Calling You (Kimi ni shika Kikoenai) [Paperback]

Otsuichi (Author), Tsuzuki Setsuri (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2007

Art by the Creator of Broken Angels Tsuzuki Setsuri, creator of Broken Angels, and Otsuichi, author of the Pop Fiction novel Calling You, have crafted a beautifully rendered collection of stories that will haunt you long after the last page is turned. In these haunting tales, a girl creates a cell phone in her imagination, from which she can communicate with others... A young boy discovers his new friend has the power to heal others--and learns about true friendship and sacrifice... And the healing power of love confronts the tragedy and horror of a deadly train accident. Calling You Pop Fiction Novel--Coming June 2007!

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598169319
• ISBN-13: 978-1598169317
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,205,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Angsty, March 26, 2007

By 

J. Gebhard (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Calling You (Kimi ni shika Kikoenai) (Paperback)

Calling you can easily be described as depressing, but wait don't let that discourage you!
Calling you contains two complete one-shot stories. Both stories focus on a sense of deep isolation and how that isolation can effect people. In one case, the main character's sense of isolation makes her believe that her voice is ugly. Because of this she refuses to interact with others. In the other, two boys who have been abandoned by their families take on opposing responses to abandonment. One boy chooses to violently react to others, while the other disengages everyone. The boys are set up to act as yin and yang.

While Calling you is fixated on angst and depression, it really is about finding the confidence to move on. Yes the characters are depressing, but through their stories the author shows an understanding that you are never really alone. There is always someone or something that you have overlooked. Perhaps that's a bit too deep.

The artwork is beautiful! It is on par with Decendants of Darkness or Angel Sanctuary. The storyline was written by Otsuichi a Japanese novelist and is deeply compelling. I reread this novel several times before I was really able to grasp what was written. Each and every word is important and chose with care.

On a side note: I didn't see any hint of yaoi - and this is coming from a yaoi fan! They are simply two elementary school boys who are friends. Also the female lead character only once rejected an invitation to socially bond with other girls. Throughout the rest of the story there are small print statements from classmates such as "Do we have to" when a gym teacher tells the other girls to include the main character. Not to say your impression is wrong, but, as I said, you have to reread this book several times before it is understandable. Maybe that is the drawback to the book.

(This is a review for the manga version of Calling You ONLY. I have not read the novel. For some reason Amazon is posting this review and the other review for Calling You in both the manga and novel listings. Both reviews, as far as I know, are for the manga only.)

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I'M SO ALONE! WOE IS ME!, January 20, 2007

By 

Sesho "www.sesho.libsyn.com" (Pasadena, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Calling You (Kimi ni shika Kikoenai) (Paperback)

Calling You is a one-shot manga that contains two stories. In the title story, "Calling You", Ryo Aihara is a high school sophomore who feels increasingly isolated from her schoolmates and the world. She's too shy to communicate with others even though other girls ask her to hang out and have fun. Her disconnect is exacerbated by her lack of a cellphone. To her, if you don't have a phone, there is no way to belong to her generation. Aihara begins to envision her perfect cellphone in her mind...and then something really weird happens: Someone calls her on her imaginary phone! The second story, "Kiz/Kids", two motherless special ed kids bond with each other over a strange power. Asato can transfer wounds to himself or to others. He sees himself as a Christ figure who must take on the disfigurements and the suffering of those around him, even if they are complete strangers. Keigo, his tough guy friend, after taking advantage of Asato's powers for his own ends, realizes that he must save Asato from killing himself with his gluttonous appetite to take on others pain.

I didn't like either of these stories very much. First, I'll comment on the story "Calling You". I didn't buy Aihara's angst. She says that nobody talks to her and that she can't become a part of her peer's social network. But the story opens with some of her classmates asking her to go karaoke with them! The only reason she is isolated is because she's stuck on herself. And the concept that a cellphone is the end-all be-all of existence is something that is very immature and superficial. For 99% of mankind's history, we have lived without phones. It's just a symbol of modernity's spoilage of living a natural life. The climax of the story seems like a cheap Twilight Zone knockoff. As for "Kids", again, the angst was unwarranted, as I think Asato's wound bearing was just a metaphor for suicidal tendencies. To me, him making wounds appear on his body was akin to mentally depressed people taking knives and cutting themselves. I didn't see anything admirable about him healing people. Instead it was the ultimate sign of selfishness, satisfying some bizarre fetish of Asato's. It didn't help that the relationship between Keigo and Asato was borderline Yaoi. This book didn't work for me at all because its subject was supposed to be human suffering and isolation brought on by society, but the characters brought on their pain themselves and revel in their negativity.