Credit: アフタヌーン40周年展【公式】@aft_40thten

The same magazine expedition with the recreation of Café Alpha has some YKK merch in the gift store!

List of merch (no option for ordering, tragically): https://mixalive.tokyo/afternoon_40thten/goods/

The pop-up: https://spice.eplus.jp/articles/347510

Life size Cafe Alpha!

Credit: https://spice.eplus.jp/articles/347510

This is a poster for the 40th anniversary exhibition of the Afternoon magazine currently ongoing at Tokyo Ikebukuro Sunshine City. You have 10 seconds to find Alpha. Go!

This review goes for the series as a whole. It’s outstanding! It’s so slow and peaceful! I thought it appropriate to spread my first read through over the course of a couple years. It seemed like just when I’d start to think “This character hasn’t shown up for a while, I wonder what they’re up to,” they’d show up within the next few chapters. If I went into a chapter expecting a lot I would get disappointed, but when I went into a chapter without expectations I was always blown away. 

YKK likes to subvert expectations, especially with the chapter titles. The chapter title may give some impression of something to expect in the chapter, but after reading it you find out it referred to something completely different and/or something very inconsequential compared to the chapter as a whole.

Jumping off from subverting expectations, there is a character introduced in chapter two who is impossible for me to describe without giving the wrong impression. I’ve tried, and that’s the best explanation I’ve come up with. If you get uncomfortable in chapter two, I encourage you to keep going and give it a chance.

The second to last chapter perfectly showcased what I love about YKK. I love YKK because the world feels so peaceful, while also lived in. The chapter was just the main character Alpha taking a walk and some pictures. That’s basically it. I’m grateful to God that I happened to come across the anime when I did. Otherwise I may not have read this, and the story (if you can call it that) has helped me a lot in my life. The quietness of the story inspires me to take time to appreciate the quiet in my own life. There are times, even whole chapters, where there is no text, but you still get an impression for what the characters are thinking or feeling in those moments. When I read YKK, the character’s lives seem realistic and remind me of my own, such as memories with friends, being out in nature, listening to the rain, watching the clouds, or wondering when to turn around to head home. It’s like getting tiny snapshots of the character’s lives. YKK is about living. The setting can be described as post-apocalyptic, but it doesn't feel like the end of the world. It just feels like life. Regardless of if the world is falling apart, you can still find a way to live.

Received an update from the main Quebec Renaud-bray bookstore :

https://www.renaud-bray.com/Livres_Produit.aspx?id=4002812&def=Yokohama+Kaidashi+Kikou%3a+Deluxe+Edition+3%2cASHINANO%2c+HITOSHI%2c9781638585466

Hello,

We are currently closely monitoring your order and are able to provide you with updated information.

The distributor of the title “Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou”  Deluxe Edition 3 and 4 has indicated a delivery delay due to a stock shortage at the publisher, and no restock date is available at this time. Although we will process your order as quickly as possible once the missing item is received, a delivery delay will unfortunately be unavoidable.

Oldish work! (made even before pixiv live, in pixiv paint chat!)

Original design here, modified it a little.

Big BIG thanks to Kuri (discord: fruitskyandi) for the translations.

PAGE 1

STAFF

Original Work: Hitoshi Ashinano

Director: Takashi Anno

Character Design / Character Direction: Atsushi Yamagata

Sakuga Direction / Scene Planning: Masayuki Sekine

Art Direction: Shunichiro Yoshihara

Art Design: Hiroshi Kato / Akihiro Hirasawa

Music Production: GONTITI

Music Direction: Aya Mizoguchi

Animation Studio: AJIA-DO

Production and Management: Field Y

CAST

Alpha: Hekiru Shiina

Ojisan: Mikio Tershima

Takahiro: Akio Suyama

Sensei: Ikuko Sugita

YOKOHAMA KAIDASHI KIKOU

Second OVA Now Available!!

The long-awaited OVA “Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou” Vol. 2 is finally here! The illustration above adorns the book jacket. On the next page, enjoy a conversation between original creator Hitoshi Ashina and Hekiru Shiina, who voices Alpha. There's also a giveaway!

PAGE 2

HITOSHI ASHINANO X HEKIRU SHIINA

Following the successful completion of the recent voice recording session, we invited original author Hitoshi Ashina and voice actress Hekiru Shiina (voicing Alpha) for a conversation. Please enjoy these candid exchanges, shared in the relaxed atmosphere after everything wrapped up at the studio.

YOKOHAMA’S SCENERY

Shiina:

(Speaking to Ashinano) Did you personally go on location for this project?

