Un extraño en la playa ~ Umibe no Étranger

春風のエトランゼ / Harukaze no Étranger #0.5

by Kanna Kii, Christian Caccioppoli (traducción)

Hace unos años, en Okinawa, Shun Hashimoto, un escritor gay novato, conoció a Mio Chibana, un estudiante de secundaria muy callado. Después de perder a sus padres, Mio solía sentarse en un banco cerca de la casa de Shun a ver el océano hasta bien entrada la noche. Lentamente, se volvieron cercanos, pero de repente Mio tiene que abandonar la isla para continuar con sus estudios. Tres años después, él regresa a Okinawa y, después de tanto tiempo sin verse, se da cuenta que está enamorado de Shun. ¿Podrán finalmente dar el siguiente paso en su relación?

Genres: Manga, Romance, LGBT, Queer, Yaoi, Comics, Graphic Novels

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2014

About the author

Kanna KII 紀伊カンナ is a Japanese manga artist.

Reviews

[Ray Flores · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy, talk about things that are a waste of time.

This BL not only disappointed me but it also made me quite mad. Reasons why:
-They are in their 20s yet they look like children. All of them.
-I thought this was going to be about self-discovery and first love but their romance is not believable at all. They don’t even show us why they like each other.
-When someone doesn’t want to be physically intimate with you, you just don’t force it. Some people might not want to have sex at all and that’s OK. You, as a partner, should respect that.
-Once again, like almost every god damn BL, relies on the miscommunication trope and I’m sick of it. Seriously. A relationship is way better when you learn to express what you feel instead of just overthinking and create a whole scenario in your head.
-The female characters in the story are obnoxious and are kinda just there to bring some meaningless drama.

Honestly, I don’t get why BLs like these get an animated adaptation when there are way better stories out there. I’m not going to continue with the series. I’m just too old for this shit.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried so hard to like this story, but I just can't.

The overwhelmingly glowing reviews both here and in general online are baffling me; I feel like I'm missing something everyone else is seeing, which is why I gave in and picked up the manga, even though I didn't really enjoy the anime. Maybe the manga would add more depth, I thought, or maybe I just hadn't been in the right mood the first time I tried the anime. But no. I can't connect to this love story at all.

The main positive is that this is a genuinely beautiful book. The production value alone is high quality and gorgeous - lovely page feel, and a nicely supple binding. (Good job, Seven Seas.) Add in the wonderfully lush details and elaborate backgrounds, with a lot more purely artistic effort than plenty of manga in this genre has, and this seems like a book that I'd utterly fall into and adore. But the story is so thin and so utterly lacking in any chemistry. No amount of pretty art can fix that.

Like other manga I've read, this started out as a short story that got expanded into a full book, then a series. Sometimes that's more visible than others, and it may help to explain why the initial confession kinda comes out of nowhere, with no buildup.

I liked the opening, and the quiet, lonely quality of Mio sitting on a bench by the sea and Shun watching him, day after day, pining for him but never intending to say a thing. The first misunderstanding comes when Mio calls Shun "creepy" for the way he looks at him, but it turns out that Mio just meant he was sick of people pitying him because he'd lost his parents. He and Shun talk a little and have one meal together - with Shun's aunt and a couple of his friends - and then Mio says he's leaving the island the next day to live in a group home, and he grabs Shun by the hand, kisses him on the cheek, and promises to call him.

Then, for three years, he never does. He writes one postcard congratulating Shun on a writing award, but otherwise, he's just some guy who spent literally one day talking to Shun and then left.

That could still be an interesting start of a love story, especially since Shun's dealing with what seems like some internal homophobia (or at least a deep fear of anyone ever truly loving him back), and Mio has a lot to figure out in his own life. I would've liked to see some slow, steady growth as they fell in love and learned how to navigate a relationship together.

Instead, when Mio returns after three years, meeting his goal of being an adult who can finally pay his own way and make all his own decisions, he announces that he's moving in, he wants to date Shun, and is in love with him.

I just. I. What?

And that's really as much development as they get.

For the rest of the volume, they're dating but hardly ever kiss or show any affection, and Mio spends more time pestering Shun to have sex with him than actually getting to know him as a person. I do think that type of development is probably happening, because time is passing as Mio is getting used to island life and Shun is stressing over his deadlines, but all of it takes place off the page, so it hardly counts.

