Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko
Encyclopedia
is a science fiction
manga
written and illustrated by Hitoshi Ashinano
. The title can be translated Yokohama Shopping Log or Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip. One tankōbon
volume, the publisher's former English language website, and the second original video animation
(OVA) series have the subtitle Quiet Country Cafe in English. The series is often referred to in wapuro romaji
as Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, or simply abbreviated as YKK by fans outside of Japan.
The manga was serialized in Kodansha
's Afternoon
magazine from June 1994 to February 2006, with a concluding postscript episode in July 2006, and collected in 14 tankōbon
volumes. Parts of the story were adapted
as two OVA
anime series of two episodes each.
The series depicts the daily life of a robot who runs a coffee shop some time after the Earth's ecology has collapsed. It is noted for its beautifully spare pen-and-ink drawing style, as well as its calm, meticulously paced stories and engaging characters. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō won the 2007 Seiun Award
for best science fiction comic.
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō is set in a peaceful, post-cataclysmic world where mankind is in decline after an environmental disaster. Exactly what happened is never explained, but sea levels have risen significantly, inundating coastal cities such as Yokohama
, Mount Fuji
erupted in living memory, and climate change has occurred. With the seasons being less pronounced, the winters are milder and the summer isn't scorching anymore. The reduced human population has reverted to a simpler life, and the reader is told this is the twilight of the human age. One scene depicts an anti-aircraft missile being used in a firework display. Instead of raging against their fate, humans are quietly accepting.
Alpha Hatsuseno is an android ("robot person") who runs an out-of-the-way coffee shop
, Café Alpha, on the lonely coast of the Miura Peninsula
of Japan
, while her human "owner" is on a trip of indefinite length. Though she spends much of her time alone, Alpha is cheerful, gregarious, and—unlike the slowly declining humans—immortal.
Most chapters of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō are self-contained slice-of-life episodes depicting Alpha in daily activities, either alone, with customers, or on occasional trips through the countryside or into Yokohama
for supplies (whence the "shopping log" of the title came). Whole chapters are devoted to brewing coffee
, taking photographs, or repairing a tiny model aircraft
engine, sometimes with only a few lines of dialogue. Through Alpha's experiences, the author brings out the small wonders of everyday life and makes the reader aware of their passing: the aircraft engine runs out of fuel; her scooter
breaks down; the rising ocean encroaches on her coffee shop; the neighborhood children she loves grow up and move away. In evoking a nostalgia for this loss, Ashinano follows the Japanese tradition of mono no aware
(sadness for the transience of things).
Though often self-contained, the stories have continuity—relationships grow and change, and seemingly insignificant details reappear later. Ashinano explains few details of Alpha's world, leaving mysteries that engage the reader as the series unfolds in a meandering progression, by turns funny, touching, and nostalgic.
: A type A7M2 robot, one of only three production prototypes, who runs Café Alpha in the absence of her owner (whose family name is Hatsuseno). Alpha is cheerful and thoughtful. She enjoys talking with her few customers, but is initially socially awkward and sheltered—despite being her model's prototype, at the start of the series she has met only a few people and no other robots. Because of this, when her owner departed, she declined to travel with him. As the series progresses, however, she grows more confident in her social skills, enough so that she spends a year traveling herself, and becomes more attached to her human friends even as they age and depart. Alpha is not very experienced about human behavior or appearances, she uses dishwasher liquid instead of brushing her teeth and doesn't think of her eye or hair color being strange. One of her unique abilities is that she is, according to her emotions, able to induce tears in her eye moisturizers. In her spare time, Alpha plays a gekkin
, carves small art objects with fish designs, and travels the local countryside on her scooter, investigating the remains of humanity's previous age and the emerging world to come.
: A type A7M3 production robot who works as a courier
in what remains of Musashino, Tokyo
. She is the first robot that Alpha meets, when she delivers a package (containing a camera) and a message from Alpha's owner. They soon become friends, and Kokone eventually develops romantic feelings for Alpha. Kokone is sweet, shy, and somewhat intellectual, but because of her job she has more experience with people than Alpha, and can sometimes pass for human. After meeting Alpha, her "older sister" production-wise, Kokone becomes curious about the history and nature of robots. Unlike Alpha, she is able to process animal protein.
