Tadashi Agi, 亜樹直, is the penname of Yuko and Shin Kibayashi, a sister and brother team of Japanese manga storywriters. Shin Kibayashi also uses the pseudonyms Seimaru Amagi and Yuya Aoki.
This is, for my money, the most successful volume of the series thus far. The same problems remain, but for the first time we see the core, emotional differences between Shizuku and Issei, which gives us a better idea of what the true stakes are for them: Shizuku has known a warm family (notably with his mother, not his jerk dad), while Issei has not. The difference, therefore, is that Shizuku is trying to understand the father he never connected with and whom he felt never saw him for himself; Issei is trying to find a father he never had.
It certainly helps that Issei has been getting more likable since Loulan entered the picture. I'm still not sold on the series, but when it doesn't solely rely on the wine aspect, I can see more of its appeal.
Chpt 99-108 #3 Apostle = Nostalgia wine for sunsets 2000 Pegau Cuvee da Capo Chpt 99 restive nights, reassured mornings 2001 Chapoutier Cigala caught Shizuka's attention as a hint for what the 3rd Apostle could be 2000 Guigal CdP https://www.vivino.com/wines/1273804 Guigal Gigondas reminds Shizuku of his childhood visiting an old lady who often treated him to a snack of dried persimmons https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/e-guigal...
Chpt 100 The fading feel of the ancient tree's bark Shizuku guessed wrong abt 3rd Apostle in his 1st attempt. In this wine, the other kids didn't leave the playground & it didn't have that isolated moment w/ the kind stranger w/ large warm hands. https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/domaine-... Issei Tomine also made a mistake bringing 1981 Beaucastel CdP. Why so stiff & formal w/ a young child? https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/chateau-...
Chpt 101 into the labryinth w/ no escape route Chpt 102 the long road beyond the tree After failing to id 3rd Apostle 1st time rd, Shizuku tried to find the oldest vieilles vignes Grenache blend. The Ishikawa twins let him try this w/ 80yr old vines https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/domaine-... After Junya’s 2003 Font Du Vent Cuvée Etienne Gonnet CdP w/ its 80yr vines were deemed too modern in style to be 3rd Apostle, twin Kenya offered this value CdP w/ 100yr old vines, right next door to Beaucastel https://www.vivino.com/SG/en/galevan-...
Chpt 103 slumber of the wine loving artist, Chpt 104 an aroma of grapes long kept hidden, Chpt 105 enveloped by dbl handfuls of ❤️ The last wine artist Fuse wanted on hid death bed = nostalgia wine 3rd Apostle, young vintage from vieilles vignes.
Chpt 106 phantom encounters at the after dark playland Issei Tomine realised tt the man w/ large warm hands was his father Yutaka Kanzaki, who comforted him as a kid when he was lost in an amusement park.
Chpt 108 true bitterness found af the fact Vino Fantastico chosen by Honma to celebrate Shizuku's win for 3rd Apostle Jorio from Umani Ronchi. I just scanned it with the Vivino app. https://www.vivino.com/wines/1522144?... Black haired, dark eyed beauty w/ dewy eyes. The type of wine Kawarage wants to share w/ his son as his final drink. Check out this great Wine from Château Lucia. I just scanned it with the Vivino app. https://www.vivino.com/wines/3426853?...
The fact that I'm 11 volumes into this wine manga while hardly ever drinking it myself is enough to show that it's quite an interesting story. The focus on wine and the level of detail in the descriptions given by Shizuku and Issei are fascinating at times and oh so dramatic at others but never actually boring. Also, the underlying themes here of trying to find connection and how to fit into the legacies that larger than life parents leave behind is enough to keep my interest. I'll definitely keep going with this series. I want to see where it ends up and who wins the contest.
I hope the remaining 30-odd volumes get translated; I'm not desperate to read them, but I have enjoyed the series and would like to know how it continues.