Iwai Arata was recommended by his professor to work part-time under a rather eccentric mycologist, Murota. The mycologist seemed hard to approach at first. But slowly as he got used to Iwai's presence, he became friendlier in his own way, showing Iwai a whole new world and giving him guidance with life. Though every day was fun and exciting, a sense of unease began to creep into Iwai's heart.
I recently picked up this anthology, and I have to admit, I wasn't exactly expecting it. But you know what? It didn't put me off at all. Some of the stories in this collection were linked in some way, while others were standalone gems. But hey, that's the nature of short story anthologies, right? You can't always expect a grand narrative tying everything together.
The stories themselves were a pleasant surprise. They weren't groundbreaking or earth-shattering, but they were enjoyable nonetheless. I wouldn't say they were the kind that will stick with me forever, though. They were more like those fleeting moments of entertainment that you appreciate in the moment but soon forget about.
There was this one story, though, about mushrooms. It kind of stuck with me. Maybe it's because I had just finished reading "Mexican Gothic" before diving into this anthology. Anyone who's read that knows it can give you a bit of a mushroom-related trauma! But all in all, if you're looking for some quick reads that will keep you entertained for a little while, this collection might just do the trick.
This was a soft, sweet, and occasionally dreamlike collection of stories that focuses a lot on the beauty of nature both real and magical. The art was gorgeous and beautifully detailed. The love stories were gentle and moving, and each had a few bonus pages assuring the reader they would all be okay in the future.
The art was amazing- the fact that they're working with biological organisms made such a different setting, filled with nature and thoughts about the vastness of the universe. You could tell a lot of effort was put in making the art look great, the backgrounds spanned different pages and enveloped a sense of out-worldliness. However, some of the younger guy's thoughts were too flowery in a purple prose angsty way. The relationship too wasn't explored, there were some random supernatural side stories (?) . Hence, the plot was a mess, not fluff, not sweet and not deep though the art really was such a treat. I guess if you want short meandering shounen-ai stories, this is for you.["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Recomiendo que a este manga sin sexo le deis una oportunidad porque el estilo de la mangaka es muy personal incluso si a mi no me gustó. Yo es que me aburrí a montones con este manga (salvo el relato del chico que ve peces), pero si que admito que es uno de los mangas más raros y originales con los que vais a encontraros. Que no sea para mí no quiere decir que no sea para vosotros.
3 - 3.5* This book feels nostalgic for a different time in the domestic BL market. The additional stories included were atmospheric, moody, and supernatural, which made them much more interesting than the main story. I liked the fish story best, as it was the most original. The main story itself was light, the angst being more of a wistful nature, but since it's a pretty basic story overall, I'm rounding down the stars instead of up.
Bought the tankoubon because of the gorgeous, gorgeous art. I really love how Aki Aoi just put so many beautiful plants, animals, and fungus drawing inside the manga. They set the eerie, lonely vibe I love so much, especially those floating fishes on the second story. The plot was nothing special, but they were all sweet and cute, albeit a little bit heartbreaking (I'm looking at you, last story). Perfect for when you want to read something light while gawking at its pretty, pretty art.
Actually, the plot was okay, nothing particularly special and I'd give it 3 stars at best, but the storytelling and the gorgeous art really won me over that I had to add another star to it. :)
I especially loved the last story about fox. Kou is so adorable. XD
I was pretty disappointed when I realized the cover story wasn't the full book - publishers have got to start making this actually clear in the summary and marketing materials! But I ended up really enjoying all three stories in this volume.
The first one is a slow, sweet romance between an older professor and his grad school assistant. They have a 17 year age gap, which I think is probably early 20s and late 30s, although that's not specified. I'm not exactly sure what Murota does; he visits the university periodically, I think just to use the library, without any guest lecturing. So he must make money purely off his research? He's described as a mycologist, but he studies fungi, insects, and other plants and environmental factors.
