It's been a long while since I've read a manga that actually shook me to my core, and it's been an especially long while since such a manga didn't turn out to be relying on a big twist at the end. Let me tell you about the experience that was this fairly harmless-looking oneshot.

Description

Silver Rock is the name of the latest oneshot written by Kan Mikami, who is an artist mainly focused on this kind of media, with 3 other oneshots to his name.

The story is told to us readers like so: Fukumoto Taketumi is a former jazz drummer who was really famous during his time but is now retired. His grand-daughter, Anju, picked up Taketumi's interests during her early childhood and, while playing in her school's music club, planned to study music in college. That's the past, though. In the present, Anju decided to not go to a music college, for reasons explained later in the story. Once she tells Taketumi, he takes initiative and decides to perform as a drummer on stage one last time, not even fully sure why himself.

That's as far as I'm willing to tell in a review, especially since this is a really short story, only lastong sixtytwo pages, meaning that I can't go too far into discussing the pages without ending up into spoiler territory. Don't be discouraged by the page count, though, as the story here is phenomenal and evocative.

The drawing style is also great, especially when drawing spreads, which are few and far between, but really shine. It's raw while also not sacrificing details or cleanliness, which makes for some incredible panels.

Thoughts

Let me state this at the beginning. I absolutely adore this manga. I would have never guessed while I started reading it that it would rank as high as it does in my list.

I immediatly fell in love for the artstyle, but soon after couldn't close out of it for the story. Don't get me wrong, this is not an action packed thriller with a big twist at the end or anything like that, it's actually kind of slow, and yet its mood, the atmosphere around it, it really sucks you in.

That being said, the artstyle that dragged me into this manga is not any lesser than its story. More than once I thought that I should make a wallpaper out of the panel I was reading, and I definitely will make one from the very last spread panel (if you've read it, you know what I'm talking about).

This manga is a journey. It looks so simple and really IS simple, and yet it really makes you feel a faint yet lasting emotion that I could only describe as peace.

I cannot, in full consciousness, give this manga any less thanfull marks. I wholeheartedly recommend that you take thirty minutes out of your day to read it.