: A middle-aged man with a perpetual grin, he is Alpha's closest neighbor and a regular customer at her café. He runs a gas station and sells vegetables on the side. He is a grandfather-figure to Alpha and the actual grandfather of Takahiro. Ojisan refers to himself as a bum, and seems to regret not pursuing a relationship with Sensei when they were younger. His real name is never given. (OVA 1), Shōzō Iizuka
(OVA 2)
: An older woman, she is a doctor for both humans and androids. She was involved in the creation of the A7 series of robots, and hosted Director Alpha in her home, possibly as Director Alpha's owner. When she was younger, she rode motorcycles and raced hovercraft, and was Ojisan's senpai
from school. Her surname is , but she is always addressed by just her title.
: The grandson of Ojisan, who lives with his grandparents. He meets Alpha at age nine, and she quickly takes to him as if he were a younger brother. He is the first character in the series to meet the Misago. As he grows up, Takahiro becomes fascinated with engines of all types and eventually moves away in his mid-teens to work for Nai. (OVA 1), Toshiyuki Toyonaga
(OVA 2)
Makki: A girl a few years younger than Takahiro. She likes Takahiro and is initially jealous of Alpha. Makki eventually becomes close to Alpha after learning the latter would never consider having a relationship with Takahiro because mortal humans move through time in a different way than immortal robots. She is skeptical of Takahiro's stories of the Misago until she meets the wild-woman herself. In her early teens, Makki works for a while at Alpha's café, before moving away to become a courier with Kokone's company, and then later to Hamamatsu to be with Takahiro.
: An ageless wild-woman who lives in the inlets and bays near Café Alpha. She is always naked, and eats raw fish caught with her short fangs and inhuman speed which enables her to make steps on water, she is able to jump 10 metres high quite easily. She only shows herself to young children, and shies away from contact with adults. She does not age and, according to omake
material, does not understand how children grow up. According to Ayase, she existed "decades before" robots were created. Despite Misago's feral nature, she is a gentle person, and does not cause harm to anyone.
Ayase: A wanderer who travels endlessly, relying on his kamas (a large predatory flying fish) to live off the land. He likes to see the curiosities of the world, and is especially fascinated by the Misago. Because of Makki's affinity for the Misago and his kamas, he tries to convince her to travel with him as a sort of protégé.
Director Alpha: The A7M1 prototype of the A7 series, and thus "older sister" to the other A7 robots. Like Alpha Hatsuseno, Director Alpha acquired her given name because she is the initial model, or "alpha-type", of a robot series. She is the director of a stratospheric aircraft called Taapon that circles the Earth without landing, observing the world's changes from above. Her surname is Koumi'ishi, the same as Sensei, and she has a pendant with Sensei's logo.
: A type A7M3 robot with a prickly personality. She is an artist who lives in Yokohama and works as a waitress and then shopclerk as a day job. She is unusual among robots for having changed her surname to one of her own choosing rather than adopting her owner's. Her given name is pronounced the same as her surname, but spelled in katakana
. She likes Kokone and is jealous of Alpha for "taking" her. Nai sometimes sends her sensory impressions, delivered by Kokone, which she uses in her art.
Nai: An A7 robot of unknown model. He is unusual, in that for unknown reasons male robots rarely survive long. He runs a delivery service, flying a modified T-6 Texan
aircraft (also known in England and Canada as the Harvard I). Nai is quiet and impassive.
Saetta: The young daughter of Makki and Takahiro. She is the last character to meet the Misago.
warplane Mitsubishi A7M
that never saw production, and the character Saetta's name may be inspired by an Italian WWII warplane
built by Aeronautica Macchi. Takahiro leaves ("flies away") to work for Nai. Ayase's kamas is a kind of flying fish. In the postscript episode, the unnamed character travels by glider.
