It's Winter, which means I do my yearly re-reading of some of my favorite manga! The first one is a short, but really sweet manga called
Ane Doki by Mizuki Kawa*censored*a. You might know her as the creator of Ichigo 100%.
Despite being my favorite work of hers, this is one of Kawa*censored*a's most unpopular works. Ichigo 100% seems to be her biggest one, and you'll probably hear more about Te no Kuchi than you will about Ane Doki. And to be fair, Ane Doki fulfills all of the clichés of its genre. Misunderstandings and accidents galore. However, I didn't mind that for a pretty simple reason: Kouta, the MC, is 13, and he finds himself living under the same roof with a 17 year old girl. I mean, I have experience being a young boy living with older girls, so it just reminds me of my childhood hijinks and the sexual tension that comes with that kind of situation.
Ane Doki's strengths are its art, presentation, and its characters. Ane Doki's art is much more refined and cleaner than Ichigo 100%. I feel like this was the manga where Kawa*censored*a really started to hone her visual style and I love it.
Presentation wise, this was really influential for me. This is a story focusing on Kouta living with a 17 year old girl named Natsuki. In stories focusing on the home setting, I feel like the passage of time needs to be felt, even if the work is short, to make the inevitable emotional impact really hit home. Despite only being 26 chapters, Kawa*censored*a made it feel much longer with one simple trick. Seasons!
The manga depicts the changes in seasons and weaves it into the story. Kouta met Natsuki during the sweltering Summer, a hot season for a hot girl. Right at the start of Fall, Kouta realizes his feelings are a mess after he goes on a date with his longtime crush, Kanade, has his dream come true when she confesses to him, but can only think of Natsuki when that happens. Winter time is when those feelings come to a head. It's the saddest part of the story, as Kouta's father finally returns from his sudden, business trip and breaks the news that he's being transferred to Sapporo, which means they have to move. At this point, Kouta had been living with Natsuki and her sister Chiaki for six months, so needless to say, the news is quite a heartbreaking bombshell for them.
Knowing that he and the girls will have to part ways, Kouta wanders the neighborhood to sort out his feelings. What I love about this is that Kanade confronts him and confesses to him again, knowing full well that Kouta really loves Natsuki. Kanade takes the defeat with some mighty grace though. Kouta himself doesn't outright say that he loves Natsuki, he only apologizes after being confessed to. Kanade can see it in his face and demeanor that he loves the older girl living with him. She even admits that Kouta changed because of Natsuki. He became more assertive, more willing to take action when it's time to act.
"Now that I've done it, you have to do it too. You better tell her how you feel." She even encourages him to confess to Natsuki before they part ways. It was definitely the most graceful and somber acceptance of defeat I've seen from a girl in a manga.
Throughout the story, Natsuki does seem like she's acting purely out of self-interest, but by the time the Winter chapters come, Kouta realizes that everything she was doing was to help him grow up and become who he is now. And despite him being young and small, she never lost faith that he could do what he needed to in any given situation.
It's such a short manga, but it never fails to hit home. This was the manga that influenced how I write in pretty much every aspect. I prefer home settings because of this. I make my characters live together and have plenty of slice-of-life moments because of this. I learned to make the passage of time feel more tangible by depicting the change of seasons, and then changing the mood of the story to match those seasons. I associate Spring with beginnings and discoveries, Summer with excitement and sexual tension, Fall with changes to personalities and traits, and Winter with reminiscence and melancholy. Then Sankarea would come along and influence how I view depiction of lighting and color, but that's another story.
If you like Kawa*censored*a's work, Ane Doki is a hidden gem buried beneath her more popular manga. I really wish it were longer, but it packs quite a lot in just 26 chapters. Most of all, it's very homely feeling and genuine towards the end. Bonus points for chapter 26.5, the four page mini-epilogue. I'm a sucker for endings that mirror the beginning. That was beautiful, Kawa*censored*a. Absolutely beautiful.
Read during the Winter (NOW) for maximum effect.
Topic: what manga are u reading now? (Read 69338 times)
