Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

ayase

State Alchemist
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Since the first two-in-one volume is now available in English courtesy of Seven Seas (which appear to correspond to the Japanese re-release of 10 volumes rather than the original release of 14, meaning there will likely be 5 English volumes in total) now seems as good a time as any to talk about my very favourite manga, celebrate its English release nearly 20 years after the release of the final Japanese volume and offer my thoughts on this release. I hope I’m not stepping on any official AUKN review toes here, but I'd love to hear others' thoughts on the series too, whether old fans or new readers. Even if you don't like it (you're wrong, but your opinions are still appreciated).

First off, wowee, it finally happened against all the odds. An official release of a relatively obscure, now rather old manga by a similarly obscure mangaka which received two even lesser known short OVA adaptations which have never been released outside of Japan either. Someone at Seven Seas must have really believed in YKK, hopefully that belief will translate into sales. It certainly should, because it's wonderful, or at least I think it is.

YKK takes place in a far future setting which I would personally consider pretty utopian, your mileage may vary depending how much you like urbanism, large numbers of people and the fast pace of modern life. Me, not so much, so a world with a dwindling population and the cities underwater is rather an appealing one. But what sets YKK apart, perhaps even makes it unique among stories with future Earth settings is that it doesn't seek to make judgements about the people of their world's past or the situation of their present. It's not a utopian fantasy that imagines how the world could be better than it is now, nor is it a dystopian warning of how it could be worse. Life goes on in YKK's world without dwelling on what has happened in the past or fears for what the future may hold, two of humanity's most depressing and debilitating pastimes. It’s all an irrelevance to the sparse inhabitants of the future Miura peninsula as they go about their lives be they human, robot or otherwise.

As this first book begins with Alpha Hatsuseno’s titular shopping trip to Yokohama (leaving that untranslated was probably for the best in this age of overly literal titles, doubtless there would have been some disappointed shopaholic readers hoping to hear all about the delights of Yokohama's department stores) it feels almost like she’s been waiting for the reader to arrive to step out into the world and begin the story, much as she spends her days waiting for customers to converse with in her sleepy cafe. And as she meets new people, sees new sights and has new experiences both solitary and shared, it quickly becomes apparent that this is what YKK is really all about.

Mono no aware is concept of which I've become very fond, and I’ve seen on more than one occasion YKK listed as a prime example of it. While it’s often said that it’s a tricky concept to translate, I don’t think it is at all. It’s about appreciating things as they are at this moment, accepting the change that has and will inevitably come to everything and everyone, and being at peace with that. And it is a manga filled with appreciation for those precious moments in time. Slice-of-life manga more often than not is centred around the lives of children, probably because it is a time of life that enables people to be more carefree and truly live in the moment, whether they realise that at the time or not. But YKK imagines a world in which people retain that sense of childlike wonder at the world into adulthood, not quite in the hyperactive Yotsuba way (though this is in no way a slight against another slice-of-life great) but in a more thoughtful, introspective manner whether it's Alpha or Takahiro experiencing something for the first time, Oji-san and Sensei reminiscing about their youth or Ayase seeking out new things on his travels.

It's not a perfect world though, and there are hints that perhaps the world outside is not as friendly as the small community in which pretty much the entirity of YKK takes place. But hints are really all you're ever going to get, and first time readers hoping the many mysteries of YKK's world will ever be explained should probably dispel that idea right from the beginning. I get the distinct feeling they're there to be mysterious and make you wonder and imagine the possibilities, it would certainly be in-keeping with the manga's themes and feeding your own sense of wonder and imagination is probably more satisfying than any explanation could ever hope to be. The real draw is to spend time with these characters, in this specific place and time where they exist. A place of people, where time flows gently by.

After all that rambling, a few notes specific to Seven Seas' English release. The larger format, while appreciated, unfortunately suffers a little from either paper or print quality (or both) when compared to either Japanese release. While not a consistent problem throughout the book, I noticed certain pages in the English volume where darker areas are much too dark, obliterating any detail present in the original in a sea of solid black. This is not solely a problem with this book however, but it does make me wonder why English manga can't seem to manage to approach Japanese paper quality; Japan must surely produce enough of that nice paper for everyone, especially given how relatively cheap manga is over there compared to in the west.

