"I wanted you to read something of mine, just one more time. Well, then. How've you been these days, Shiozawa?" Do you ever think about how your favourite mangaka feels about their own work? How they've felt about different series they've crafted throughout their career? What makes them keep at it, despite cancellations, tight deadlines, endless rewrites? Tokyo Higoro is, at its heart, about the love of manga. About how creators and readers are drawn to it, about creating the truest and most authentic works our hearts can produce. About one editor, freshly freelancing after a long tenure at a well-known publisher, seeking out the creators he'sworked with in the past whose work he still holds in his heart.

I've read manga about creating manga before, but I don't think I've ever read one with an editor as a main character. Shiozawa is a bit of a flat character aside from his love of manga (and an ability to converse with birds, which is never explained), but somehow, it works. He's a template for the manga-loving reader to project on, a means to explore the various mangaka he meets with throughout the story. A hub for them to gather around. A personified reminder to each creator of why they love to create.

It's no secret that Matsumoto Taiyou's style is not typical of manga, sometimes resembling European comics, sometimes erring more on the side of realism. I haven't read all of his titles so I can't speak in absolutes, but I can say that out of the half-dozen series I have read, Tokyo Higoro has the most realistic art. It works nicely with the story, emphasizing the down-to-earth realism, and contrasting interestingly with the few whimsical moments (the talking bird, Shiozawa's meeting with a mangaka whose funeral he just attended). The series especially shines when it comes to scenery shots, which serve to anchor each scene in various locations in Tokyo and throughout Japan. Matsumoto's work may not be as tidy as some others, but few can wring as much pathos out of a panel of a rainy Tokyo street.

Tokyo Higoro is here for you if you love manga, even when you hate it. If you love drawing, or writing, or creating, even when it makes you want to tear your hair out. If the only thing worse than creating something is not creating. In subtle, understated ways, Tokyo Higoro is a love letter to manga, warts and all.