Who hasn't dreamt of going back to childhood? But who has actually made the journey? Hiroshi Nakahara is a forty-something salaryman returning to Tokyo from an intense business trip. He is tired and somewhat hungover as he boards his train at Kyoto's enormous station. He awakens to discover he is traveling back to the town of his upbringing, not Tokyo. Memories of his mother surface and he realizes he has the same age as her when she died. Arriving in Kurayoshi he is drawn through his distant neighborhood to the cemetery and his mother's grave. Here, under a late afternoon moon, he is transported back into his 14 year-old body and life whilst retaining all the character and experience of the adult. Will he change his past or be forever condemned to relive each painful moment? That fateful day his father disappeared without explanation, the death of his mother ... would he ever see his wife and daughters again? Master manga-ka Taniguchi at his most powerful with the art individually reversed to western style by craftsman Frédéric Boilet. Volume 2 due in September.
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From Publishers Weekly
Taniguchi employs a familiar plot device to begin an amiable story. One morning, 48-year-old business traveler Hiroshi Nakahara boards the wrong train—a recently built express to his old hometown. Upon arriving, he visits his mother's grave, where he is mysteriously transported back in time. Hiroshi finds himself 14 years old, with full adult foreknowledge of all that is to come. The book proceeds to hit plot points typically associated with this genre at an easygoing clip, as the lead character visits long-gone people and places. As this volume progresses, Hiroshi slowly embraces his ability to relive his youth differently and prepares to address the great mystery of his childhood: the disappearance of his father. Just as Hiroshi is struck by the minutiae of a family dinner, Taniguchi exercises his own characteristic attention to ruminative detail. His artwork crisply delineates the details of place and time central to the story, while his writing dwells on the mental adjustments and minor pleasures of Hiroshi's fantastic situation. Taniguchi's execution charms, creating more anticipation for the forthcoming sequel than do the particular mechanics of this book's otherwise familiar narrative arc. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
[b]Jiro Taniguchi[/b] was born August 14, 1947 in Tottori, Japan. Influenced by European comic book masters - Moebius, Schuiten, Crespin - he worked together with Sekikawa and Utsumi before creating many solo albums. His work has been much lauded in his native Japan and Europe including top honors for both script and art at the Angouleme Festival in France. He continues to live and work in Japan.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Way Home,
This review is from: A Distant Neighborhood, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
Hiroshi Nakahara is a middle-aged business man on his way home from a business trip in Kyoto. Somehow, he winds up on the wrong train, one bound for his home town in Tottori. Although Hiroshi can't imagine how he made such a mistake, he decides to visit his mother's grave while he's there. But as he's about to leave, something strange happens. His body feels lighter and smaller, and even his surroundings seem to have changed somehow. Hiroshi finds that he's returned to his fifteen year old body, and that his home is exactly as it was when he was a boy. He has no idea how or why this happened, and all he can do is go home and try to adapt. He's living as his younger self again, but with all his adult knowledge in tact. Not only that, some events happen differently than they did the first time around. Will Hiroshi be able to change his past for the better?
This is not the kind of manga I usually read. I love wide-eyed characters and shojo romance. This, of course, has none of that, and none of the action found in shonen. But the story here really caught my attention. "A Distant Neighborhood" was written for adult men, but the story is universal. Who hasn't wanted to relive happy memories or redo mistakes? I'm still young at 21, but I often reminisce about my childhood. And Taniguchi handles the story so well. It's very emotional, especially the scene where Hiroshi first sees his family again. As he encounters old friends, he thinks about where each of them ends up in the future, an interesting touch. One of the best things about the story is that Hiroshi reacts and behaves exactly how you would expect for a person in his situation. He uses his adult knowledge to excel in school, and tries to convince a friend of his predicament in a moment of weakness. These are things I've always imagined myself doing in the same position. Although Hiroshi does revert some, he retains most of his adult maturity. It's really funny to hear him talking like a 43 year old in his 14 year old body.I also loved the way Hiroshi is aware of things he didn't see the first time around, like his parents' marriage problems. The art here is great. Taniguchi's characters are more realistic than those in most manga, which fits the tone of the story. The scenery of modern and 1940s Japan are wonderful. Taniguchi pays great attention to detail, and the towns and clothing and hair styles are perfectly matched to the time-period. He uses interesting perspectives in his panels, which enhances the story. I particularly loved the way Hiroshi is shown set apart from his family the first time he sees them, like he's observing a memory. The publishers did a great job on this manga. It's an over-sized softcover with inside flaps and sturdy paper. It's printed left-to-right (American style), which makes it accessible to non-manga readers, but great pains were taken to keep the artwork as it originally appeared (Taniguchi himself collaborated with the publisher to preserve the art). My only complain was several obvious typos, but these are easy to correct mentally. "A Distant Neighborhood" is a wonderful manga that anyone should be able to relate to. The story is reflective but well paced. The characters make it realistic despite the fantastic events. And the art is also top-notch. The whole time I was reading this manga, I kept thinking what a great movie it would make- it's interesting, thoughtful, and touching to a wide audience. This is the kind of story that you don't forget, the kind that you come back to over and over. I have a feeling that it'll become more meaningful to me as I get older. It's a wonderful experience, so don't miss it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful,
This review is from: A Distant Neighborhood, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
This is a beautifully drawn graphic novel about a middle-aged Japanese man who suddenly wakes to find himself in the form of his 14-year old self. At first frustrated by being trapped in his youthful body, he soon embraces it, and tries to find out why his father left the family during that time.
The artwork is exquisite, and though the story is slow-moving, it fits the art and left me wanting more.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Life Seen Fresh through Old Eyes,
By
This review is from: A Distant Neighborhood, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
Having enjoyed Taniguchi's previous works like "Inu o kau" and the "Botchan" series, I figured I might like "Neighborhood" over "ICARO" (maybe another time); I wasn't disappointed. The premise here is simple: a man in his late 40s, burnt out, is given a chance to relive his life as a 14-year old boy. Wise and skilled beyond his body's age, he naturally begins to life life more vigorously and enjoying the basic things: friendship, nature, and family. Taniguchi perhaps excels at giving the reader the a sumptuous visual world of the ordinary (here: Western Japan, 1963).
As you expect with Taniguchi, the plot or dramatic tension in the story lurks so quietly in the background you'd forget about it: namely, how can the protagonist Hiroshi prevent his father from abandoning the family. Instead, this volume gives us small, flawless vignettes of jr. high school violence, love, drinking, and noisy parents. The scene where the character makes a connection with his father is sure to impress even the most cynical reader. Again, the story here is minimal. But that's why you should read Taniguchi. He has a slow and gentle style of storytelling. Very little flash, but a lot of slow sizzle. I look forward to volume 2.
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