In a series in which most of the “people” are androids, there are still humans on the planet. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Deluxe Edition Volume 4 spends some time with the other people in Alpha’s life.

But first Alpha and Kokone take a trip which both she and I read as a date. Alpha plays in the snow. Meruko scouts the competition. We meet a new human and can see that Maki is no longer a child, and Takahiro is planning on leaving, ready to be a man.

The days themselves pass, with joy, wonder melancholy and sometimes, whether it be a mysterious record, the flight of a bird-like ship passing over in the sky, or mysterious black sugar, Alpha touches something deep and moving in the world, feeling it intensely.

Time marches on, people, come and go, but Alpha is running her cafe, for now, and welcoming guests as they pass through. Very likely, we will never know the answers to the questions this series poses but it doesn’t matter. Have a cup of coffee, contemplate life and watch the grass blow.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 1 pinups of Alpha are drawn with love, not service
Yuri – 6

Overall – 9

The final volume is headed our way in August. I’m as ready for the end of the world as I can be.

In Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Volume 3, Alpha, an android, can see that time passes – and so can we. The adult humans she knows have gotten older, the children she played with are now young adults. There are fewer and fewer people. At her cafe, which never managed more than a few visitors on most days, now goes many days without anyone coming by. 

And yet, Alpha is mostly content to enjoy her time, sipping coffee, exploring the local area, until a crisis pushes her to leave the cafe behind and go on an extended tour of as much of the country as she can visit on foot in about a year.  While she is gone, we learn more about Alpha from Kokone’s discussions with the professor who was part of the design team than we even learned from Alpha herself.  However, like the end of humanity, there are still many holes in that story…we are unlikely to get them all filled in.

In this volume we learn, too, that Kokone truly has no room for anyone other than Alpha in her heart. And, while Alpha treasures Kokone as a friend, she’s not thinking about anyone that much…not even the owner she used to be waiting for.  She’s pleased with the small joys of existence; eating a giant chestnut, meeting a new android, finding a new place to stay and work. We also learn that Meruko is interested in Kokone, but is rejected for Alpha.

As nature takes over the landscape, and humans pass out of existence…how much longer will the androids exist without humans to need them? Nai’s plane will need fuel and Alpha needs beans for her coffee. Who would Kokone deliver to? I assume Meruko would probably make art regardless of whether she had an audience, as artists often do.

It’s hard to feel anything other than the melancholy of the passing age, in between the small joys here. What will life look like when the humans are gone? And how can we get to a point where this gentle twilight is humanity’s end instead of what we appear to be headed towards?

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 1 pinups of Alpha are drawn with love, not service
Yuri – 6

Overall – 9

Yokohama Shopping Log, Volume 4 is out now from Seven Seas. Come for the coffee and company. Relax and enjoy the end of the humanity.

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.