As for the translation, I was mostly very happy with it. Fan translations like the one I've been used to (although I believe there are at least two) often tend to be more literal, but there appear to be very few differences here and if anything, I think it's possible Seven Seas' translation is the more literal of the two; ymmv on which you prefer. There are a couple of occasions where the fan translation appears to be the more flowery, notably Alpha's monologue about Yokohama and Kokone's letter to Alpha (mild spoiler: speaking of Kokone, I wonder how on Earth they're going to translate the "Koko, ne?" joke in a later volume: If memory serves the fan translation didn't even try and just explained it in the margin). The Kanagawa dialect many of the characters use has been handled slightly differently, although I don't think either can really be said to be any more accurate than the other and it's explained in the back of the book that the translator used the local dialect they're most familiar with, which is probably the best anyone can do (and while that's apparently Atlantic Canadian, it reads as uncannily Yorkshire which certainly made me smile). One minor gripe (and it is minor) is that I'm not a big fan of them translating "Misago" as "Osprey". It's debatable whether you can actually call it her name and that is the literal translation of the word, but the fact that みさご (Misago) is only two tiny strokes and one half-syllable away from みさこ (Misako) suggests to me it was supposed to sound like a name in Japanese, in a way "Osprey" really doesn't in English (apologies to anyone who happens to be named Osprey, but you probably wouldn't want your name translated into "Misago" in Japanese either, right? At least they didn't call her "Fish-hawk").

On a final positive note, I was happy to see this English release also includes the 4-koma from the cover flaps of the original volumes, which were not even included in the Japanese re-release. And on an extra positive note, this release exists in the first place so yeah, please buy it and read it and give the OVAs and Ashinano's other manga a chance of getting translated too.
 
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A fascinating review! Just mentioning as well that the French official release of this title from Meian recently won the Manga News Tournoi Seinen 2021 Partie 1 (voted for by readers).
 
Thanks @Sarah, I think you will probably enjoy it, if you haven’t read it already. It also won a 2007 Seiun Award so it can legitimately be called “the multiple award winning Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou” now…
 
Given the "deluxe edition" designation, I was hoping for better paper quality than I'd usually expect from Seven Seas. I'd agree that US manga is generally disappointing in terms of paper quality, though, some exceptions (Viz Signature stuff for example) aside.

I'm not surprised to hear that the print job is subpar either, as there are times when the inking looks oversaturated, giving some pages an almost murky appearance.

As for the manga itself, it's... fine. I can see the appeal and appreciate that its stories don't appear to push any particular moral or message (and if they do, it's with the lightest of touch) - and for that reason I prefer it to the likes of Aria and Barakamon - but I haven't connected with any of the characters yet. It's very pleasant and serene and occasionally warm. I plan to finish the book and will probably give the next one a go.
 
Given the "deluxe edition" designation, I was hoping for better paper quality than I'd usually expect from Seven Seas. I'd agree that US manga is generally disappointing in terms of paper quality, though, some exceptions (Viz Signature stuff for example) aside.

I'm not surprised to hear that the print job is subpar either, as there are times when the inking looks oversaturated, giving some pages an almost murky appearance.
That's actually a very fair point. Not to bring too much of a downer onto what should be a happy occassion, but I'm not really sure there can be said to be anything particularly "deluxe" about this edition. I think "omnibus" would have been the more accurate description and at the price point it's still probably fair, it's no more than you could expect to pay for two regular manga volumes. Not sure how obvious it will be when compression has worked its magic (and it's not exactly easy to photograph the inside of books) but the following pages are a prime example of the difference between the Japanese and US releases:

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As for the manga itself, it's... fine. I can see the appeal and appreciate that its stories don't appear to push any particular moral or message (and if they do, it's with the lightest of touch) - and for that reason I prefer it to the likes of Aria and Barakamon - but I haven't connected with any of the characters yet. It's very pleasant and serene and occasionally warm. I plan to finish the book and will probably give the next one a go.
I did half wonder if that might be your reaction (I've clearly been here too long). It's likely not for everyone, but for me YKK has the ability to transport me to a place where I'm reminded of the things and feelings that make me happy and actually matter to me, rather than feeding my baser desires for angry/excited/amused/horny like most other media. It's a very personal reaction of course, and it's not like those other pleasures are a bad thing I'd want to eliminate from my life, but it's as though YKK somehow acts as a conduit to my preferred, better self and allows me to feel a contentment I don't normally feel, well... at all otherwise, really. Maybe Hakumei and Mikochi came close to doing something similar, but I can't think of much else. So it is very special to me, I didn't take my name from here for nothing.
 
