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| Kowloon Generic Romance Vol. 1 by Jun Mayuzuki @YEN PRESS/ Jun Mayuzuki |
A bit of context:
Kujirai is an employee at Wong Loi real estate agency in Kowloon, the famous walled city. However, as lovely and happy as she may seem she does feel a bit strange about the city and a bit of affection towards her colleague, Mr. Kudou.
There is a mystery about her presence and the walled city of Kowloon. Will she ever be able to solve it ?
How’s the story :
This story is shrouded in mystery. Kujirai, our main character, is really interesting and so is the walled city of Kowloon. However, mentioning any details about her and the city might ruin the experience for you so I will focus on a few aspects which I hope appeal to your interests. The only hint I can give here is to have a bit of patience as you read the story. It isn’t slow but the overall mystery behind Kujirai and the city are slowly and steadily revealed in a manner that will leave your jaw on the floor.
The first is nostalgia. It is an interesting emotion that drives many of the characters in this story. You could be nostalgic about anything, a book, a car, a city or even a person. This emotion is difficult to display and yet it is neatly baked into each character’s reasoning and actions. While it is not explicitly clear, it is the driving force behind each of these characters. It is a beautiful sentiment that is beautifully portrayed throughout the story.
The second is the possibility of being your absolute self. It is another sentiment that gets mentioned quite frequently and with good reason as well. I love this sentiment because the characters portray what we all feel, daily.
We act, talk and dress up as per everyone’s expectations. Being yourself means acting, talking and dressing up the way you want to. The notion is to be happy and comfortable with yourself. It also encompasses the ability to have reasonable ambitions and to be content with what you have.
In today's success driven world it is a difficult sentiment to live by yet it was nice to see how well it was displayed through different characters in the series. This sentiment also ties in well with the overall mystery about our main character Kujirai’s existence in this strange city.
Each character has their own particular reasons why they want to be their absolute selves and those reasons are very grounded and realistic. While I can’t describe their reasons I can say that you will end up supporting their pursuit of being their absolute selves as you read the series.
Lastly, I’d like to put in a word about the artwork. Mayuzuki sense is amazing at drawing emotions in each of her characters. I felt the same way with her previous work (After the rain) as well. Each character is given amazing attention and that attention is reflected in each of the 7 volumes I have read so far.
Conclusion:
It is safe to say, I love this series. Absolutely amazing in terms of its story progression, world building, mystery and of course artwork. As of writing this article it is still being published so there might be a fair bit of the story still left before the conclusion.
However the 7 volumes that are released in English are worth every penny. I wholeheartedly recommend Kowloon Generic Romance if you like a good mystery with likable characters and amazing artwork.