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If you were given a second chance, if you could live your life over, how would you live it? What would you do differently? Could you (and should you) change the flow of events that had transpired?

Fiction has always been fond of time travel. There have been numerous, some more, some less successful, attempts at exploring this concept. It is a potent theme that has tickled the imagination of many and to which many writers turn to. One of those writers is the author of Harukana Machi-E.
One may rightfully ask whether Harukana Machi-E can make something noteworthy with a tried and tired concept like this. ... The answer is, fortunately, a resounding yes.
Actually, I lied there a bit. Harukana is not really about time travel. Don’t let the synopsis fool you, that is not a theme this manga sets to examine. Rather, time travel is a plot device, a means of setting the story in motion and putting the protagonist at a desired time frame.

Coming from the pen of an award-winning mangaka, Taniguchi Jiro, Harukana Machi-E (translated as “A Distant Neighborhood“ in English) brings us a personal story of a middle-aged man, Hiroshi, who, during a visit to his mother’s grave, suddenly gets transported into the past, back to his middle-school days. With his adult consciousness, memories and abilities retained, Hiroshi finds himself in the body of his 14-year old self, 35 years into the past, at a period of a single crucial event that would have a profound influence on his later life. There he begins a journey of reliving and rediscovering his past, people and events. It is also there that, after realizing not everything is unfolding exactly as he remembers, Higuchi faces his big dilemma – should he try and change the past? And if the answer is yes, how could that influence the future?
Despite such a fantastical premise, Harukana Machi-E is very much down-to-earth. There are no crazy time traveling hijinks, no world-changing events, no super powers, no shounen heroes nor villains. Instead, what Harukana provides its audience with is a bittersweet, rather intimate and relatable story of a single person and his family that reads more like a literary work than a standard manga.
The plot is unlikely to keep anyone on the edge of their chair, nervously biting their nails in anticipation since it never tries to be neither bombastic nor groundbreaking. Rather, the story unfolds in a leisurely manner, never using the sense of urgency to force the reader to flip the next page. It gives the reader time to slowly savour the artwork, characters and their interactions, muse on the questions raised by the protagonist’s narration, and, bit by bit, gets sucked into the world of the protagonist’s small Japanese town and its residents.

In a manga like this plot would mean little without well-developed characters. And it is obvious that the author paid special attention to them. From the protagonist to his schoolmates, family and townspeople, Harukana Machi-E’s cast consists of realistic and relatable characters. There is no trace of artificiality; they truly come off as real people you meet every day. As a result, their feelings, interactions and reactions appear natural and believable.
Naturally, the focus is on Hiroshi’s character, but others, especially a couple of his classmates and family members receive a fair share of fleshing out as well. That is an impressive feat to accomplish in only 16 chapters and speaks volumes of the mangaka’s skill.
Looking at the premise, Hiroshi could’ve easily been an annoying, self-pitying protagonist that exasperates the audience. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen. Although often depressed, troubled and selfish, his character never crosses the fine line between being realistic and being obnoxious. Truth be told, the manga does approach the maudlin territory at a couple of occasions, especially when it tries to convey the protagonist's feelings about his mother. However, the author manages to successfully steer away from delving into unpleasant melodrama that would irritate the reader.
Whether intentional or not, Hiroshi’s father, Yoshio, is the one character that the reader may find too distant and hard to understand. His actions, especially towards the end, come off as somewhat unsympathetic and odd. However, he is most likely deliberately portrayed as distant and incomprehensible in order to reflect how the protagonist sees him since the story is, after all, narrated from Hiroshi’s point of view. This becomes even clearer as the story unfolds and we realize that Yoshio plays the role of a foil to Hiroshi, enabling the author to easily contrast the two characters and their life choices.
During the process of weaving Hiroshi's tale, the mangaka doesn't fall into the common pitfall of making the supporting cast too dependent on the protagonist. Instead, while playing their respective roles, most characters in the manga feel as if they have lives of their own, lives that flow with, not because of the main character. The protagonist is at the centre of the story, but is in no way at the centre of its world.