Then Shun's ex-fiancee shows up to tell him his estranged father is sick and he should "come home" to mend fences before it's too late, which leads to a few jealousy issues on Mio's part, and drama that just wasn't necessary and didn't really work.

There's no real space given to Shun dealing with the trauma of being cut off from his family for telling them (on the day of his arranged marriage wedding) that he was gay. That would be an interesting story to unpack, but...we don't really get that story. We don't get much of anything.

And then, when Sakurako is leaving, after saying multiple times that she knew all along Shun was gay and she has no intention of trying to win him back, she asks Shun to kiss her goodbye one last time. Mio, thinking that Shun is seriously considering it, gets jealous and kisses her first, then gets mad at Shun??

I hated this scene. HATED it. It's not funny or cute for Mio to kiss Shun's ex, and if he can get mad at Shun for it, then how does he not understand that it's cheating on his part, too?

There are a few nice scenes sprinkled in here and there, and I liked that there was a (totally underused) side lesbian couple. I thought it was interesting, too, that Shun's aunt took him and these other girls in, so she's obviously very cool with the LGBTQA+ community. That tiny supportive community reminded me a little bit of Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Vol. 1....which really just put this manga's issues in perspective and made me even less satisfied with it.

Honestly, it's a mess. Weird, choppy pacing, no visible character growth, dramatic unexplained personality changes (grown up Mio is so different from the quiet sad boy who sat by the sea and mourned his mother), and tons of ideas and threads that don't really go anywhere.

I've heard that the second volume is better, so maybe I'd try it again once that's out, but I just don't know. It doesn't seem worth it.

I wonder if this one's just popular right now because it got an anime. (And how did that happen, anyway. I've read plenty of manga with better stories and far more interesting characters.)

The final weird thing, for me, is the character design. Both Shun and Mio are in their 20s after the 3 year timeskip, but everyone is drawn with such extreme babyface that they look years younger. I think it's just the artist's style, which is a shame, because the detail otherwise is really top-notch.

I think this one's gotta be a pass for me. I tried it twice, both animated and on the page, and despite my best efforts, I just could not enjoy it. There's better manga out there. I'll put my attention towards finding the next one.

[MaDoReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sería un 3,5 que redondeo al alza por el dibujo estupendo de Kii Kanna (es un estilo aniñado que puede no gustar, advierto) y la cuidada edición de MilkyWay. Habiendo leído Harukaze, se me queda algo corto, pero como siempre, me lo tomo más como una presentación de lo que está por venir, que es precioso *heart eyes*

Lo que me falla en este manga es el tempo, se nota mucho que la mangaka empezó haciendo una cosa y terminó haciendo otra distinta, ya lo dice en su nota final. El "enamoramiento" por parte de uno y otro me parece cogido con pinzas, es todo muy apresurado para mi gusto.

Cuquis lo son mucho, sobre todo Mio, que me parece un personaje tierno a más no poder, una vez que se entrega, lo hace al cien por cien, es él el que mueve y sacude esa relación. En cambio, las dudas y miedos de Shun aunque entendibles, le hacen parecer cortante cuando sólo se está protegiendo de algo que cree que le puede hacer daño y eso me hizo empezar a quererle ya en la secuela.

Os recomiendo que leáis Harukaze al terminar éste, me parece bastante mejor y es genial ver como la relación de Mio y Shun se va desplegando y los muros que Shun ha construido, se van cayendo.

Pd: gaticos everywhere ^^

[Phu · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Vô tình xem qua một đoạn cut Anime chuyển thể trên facebook thấy thích nên mình đọc. Nhân vật dễ thương, mình thích nét vẽ của tác giả, mỗi ô truyện được vẽ background chi tiết và đẹp, và chỉ có thế.



Mình hiểu câu chuyện của Shun và của Mio có một phần kết nối họ với nhau. Nhưng xuyên suốt truyện mình không thích cách sắp xếp diễn biến truyện thế này, mình không thấy được rõ điều gì đặc biệt trong mối quan hệ của Shun với Mio hết (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)  thay vì có điều gì đó thì lại là mấy thứ liên quan tới tình dục.

[L Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I watched this anime a few months ago and fell in love with the art style, the character designs, and the overall laid back breezy feel of the story. The story itself was a little discombobulated but I thought that if I actually read the manga it would make more sense and deliver the satisfying ending that seemed to be lacking from the anime.

