Now, this review is primarily going to focus on what I think is the big theme of the story rather than the manga as a whole, so I would suggest reading the other review for it if you want a more well rounded and tastefully written review.

But anyways, Yoohama Kaidashi Kikou (YKK for short) is a manga I found myself being enamored by for reasons beyond the typical good plot, characters or setting of many other manga. And that makes sense seeing as though it is a slice of life. But I think that it is the fact that this manga only focuses on certain slices of the MC's life that really give it the weight that it carries for me.

Our MC for this story is Alpha, an android that does not physically grow older as time goes on. The setting of the manga is that of a post apocalyptic world that is ever losing more and more ground to the sea. And based on this setup, I'm sure that you can think of dozens of story ideas revolving around the plight of the remaining population as they need to find new resources and land to survive, the potentially strained relationships between androids and the humans that created them, the political turmoil and strife as world leaders vie for power in an ever changing landscape. Yet this story chooses to focus on a small coffee shop at the top of a seaside cliff. It spends more time showing Alpha drinking tea in her coffee shop on a slow afternoon than on any potential major world events that might be going on. It spends more time on a day trip to the beach than dwelling upon the future implications for humanity and the earth. Heck, it spends more time on Alpha playing a tune to a friend than on how she manages to keep the shop open with her meager funds. And I think that's the beauty of it. It spends so much more time on the small, daily activities in life than on anything 'major' that happens in the world or any individual's life.

Within the manga, there are a handful of human characters that show up. And despite Alpha's ever static appearance, you see the people in the story slowly grow and change over time. They grow up, get married, have kids, grow old and eventually die. And yet, basically not a single one of the many major, personal events is shown in the story. We always learn about what happens long after it happens through exchanges that would seem ordinary and mundane to the characters at the time. And to me, this feels so brilliantly done. Because yes, while everyone does have certain, specific timestamps in life where very important things change, those are far far outnumbered by the ordinary days in life, and this manga really wants the audience to recognize that. Life is not primarily about the crazy, exciting and life changing moments that come and go in a flash, but rather about the small moments that fill up each and every day: a nice cup of coffee in the morning, the satisfaction of finally finishing the chores for the day, a quiet night of manga/anime in bed, etc etc.

When you have a character that lives for a long time, one that never changes or gets older while the world around them does, then the things that the author chooses to show and the things that the author chooses to overlook become very important. In the case of YKK, you can honestly find yourself forgetting that time is moving forward when you look at Alphas calm life. And that is enough for me to understand and appreciate the messages being highlighted in this story. With the world becoming faster and faster and things trying to grab our attention left and right, pushing us towards the next life stage and to the next big thing, I'm really glad that YKK reminds me to slow down and to just appreciate each day as it comes, not looking towards tomorrow or dwelling upon the past. There is so much to enjoy in the present that we overlook so easily. And YKK wants us to notice those things. To me, that's the main focus of the story.

So then, would I recommend this?
Of course.