I’ve reached a point in my life where i’ve come to accept the course of time, to let go of once called my friends, whose now chasing their own goals, dreams, priorities, and responsibilities. The passage of time have made me an observer of my own surroundings, being aware of the ever-changing nature of life.
Yokohama can be seen as a relaxing, “turn off your brain” Slice of Life series but there’s an underlying theme that provided itself through the everyday lives and it’s where that sense of melancholy comes from. It’s about the passage of time, coming of age, seeing as people grow and change, and so does it environment. A story about the value of life and finding meaning in a meaningless world.
Yokohama is a story about a robot named Alpha who runs a coffee shop called “Cafe Alpha” as we follow her everyday lives, brewing coffee, riding her vespa taking us on a trip, and meeting new people as we follow along. Categorized as Iyashikei, It’s a series that provides a certain therapeutic effect on me upon reading it but it also has this sense of melancholic due to its tone and setting. The world of Yokohama is set on a near end-of-the-world setting, with the sea levels risen, town submerged in water, nature growing back to its original state as its taking over the road, and yet humanity still prevails as they enjoy those few specks of time.
Alpha is the perfect protagonist that perfectly captures its themes. Easily a comfort character, everything she does brings me happiness and warmth. For a robot, she acts pretty human that sometimes we forgot that she’s even one due to her behavior. But being a robot also means that she doesn’t age, as she watches time moving forward for the others. There are these solitary moments that gives a hint of sadness within her where she just went silent, day dreaming, drowning in her own thoughts. These pauses made the readers think and feel what Alpha is feeling. One of my favorite Alpha moments is her conversation with Takahiro after Cafe Alpha was destroyed by the Typhon, it’s probably the most important conversation in the whole manga as it become more apparent with its themes especially change.
The art of the manga is probably what completes it. It’s able to capture the state of the world with its detailed art and paneling to presentate its use of visual storytelling while also having a powerful prose that sometimes can be though provoking. I think without it, The series wouldn’t be able to emphasize what it’s going for and that’s important.
The ending for the manga rounded up really nicely as Alpha has become more mature, because due to her connections with others she was able to subtly change, gaining new perspective, and find new meaning with her existence. Because just like life, we can unrelated to one another, as we strive to be better, there will always someone new coming in our lives that will support us and give new experiences.
Overall a really comforting manga that i deeply connect to from its characters and the feeling it was able to convey to me.
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