This one-shot is not all that it seems. Don't be fooled by all the rainbows. Like "World End Garden", this story has a range of emotions.
Oh! Here's a little explanation of the English title I chose.
"Nanairo no Mukou" literally means "the other side of the seven colors". In Japanese there is one word, "Nanairo", that describes the 7 prismatic colors. I though it would sound kind of goofy to call the one-shot "The Other Side of the Seven Prismatic Colors", so I chose "Rainbow" because that's what we call the 7 prismatic colors and rainbows are a key thematic element in this story.I really love the easy and fluid drawing style presented in this one-shot and felt inspired to make a wallpaper. I made is all watercolorly. Right click on the images below to download the wallpaper.
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And now on to the links!
Links to download "Nanairo no Mukou": (Zip) (PDF -- tablets and mobiles) Updating files...come back in 15-minutes.
My thoughts on this one-shot:
I really wanted Ryousuke to find his sister in Nijigahara. I wanted him to know that she was all right and for her to forgive him. But, I guess that would have been kinda cloying. Moving on...this story reminded a bit of "The Wizard of Oz", or should I more precisely say the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow". I always thought that was a song for very sad people because only people not satisfied with life in the real world dream of a better life in a world far away. In this story Ryousuke is probably near the lowest depth of childhood pain. His sister just died and his parents are splitting up and there's nothing Ryousuke can do about it. Consequently, he decides to run away from home and hopes that his parents notice. I don't like the message let at the end of this story that running away from home will bring families back together. Divorce is a hard thing, but it never has anything to do with the children and children can't do anything to bring their parents back together. I think, though, that importance of his running away is that Ryousuke did something. Good or bad, he made a statement and his parents finally took notice of him.
I really love the easy and free drawing style in this oneshot. Almost every page in this one-shot has the manga equivalent of beautiful cinematography. I want to spend the weekend relaxing in Nijigahara sleeping under trees and eating peaches. Nijigahara looks like the embodiment of spring to me.
Next up!
Next up is "Akagami no Shirayukihime" chapter 24 followed by the one-shot "3 Hearts". "3-Hearts" is a really beautifully drawn one-shot. I'm looking forward to releasing it :).
