Seinen Omoide Emanon by KAJIO Shinji and TSURUTA Kenji

[Kaiten]

Omoide Emanon (Memories of Emanon)
Written By: KAJIO Shinji
Art By: TSURUTA Kenji
Genre: Drama, Psychological
Serialized In: Comic Ryu
Scanlated By: Kotonoha

Based on the award-winning novel by Shinji Kajio, Memories of Emanon tells the story of a mysterious girl who holds a 3-billion-year old memory, dating back to the moment life first appeared on Earth.

A must read, don't get spoiled by the comments below. The entire story is less than 200p. Read it and comment!!

 

[igotthegoods]

Thanks, Kaiten, for recommending this beautiful, yet bittersweet story. I loved it! I'd highly recommend this to anyone as well (and it would make quite a good featured series for next month, I think ).

As I'm quite a nostalgic person, this manga really resonated with me. And the short length (only 1 volume) works perfect with the theme of the story. No matter how short an experience is, the impact can be large and the remaining memories are what is most important. Or, at least that's some of what I got out of it. I think it can be interpreted in different ways, especially the end. Very thought-provoking. I will certainly have to reread this one.

I should also mention the art, which is gorgeous. Some of the double-page spreads are just amazing!

Overall, a must-read for sure. ^^

 

[Kaiten]

Like you, I thought the brevity reinforced the themes of memory and loss. The narrator only spent one night with Emanon yet the memories lingered his entire life. The story only lasted 150 pages but it will stay with me for a very long time. I want more, just like he wanted to see her again.

I liked that the daughter, the new Emanon could see the beauty in her memories. While she was troubled on the boat ride, burdened by the weight of time, the younger one could see the bittersweet joy in the moment that can last forever, even as the narrator (was his name ever given, I might have missed it) was hoping that moment could come back.

 

[MattC302]

Hmm...I've been reading Wandering Emanon '67...there's no thread for it and I don't feel like making one, so I will just talk about it here.

Spoiler

I really liked the full color first part of this book, but mostly for the art. I'm feeling a bit more engaged in this second part and I am enjoying this conversation between Emanon and her brother/son. Do you guys think that Emanon sought out her brother/son because she felt bad about abandoning him? If she doesn't make peace now, she could suffer this bad memory for eternity.

---------- Post added May 07, 2012 at 12:25 AM ---------- Previous post was April 30, 2012 at 02:33 AM ----------

Just read the last two chapters of Wandering Emanon '67:

Spoiler

Whoa. The tone of this series changed drastically with these last two chapters. Frankly, I don't know how to feel about it. It's confusing because I've always thought it would be nice to have more "plot" in this series, but the main thing I like about this series is the somber, and laid back tone. Emanon has eternity to "wander", so no rush to have big events in the story, right?

Well, this is the end of this part of the series, but apparently, the books the manga is based on has more material to cover, so maybe we will see another part in the future. Hopefully soon, because this part of the manga was very intriguing.