コトノバドライブ(1)

Kotonoba Drive #1

by Hitoshi Ashinano

Suu-chan lives a laid back life, alternating her time between her part-time job and aimlessly riding on her bike, but occasionally she encounters mysterious scenery that engulfs her, always only for five minutes. (collects chapters 1 - 11)

Genres: Manga, Comics

Comic

First published January 25, 2014

About the author

Hitoshi Ashinano (芦奈野 ひとし, Ashitano Hitoshi) is a Japanese manga artist.
Prior to his professional debut as a solo cartoonist, Ashinano worked as an assistant to manga artist Kousuke Fujishima, while also releasing some doujinshi (amateur manga) under the pen name 'suke'.
Ashinano's comics are known for their contemplative, laid-back, nostalgic feel. His first and best-known series is Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō, a slice-of-life manga set in a post-apocalyptic world. The manga was serialised in Kodansha's comics magazine 'Monthly Afternoon' from 1994 to 2006, won the 2007 'Seiun Award for Best Science Fiction Manga' and was adapted into an anime.

Reviews

[Kite · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve long admired Ashinano Hitoshi for his slice-of-life masterpiece Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and his landscape eye candy Kabu no Isaki. His minimalistic art style won me over with his expressive strokes which gives a lighthearted aesthetic whenever I read his works. The relaxed pacing, the simple yet insightful characters, the calm world-building, this is evident in all his manga. While this includes Kotonoba Drive, it pales in comparison to his previous works.

I can’t help but feel disappointed that this manga was short-lived. Maybe if it was extended to another 50 chapters or so, it could have fleshed out things better. The characterization is fairly weak, leaving an unmemorable cast of characters that I could’ve been emotionally invested with. The world-building is there, but it still feels very mysterious and limited. It’s like getting a vacation in the countryside that ended prematurely. There were more places to visit, more people to get acquainted with, more mysteries to explore, more culture to experience, and so on. It didn’t really feel fulfilling at all.

Still, the manga still has its good parts. I like that it’s more surrealistic than the mangaka’s previous works. The 5-minute phenomenon the main character is experiencing daily is never given much justice, but it’s a unique thing to drive the story. I just wished I get to see more interesting variations of it that may end up playing an important role if the story was developed even further.

If you haven’t read any of the author’s previous works, then I wholeheartedly suggest giving this a read. It’s atmospheric, light-hearted, easy to read, simple: everything that makes reading a slice-of-life manga a refreshing experience. But if you feel unsatisfied like me, then I encourage you to read the author’s other works which I feel is greatly superior than this.

6/10

[Juniperus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this because it’s title appeared to me in a dream. we were in Marseille and complaining nothing to do. Me Sophie Jeremy and my mom and we were supposed to meet my dad for dinner. We went into a store that sold antiques but also antique tools like it was on a hardware store. In the back, a section w only teal-colored manga (all Iyashikei). I bought “Kotonoba Drive” and Jeremy bought Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms (it was the only English language book there.) this is why I decided to read it. It was basically YKK without robots and therefore not as interest. The art, as usual, was immaculate though.

[Lilith]

4 /10

2 /5 stars

[filipa · Rating 5 out of 5]

quem me dera ter o poder de ter 5 minutos para aproveitar paisagens sem interrupções