Insomniacs After School is a slice-of-life manga about two high school students, Ganta and Isaki, who suffer from insomnia and bond over their shared interest in astronomy. In volume 12, they attend a festival with their friends and decide to challenge the “Seven Bridges”, a local legend that says if you cross seven bridges in one night, you will be granted a wish. Along the way, they encounter various obstacles and surprises, such as a haunted house, a fireworks show, and a confession. The volume ends with a cliffhanger that leaves the readers wondering about the fate of Ganta and Isaki’s relationship.
The volume is a fun and heartwarming read that showcases the characters’ growth and friendship. The art is detailed and expressive, capturing the atmosphere of the festival and the emotions of the characters. The story is well-paced and engaging, balancing comedy, drama, and romance. Fans of the series will enjoy this volume and look forward to the next one.
As beloved as this series has become for me, I do think it might have sliced its life a little thinner than usual with this entry. Oh, it’s still very good, with some brilliant little touches, but it’s not suffused with either drama or romance much.
There are two standout moments here. The first is when Ganta and Isaki go walking over a bridge and the scene is repeated over and over to show the passage of time. It’s a nice visual and really well done. The downside there is that we really jump ahead in time, which means we miss a bunch of moments. I refuse to believe nothing happened in that interim, but the story hasn’t truly budged while the characters have aged.
Similarly, when Isaki stands up to her mother, who is adamant that Isaki attend college near the hospital, there is a very touching representation of Isaki turning into an adult that was very sweet. Her mom is stubborn, but believably so.
Otherwise, there’s a lot of being around friends and taking in festivals - those floats truly are really dang cool - and some general hanging out that is a lot of fun, although, yes, I couldn’t really recall who was who beyond our leads.
The bridge challenge is a pretty enjoyable interlude, although I wish it had gone a bit harder on the ending. Its expected climax wasn’t surprising, but I wanted to hear a little more of the rationale.
It’s mostly a lot of asides and planning for the future, but there’s just not enough oomph or drive to it and the series does love its quiet moments. As a result, there are a few too many this time.
That’s a little disappointing, honestly, as I’d hoped this would maintain its impressive string of perfection, but not every manga can be Frieren. At the very least, the next arc in Osaka seems to be shaping up to be interesting.
4 stars - I mean, there’s probably enough to give it a 4.5, but either way it isn’t enough to get the rounded up score on Goodreads’ archaic system. Worthwhile, as always, but not quite there for me.
This manga continues to be vague and slow, though also thoughtful without always expressing its thoughts. I find it interesting, but it does seem a bit thin.
We spend most of this series reading about their first year in high school, then second year starts and now a time jump happens and we skip to their third year?! Everyone’s talking about future plans and college… I don’t really like time skips but I did like seeing the panels for those 4 seasons that passed. It was a cute way of doing a time skip. This is my least favorite part of school life stories… the studying and the figuring out college stuff. It’s so blah and boring.
Quelle peintre des atmosphères cette Makoto Ojiro. A chaque tome, je suis soufflée par la façon dont elle capture les moments, les instants et ça ne retourne le coeur.
A l’image de cette couverture très chaleureuse et estivale, nous allons suivre notre petit couple dans leur dernier été tranquille avant d’avoir à prendre des décisions, l’occasion parfaite pour profiter de ce que cette saison a à offrir, comme les célèbres festivals estivaux réputés jusqu’en Europe. L’autrice nous propose donc de les suivre le temps d’une soirée magique avec leurs amis, une soirée où chaque temps est posé à travers l’appareil d’Isaki et les pinceau de la mangaka, pour un rendu magique. On partage ainsi nous aussi l’éphémérité et la magie de ce moment, son côté traditionnel mais aussi actuel avec cette bande d’amis dont on ressent parfaitement les sentiments chaleureux les uns envers les autres, et leur amusement et joie de vivre est ainsi des plus communicatives. Ils se construisent des souvenirs en direct devant nous ! Que j’aime la magie de ces instants si simple mais rendus inoubliable par l’autrice.