The series contains elements of Chinese culture and mythology. Alpha's gekkin
guitar is of Chinese origin, and the Taapon aircraft is named after the mythological bird Peng
(taapon is the Japanese transliteration of da peng).
Some character names appear in the geography of the Yokohama area. For example, there is a bus stop named Koumi'ishi to the south of Hayama
, and Atsugi airfield
, where Alpha meets Nai, is located in Ayase
. There is a place called Maruko in Yokohama where Maruko's gallery is supposed to be.
That several details of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō are left unexplained, or have answers only hinted at, is frequently mentioned in reviews of the series as contributing to a tone of mystery. Some are mysteries to the characters, which they speculate about without reaching conclusions, while others are presented to the reader without comment. Among the most prominent are:
Comparisons have been made between Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō and Aria
, noting that they are both quiet slice-of-life stories in a futuristic setting with a similar emotional effect. A reviewer at Uknighted Manganime wrote, "What the two have in common, though, is a bright look at the future and a generally optimistic view of humanity, despite our failings."
in the seinen
(aimed at younger adult men) manga magazine Afternoon
between June 1994 to February 2006. The serial chapters were collected in 14 tankōbon
volumes by Kodansha under the Afternoon KC imprint. In Q4 of 2009 Kodansha started a reprint of the tankōbon
volumes. It is licensed in Korea under the title (Café Alpha), in Indonesia by M&C Comics
, and in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing.
Original Japanese release dates:
Japanese re-release dates:
In addition, a six-page postscript
episode was published in the July 2006 issue of Afternoon. Titled "Touge" ("Mountain Pass"), this story does not have a chapter number and was not included in the original collection, though it is included in volume 10 of the re-release.
A postcard book (ISBN 978-4-06-330041-3) with art from the manga was published on 24 September 1997, and an artbook (ISBN 978-4-06-330196-0) was published on 20 March 2003.
(OVA) anime
series of two episodes each. In both series, Alpha is voiced by Hekiru Shiina
and Kokone by Akiko Nakagawa
.
A soundtrack cd, for the second series, was produced in 1998.
by Hekiru Shiina
and Kokone by Akiko Nakagawa
.
, "Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou isn't just one of my favorite manga stories; it's one of my favorite comics, period." Derik A. Badman wrote, "This is light years beyond almost all the manga being translated and published in the US." A reviewer at Uknighted Manganime wrote, "Artwise, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou ranks as the most impressive I have ever seen," adding, "Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is, in short, the finest manga I have ever read, and I don’t see it being surpassed anytime soon, if ever."
The prologue chapter of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō won Afternoon
magazine's Four Seasons Award for debut works, and series won the 2007 Seiun Award
for Best Manga.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written and illustrated by Hitoshi Ashinano
Hitoshi Ashinano
is a Japanese manga artist. He is most noted for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō, for which he won Afternoon magazine's Four Seasons Award for debut works and the 2007 Seiun Award for Best Science Fiction Manga. Another notable work is PositioN. He has also been known to create dōjinshi under the name "suke"...
. The title can be translated Yokohama Shopping Log or Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip. One tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volume, the publisher's former English language website, and the second original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
(OVA) series have the subtitle Quiet Country Cafe in English. The series is often referred to in wapuro romaji
Wapuro romaji
, or kana spelling, is a style of romanization of Japanese originally devised for entering Japanese into word processors while using a Western QWERTY keyboard....
as Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, or simply abbreviated as YKK by fans outside of Japan.
The manga was serialized in Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
's Afternoon
Afternoon (magazine)
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...
magazine from June 1994 to February 2006, with a concluding postscript episode in July 2006, and collected in 14 tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes. Parts of the story were adapted
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
as two OVA
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
anime series of two episodes each.
The series depicts the daily life of a robot who runs a coffee shop some time after the Earth's ecology has collapsed. It is noted for its beautifully spare pen-and-ink drawing style, as well as its calm, meticulously paced stories and engaging characters. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō won the 2007 Seiun Award
Seiun Award
The is a Japanese science fiction award for the best science fiction published in Japan during the preceding year, as voted by attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Convention. "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula", but the award is not related to the American Nebula Award. It was named after...
for best science fiction comic.
