In Volume 1 we met Alpha, an android who runs a small coffee shop in what once was Musahino, and is now a wind- and sand-swept landscape. Alpha’s owner left years ago, now she spends her days making coffee for the occasional guest at her cafe, and experiencing the world around her. In Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Deluxe Edition, Volume 2 we get to know more about Alpha and the people around her…and a tantalizing little bit about the twilight of humanity.
Alpha’s every day is filled with something, but it’s the somethings that fill a life when there is nothing particular to do. She goes to Yokohama to buy coffee beans (there aren’t that many left for sale), she meets the local ojisan, and the only remaining two children, Takehiro and Makki. Even so, Alpha can see that Takehiro is growing up, as time passes.
We get to see Kokone at work, and learn more about her, and then see her obsess about Alpha. They visit each other and pass the time together. Everything is quiet, here at the end of everything as we know it.
This is one of my favorite volumes, because we are introduced to Alpha playing the Moon Lute. In the second Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Drama CD, which I reviewed on Okazu back in 2007, we were able to hear Alpha vocalize to the Moon Lute and at that point, I had pretty much fallen in love with this series – much like Kokone, I had been completely charmed by Alpha.
But time passes here, and we get some tidbits from the old professor – and the ship that floats gracefully above the planet – about the fate of the people living on it. There is a soft melancholy that pervades this story and allows us to hold on to the high points as Alpha does, enjoying those ephemeral moments more than we might in our busy lives.
This is such a beautifully drawn book and so well-handled by Seven Seas. With all that space on the page, letterer Ludwig Sacramento is able to do retouch on the s/fx – something that I actually feel quite strongly about for this series. It is a series of silences, and few noises, so those noises are important. Daniel Komen’s translation and Dawn Davis’ adaptation make for a story that reads so smoothly, I had to slow myself down to savor the moments. Nicky Lim’s cover design is just beautiful. Thanks to everyone who worked on this at Seven Seas. It is one of my favorite series of all time and I am so glad it is getting the treatment it deserves.
Ratings:
Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 1 on principle, but for me, the pinup images of Alpha and Kokone are 10
Yuri – Kokone’s feelings about Alpha are certainly Yuri-adjacent
Overall – 9
If only the end of humanity was this gentle and quiet.
For years whenever manga publishers would poll for manga titles to license, I’d always put YKK on my list (except for one publisher whose chief editor voiced a difficult-to-understand dislike of the series).
So happy to have it available, now.
Same, same!
My memories are fuzzy after so long, but I remember a manga sampler published in English, probably by Dark Horse, that had the brief chapter where Alpha plays her lute atop that lonely street light. When that didn’t become a regular series, I gave up hope that it would ever be brought over here, and continued buying Kodansha’s Monthly Afternoon to get my fix while it lasted.
Still surprised and so, so happy that I get to buy such a great localization of a bittersweet, beautiful story.
My feelings exactly. I know this was never a hit series, but it is so lovely. I’m thrilled to have it!
“I know it was never a hit series” — wasn’t it? I guess it all depends on what you mean by “hit”. That was a different time, so what might constitute a “hit” might be different today, but it seemed to me everyone in the anime community wanted it to be licensed and brought over.
It seems to me that it was probably an excess of caution on the part of publishers — YKK was something of an iyashikei series before those proved their marketability here (though, did we ever get more than five volumes of the Aria manga?, despite multiple publishers’ attempts? Perhaps my view of their marketability is exaggerated).