Le retour à la réalité est ainsi atténué, et l’autrice le fait très bien avec un joli diorama des saisons qui passent avant de reparler de nouveaux sujets qui fâchent. Elle fait évoluer son couple tout en montrant son absence de changement et donc sa solidité dans le temps. Ils sont littéralement fait l’un pour l’autre, sans chichi ni exagérations, juste comme ça, simplement. Les questions qu’ils se posent sont donc évidentes et naturelles, elles aussi : que faire après le lycée ? où ? ensemble ou pas ? Et les points de tension sont logiques aussi : que faire par rapport à la maladie d’Isaki ? comment vaincre la réticence de sa mère inquiète ? Il n’y a ici aucun mélodrame exagéré, tout sonne simple et juste dans la façon dont les questions sont abordées. L’autrice se sert avec simplicité mais magie de ce quotidien qu’ils vivent chaque jour au détour d’un couloir de lycée, d’un hall d’hôpital, d’une vitrine d’agence immobilière. Et ainsi peu à peu, ils se construisent, naturellement et simplement. C’est juste beau et touchant.
Avec une justesse et une simplicité rare, Makoto Ojiro continue de bâtir ici probablement l’une des plus belles et sobres relation adolescente que j’ai pu lire. En peintre des atmosphères, elle saisit avec magie chacun des petits instants simples qu’ils vivent pour les amener à grandir sans chichi, entourés d’amour et d’amitié, dans un cadre chaleureux et rassurants qui les aide à se construire. C’est simple, c’est beau, c’est magique et cette manière qu’elle a de capturer sobrement cela sous ses crayons me va droit au coeur !
La parte più interessante di questo volume è sicuramente il piccolo salto temporale che ci mostra i nostri protagonisti in procinto di diplomarsi. Ganta e Magari non sono più parte del club di astronomia e devono decidere cosa fare del loro futuro - la questione università è chiaramente al centro dei loro pensieri. I due sembrano anche intenzionati a cercarsi un appartamento da condividere, visto che nessuno dei due si allontanerà troppo da casa. O così sembra. A dispetto dell'opposizione della madre, Magari vuole scegliere in autonomia: da un lato, la preoccupazione di sua mamma è assolutamente comprensibile, ma dall'altro, ho apprezzato lo spirito indipendente della ragazza - è vero, c'è da fare i conti con una malattia, però, anche se lontana da casa, non mancano le strutture ospedaliere affiliate con quella presso cui è in cura solitamente. Il mondo al di fuori della sua piccola bolla è enorme ed è giusto che la ragazza non si precluda alcuna possibilità. E così, Ganta, Magari e compagnia cantante sono pronti a fare un piccolo viaggio ad Osaka per valutare nuove opzioni. Anche il discorso di Ganta riguardo il senso di tristezza che prova al pensiero di terminare la scuola e di doversi separare dagli altri, è comprensibile - ovviamente ci sono tutti i mezzi possibili per rimanere in contatto, ma non si potrà più passare tutto il tempo insieme agli amici (ed alcuni sono amici di una vita) e quindi il rapporto è destinato inevitabilmente ad evolversi. Si faranno nuove conoscenze ed esperienze, però capisco bene le sensazioni del ragazzo. Siamo ormai quasi alla fine, vediamo cosa proporranno gli ultimi due volumi.
A slice of life story about five friends (3 girls, 2 boys) in high school. There's a festival, with floats and a parade at night. There's a challenge where they try to cross the town's seven bridges without making a sound. They're studying for tests, and the biggest stakes isn't passing the test but finding a quiet place in the school to study. They're also nearing the end of high school and some are coming to the realization that their friend group is going to split as they all head off to college. Magari, the sick girl, challenges her over-protective mother, but also recognizes that it comes love and worry; her mother acknowledge that as much as she worries about Magari's health, she must let her daughter live the life she wants. And the friends organize a trip to universities, and they're shy about calling hostels over the phone to ask for student discounts.
