"In my heart, I still believe in these lies. And I will always believe in them. Because it is in these lies that hide their hopes and their will to survive for another day."

Consisting of only 45 chapters, Yomawari Sensei is a short episodic and somewhat auto-biographical manga telling the stories of Osamu Mizutani, a night teacher who roams the lonely streets of Yokohama City, looking to mentor the troubled. Each story arc is short, consisting around three chapters each, which follows a similar structure: Mizutani comes across a troubled youth during the night and attempts to help rebuild their life, where his efforts are sometimes successful, sometimes not.

One thing the manga excels at is the portrayal of the mental torment that all of Mizutani's "mentees" experience. Each and every one of them are introduced with a vice which led them astray from pursuing their true desires, wether it be drug use or violence. Despite being relatively short, each story arc shows a commendable level of depth, in which the author perfectly illustrates the torment, underlying hope and lack thereof of each character which Mizutani encounters. Surprisingly, story arcs that have a bitter ending (usually death) are not heart-wrenching in the slightest, and rather inspiring due to each individual's commendable efforts to change their life for the better. It taught me about the beauty of hope, and how it can completely change one's outlook of their life, regardless of the outcome of their effort.

The manga's art, illustrated by Seiki Tsuchida, also plays an integral role in exacerbating the raw emotions and melancholic struggles of each character. Through a hyper-realistic and detailed art style, Tsuchida effectively illustrates the facial contortions of each character, particularly in the manga's spreads, which are able to portray the genuine emotions and expressions intended for each scene.

However, my favorite part of the manga would be Mizutani himself, who, through my reading of the manga, has become a genuine role model for me. His understanding of the youth is like none other, and introduced to me a more open-minded way to help others. His kindness is inspiring and passionate, and taught me how to truly be there for someone. In no other manga would you see someone like Mizutani, who, by giving his mentees a certain degree of freedom, allows them to truly reflect on themselves, which I realized was the best possible way to motivate someone to instigate change.

Overall, Yomawari Sensei is a manga that holds dear in my heart. With incredible art, characters and story arcs, this should be a Seinen manga that everyone should give a chance.