Story
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji
is the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
erupted in living memory, and climate change has occurred. With the seasons being less pronounced, the winters are milder and the summer isn't scorching anymore. The reduced human population has reverted to a simpler life, and the reader is told this is the twilight of the human age. One scene depicts an anti-aircraft missile being used in a firework display. Instead of raging against their fate, humans are quietly accepting.
Alpha Hatsuseno is an android ("robot person") who runs an out-of-the-way coffee shop
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
, Café Alpha, on the lonely coast of the Miura Peninsula
Miura Peninsula
is a peninsula located in Kanagawa, Japan. It lies south of Yokohama and Tokyo and divides Tokyo Bay, to the east, from Sagami Bay, to the west. Cities and towns on the Miura Peninsula include Yokosuka, Miura, Hayama, Zushi, and Kamakura....
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, while her human "owner" is on a trip of indefinite length. Though she spends much of her time alone, Alpha is cheerful, gregarious, and—unlike the slowly declining humans—immortal.
Most chapters of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō are self-contained slice-of-life episodes depicting Alpha in daily activities, either alone, with customers, or on occasional trips through the countryside or into Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
for supplies (whence the "shopping log" of the title came). Whole chapters are devoted to brewing coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, taking photographs, or repairing a tiny model aircraft
Model aircraft
Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...
engine, sometimes with only a few lines of dialogue. Through Alpha's experiences, the author brings out the small wonders of everyday life and makes the reader aware of their passing: the aircraft engine runs out of fuel; her scooter
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
breaks down; the rising ocean encroaches on her coffee shop; the neighborhood children she loves grow up and move away. In evoking a nostalgia for this loss, Ashinano follows the Japanese tradition of mono no aware
Mono no aware
, literally "the pathos of things", also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese term used to describe the awareness of , or the transience of things, and a gentle sadness at their passing.-Origins:...
(sadness for the transience of things).
Though often self-contained, the stories have continuity—relationships grow and change, and seemingly insignificant details reappear later. Ashinano explains few details of Alpha's world, leaving mysteries that engage the reader as the series unfolds in a meandering progression, by turns funny, touching, and nostalgic.
Characters
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
, carves small art objects with fish designs, and travels the local countryside on her scooter, investigating the remains of humanity's previous age and the emerging world to come.
: A type A7M3 production robot who works as a courier
Courier
A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for...
in what remains of Musashino, Tokyo
Musashino, Tokyo
is a city located in Tokyo, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 137,222 and a population density of 12,788.63 persons per km². The total area is 10.73 km².The city was founded on November 3, 1947...
. She is the first robot that Alpha meets, when she delivers a package (containing a camera) and a message from Alpha's owner. They soon become friends, and Kokone eventually develops romantic feelings for Alpha. Kokone is sweet, shy, and somewhat intellectual, but because of her job she has more experience with people than Alpha, and can sometimes pass for human. After meeting Alpha, her "older sister" production-wise, Kokone becomes curious about the history and nature of robots. Unlike Alpha, she is able to process animal protein.
: A middle-aged man with a perpetual grin, he is Alpha's closest neighbor and a regular customer at her café. He runs a gas station and sells vegetables on the side. He is a grandfather-figure to Alpha and the actual grandfather of Takahiro. Ojisan refers to himself as a bum, and seems to regret not pursuing a relationship with Sensei when they were younger. His real name is never given. (OVA 1), Shōzō Iizuka
Shozo Iizuka
is a male Japanese voice actor from Fukushima Prefecture who is affiliated with Sigma Seven. He graduated from the fine arts department of Nihon University....
(OVA 2)
: An older woman, she is a doctor for both humans and androids. She was involved in the creation of the A7 series of robots, and hosted Director Alpha in her home, possibly as Director Alpha's owner. When she was younger, she rode motorcycles and raced hovercraft, and was Ojisan's senpai
Senpai
and are an essential element of Japanese seniority-based status relationships, similar to the way that family and other relationships are decided based on age, with even twins being divided into elder and younger sibling...
from school. Her surname is , but she is always addressed by just her title.
