Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Quasirandom (talk | contribs) at 18:40, 8 June 2007 (→‎Major characters: added detail, renamed section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō volume 1
GenreDrama, Science Fiction, Slice of life
Manga
Written byHitoshi Ashinano
Published byJapan Kodansha
Anime
Directed byTakashi Annō
StudioAjia-do Animation Works
Anime
Quiet Country Cafe
Directed byTomomi Mochizuki
StudioAjia-do Animation Works, SME Visual Works

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō (ヨコハマ買い出し紀行) is a science fiction manga written and drawn by Hitoshi Ashinano (芦奈野ひとし, Ashinano Hitoshi). The title translates to Yokohama Shopping Log. Some chapters and the second OAV have the subtitle Quiet Country Cafe, and in South Korea it is known as Café Alpha. 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 originally published by Kodansha in the magazine Afternoon alongside such famous manga as Oh My Goddess! and Blade of the Immortal. The first chapter was published in June 1994 and the final chapter, no. 140, in February 2006, with a concluding postscript episode published in May, 2006. Parts of the story were adapted into two OAV anime series of two episodes each.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō has been nominated for the 2007 Seiun Award for best science fiction comic.[1] The series is noted for its beautifully spare pen-and-ink drawing style, as well as its calm, meticulously paced stories and engaging characters.[2][citation needed] Some of the chapters have no dialogue at all, and in many stories the dialogue only amounts to a few lines. The author explains few details of the world, leaving curiosities to engage fans of puzzles, enigmas, and speculation. The seires unfolds in a meandering progression, by turns funny, touching and nostalgic.

Story

File:Cafe Alpha logo.png
Logo of Café Alpha

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō is set in a peaceful, post-cataclysmic world where mankind is in decline after an environmental disaster. What that disaster is, the reader is never told, but sea levels have risen significantly, inundating coastal cities such as Yokohama. The reduced human population has reverted to a simpler life, and the reader is told this is the twilight of the human age. Instead of raging against their fate, humans seems to have a quiet acceptance.

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 indefinte length. Though she spends much of her time alone, Alpha is cheerful, gregarious, sheltered, and—unlike the slowly declining humans—immortal.

Like most slice-of-life stories, the plot is low-key. Most chapters are self-contained episodes depicting Alpha in quotidian activities, either alone, with customers, or on occasional trips through the countryside or into Yokohama for supplies (from whence the "shopping log" of the title). However, the stories have continuity—relationships grow and change, and seemingly insignificant details reappear later.

One common episode structure involves the naive robot Alpha learning to navigate the human world around her. Through this device, the author brings out the small wonders of everyday life. Whole chapters are devoted to brewing coffee, taking photographs, or repairing tiny model aircraft engines. Through Alpha's experiences, the author 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.

Characters

  • Alpha Hatsuseno (初瀬野アルファ, Hatsuseno Arufa): A type A7M2 robot, one of only three production prototypes. She runs Café Alpha. Alpha has a surprising affinity with all sentient beings.
  • Ojīsan ("Uncle"): He is a grandfather figure to Alpha. He runs a gas station where Alpha fills up her scooter and is the actual grandfather of Takahiro. Refers to himself as a bum, and seems to have some regrets about not pursuing a relationship with Sensei.
  • Takahiro: The grandson of Ojīsan. He meets Alpha at age nine, and Alpha quickly takes to him as if he was a younger brother. He grows up through the story and eventually moves away at approximately age fifteen.
  • Misago ("Osprey"): A mystery woman who lives in the inlets and bays near Alpha's café. She is an ageless wild-woman who lives in the woods stark naked and eats fish she catches with her short fangs and impossibly fast movements. She will only show herself to young children, and shies away from contact with adults. She does not age, and is not aware that children grow up. She is regarded as somewhat of a mythical creature.
  • Sensei ("Doctor"): Ojīsan's senpai and a doctor for both humans and androids. She played a part in the creation of the A7 series of robots, and hosted Director Alpha in her home (and thus was presumably Director Alpha's "owner"). Her surname is Koumi'ishi (子海石), although she is always called by her title.
  • Kokone Takatsu (鷹津ココネ, Takatsu Kokone): A type A7M3 regular production type robot. She is the first other robot that Alpha meets, and they become fast friends. Kokone began to develop feelings for Alpha when she delivered a package (containing a camera from Alpha's "owner") to Alpha during the course of her job as a courier. Kokone is sweet, shy, and somewhat intellectual, an interesting counterpart to Alpha.
  • 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 land.
  • Makki: A girl several years younger than Takahiro. She likes Takahiro and is initially jealous of Alpha. As she gets older, she becomes closer to Alpha. Her name is actually Matsuki, but everyone seems to call her Makki.
  • Director Alpha: The A7M1 prototype of the A7 series, and thus the "older sister" to the other A7 robots. Both Director Alpha and Alpha, the main character, acquired their names because they were the initial models, or "alpha-types", of their robot series. She bears Sensei's last name "Koumiishi" and is a director on-board a stratospheric aircraft/spacecraft called Taapon.
  • Maruko Maruko: A type A7M3 robot with a rather prickly personality. She works as an artist and is unique in having changed her last name from her owner's to something she decided for herself. She likes Kokone and is often jealous of Alpha.
  • Nai: A (presumably A7M3) robot. He is unusual, as male robots rarely survived for unknown reasons. He flies a modified T-6 Texan aircraft and runs a delivery service. Nai is quiet and impassive.
  • Saetta: The young daughter of Makki and Takahiro. She is the latest character to meet the Misago.