Well, it didn't.

I feel terrible saying this but this story just isn't very good. Mio's and Shun's relationship never felt real and I honestly have no idea why they were together. After not seeing or speaking to him for three years Mio shows up, out of the blue, declaring his love for Shun and Shun doesn't seem to want to acknowledge him at all. We then see several failed attempts by Mio to have sex with Shun, but not a single instance of the two of them acting like they actually enjoy being in each other's presence, much less being in love. Every time they were together Shun was either too distracted or too tired to give Mio any real attention.

I'm really disappointed because I wanted to like this. I'm willing to overlook a lot but I can't overlook an entire relationship. Perhaps if we were given more everyday scenes in which they did normal things together like eating, cuddling, or enjoying a movie together their relationship would've felt more believable. As is presented it's hard to even imagine them letting loose and laughing at something together.
2 stars

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely an interesting manga series that follows Shun and Mio who originally meet when Mio is younger. When Mio goes off to school, Shun is forced to continue with his life and move on. Several years later, Mio returns and is determined to begin a relationship with Shun. Not surprisingly, Shun tells Mio how life and relationships don't work like that. Over the course of the rest of the manga, readers get to see the characters get to know each and attempt to work through their relationship. I think the most difficult thing to get past in this initial volume is Mio's inability to really understand and respect the boundaries that Shun has set up. While there is an attraction on Shun's side, it's clear that time has allowed him to move on so he's not as inclined to jump into a relationship. In fact, Mio presses Shun to the point that it may make some readers a little uncomfortable. Nevertheless, it is an interesting insight to what may appear to be a complex relationship.

[Repellent Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque realmente serían unas tres estrellas, le voy a poner las cuatro porque me ha flipado el dibujo. También me han encantado, tanto la trama como los personajes. ¿Cuál es el problema entonces? Pues que se dan temas bastantes interesantes y que necesitaban mayor profundidad en único tomo, cuando la historia que se cuenta en este tomo daba para por lo menos tres más. Entonces, al pasar los acontecimientos de forma tan rápida, te permite disfrutarlo menos.

Pero lo bueno es que, como tuvo éxito, la autora sacó una segunda parte, compuesta de 3 tomos y eso es una maravilla <3

Shun y Mio son muy monos y muy adorables <3

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't love everything about this, but it is a really good manga. I agree with Sherry that the initial confession happened a bit too fast but considering it was initially supposed to be a short story that probably can't be helped. I liked the way they tried to navigate their relationship afterwards, and I liked that it didn't really matter who the seme or the uke was. I would've preferred if Mio wasn't "normally into girls", but at least Shun was gay and there was an actual lesbian couple.

I liked the art - it fit the story, but I realized lately I've grown a bit tired of this cute and sweet style. That's a matter of personal taste though.

I was really happy when it was announced that Tokyopop had licensed this. There are (inmho) better manga published by the same magazine, but it manages to combine sweetness and seriousness in a way that's not that often to be found in the BL that's currently being published in Germany. Understandably publishers mostly focus on safe bets and big names, so I'm happy about this release.

[_.eameli · Rating 5 out of 5]

هم انیمه ش قشنگ بود و هم مانگاش محشره
خیلی دوسش دارم.
در همه جا دنیا عشق وجود داشته.
عشق میان یک زن و یک مرد ولی همیشه این طور نیست
داستان ما عشق میان دو پسره
یک پسر نویسنده و یک پسر به شدت کیوت آروم با گذشته ای تلخ.

[Daesy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much drama....so boring.

[emmyway · Rating 3 out of 5]

знаете, я читала эту мангу раза три и вот только сейчас я наконец-то могу полноценно сказать, почему я продолжаю к ней возвращаться, хотя не понимаю, что в ней такого.

во-первых, мне нравится её летняя атмосфера, которую все-таки не смогло угробить очень странное отрывистое повествование. я вспоминаю экранизацию и сочные цвета в пейзажах острова и прям чувствую этот запах моря.