Toshiyuki Toyonaga
is a Japanese seiyū and actor.-Anime:* Ballad of a Shinigami * Capeta * Durarara!! * Fresh Pretty Cure! * Get Ride! Amdriver...
(OVA 2)
Makki: A girl a few years younger than Takahiro. She likes Takahiro and is initially jealous of Alpha. Makki eventually becomes close to Alpha after learning the latter would never consider having a relationship with Takahiro because mortal humans move through time in a different way than immortal robots. She is skeptical of Takahiro's stories of the Misago until she meets the wild-woman herself. In her early teens, Makki works for a while at Alpha's café, before moving away to become a courier with Kokone's company, and then later to Hamamatsu to be with Takahiro.
: An ageless wild-woman who lives in the inlets and bays near Café Alpha. She is always naked, and eats raw fish caught with her short fangs and inhuman speed which enables her to make steps on water, she is able to jump 10 metres high quite easily. She only shows herself to young children, and shies away from contact with adults. She does not age and, according to omake
Omake
means extra in Japanese. Its primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga fandom term to mean "extra or bonus". In USA, the term is most often used in a narrow sense by anime fans to describe special features on DVD releases: deleted scenes, interviews with the...
material, does not understand how children grow up. According to Ayase, she existed "decades before" robots were created. Despite Misago's feral nature, she is a gentle person, and does not cause harm to anyone.
Ayase: A wanderer who travels endlessly, relying on his kamas (a large predatory flying fish) to live off the land. He likes to see the curiosities of the world, and is especially fascinated by the Misago. Because of Makki's affinity for the Misago and his kamas, he tries to convince her to travel with him as a sort of protégé.
: A type A7M3 robot with a prickly personality. She is an artist who lives in Yokohama and works as a waitress and then shopclerk as a day job. She is unusual among robots for having changed her surname to one of her own choosing rather than adopting her owner's. Her given name is pronounced the same as her surname, but spelled in katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
. She likes Kokone and is jealous of Alpha for "taking" her. Nai sometimes sends her sensory impressions, delivered by Kokone, which she uses in her art.
Nai: An A7 robot of unknown model. He is unusual, in that for unknown reasons male robots rarely survive long. He runs a delivery service, flying a modified T-6 Texan
T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
aircraft (also known in England and Canada as the Harvard I). Nai is quiet and impassive.
Saetta: The young daughter of Makki and Takahiro. She is the last character to meet the Misago.
Influences and themes
Flying and flight recurs through the series. Alpha herself has repeated visions of flying. Planes that appear include Nai's airplane, the always-flying Taapon, and the model airplane engine that Alpha finds but never flies. The A7 series of robots is named after a Japanese World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
warplane Mitsubishi A7M
Mitsubishi A7M
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-370-30251-6....
that never saw production, and the character Saetta's name may be inspired by an Italian WWII warplane
Macchi C.200
The Macchi C.200 Saetta was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy, and used in various forms throughout the Regia Aeronautica . The MC.200 had excellent manoeuvrability and general flying characteristics left little to be desired...
built by Aeronautica Macchi. Takahiro leaves ("flies away") to work for Nai. Ayase's kamas is a kind of flying fish. In the postscript episode, the unnamed character travels by glider.
The series contains elements of Chinese culture and mythology. Alpha's gekkin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
guitar is of Chinese origin, and the Taapon aircraft is named after the mythological bird Peng
Peng (mythology)
Peng or Dapeng is a giant bird that transforms from a Kun giant fish in Chinese mythology. In comparative mythology of giant creatures, Peng is likened to the Roc or Garuda and Kun to the Leviathan.-Names:...
(taapon is the Japanese transliteration of da peng).