Part of his bonding with Iwai comes from that interest in such a wide diversity of things. Iwai has always felt a bit insecure about how "fickle" he seems as a student; one area of study doesn't hold his interest for long, since he's always fascinated by learning new things. Murota tells him this is a positive, and shows that he's interested in the world as a whole, and how everything is so tightly interconnected.
That intellectual connection, the kindness Murota shows him, and the extremely enjoyable time they spend together all makes Iwai start to develop an interest that isn't purely academic anymore.
I was a bit surprised by how early the confession came, and then the resolution - which was handled in a really lovely way. But that's because I didn't realize the story was ending at that point! I liked the little bonus chapter, though, with an outsider perspective that showed how stable and longterm their relationship had become.
The art is also gorgeous throughout, with a sort of old-fashioned, scientific illustration feel to it.
The next two stories keep that nature focus but veer into more fantasy territory.
Hirotaka, who's been in love with his friend and classmate Seiji for a while, has been able to see dreamfishes since he was a child. Whenever someone falls asleep, a fish slides out of their mouth and floats around the sky. Sometimes, the fish of two people who are close to each other will twine together as they sleep.
It's an odd idea but comes across very pretty on the page. It ultimately leads to Seiji finding out about Hirotaka's interest in him, since somehow Hirotaka's dreamfish slides into Seiji while he's asleep, and Hirotaka has to figure out how to get it back.
There isn't a huge amount of substance to this relationship, but it's a strange little story that I liked a lot.
The final story is about a university student who inherits his grandfather's house, and gets to know the kitsune from the shrine up the hill. Again, it's a very short story, so it's really only showing the beginning of their relationship, but it still manages to pack in a lot of feelings of nostalgia and loneliness and unexpected connection.
The kitsune, Kou, thinks that Haruhiko will be afraid or disgusted once he realizes that he's not human - but he also mistakenly thinks that Haruhiko's grandfather had never figured it out. It's a bit silly since he's very bad at hiding his kitsune nature, but the connection they make feels natural and positive for both of them. I get the impression Haruhiko will settle down there once he finishes school, and live out a very happy life in the country with his kitsune husband.
The tone of this whole collection is just very soft and dreamlike and lovely. Would definitely read more.
I liked the fish story the most. It was unique and cute. The other stories weren't bad, just average. There is a 17 year age gap in the first story, with a professor and his assistant. Nothing overtly sketchy though.
I would say the rating of 16+ almost felt unnecessary for this book. Could have been 13+ realistically since nothing more than a few kisses happen and nothing *spicy* is even talked about or hinted at. I would say the rating most likely had to do with the ages of the characters [realistically for that first story].
The main story was nice. It's a simple age-gap romance. Then, there's a bonus to the main story that doesn't add much. From there, there were some short one-shots. I didn't care about the fish. The fox has potential and could be expanded on.
By the way, since watching "The Last of Us," I cannot view mushrooms the same.
Didn’t know this was an anthology before hand and I am not the biggest fan of anthologies, but lucky that I dod enjoy the three stories in here at least. The second story, A Fish’s Warmth, was my favorite and to me the strongest story. I enjoyed that all three were quite different in premise but ultimately the sweet almost nostalgic/misty vibe that connects them all.
A bit too slow & quiet for my tastes, and I’m not really a fan of mushrooms so that put a damper on the first story that took up most of the book. Some of the other shorter works were good, though.
Es precioso, más allá de si por ahí es una trama básica, el arte y el poder comprender más allá de lo que se expresa en este manga es precioso. Es uno de mis confort mangas, porque podría leerlo mil veces sin aburrirme, cada relato es bello y es triste que haya gente a la que no le guste.
Es uno de los primeros mangas bl que leo que involucra la ciencia de manera tan bonita.
La historia de el chico que ve peces no me pareció enredada, es una de mis favoritas junto con la historia principal, que es la del micólogo y el chico que se ofrece de ayudante.
Anthologies are usually a huge miss for me, but I really, really liked this one. Every story in it carried this magic, dreamlike feeling that just pulled me in and carried me along. Although some of the stories were a bit jumpy due to the space limitations, that dreamlike quality really made it come off as purposeful and elegant.