во-вторых, повседневные моменты отношений. да, любовная линия тут просто обнять и плакать, но у меня в подкорке сохранилась сцена первого раза мио и шуна, то насколько она нежная и неловкая, как это обычно и бывает. сам мио мне очень нравится, он просто хорошик сам по себе и его хочется сжать как сквиш /ш

в-третьих, экранизацию этой манги мы посмотрели с моей девушкой когда встретились впервые. и для меня это тоже такой важный кусочек, потому что не так много тайтлов я могу привязать к каким-то очень важным событиям в своей жизни.

все остальное здесь, к сожалению, скорее расстраивает. после прочтения тысячи BL-тайтлов «незнакомец у моря» кажется настолько никаким, что к нему даже не подберешь никакого эпитета. вся эта линия с шуном и его семьёй, с его невестой — хочется спросить а к чему это было? мангака никак не исследует тему гомофобии, хоть и поднимает её в истории шуна, да и сам шун здесь конечно никакой. я могу понять, почему он полюбил мио, но за что мио полюбил шуна понять не могу.

я читала продолжение этой манги, и помню что мне оно до определённого момента нравилось, больше, чем эта часть. что ж, я попробую перечитать, надеюсь, не разочароваться 😭

[Nit d'Estiu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Esse mangá não é uma red flag, ele é o pacto de Varsóvia inteiro. O amor entre os protagonistas não se justifica, não há desenvolvimento de personagens, tudo ocorre insanamente rápido, ninguém se comunica direito, todos os problemas daqui poderiam ter sido resolvidos com uma terapia, há muita homofobia internalizada e até mesmo explícita, chantagens psicológicas ridículas, personagens femininas que são o puro suco do machismo personificado, um quase aceno à pedofilia com a escolha por uma caracterização extremamente infantilizada de personagens adultas que são sexualizadas. Que perda de tempo terrível. Quem gosta de algo assim deveria seriamente repensar seus conceitos de relacionamento e amor.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not amazing, not bad. The characters were really cute and the art style is beautiful, but the speech bubbles were terribly positioned, which made it almost impossible to distinguish who was saying what.

[Shu Wei Chin · Rating 4 out of 5]

*ugly crying noises*

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I'm feeling a bit unsure of how I feel about this. This was a bit of a strange reading experience in that this did not feel much like a romance?

I had two slightly major issues with this manga. The first is that I just didn't really root for the romance? Both Mio and Shun are sweet and I enjoyed their characters but as a couple I just didn’t connect to their relationship. It felt a bit bland and eh for me. It also felt like it came out of left field. I think this manga could have been better if there was more of a slowburn, but Mio returns and 0.5 seconds later the two are together (even though Shun at first seems to not be interested?). I think it would've been more interesting to watch these two as good friends for longer and then slowly realize their feelings and get into a relationship (but I digress, I am not the author). Also, the whole sex thing in this was...something else. [MINOR SPOILER], but I think this manga could have done without Mio constantly hounding Shun about having sex for almost the entirety of this damn volume.

My other issue was the side characters. There were so many introduced and yet none of them felt solid. They felt like very one dimensional people and I think most of them could have had more of an emotional impact or more importance for the story. I expected more of a found family dynamic, and I think this could have been more enjoyable if it had that element.

However, I do want to reiterate that I feel pretty unsure about this volume. Yes there were things I didn’t enjoy, but I think they are things that are very subjective and don't really impact the story itself. Overall, I'm giving this 3.5 stars. Not awful, and this is a series I want to finish because I think I'll really enjoy the rest of the volumes.

[Tar Buendía · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tenía que pasar. En algún momento una publicación de Milky Way no me gustaría. Estadística pura y aquí estamos.

En mi humilde opinión este manga no es una basura. Tiene bastantes virtudes y es bonito pero luego tiene cosas que me han chirriado a tope.

De primeras nunca dejan clara la diferencia de edad entre los protagonistas. Asumo que Shun es joven pero lo único que sé de él es que rechazó un matrimonio concertado en el altar, cosa que me quieren hacer creer que es bonita porque la chica tal o cual, meh. Y que se enamora de un niño, de unos 16 años asumo, que mira al mar todos los días en el mismo banco. Empezando por aquí ya íbamos mal. Amor instantáneo absoluto, sin haber hablado más que una vez en una conversación ridícula.

Es cierto que no tienen nada juntos mientras Mio es menor de edad. Pero igual me dejó con la espinita.

