functional lights of a submerged city to the view of Mount Fuji in the distance, mundane situations are made extraordinary and extraordinary ones are made otherworldly. Up the author's sleeve are countless tricks to heighten this experience; one such trick is the sparse, but wise use of colour. For example, one chapter shows Alpha enjoying a nostalgic view, and as day turns into dusk the varying colours make obvious – and beautiful – that a large amount of time passes throughout the panels.As the characters grow, their design changes. By contrast, Alpha is an android and she doesn't change – the regular realisation that time passed before her knowing is never short of melancholy. Although stylised in design, human characters are clearly of Asian heritage. The inhabitants have black hair and share many features. The androids, thereby, stand out; their outlandish looks become a central part of their characterisation. Often replacing thoughts and speech, the characters' faces are expressive (save for Ojisan's sometimes all too subtle expression changes); anatomy is rendered in a detailed enough style to permit realistic and convincing body language.Over the years, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou has enjoyed a small, but very enthusiastic fanbase which I am proud to be part of. It ranks among the most gratifying and memorable stories. For a great number of reasons of which a single review couldn't make a comprehensive list, I enjoyed this manga tremendously and I sincerely believe that you will.As the sea assaults continents, as governments and telecommunications die out, humanity is declining. Before Alpha's eyes, the world, which once seemed tireless, slowly calmed down...

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Yokohama Shopping Log, or YKK, for short) was originally serialized in Japan from 1996 to 2006. Although private individuals have since generated their own English translations which then circulated on the internet, this is the first time YKK has been officially licensed in English. Thank goodness. It's one of my absolute favorite manga and it delights me to no end to see this first omnibus volume on my shelf.This particular volume is the first of five projected omnibus volumes by Seven Seas Publishing. In the original Japanese, YKK was published in 14 volumes. These Seven Seas omnibus editions are packing roughly three volumes worth of material into each individual omnibus. (It's not quite exactly three volumes. My understanding is that the original volume 3 ends at chapter 23. This English omnibus volume includes chapters 1-24. I assume this is how Seven Seas is planning to spread 14 original volumes over 5 omnibus volumes.) For about $20, you're getting your money's worth.The edition is decent. I thought the new translation was solid. (I don't read Japanese but the English read smoothly and was certainly better than the "private" translations I had read previously.) Cheap paper, but it does include the color material from the original. (For those who may not know, most manga--including this one--is published almost entirely in black and white. Only select portions are in color.) I'm sad that it'll be between one to two years before all five omnibus volumes are released, but I'll take what I can get.A few concluding words about the content. It's a fantastic story: Takes place in Japan in some indeterminate future where human existence on Earth appears to be winding down. The protagonist is Alpha, a robot (who could easily pass for human in most respects). While absolutely a work of science fiction, YKK is also a "slice of life" piece. For action/adventure enthusiasts, it may not seem like much is happening, but it's a lovely read: gentle, warm, humane, and cozy.

It's such a calming and charming slice of life staring Alpha, our lonely android girl. There's just something really pleasant about reading through this, the interactions with her few friends, appreciation of the natural beauty of the world, against a backdrop of a world being reclaimed by the sea.I was looking for something that could fill the void as I wait for more Wandering Island to be released. The art isn't on the same level as Wandering Island, but this does seem to have scratched that itch, for now.

This is a soothing, so far, low-impact sci-fi manga. Basically some apocalyptic event has occurred and a hefty chunk of humans and civilizations have died off. There are still remnants of society, but they’re fragmented and mostly taken over by nature. Despite the grim setup, the story follows an android barista, leisurely driving to buy more coffee beans for her café. It’s surprisingly very “stop and smell the roses” sort of vibe given the premise and setting.Physical Quality: As noted earlier, there was a printing error in the initial batch where the ink was too dark so some of the details in the artwork were lost. Thankfully this has been fixed. My only complaint is that I wish the covers were slightly thicker. Otherwise, everything feels great.I’m so happy this series is getting a modern reprint.If you enjoy light sci-fi, slice-of-life, or something slightly unconventional, this is a must-have imo.