*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.*
Actual Rating: 3.7
So I really enjoyed the film and when I saw that there was a manga adaptation of it, I knew I had to read it!
Suzume is a film by Makoto Shinkai (who also brought us the masterpiece Your Name). This one follows Suzume, a high school junior, who one day runs into a mysterious stranger asking for directions to the local ruins. The ruins are all that’s left of a community that was once full of life before it was wracked by a devastating earthquake. As Suzume sits in class, she suddenly feels another shake, and she sees a dark cloud rising from the ruins in the distance. Suzume runs there and tries to help…but accidentally loosens the key and opens up a hole in space and time (oops). And thus starts her little road trip across Japan with the mysterious stranger (who has now turned into a chair — yes, you read that right), trying to stop tragedy from striking again by getting the key back.
It’s going to be hard to separate the manga from the anime I’ve already seen, but I’m going to try.
The story is still extremely captivating, and while we’re only halfway through it, I think Suzume really is a perfect road trip story. There’s the clear overarching goal, but even more so there are the interesting characters she meets along the way. It’s all tied together by the very strong themes of collective trauma and generational loss.
In fact, the world-building is the best part. Shinkai’s stories have always been great at combining real world and fantasy, and Suzume might be the peak of that. The community element makes the story very touching, and I’m sure that Suzume’s personal story will be intertwined with it well.
Suzume is a likable and spunky character who is fun to follow, and the story is offering small but present hints of a backstory that I’m excited to get to. Shouta, the mysterious stranger is a nice companion, but I do find the characterization a bit thin. His chair-ness is good comic relief though, and it sort of gives the story a little bit of charismatic quirkiness.
On the art and pacing, I don’t have much to say about it. The art is great and the pacing is pretty good. It was a really quick read — as most manga is — and I’ll be reading Volume 2 for sure.