Luego ya empezamos con los "¿te has acostado con mujeres?" "Por supuesto, aunque sea gay sigo siendo un hombre" que ¿? Y el tema de "yo no soy gay, lo que pasa es que me gustas tú".

La ex de Shun no tiene ningún sentido como personaje.

Así que tenemos dos chicos que en teoría están enamorados, porque son guapos, que están casi todo el tiempo enfadados y que para colmo tienen mal sexo.

Yo no sé, pero creo que mi definición del amor y la de Kanna Kii están a años luz.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Reread 3/25/2022*
Decided to revisit this because it's been a while and I'm not sure if I read the second one or not since I read a fan translation the first time. I'll definitely have to check out the movie soon cause I'm sure I'll like it. I feel pretty the same. It's a cute and quiet story. It really does have an island feel to it.

*Original Review 11/22/2020*
This felt very similar to the other story I read by the author, but it's really cute and it's got a soft, quiet, serious tone to it.

[Nea Poulain · Rating 4 out of 5]

El dibujo es adorable y me encantó leerlo. Qué bonito es.

[Sarah (menace mode) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ngl this had me in the first half when I read Mio was underage, but god bless a good time skip 😤 super cute and I’m excited to see their relationship ✨develop✨

[Irs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo que más me ha gustado es, sin duda, el ambiente de verano que hay en todo el manga, porque tengo un soft point con las historias al lado de una playa, y que tiene un dibujo muy bonito y placentero a la vista, pero me ha faltado un poco de character development, y de desarrollo de la relación en sí. Todo comienza el día en que Mio y Shun se conocen, pero las circunstancias les separan por unos cuantos años y comienzan entonces lo que aquella vez se quedó en punto muerto. Es un trope más que usado, pero bien llevado puede dar lugar a algo bonito y tierno, y sin duda esto lo es, pero no me ha aportado mucho más que una historia dulce sin muchas pretensiones. Pero no puedo negar que me ha parecido adorable, el dibujo es un plus y para una historia de encuentros y desencuentros no está mal, así que le dejo buena nota y estaré pendiente de esta autora.

[DetectiveGrapa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Está historia me ha dejado con un sabor agridulce, he amado completamente el arte de la autora y a los personajes, pero al mismo tiempo, siento que la obra se desarrolló demasiado rápido para el tiempo que podría haberse demorado en construir un poco mejor la historia. Aún así me ha gustado muchísimo la historia y creo que me compraré el artbook

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, this is the first book that I read in the boys' love section, and also the first movie that I watched in that area. Expect me to say that this is really good because it hooked me and was literally obsessed with it. I love the overflowing fight for the balance of angst and fluff—and a push-pulling Shun. It's so realistic! I understand why he's like that. He's older and knows better. And I love how Mio came back all grown up and had nothing in mind but to build a relationship with that man. I mean, man, don't hurt the poor guy!

And expect me to say that this is phenomenal for me because it opened my eyes, that maybe homo relationships can really survive (I already finished the sequels, and yes, this review is late). So, I'm really thankful for this series.

By the way, Kii Kanna's art?! I spent a month trying to move on! I love her art so much that I find it hard to digest other manga and anime!

[Bee (BacchusVines) · Rating 5 out of 5]

September 2022
I'm glad I re-read this manga. I really do love Shun and his super introverted life. And Mio is complimentary to Shun's attitude. Those two falling in love seems inevitable. And the next volume definitely delivered on that heart-bumping romance.



Sept 2019
I love how cute this manga is, and how lovely the love interests are. The next volume is promising more fun and heart beats :D

[Michael Schmid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hat mir gut gefallen, auch wenn mir zum Schluss etwas die Tiefe gefehlt hat und auch sonst einige Schritte sehr schnell gegangen sind xD aber für einen Kurzmanga verständlich oo Dafür liebe ich den Zeichenstil und auch sonst hat das Lesen sehr viel Spaß gemacht! :D

[Lucy Westenra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regularcilla! Tierna, melancólica y con un gay-for-you un poco extraño.

[Demian · Rating 5 out of 5]

god

[Bookbringer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, I never started to care.

[Jannika · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🏳️‍🌈
Cuuuute 😭

[quim]

👍👍👍👍👍 lo japonés vuelve a ocupar toda mi cabeza

[reading_or_this. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miscommunication trop, questionable age gap, toxic relationships and manipulations is a surprising mix. At least it looks good though!