I didn't really see the appeal of this for the first dozen chapters or so. Pleasantly bland, was my first reaction, like unflavoured ice cream or a sugar-dusted ring doughnut. While nothing really changed in the story after that point, I did settle into the pace of it, and by the end of the first volume I enjoyed it enough that I'll probably buy more. It has a good way of building a chapter around a single memorable image. If I'd had a chance to read it 25 years ago, before I turned into a cynical burnout, I probably would have loved it.
 
I'm reluctant to buy the physical books of this title as they are paperback omnibuses (I usually buy either singles or if it's omnibus hardcover only), but I might pick up the digital edition at some point and give it a go, it always sounded like the kind of thing I might enjoy :) If I get around to it I will post my thoughts here, thanks for writing so much about something you love, @ayase, even if my ADHD attention span wouldn't let me read it all (yet!)

As for the manga itself, it's... fine. I can see the appeal and appreciate that its stories don't appear to push any particular moral or message (and if they do, it's with the lightest of touch) - and for that reason I prefer it to the likes of Aria and Barakamon - but I haven't connected with any of the characters yet. It's very pleasant and serene and occasionally warm. I plan to finish the book and will probably give the next one a go.

I loved the Barakamon anime and Aria the Animation (not seen beyond that as waiting for the UK BD releases of subsequent seasons), I doubt I'd bother with the Aria manga, as presumably the anime covers most of it considering how many seasons and so forth there are, but I would really like to read the Barakamon manga, so thanks for the reminder :)
 
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before I turned into a cynical burnout, I probably would have loved it.
Dai pls, if we're going to engage in a battle of the cynics here I'm pretty sure I have you beat unless you actually live in a jar on the street (though the OG cynics were kinda Thoreauvian, weren't they? That seems rather apt for YKK and perhaps something for us modern-day pale imitations to think on). Though it's interesting you say "the first dozen chapters or so" because while I was immediately sucked in, it was definitely Chapters 12 to 15 where I really started to fall in love with YKK.

@CommanderZx2 now that I think of it, the OVAs may potentially be a bit of licensing nightmare given that each of them is quite music heavy and scored by actual bands GONTITI and Choro Club, which could well push up the licensing costs and make it a bit too pricey for any distributor or streaming service to just pick up on a whim. But hey, if the manga sells really well... Being old enough to have been painted cels, I imagine the first OVA in particular would look lovely in HD, but unfortunately a HD release doesn't even exist in Japan so sadly it will probably never happen. You hear that, universe? I'D LOVE TO SEE IT, BUT IT WILL PROBABLY NEVER HAPPEN, just like I said years ago about an English release of Dirty Pair TV on DVD, just like I said about Patlabor on TV on blu-ray, the Slayers movies and OVAs on blu-ray, and this manga in English.

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Still waiting to be proved wrong about You're Under Arrest on blu-ray, mind.
 
Being old enough to have been painted cels, I imagine the first OVA in particular would look lovely in HD, but unfortunately a HD release doesn't even exist in Japan so sadly it will probably never happen. You hear that, universe? I'D LOVE TO SEE IT, BUT IT WILL PROBABLY NEVER HAPPEN, just like I said years ago about an English release of Dirty Pair TV on DVD, just like I said about Patlabor on TV on blu-ray, the Slayers movies and OVAs on blu-ray, and this manga in English.

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Still waiting to be proved wrong about You're Under Arrest on blu-ray, mind.

