Mata, Onaji Yume wo Miteita
something about hydki and lillia yapping together about manga and a club they're in idk what to fill in you may figure it out
Hydki
I had no idea if I was going to like it, it was a coin flip, I usually dislike youth school dramas because it always falls in the same sandpits and lost all impact, but the advertised reflexions on life and happiness through the lens of a child were attractive.
/anime/139589/kotarou-wa-hitorigurashi
this one is a pretty good example of what I mean, I thought Id hate it but it's actually very well made!
Mata Onaji Yume bla bla bla has a good structure, little girl hangs out with people of different ages and experiences each with their "adult" struggles (self harm, prostitution) and tries to make sense of it at a child's level, it's a solid foundation.
Though even the first chapters feel a bit off, the girl is VERY insistent on making us understand she will have "innocent" insights to give the reader about life, and it will get OLD real fast!!
Lillia
i get why some people find this story deep or emotionally meaningful, but for me that’s kind of where the problem starts. on paper, the idea is interesting. we follow nanoka as she tries to understand what happiness means by meeting different people. each of these characters clearly represents something: regret, loneliness, self-destruction, comfort. it sounds thoughtful and i can see why it works for some readers.
but the issue is that none of these stories are given enough time to really feel real. they show up, bring in heavy themes and then disappear without leaving much of an impact. the thief’s kid storyline is a good example of this, it just comes out of nowhere and doesn’t really contribute much to the plot other than the ending. instead of feeling like actual people, most of the characters feel more like tools to deliver a message. everything feels a bit staged like it’s trying too hard to say something meaningful instead of letting it happen naturally.
the only part that actually worked for me was the abazure-san storyline. it feels more genuine and natural compared to everything else. it doesn’t try to push a big message in our faces and because of that, the emotions land better. she feels like a real person, not just an idea or a tool. and that’s why her part stands out so much.
nanoka herself is also a big part of the problem. she’s written as way too self aware and philosophical for her age. instead of feeling like a kid trying to figure things out, she often sounds like the author speaking directly through her. what some people praise her for like being “smart” or “insightful” just felt forced and a bit annoying to me.
Hydki
Most of the stories really lack the punching power that is supposed to make Nanoka's interventions interesting. They are about serious themes but just surface them, as if assuming the reader already seen them everywhere before that and is just supposed to roll with it, doing part of the heavy lifting themselves.
I guess you're supposed to be moved by this pretended childish talk that goes "life is like pudding!!! hihih it's sweet and also bitter!!!" pretty much like in Forrest Gump, the only difference is Nanoka alternates between being completely clueless about the most basic things and suddenly extremely "literate" in the definition of what a teenager mind would consider deep.
it's exactly what it feels like.Abazure-san was the best subplot because it felt the less engineered, more genuine, seeing her be the mother figure Nanoka lacks was touching as they both heal each other. The other subplots were just Nanoka yapping straight bs about life and happiness in this fake-innocent tone that transpires an author trying to sound childish, she just barges in other character's life in some kind of monologue. What was different here was seeing Abazure being able to care for someone out of real love and Nanoka getting the guidance in life she needs, which is a more genuine way to show character growth and feels sweeter to read about.
Lillia
As the story goes on, it also becomes pretty predictable. the beginning is a bit unclear but not in an intriguing way. and after a while, it’s easy to guess where things are heading, so the ending doesn’t feel very impactful.
i also didn’t love how everything connects in the end. the story tries to tie all these different lives and experiences into one big idea. but it doesn’t feel fully natural. instead of making things deeper, it actually makes them feel simpler like all those different perspectives get reduced into a single message.
spoiler warning for another manga with a similar ending concept
Spoiler, click to view
especially since i read I Had That Same Dream Again right after Lonely Castle in the Mirror the difference became even more obvious. that manga handles symbolism and its characters much more naturally. and the way everything connects in the end actually feels earned. instead of forcing a single message onto every storyline. it lets each character develop, so when everything comes together, it feels meaningful rather than simplified.Hydki & Lillia
overall, it has a okay concept and a few strong moments, but it never fully commits to its ideas. aside from the abazure-san part, most of it felt a bit shallow and overly constructed rather than something genuinely lived-in.
It's using heavy themes and a little prince styles narration very clumsily, you guess what it's trying to do but it's too coded in manga stereotypes to feel meaningful.