Some character names appear in the geography of the Yokohama area. For example, there is a bus stop named Koumi'ishi to the south of Hayama
Hayama, Kanagawa
is a town located in Miura District, Kanagawa Prefecture, on central Honshū, Japan. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 32,386 and a density of 1,900 per km². The total area was 17.06 km²...
, and Atsugi airfield
Naval Air Facility Atsugi
is a naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy air base in the Pacific Ocean and houses the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 5, which deploys with the aircraft carrier...
, where Alpha meets Nai, is located in Ayase
Ayase, Kanagawa
is a city in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is on the east bank of the Sagami River and is bordered by Yamato, Fujisawa and Ebina cities. It should not be confused with a neighborhood of the same name in Adachi, Tokyo. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 82,738 and a...
. There is a place called Maruko in Yokohama where Maruko's gallery is supposed to be.
- What is the nature of the natural disaster that caused the world's oceans to rise?
- Who is Alpha's owner, and where did he go? Why does Ayase call him "senseiSensei' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...
"? - Why were robots created? Since none are slaves or servants, what is their purpose? In what sense are they, as Kokone claims, humanity's children?
- Why are the humans in Alpha's world dying out?
- Why are male robots so rare?
- Why is Alpha, unlike other robots, allergic to animal proteins?
- What are the "water gods", strangely beautiful mushrooms with human faces, that have started growing in the wilds?
- Why have trees that mimic streetlamps and fungi that mimic buildings begun growing? Are they really, as Alpha and Ayase speculate, the "recollections of people that the earth remembers"?
- When was the eruption that removed Mount FujiMount Fujiis the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
's top, and was it related to the ocean rise? - What is the Misago? Why does she only show herself to children, and why is she unable to comprehend that they become adults? If, as Ayase claims, she is not a robot, then what is she?
Comparisons have been made between Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō and Aria
ARIA (manga)
is a utopian science fantasy manga by Kozue Amano. The series was originally titled when it was published by Enix in the magazine Monthly Stencil, being retitled when it moved to Mag Garden's magazine Comic Blade. Aqua was serialized in Stencil from 2001 to 2002 and collected in two tankōbon volumes...
, noting that they are both quiet slice-of-life stories in a futuristic setting with a similar emotional effect. A reviewer at Uknighted Manganime wrote, "What the two have in common, though, is a bright look at the future and a generally optimistic view of humanity, despite our failings."
Manga
A total of 140 chapters were published in Japan by KodanshaKodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
in the seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
(aimed at younger adult men) manga magazine Afternoon
Afternoon (magazine)
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...
between June 1994 to February 2006. The serial chapters were collected in 14 tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes by Kodansha under the Afternoon KC imprint. In Q4 of 2009 Kodansha started a reprint of the tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes. It is licensed in Korea under the title (Café Alpha), in Indonesia by M&C Comics
M&c Comics
M&C Comics is one of the major manga suppliers in Indonesia.As a part of the Kompas-Gramedia Group of book stores, M&C Comics have issued more than 50 manga, with ratings, from "SU:Semua Umur" or General Viewing, to "18+: 18 Tahun ke Atas" or 18 years old and older only.Manga works that are...
, and in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing.
Original Japanese release dates:
Japanese re-release dates:
In addition, a six-page postscript
Postscript
A postscript, abbreviated P.S., is writing added after the main body of a letter . The term comes from the Latin post scriptum, an expression meaning "written after" .A postscript may be a sentence, a paragraph, or occasionally many paragraphs added, often hastily and...
episode was published in the July 2006 issue of Afternoon. Titled "Touge" ("Mountain Pass"), this story does not have a chapter number and was not included in the original collection, though it is included in volume 10 of the re-release.
A postcard book (ISBN 978-4-06-330041-3) with art from the manga was published on 24 September 1997, and an artbook (ISBN 978-4-06-330196-0) was published on 20 March 2003.
