Fangirl Moment: Summertime

TGIF! Here we are again with another Fangirl Friday! It’s summer break, and what better way to spend the hot summer days than by reading manga. This week I’m going to cover a oneshot  I came across a  few years ago called Summertime.

Summertime is a 1985 manga oneshot (from the oneshot collection, Dahlia no Obi) written by Yumiko Ooshima. The story follows a young man, who is set to marry his childhood sweetheart, in one week’s time. But when his childhood friend who is supposed to be visiting from Tokyo never shows up, he ventures to Tokyo in search of some answers. What he uncovers will alter his way of life forever.

Quite frankly I don’t know how to feel about this oneshot, on the surface it seems like your typical slice of life, but the more the story unfolds the more surreal it becomes. So it’s only fitting that, like the title suggests, the story takes place during the summertime. The one season where time just seems to move differently, at times passing by in a blur each day over in the blink of an eye, then there are times when the days seem to stretch out into a single endless moment. In that moment you lose touch with reality, and that’s a little like how this manga plays out.

Tooru and his fiance have lived their entire lives within the borders of this small village and have since lost touch with the outside world. But, just because they have lost touch with world, doesn’t mean they are immune to the consequences of it. I’m trying to be vague, because this oneshot has a twist ending that I don’t want to spoil. But, I will say that the reveal comes straight out of left field, it’s something you’d never see coming. And to be honest, it actually scared me a little, I had to pinch myself… The story just left me feeling…unsettled…because the twist really hit close to home. Like I said earlier it’s really easy to lose track of time…

This ended up being a much shorter post than I expected, but just know I highly recommend this manga. It’s definitely a story that sticks with you long after it’s over…

Have you ever read a manga that seriously made you question reality? Do you have any suggestions for Fangirl Moment post? Any burning questions? Want me to review a specific book, film, anime, manga, show, or webcomic? Feel free to Comment on this post or Ask Me on my tumblr!  As always Thank You for reading!