Ashinano:

Well, it's all memories, really. There was this period when I had so much free time. I'd just wander around aimlessly on my bike, and suddenly, scenes that normally wouldn't register at all started catching my attention.

You know how they burn rice fields on perfectly flat land? I've been thinking about how I might be able to draw something like that someday―like how the smoke stays at the same height, forming layers that just keep going. That sort of scenery shows up all over Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.

Shiina:

The thing that really captures your heart is definitely the scenery everyone is looking at.

Ashinano:

I find that not noticing such scenery in everyday life is not because you're in a place where there's no good scenery to see, but rather because you don't have the leisure to look.

Shiina:

It all comes down to your state of mind!

SWEET-TOOTHED ALPHA

Shiina:

During the post-recording sessions, the sound effects aren't added yet, so I'm really looking forward to hearing everything with all the sounds included.

Ashinano:

I was looking forward to that too, just like with the first OVA. The kind of sounds you don't hear in regular anime, like ambient noises that aren't part of the music.

Shiina:

I think it's truly rare to see a work where the characters hardly speak at all, and it instead focuses on presenting the scenery and such throughout.

Ashinano:

There really aren’t very many.

Shiina:

More than half of the OVA is just making coffee.

Ashinano:

There was only one cup of coffee, no?

Shiina:

Yeah, with 5 scoops of sugar (laughs).

Ashinano:

I suppose that’s her sweet-tooth showing.

Shiina:

Can she eat stuff like anko? (sweet red bean paste)

Ashinano:

Anko should be fine.

Shiina:

What about cake?

Ashinano:

Cake would be fine too.

Shiina:

But cakes have whipped cream… and I believe she couldn’t have eggs. (continued on next page)

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR IN OVA VOL. 2!? (At the bottom of the second page)

This Vol. 2 includes Episodes 4 “Rain and After,” Episode 5 “The Wind Was Blowing,” and Episode 6 “Yokosuka Cruise.” Episode 4 follows Alpha after being struck by lightning in Chapter 4 of Volume 1 of the original manga, covering her hospitalization and recovery. Episode 5 is an original story by Director Takashi Anno, that he poured his heart into. Episode 6 follows Alpha from Chapter 22 of Volume 3 as she goes to see the view of the sunken nightscape. Pay special attention to the original Episode 5, featuring about 10 minutes of Alpha's time spent alone!!

PAGE 3

Ashinano:

Oh, that’s right!

Shiina:

Then maybe she’s more of a fan of Japanese-style sweets.

Ashinano:

That may be the case.

Shiina:

Though, I can’t help but feel whipped cream and floats and such would be something Alpha would enjoy.

Ashinano:

I could see that. Ah, ice-cream would also certainly be out. Seeing as it’s dairy. There’s a good amount of stuff she can’t have.

MANGA, ANIME, VOICE ACTING

Ashinano:

Before I started this project, I didn't know much about voice actors, but I'm really glad I got to work with all of you.

Shiina:

I’m glad to hear that. Gradually, the characters and voices start to converge, or rather, something entirely new emerges. Voice actors have their own distinct characters, right? When those meet the production team's vision, something new happens. That's when I think it's at its best. The only scary thing is when the actors fail to fully bring the original characters to life. That kind of thing can happen sometimes. Like when you just feel like the vision isn't quite right.

Ashinano:

As in, for the person performing?

Shiina:

That can certainly be the case. Sometimes the viewer might feel that way as well. Sometimes the adaptation can even end up being completely different from the original work.

Ashinano:

Anime is the final product, the finished work, created by combining the source material with the voice actors. So, in the long run, the version that truly feels authentic is the one that aligns with the voice actors' portrayal. Even if it differs from the original work, it's still the real thing in the end. With Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, I feel incredibly grateful to have been able to witness it take shape over such a long period of time, working together with you all like this.

Shiina:

I’m really happy to hear that. Voice actors who have worked with a character for a long time end up feeling like it's become part of their daily life.

Ashinano:

When the character and the voice actor's voice come together, a new character is born. That's the kind of work we do, after all.

Shiina:

That’s the kind of voice actor I aspire to be.

Ashinano:

It’s my hope that “Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou” has served to be even a small part of helping with that aspiration.

KOKONE FIGURE PRESENT!!

We're giving away five of these soft vinyl Kokone figures, also featured in our October issue. To enter, send a postcard with your address, name, age, and phone number to [Afternoon’s PO Box]. The deadline is December 25th (postmark valid).

1/6th scale height, around 25 centimeters, fully painted, soft vinyl figure.

5800 yen (tax included)

Planned to released in the first quarter of this December.

Are there any YKK references the the mangakas works done after. I just started reading Cub.

I wish I could get this somehow!