Those are the challenges and stakes. Recommended if you want a nice, cozy story about a group of high school students just going about their ordinary, mundane lives.
Cette série reste fidèle à son atmosphère douce et contemplative. Le scénario, bien que simple, transmet toujours autant d'émotions. Nos héros se préparent pour leur avenir : entre visites d'universités et examens, ils s'apprêtent à entrer dans l'âge adulte. Toutes les interrogations liées à cette période de transition sont délicatement évoquées.
Ganta et Isaki forment toujours un couple attachant. Leur relation évolue naturellement, empreinte d'écoute et de bienveillance. La force de caractère d'Isaki face à sa maladie est admirable, tout comme sa détermination à vivre et à réaliser ses rêves. Ces pages nous offrent une véritable leçon de vie.
Le texte se fait parfois discret, laissant les illustrations parler d'elles-mêmes et transmettre émotions et messages dans un silence éloquent. Les dessins, finement détaillés, révèlent des paysages soigneusement travaillés et des personnages expressifs.
En aquest volum hi hagut un salt en el temps força inesperat i una mica caòtic... Seguim amb els mateixos problemes que ja se'ns havien presentat: la tria d'estudis i universitats. El club passa a un segon terme mentre que la parella segueix junta, però sense gaire sensació de progrés. Especialment gerra d'aigua freda la ruta incompleta dels set ponts... Dels volums més fluixos per falta de profunditat i de comunicació :(
the time jump is a little bit disappointing because I really want to see more stories from the friend group, and also the newbie members, not to mention the first summer trip episode was really fun. But in a way, it's kinda understandable. There's a sense the author is about to wrap up the story, what with the stakes being gone, and personal conflicts being resolved. So, maybe it's intended to be?
Magari finalmente avrà modo di affrontare sua madre riguardo alla decisione di andare ad un università distante da casa visto che ha desiderio di voler vedere il mondo e veder forse realizzato il proprio futuro. Nel frattempo i compagni di classe si organizzano per poter andare a visitare altre università. Il futurp sta per essere delineato...
Really well executed vomume. The fear of leaving behind school life, the uncertainty of what comes next, the fighting spirit of Magari, the never ending worries of her mother, all is so beautifully human. While this volume has no amazing starry panels. The character progression and cute little details make more than up for it. Really excited for the last two Volumes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The crossing of the seven bridges at night with friends was perhaps one of the most magical moments in the entire series. I loved how Issaki pulled back at the last moment just when she and Ganta was about to successfully complete the quest. She was afraid to even hope of having a long life given her illness. This was such a well portrayed insight into Isshaki's state of mind.
AH unexpected time skip. This one had some really sweet moments. I am sad, though, that we are not going to actually get any of the dynamic of them being older mentors to the younger students introduced last volume. I GUESS we can't just leisurely stroll through this world forever, but it would have been nice to see more than just a sliver.
4/5 Ha sido demasiado bonito. Me encantó como con los dibujos enseñase como pasaba el tiempo. La relación de Ganta e Isaki es demasiado bonita y me encanta como ha evolucionado. Necesito saber como sigue, me está encantando demasiado todo.
I loved every moment but I am getting more and more nervous for her health and whether she’ll get to have the future she wants. This fear is hitting too close to home, but the beauty of this series and these characters brings me back regardless.
I’m starting to get the feeling we might be getting to the end of this series and I’m feeling sad. I like all the emotions in this one and the reflections about what life after high school will look like.
The first half had a lot of beautiful art but not much to the story. I loved how it ended with hope and perseverance for their futures. It was a really nice touch to the story, they are looking ahead.
This volume didn't add much to the overall story. There were a couple of cute moments and I think the time skip will help with moving the story forward without adding icky drama to keep you interested. Gonna keep reading.
There's a weird time-skip in this one that just felt really awkward, so it loses a star, but it's still a really good, solid, sweet slice-of-life/romance manga overall. <3