Anime
Parts of the manga have been dramatized in two original video animationOriginal video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
(OVA) anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series of two episodes each. In both series, Alpha is voiced by Hekiru Shiina
Hekiru Shiina
Hekiru Shiina is a professional seiyū and J-pop singer who was born in Higashi-kurume, Tokyo. Shiina is 152 cm tall....
and Kokone by Akiko Nakagawa
Akiko Nakagawa
is a Japanese voice actress who was born on in Sapporo. She is married to InuYasha music composer Kaoru Wada.-Notable voice roles:*Sota Higurashi in InuYasha*Anne in Little Snow Fairy Sugar*Miss Goldenweek in One Piece*Miyuki Nanase in Kindaichi Case Files...
.
- The first OVA series, produced by Ajia-do Animation WorksAjia-do Animation Worksis a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, noted for several anime series, including Spirit of Wonder, Zettai Shōnen, and several others...
and directed by Takashi Annō, was released in May 1998 and December 1998 on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and LaserdiscLaserdiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
. It dramatizes selected events from volumes 1–3, including the initial meeting of Alpha and Kokone and Alpha's recovery from being struck by lightningLightningLightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
. It was subsequently rereleased on DVD. - The second series, produced by Ajia-do Animation Works and SME Visual Works and directed by Tomomi MochizukiTomomi Mochizuki, sometimes incorrectly romanized as Tomomichi Mochizuki, is an anime director and producer. He is married to animator Masako Gotō and sometimes uses the alias when writing screenplays or working on storyboards...
, was released in December 2002 and May 2003 on VHS and DVD. It dramatizes selected events from volumes 7–9, including the storm that destroys Alpha's cafe and her subsequent journeys in central Japan.
A soundtrack cd, for the second series, was produced in 1998.
Drama CDs
Three drama CDs of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō were released in 2002. In all three, Alpha is voicedSeiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
by Hekiru Shiina
Hekiru Shiina
Hekiru Shiina is a professional seiyū and J-pop singer who was born in Higashi-kurume, Tokyo. Shiina is 152 cm tall....
and Kokone by Akiko Nakagawa
Akiko Nakagawa
is a Japanese voice actress who was born on in Sapporo. She is married to InuYasha music composer Kaoru Wada.-Notable voice roles:*Sota Higurashi in InuYasha*Anne in Little Snow Fairy Sugar*Miss Goldenweek in One Piece*Miyuki Nanase in Kindaichi Case Files...
.
- Volume 1 (released October 2002) dramatizes events from volume 1 of the manga, ending with the meeting of Alpha and Kokone.
- Volume 2 (released October 2002) dramatizes events from volume 2 of the manga, picking up immediately from where the first CD ended.
- Volume 3 (released December 2002) dramatizes events from later in the manga. It included an original song and an interview with Shiina and Nakagawa.
Novel
A novel based on Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō called , written by and illustrated by Hitoshi Ashinano, was published by Kodansha on 23 October 2008 (ISBN 978-4-06-373326-6). Set long after the conclusion of the manga series, it tells the story of a boy robot named Omega and his search for the legendary Cafe Alpha.Reception and awards
Even though it has not been published in English, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō has received significant attention from reviewers outside of Japan. Many reviewers praise Ashinano's drawing style, meticulous pacing, and engaging characters. Dirk Deppey wrote in The Comics JournalThe Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
, "Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou isn't just one of my favorite manga stories; it's one of my favorite comics, period." Derik A. Badman wrote, "This is light years beyond almost all the manga being translated and published in the US." A reviewer at Uknighted Manganime wrote, "Artwise, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou ranks as the most impressive I have ever seen," adding, "Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is, in short, the finest manga I have ever read, and I don’t see it being surpassed anytime soon, if ever."
The prologue chapter of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō won Afternoon
Afternoon (magazine)
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...
magazine's Four Seasons Award for debut works, and series won the 2007 Seiun Award
Seiun Award
The is a Japanese science fiction award for the best science fiction published in Japan during the preceding year, as voted by attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Convention. "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula", but the award is not related to the American Nebula Award. It was named after...
for Best Manga.
External links
- Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō official anime website
- Ashinano Hitoshi at The Ultimate Manga Guide
- "Behind the Panels" of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou