Discussion Manga Club - #05 Reading & Sharing "Harika na Machi e"

[Farfalla]

Hello and welcome to the Manga Club!

Presentation and General Rules

This is a collective read spot where we'll be periodically selecting series to be shared. We aim to have people introducing their favorite hidden gems to the community - series we hardly or never heard about and that really deserve some love and attention. So here's the Manga Club format:

Any member can join the club! Just post here saying you wanna be a part of it. The moment you do it, you'll be added to the current rotation. You can participate in the reading and the discussions even if you don't join the suggestions part. You are also allowed to suggest manhuas and manhwas, completed series, and one-shots.
The series rotation format follows these phases: suggesting, selecting, reading, and sharing (explained in the section below).
Avoid suggesting series that already have a dedicated discussion thread, we don't wanna shift the focus from it. In case someone suggests one of those, we'll debate if it will be included as an option for the Manga Club or if the person will be requested to suggest something else.
The first volume of the selected series will be recommended for the reading cycle. Anyone is free to read further, but spoiler tags will be mandatory in the discussion/review thread in case events that only happen past that initial one volume are to be mentioned.

Rotations and Current Calendar

The rotations are monthly and the dates for each phase will be added to this thread once a round starts. Every start of the month, this thread will be updated to follow the calendar below:

1st week - suggesting: during this time, every member of the club has to suggest one series for the pool. If the member suggested a series in the previous month that wasn't selected for the reading, he can choose to re-suggest the series or to provide a new one.
2nd week - selecting: once the pool is formed with the suggestions from all club members, on the first day of the second week, a poll will be added to this thread. To help people selecting the series to be read, details about each of them will be added and pinned here in this thread.
3rd to 6th week - reading and sharing: the members have these two weeks to read and discuss the series. People can do so at their own pace, within this time, and start sharing their thoughts about the series whenever. Spoiler tags are mandatory before the third week ends, though.

#05 Manga Club Rotation Calendar
Suggesting Phase: from Apr 15th to Apr 22nd.
Selecting Phase: from Apr 23rd to Apr 30th.
Reading and Sharing Phase: from May 1st to May 31st.

Participants and Suggestions

Spoiler: Suggested Series

WIP

Spoiler: Suggestions History

Spoiler: October 2020 #01 Suggestions

I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year (by Farfalla)
Insomniacs After School (by Erinyes)
Ichigeki (by Ramen)
Our Dreams at Dusk (by MarmaladeSky)
Yozakura Quartet (by Sky)
May I Ask for One Final Thing (by Juviii)
The Gods Lie (by revo)
They were Eleven (by Faust)
Hotel: since 2079 (by Hardy)
Yankee-kun to hakujou Gaaru (by Tatsumaki)
Knights of Sidonia (by Copy Panda)
Cats are Facing West (by Ustegius)

Spoiler: November 2020 #02 Suggestions

Cats are Facing West (by Ustegius)
The Way of the House Husband (by revo)
Tenohira Size (by Erinyes)
Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective (by Zirconium)
Sousou no Frieren (by Farfalla)
Ichigeki (by Ramen)
Amaama to Inazuma (by MarmaladeSky)

Spoiler: Decemnber 2020 #3 Suggestions

Castle of the Dragon (by Faust)
My Girl (by Erinyes)
About Death (by Marmalade)
Annarasumanara (by Farfalla)
Fechippuru~ our innocent love~ (by Juviii)
Saihate no Paladin (by Asako)
Ketchup Ninja (by Ramen)

Spoiler: March-April 2021 #4 Suggestions

Our Happy Time (by Farfalla)
Satougashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai: A Lollypop or A Bullet (by Brandish)
My Girl (by Erinyes)
Trash of the Count's Family (by Asako)
Our Dreams at Dusk (by MarmaladeSky)
Astra Lost in Space (by Ramen)
After the Rain (by ukimix)
Case Files of All-Round Appraiser Q (by Faust)

 

[Brandish μ]

Haruka na Machi e (MAL page)
aka A Distant Neighbourhood
by Jiro Taniguchi
16 chapters / 2 volumes

Spoiler: Synopsis (from MAL)

Fourty-eight-year-old salaryman Hiroshi Nakahara accidentally takes the wrong train to Tokyo after a business trip in Kyoto. He decides to accept his situation and sit back when he learns that the train is headed toward his hometown in Kurayoshi.

As he walks the streets of his childhood neighborhood, Hiroshi realizes how significantly the place has changed in the 20 years since his mother died. While visiting her grave in the Genzen Temple, he is transported back into the body of his 14-year-old self. Retaining the memories and wisdom of his middle-aged mind, he is now an eighth grader in junior high school.

Hiroshi's regained youth enables him to escape the reality of being an adult man with a wife and two daughters. Unaware how to return to his original time, he begins to relive his adolescence. During his time travel, Hiroshi attempts to uncover the reasons for his father's abandonment of the family in hopes of understanding him and his actions.

Why?
I have read this but that was some time ago and I cannot remember it specifically (wasn't bad tho). It would only take a couple hours of commitment which I see as a benefit.

 

[Erinyes]

If allowed, i would go for Yuru Camp

Synopsis :
"Rin, a girl camping by herself at the base of Mt. Fuji. Nadeshiko, a girl who came to see Mt. Fuji on her bicycle.
The scenery the two witness over a supper of cup ramen marks the start of a new friendship and many adventures to come, camping in the great outdoors !" (Mal)

I have just started this recently, it has an anime but I ve never watched it. Its just a cozy and wholesome manga, it has a lot of food talks too lol, characters are so far, engaging (Rin is my fave for various reasons ) the manga has those Sora Yori vibes. Synopsis doesnt do justice to it, saly, but maybe the anime made it a little more popular ?
The series is still ongoing, there is 12 volumes out in Japan ( 10 in English), and around 50 chaps available in scans. I m currently at chapter 20, and really enjoying it. I ve checked and surprisingly, theres no thread for it, i almost did one, then i thought why not suggesting it, here instead.

​

 

[Asako]

Oh god, didn't realise a new one opened


Well.... Gonna nominate Trash of the Count’s Family ... Again, you really thought i give up huh
Link to the translators site
For the memes

Plus considering mangadex still down i only have my manhwa now, hope it be back soon... I don't want my bookmarks to be lost especially the underated mangas

 

[Marmalade]

Aaaaaaaah time flies. Really love your guys' nominations, good picks!! I'll sneak a nomination in if you guys don't mind o3o

I'll nominate one that Farf has nominated before, really liked this manga, but it's been awhile since I've read it. Hence why I'm going for it.

"I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year"

From MAL:
"Helpless and struggling for cash, 20-year-old Kusunoki sells the last of his possessions to buy food. Noticing his poverty, an old shop owner directs him to a store that supposedly purchases lifespan, time, and health. While not completely believing the man's words, Kusunoki nevertheless finds himself at the address out of desperation and curiosity.

Kusunoki is crushed when he finds out the true monetary value of his lifespan—totaling a meager three hundred thousand yen. Deciding to sell the next 30 years of his life for ten thousand yen per year, Kusunoki is left with only three months to live. After heading home with the money, he is greeted by an unexpected visitor: the same store clerk he sold his lifespan to. She introduces herself as Miyagi, the one tasked with the job of observing him until the last three days of his life.

Jumyou wo Kaitotte Moratta. Ichinen ni Tsuki, Ichimanen de. follows the remaining three months of Kusunoki's life as he confronts lingering regrets from the past and discovers what truly gives life value."

 

[Farfalla]

Mb, I lost track of this 'cause of the previous MG+Top 10^^" And then decided to use the last week of May for the voting, so we'd start the reading in the first day of June.

And LOL Marm forgot you nominated this series and ended up reading it some days ago to indicate it XD Gonna post my nomination later on today, then. Btw that series is amazing, I even ordered it to send it to my therapist as a gift '_' So many great points to reflect on based on the topics the series approaches...

The next reading should be fun, great series to pick from so far. Hope you guys are still in!
@Brandish μ @Erinyes @Asako @MarmaladeSky

In case someone else wanna suggestion a series to read, I'll be taking those till May 23rd. Then we vote till May 31st.
@Evil3ye @Lambu @Copy Panda @revo

Feel free to tag anyone else that might have an interest in suggesting/joining the reading.

--- Double Post Merged, May 18, 2021, Original Post Date: May 18, 2021 ---

OMG I JUST FOUND OUT ONE OF MY FAV ARTISTS WROTE A MANGA @_@

Nominating Adekan, from the amazing Tsukiji Nao.

Shiro, a laid-back and absentmindedly seductive umbrella craftsman, is (surprisingly) a close friend of Koujirou, a hot-blooded young police officer who stands against all things undisciplined. With their mutual knack for attracting trouble, the pair soon find themselves involved in a bloody and erotic thrill-ride in their off-kilter town full of equally off-kilter people.

This action-packed jack-of-all-trades manga will have you swooning at its sexiness and leave you more addicted than opium—guaranteed!

Jesus, Tsukiji-senpai, wth did you write lmao

Spoiler

 

[revo]

Lost track of it too, I'm sorry
Been a while so I'm fine with reading anything! Will go ahead and suggest something though.

Nominating From Far Away (1991):

summary:
On her way home from school one day, Noriko is unexpectedly plunged into a strange and extraordinary fantasy world. Her troubles compound exponentially when she is rescued and befriended by a young man by the name of Izark. He may be brave and courageous, but inside Izark lurks the darkest evil imaginable. And according to an ancient prophecy, Noriko possesses the power to unleash that evil. Now, inexorably bound together, these two unlikely allies must navigate a world both wondrous and hostile.

 

[Farfalla]

Poll is uuuuuuuuuuuuuup
Closes in 7 days
I'll post the cards in a bit or in the morning^^ But feel free to vote alrdy if you have your preferred series or if you've checked info in this thread or somewhere else~ A reminder that each person has 2 votes to use.

--- Double Post Merged, Jun 2, 2021, Original Post Date: May 25, 2021 ---

Great job, guys '_' 4-ways tie

@Brandish μ @Demonspeed do you guys mind deleting the poll for me so I can set a 1 day long new one? ><

 

[Marmalade]

I'm not brandy or demon, but I deleted it for you
forgot to vote in this round

 

[Farfalla]

I'm just adapting my brain still ;_; forgive me

 

[Erinyes]

Oh, I just realized results were already out. So Haruka won. Here are my 2 cents about this manga.​

Haruka na Machi e - My overall thoughts​

Overview ​

That's a short enjoyable manga I have already read, before, it is the story of a 48 years old salary man old who is living a normal life with his family. One day he took the wrong train and ended up in his childhood place. So, he decided to walk in his childhood town. But when visiting his mother's grave something happened to him and he traveled back the time and ended up in the past when he was 14years old, resetting his life the moment he was a high schooler. We will see him at 1st, having trouble in his communication with everybody as he was clueless about what happened and how to deal with the events. That part was realistically told, he didn't adapt quickly, it took him time to process the information, understand the situation, and start adjusting to it. Then he starts enjoying back his childhood, and he realized how precious was this part of his life and was ready to enjoy it again, to the fullest. But at the same time, he is afraid to alter the future by doing things he has not done in his current life's past. Then, he remembered his father left and never came back. so he decided to take the advantage of him back in the past to investigate and learn what happened to him and to try to prevent him from leaving, he will find out the reason but will fail to prevent him from abandoning his family.​

Narration​

Narration-wise, the story is told in the 1st person perspective which means the reader is experiencing all the information the same way the Mc /narrator is doing. The reader is in his mind, and the narrator /mc is not omniscient, he is hesitant, has emotions, anger, doubts, moments of happiness and as the readers, we are immersed in his conscious and get to know and understand him best. But it means too, that the narrator is unreliable (imperfect witness) since he doesn't have full knowledge of what is happening.​

Those scenes illustrate so well how we are immersed in his thoughts, emotions, and doubts :​

Art​

Art art is decent to beautiful, I do like especially landscapes or town details, we can notice how different he draws the flashback wars scenes ( darker tones that contrast with the sunny days we see in outside scenes, like the beach scenes, or meals taken outside.​

Spoiler: more pics

This panel that shows the moment he comes back to the future is beautifully done, it is yet simple, we can feel something happening like a change of dimension.​

​

Best points :​

• It is a nice slice of life with a realistic outcome, Hiroshi couldn't convince his father not to leave, and that is a good point.​
• I like the fact at the end, we still don't know what happened, was it a dream or an actual time travel?​
• I like the book present from Daisuke (his best friend), that adding a touch of mystery.​
• I appreciate Mc's mentality and the fact he was honest and realized what he was going to do was not different from what his father did, but despite failing to prevent his father to leave, he managed to save his own family.​

The moment i liked the most, when he realized he was actually doing exactly what his father did :

​

Least good points :​

• There are some minor inconsistencies or questionable parts, like this scene where the Mc is saying to the father what will happen to their family when he will leave them in a very detailed, but the father doesn't seem even shocked.​
• And, the reason for the father leaving sounded weak to me, I expected something bigger maybe even a tragedy, but not necessarily, just something enough important to justify leaving a family. I do understand his point but still sounded weak to me, especially after that many years, his reason, though would have been totally fine if it were at an earlier stage of his family life.​
• Characters, they are not bad at all, but not too engaging, even Hiroshi, he is well written but still the kind of characters that doesnt make a lot of impression on me, the easily forgettable/ bland if i may say, ones, sadly.​

To conclude

It is a manga I enjoyed reading, I liked "the cherish your dearest ones, life can be cruel" aspect and that "even if things seem just decent, and if your life is not the epic story you wanted it to be, the grass is not greener in the other side, so just appreciate what you have." The message it gives or at least the way I have interpreted it.​

I might try re-read it, if I have time before the end of this round, and might add things if I feel I have missed some important aspects.​

Thanks, Bran for the suggestion it is a nice manga and great for the format of collective reading, as it's short and easy to read. The concept of following an MC who is an adult and who thinks as such (even in his teen form), with a family and a stressful job that makes him distant from his family, is refreshing too.​

 

[Farfalla]

Oh you've read it alrdy! Gonna start this weekend.

 

[Marmalade]

I'll start reading this weekend too

 

[Marmalade]

I've finished reading this series today. Wanted to read all the chapters before commenting.
Overall I think it's an interesting story, with themes such as regret. I can really appreciate that. Will you be able to change the past if you are able to go back in time?
Would you even want to?
What I found interesting is the MC reflecting on his life as a 48y/o man over the course of this series - little by little it shows that he's not a perfect man at all, and has many shortcomings (despite him thriving in the past). It makes him a more realistic character, almost makes me dislike him. Not so much that it's bothersome for the story though.

A negative is, that I found the storytelling somewhat confusing from time to time. Especially when it comes to flashbacks about his father, really had to reread some parts a few times before I understood its meaning.

Edit: The last scene of this series is so nice. It really pulls the story together a little, even if some things are still left unexplained

 

[Brandish μ]

Sorry for being late, I just completed the reading today.

It's very reflective, without an absorbing plot.

The teen love with Tomoko was a nice touch, given Hiroshi was not stimulated in his own life. I wish this reinvigorated his love with his real wife though, for extra romantic points.

Men being kids, too, it's funny because it is true. But like Hiroshi said, the kid is still in us buried deep within, and we need to embrace it. He had so much fun when he did.

I like the ending too but I would love it to go further. The brush with the past makes him realise he's got it great, just like Daisuke kept saying about his childhood family. But his dad left that, he actually did leave, for his own reasons. So while Hiroshi should feel joy to see his family after months in the past, the knowledge of his dad leaving should be firmly entrenched his mind. And we kind of get that with a refreshed Hiroshi at the end, who comes back to his family after this father just left his, but for my skepticism, that is not enough. People are dissatisfied creatures. The elation of his return will be for how long? Did he tackle the root cause of his drinking? A case could be made that his fathers disappearance being a factor, and I'm good with that, it would tie a few themes/points of the story nicely depending how you looked at it.