Apart from characters, Harukana Machi-E excels in the art department. Even at first glance, it is apparent that Harukana does not look like the majority of the manga fare. Taniguchi’s art is highly accomplished, crisp and clean. Again, just like it is the case with characters, realism is what makes Harukana’s art work. Taniguchi’s attention to detail in depicting background, whether scenery or urban structures, is impressive and, coupled with careful, movie-like framing, gives the manga near-photographic artwork. Thus, the author succeeds at bringing to life Hiroshi’s small home town of Kurayoshi and, in a way, invites the reader to embark on the journey into the past.
Similarly, the character designs follow the principle of realism as well, while also retaining a very small, but necessary dose of “cartoonism”. Worth mentioning is a certain Ghibli-esque quality to the author’s ability to effortlessly express a wide range of emotions on characters’ faces and this is quite a delight to look at.

Harukana Machi-E examines and explores a variety of themes and issues. The most apparent ones, which even become a sort of a leitmotif, are the themes of regret and loss. They permeate the manga, creating a sweetly melancholic atmosphere. In addition to those, this short manga finds time and space to tackle other, mostly related themes such as grief, frustration, remembrance, acceptance and appreciation. Never trying to be preachy or coming off as pretentious, Harukana naturally, through its characters and their actions, speaks to the reader about the importance of coming to terms with oneself, learning to appreciate and value what one has and accepting the inexorable fleetingness of life.

As perfect as everything said up to now may seem, Harukana, of course, is not impeccable. Although expected and understandable, the rather abrupt ending and resolution may feel anticlimactic and will probably leave some readers with a slight feeling of dissatisfaction. The lack of any explanation regarding the time travel aspect may have a similar effect. However, Harukana never was a story about time traveling, so one can’t really hold this against it.
Its length can be regarded as both a flaw and a strength. Being only two volumes long, it may be argued that Harukana's shortness doesn't allow the manga to fully spread its wings. However, at the same time, it means that the story never loses steam and no scene feels superfluous. “Short but meaningful“ may very well be the rule Taniguchi chose to follow with Harukana.

Personal and down-to-earth in its presentation, distinctively Japanese in execution, yet universal and timeless in themes it explores, Harukana Machi-E is a highly recommended read, especially if you are in search for a mature slice of life drama with believable, relatable characters that is very likely to make you think and reflect on life. Or if you're simply tired and want a breath of fresh air. In that case, I cannot recommend this short manga enough.
Oh, yeah, one more thing… Once you’ve read the manga, I suggest you keep it (unless you’ve borrowed it from a library, in which case you better not). You will probably want to revisit it several years (or decades) down the line when your own childhood and past starts feeling like a part of a distant neighborhood.

The universe sits atop a house of cards, with revolution shaking at the base. And Kaiba truly does hold an entire universe in its hands.
This is Sci-Fi through and through, and every bit of it overflows with imagination and experimentation. The strongest aspect of this show is how comfortable the writers felt in their own world. They put passion into this, and tried to make something that would last in the audience's memories. Apart from any pacing or plot problems that may have arisen, this was written in confidence. None of the lesser points are because of weak willed writers unwilling to be adventurous. ... If you want to see something different and intriguing, I give a hearty recommendation on that basis alone. If you also happen to be a fan of Sci-Fi, well then, sharpen your knives and prepare for a feast. (Viewers with little patience should probably sit this one out though.)

Right off the bat, Kaiba starts with a character that has amnesia, and that sends up a bunch of warning signals. Many stories with poor writing will proudly display an amnesiac protagonist because it frees up the job of writing complex personality, pre-existing character interactions, and is just a giant gateway to spoon-feed plot and exposition to the audience. But do not fear, for Kaiba never once considers being a shoddy, overused amnesia story. In fact, the amnesia is more of just a presence that is ever-looming, not overbearing. They don't waste energy trying to cover holes with it, but instead rip apart the foundations of this trope and rebuild it anew, devoting the entire premise of this show to memories. Even if the execution wasn't masterful, they plunged head first into trying something different, and of course, that is where this show excels.

With the whole element of memory storage and body swapping, our main character Warp actually spends a great deal of time in a cheaply made, mute body, incapable of speaking. This does suppress how much of his personality can be expressed, and in the beginning, his position in the show isn't clear. The same can be said for many of his companions. But in the same manner that silent or minimalistic films make more from less, we are given brief moments to step into the mind of Warp. Each little morsel of his character development made more savory by their rarity and good delivery.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the entire cast. Kaiba is more about the story, and does sacrifice the quality of its supporting characters for the sake of plot points. Being partially episodic, Kaiba sometimes tries to cram entire character arcs into one or two sittings. Leaving the writers to fall back on melodrama to try and relay an expansive history or grand emotions in a compressed time. It can distance the viewer from the characters and belay the intentions of the production team. In other cases, certain episodes will excel within their limited time, and give us touching, memorable characters and anecdotes. This is a fluctuation in quality that wanes over time, leaving most of the second half solidly written.

