A Distant Neighborhood · review
This is a self reflective story of a middle aged man. If there's a chance for you to travel back in time, what will you do differently? Compare to all the sci-fi novels characters that will dream up some exciting plans, the protagonist in this manga want to change just one thing: to prevent his father from running away. What makes this story interesting is that it is also a journey of self-reflection on the protagonist himself. A middle-aged married man who buried himself into work, using it as an escape from his family duties. As the story unfolds, the similarity between the father andson reminds the choice the protagonist made throughout the years, questions whether he is truly any different from the father he blames.
It is hard to describe the feeling this manga evokes. compare to other distinctive manga you can sense a strong feeling of joy, sadness or excitement, this manga handle the emotion in a much more subtle way. It's like a gentle touch on the service surface of water, creating ripples that slowly spread and linger, inviting the reader to reflect on their own life choices and relationships.