Mysteries

  • What is the nature of the natural disaster that caused the world's oceans to rise?
  • A large portion of the top of Mount Fuji is missing.
  • It is unknown why robots were created or what their purpose is, since none are slaves or servants.
  • Plants used for food are oversized, or have exceptional yields.
  • Who is Alpha's owner, and where did he go?
  • Some plants are strangely reminiscent of manmade objects, such as luminescent plants that act as streetlamps.
  • What are the "water gods", strangely beautiful mushrooms with human faces, that have begun to grow in the wilds?
  • Are the human-like fungi and lamp-like trees really, as Alpha seems to think, the "recollections of people that the earth remembers"?
  • Why are male robots so rare?
  • Animals appear to have been engineered, such as the "Kamas", a flying fish that lives entirely outside water.
  • What is the purpose of the Taapon, and why is it never able to land?
  • Why will the Misago only show herself to children, and why is she unable to comprehend that they become adults?
  • Why are the humans in YKK's world dying out? Food seems plentiful and there are no apparent plagues. Or are they just fleeing Japan?

Curiosities

  • The A7 series of robots is named after a line of superior Japanese WWII warplanes that never saw production. The character Saetta's name may be inspired by an Italian WWII warplane built by Aeronautica Macchi, now known as Aermacchi.
  • Ashinano seems to be influenced by Chinese culture and myths. The gekkin guitar is of Chinese origin, and the Taapon aircraft is reminiscent of the myth of the great bird Peng.
  • Some personal names seem to be inspired by geography surrounding the Yokohama area. There is a bus stop named Koumiishi to the south of Hayama. Atsugi airfield is located in Ayase. There is a place called Maruko where Maruko's gallery is supposed to be.
File:YKK Koumiishi logo.svg
  • Sensei's surname is Koumi'ishi (子海石), "child-sea-stone." Her personal logo (which can also be seen on Director Alpha's pendant) is colored in ultramarine, the name of which was "born" from precious stones that came from overseas.

Publication

A total of 140 chapters have been published which have been collected into 14 tankōbon volumes by Kōdansha's Afternoon KC division. The series is in Japanese, and there are official Korean and Chinese editions. There are unofficial English, Russian, and French fan translations.

  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 1 (08/1995) ISBN 4063210502
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 2 (02/1996) ISBN 4063210553
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 3 (07/1996) ISBN 4063210618
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 4 (03/1997) ISBN 4063210669
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 5 (02/1998) ISBN 4063210812
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 6 (02/1999) ISBN 4063310952
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 7 (02/2000) ISBN 406321110X
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 8 (02/2001) ISBN 4063211207
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 9 (03/2002) ISBN 4063211347
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 10 (03/2003) ISBN 4063211479
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 11 (03/2004) ISBN 4063211592
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 12 (11/2004) ISBN 4063211657
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 13 (07/2005) ISBN 4063211711
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō 14 (05/23/2006) ISBN 4063211762

In addition, the July 2006 issue of Afternoon had a six-page postscript episode. This story (titled "Touge") does not have a chapter number and was not included in the final collection.

There is an artbook and a postcard book accompanying the manga series (ISBN 4063301966 and ISBN 4063300412).

There have also been two OAV anime series of two episodes each. The first OAV series was released in May 1998 and December 1998, and covers selected events from volumes 1–3. The second series was released in December 2002 and May 2003, covering events from volumes 7–8. In both serieses, Hekiru Shiina is Alpha's seiyū.

There was also a set of 3 Drama CDs.

References

  1. ^ "Japanese Science Fiction Con Award Nominees Announced". Retrieved 2007-06-08.
  2. ^ See, for example, "Review by Erica Friedman". Retrieved 2007-06-07.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yokohama_Kaidashi_Kikō&oldid=136882876"