Much like GitS: SAC, it's less of a classical narrative, and more of a series of experiences woven together. The precision is still there, and the plot takes you somewhere, just not in the typical manner. Power, lust, greed, lies, righteousness, pain, and bonds of friendship all weave an ever tightening noose that threatens to choke the ruling class. In the world of Kaiba, human equality isn’t even an afterthought, and our crew is ready to take back their dignity, and a little more for good measure. Caught in a power struggle with ever shifting tides, the weak are forever pushed further into the abyss as the strong climb upwards. Puppets and scapegoats, forced into destructive bodies and unable to feel or draw happiness, they are scattered about as simple war machines. Despite all of their artificial power, they remain true helpless souls. With minds used, battered and abused, they dwell in the deepest pit carved by humanity, and sit there alone, betrayed by others' ambitions and their own tainted memories. Kaiba performs a tragic duel between our own identity, and the persona that others sculpt for us.

Kaiba takes up residence in the "here's what we can do with anime as a medium" category. It's artwork contests traditional design and usually comes up on top. On the technical side of things, it goes for fluidity rather than individual details, meaning this show rarely sits still. The frames keep turning, and action, reaction, and intricacy are all captured in the animation. They can afford to do this because of the simplistic character structures and complete lack of shading. Now this is a stylistic choice, and I think it goes well with the overall atmosphere of the show. At times it's truly jaw dropping, and you get the impression that any other style of art simply wouldn't have worked for this series. On the flip side, there are a few moments where nothing is happening, the movement stops, and the magic sort of drains away for a second. However, there is something in the art department that is uncontestedly good. The CG integration is hardly noticeable at all, even when the fast, sweeping shots cover a lot of background, it looks very smooth and naturally painted.

Sticking with story over characters, the score doesn't really have any character themes that show up like in other anime. There are mostly just soundtracks to enhance the action or accompany the mood of a scene. These only show up occasionally, and for the rest of the show, and bulk of it, we're given diegetic sounds and environmental noises that usually complement the atmosphere. In this aspect, it's not the best sound editing I've heard, but most of the time there are clean transitions, good sound effects, and nothing too obtrusively out of place. The music itself is poignant. The melodies of Kiyoshi Yoshida range from whimsical to pondering melancholy, and will stay with you long after the episode has run its course. Just like with Warp's character moments, the music is withheld until it's appropriate, and when it'll be cherished most by the audience. Now, while the compositions are very good, the implementation is a bit clumsy sometimes, and it can get noticeable when songs are reused too often.

Given how Kaiba tries to avoid dry heaps of exposition, the dialogue is an ever occurring source of world-building. Just like the viewer, Warp is trying to absorb everything from other people and his surroundings. This calls for more intricate writing, and is very effective in synchronizing the audience with the emotions and experiences of Warp, when it works. Sadly, the first couple of episodes were still exploring this, trying to find a solid tempo and direction, and so some of the scenes can feel scripted and unnatural. This is particularly noticeable with some moments of oddly placed comedy. But again, this all gets ironed out as the episode count grows, and it becomes a much smoother ride.

The voice acting is above the standard fare, but won't have you clamoring to see the actors in other roles. Everyone does their job, and they do it well, particularly one actor who does deserve special mention. Hisao Egawa knocks it straight out of the park from the very moment he appears on screen. Providing the voice of Vanilla, he steps directly into the character, encapsulating the absurd, blundering, and over-the-top personality of our not so noble sheriff.

In the end we walk away with a very well controlled space oddity that radiates familiarity from the writers, as if they've spent part of their lives in this future universe. A superb drama? Not quite. But an intricate story that explores outside the realm of typical series. With that in mind, this is not a show meant to be watched casually. An attentive viewer is required to get the most out of what it has to offer. If you're looking for something to put on in the background, hold off on this show until you have time to truly watch it. Otherwise, get ready for a fantastic Sci-Fi experience.

My final verdict for this show is a respectable 8.4