Don't forget we're getting all of Dirty Pair on Blu-ray as well (at least, the US is)! Since you mention YUA, are you an Ah/Oh My Goddess fan at all? (also sorry for not posting much of anything about YKK here yet, I did see the OVAs many eons ago and I think I liked them) :)
 
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Don't forget we're getting all of Dirty Pair on Blu-ray as well (at least, the US is)! Since you mention YUA, are you an Ah/Oh My Goddess fan at all?
I am trying to forget that actually, I couldn't afford to back the KS at the time. As for OMG, I picked up the anime DVDs for very cheap a while back but I couldn't really get into it, I will try again at some point. As much as I absolutely love Fujishima's sharp, technical art (which the original YUA OVAs in particular do a stellar job of adapting) I often find his writing a little too safe and dull, even YUA suffers from that at times (like the never-ending will they/won't they romance plots that make me want to scream at the characters, I get the distinct feeling OMG is going to be even worse on that front). It does suck that the not only has the YUA anime long been OOP in English but the manga hasn't even been officially translated in full either, which is kinda surprising given how popular Fujishima's work appears to be.
 
It is really influential. Works like Aria, Lain, Mushishi, many other series that explore AI, they owe a lot to this series. I am glad it is finally getting an English release.

It is interesting to see how the commercial world of anime and manga relates to the critical world. This is a series I have always seen highly regarded. That it is has taken til now to recieve an official release in English is quite remarkable.
 
That's actually a very fair point. Not to bring too much of a downer onto what should be a happy occassion, but I'm not really sure there can be said to be anything particularly "deluxe" about this edition. I think "omnibus" would have been the more accurate description and at the price point it's still probably fair, it's no more than you could expect to pay for two regular manga volumes. Not sure how obvious it will be when compression has worked its magic (and it's not exactly easy to photograph the inside of books) but the following pages are a prime example of the difference between the Japanese and US releases:



I did half wonder if that might be your reaction (I've clearly been here too long). It's likely not for everyone, but for me YKK has the ability to transport me to a place where I'm reminded of the things and feelings that make me happy and actually matter to me, rather than feeding my baser desires for angry/excited/amused/horny like most other media. It's a very personal reaction of course, and it's not like those other pleasures are a bad thing I'd want to eliminate from my life, but it's as though YKK somehow acts as a conduit to my preferred, better self and allows me to feel a contentment I don't normally feel, well... at all otherwise, really. Maybe Hakumei and Mikochi came close to doing something similar, but I can't think of much else. So it is very special to me, I didn't take my name from here for nothing.
If we were talking about video quality, and this was the Blu-ray.com forum (and while I'm grateful for much of the information their users provide, I am glad that it is not), the English release of YKK would - perhaps not entirely without justification - be called garbage. There really is a lot of detail lost in the murkiness of that version. I can only assume that the sheer volume of product that Seven Seas churns out has a detrimental effect on quality control.

It seems you feel the same way about YKK as I do about Yotsuba, so I can definitely understand where you're coming from. The difference, I suppose, is that Yotsuba has more of an instant hook with its comedy (not to mention Asagi) and, yeah, I was much less cynical 15 years ago that I am now like the other old gits in this thread. I would say that the characters grew on me as I progressed through the book and I like how they come and go from Alpha's life as do people in our own.

Pleasantly bland, was my first reaction, like unflavoured ice cream or a sugar-dusted ring doughnut.
Why do ring doughnuts even exist? Who in their right mind would eat one of those when they could have a jam doughnut instead. Baffling.

Don't forget we're getting all of Dirty Pair on Blu-ray as well (at least, the US is)!
This completely passed me by. Not sure I'd have backed it anyway - my experience with the Mai Mai Miracle Kickstarter put me off crowdfunding for life - but seeing that they raised enough to commission a new piece of box art from Tsukasa Dokite has given me a severe case of the regrets.
 
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I was SO happy to see this get an English release. I feel totally spoiled since two of my most wanted titles for English release (YKK and See You Tomorrow At The Food Court) got released in a really close time span. I didn't expect to see either make it into English publication.
Super happy with my copy! The way it's printed is beautiful.
 
I still have to pinch myself occaisionally to believe that this English release is actually happening. Thanks for making a thread @ayase (long time no see).

Minor volume 2 update: it was originally scheduled for release sometime this month but I've just checked my preorder and it appears that the release date has been pushed back to May 23rd.

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The print issues with the first match of vol. 1 has been fixed. It's still not as good as the JP release but all in all much better
 
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