Manga Spotlight Jul'24
Manga recommendations - Bless, Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru
Bless
Bless by Yukino Sonoyama is a great coming-of-age drama about former model Udagawa Aia, and Sumisaki Jun — a tall, freckled girl who was bullied for the way she looks. The story is about these two individuals on opposite ends of the talent spectrum. Aia is a passionate hard worker aiming to be a professional make-up artist, and Jun a naturally gifted model; they encourage and cultivate confidence in each other to overcome their insecurities and chase their ambitions.
I often call this manga the love child of Runway de Waratte, Blue Period, and Wandance; it has that same style of narrative, of two characters being each other's drive. There is also that abundance of information about one particular industry, in this case fashion. The dynamic between Aia and Jun is very organic, and is the most engrossing part about Bless.
Credits: Anand
Anilist, MAL, Wikipedia, Official English Edition
Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru
Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru by Rettou Tajima is a mellow, light-hearted yet poignant slice of life drama. This series is quite unassuming, and it's almost guaranteed to feel underwhelming the first time you read this. But the readability of the series, its well-coupled comedic-dramatic moments and an overall spirit of bittersweetness makes this series a great read whose experience is enriched the longer you ruminate over it. The setting is quite similar to Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou by Ruri Miyahara, but while that series is a much more youthful comedy, Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru is a much more mature take following young Naotatsu, who finds himself mixed with a crowd of weirdos and gets tangled up in the insecurities of the fellow resident Chisa.
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