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ヨコハマ買い出し紀行 新装版 [Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Shinsouban)] #9-10
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 5
WELCOME TO CAFÉ ALPHA, HAVE A SEAT AND ENJOY YOUR STAY.
The world is slowly sinking beneath the waves. Alpha walks the remaining roads with her eyes on the sea, but treasures every day with her neighbors. Time seems to be speeding up, sloughing away like cliffs into the ocean, but Alpha's heart still beats, excited for what tomorrow will bring. Welcome to the finale of this beloved manga classic, publishing chapters 112-140 in English for the first time.
The world is slowly sinking beneath the waves. Alpha walks the remaining roads with her eyes on the sea, but treasures every day with her neighbors. Time seems to be speeding up, sloughing away like cliffs into the ocean, but Alpha's heart still beats, excited for what tomorrow will bring. Welcome to the finale of this beloved manga classic, publishing chapters 112-140 in English for the first time.
468 pages, Paperback
Published August 6, 2024
8 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Hitoshi Ashinano
62 books62 followersHitoshi Ashinano (芦奈野 ひとし, Ashitano Hitoshi) is a Japanese manga artist.
Prior to his professional debut as a solo cartoonist, Ashinano worked as an assistant to manga artist Kousuke Fujishima, while also releasing some doujinshi (amateur manga) under the pen name 'suke'.
Ashinano's comics are known for their contemplative, laid-back, nostalgic feel. His first and best-known series is Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō, a slice-of-life manga set in a post-apocalyptic world. The manga was serialised in Kodansha's comics magazine 'Monthly Afternoon' from 1994 to 2006, won the 2007 'Seiun Award for Best Science Fiction Manga' and was adapted into an anime.
Prior to his professional debut as a solo cartoonist, Ashinano worked as an assistant to manga artist Kousuke Fujishima, while also releasing some doujinshi (amateur manga) under the pen name 'suke'.
Ashinano's comics are known for their contemplative, laid-back, nostalgic feel. His first and best-known series is Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō, a slice-of-life manga set in a post-apocalyptic world. The manga was serialised in Kodansha's comics magazine 'Monthly Afternoon' from 1994 to 2006, won the 2007 'Seiun Award for Best Science Fiction Manga' and was adapted into an anime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 17, 2024
This series was so good. I'm going to miss reading this story every few months.
Nothing like a nice quiet end of the world story. Like I keep saying the story & art feel like a tone poem. Enjoy.
Nothing like a nice quiet end of the world story. Like I keep saying the story & art feel like a tone poem. Enjoy.
April 15, 2024
fuck
there's a part of me that's worried that when I'm 60 I won't remember this book
there's a part of me that's worried that when I'm 60 I won't remember this book
February 16, 2025
Holy moly. Part of me had hoped for answers to many of the questions in this series...and I'm glad we didn't get them. That's not the point. It would have felt cheap. Instead, life and mystery goes on...
August 17, 2024
This entire series had such a huge impact on the type of stories I’d like to read. The pastoral post apocalyptic setting that evokes the sort of nostalgia I have for Harvest Moon a wonderful life strikes a chord. I love the subtle but evident queer love between Alpha and Kokone. I love the passage of time and the surreal/fantasy elements that begin taking over earth as humanity gets smaller and smaller. This series is a quiet salve.
December 8, 2024
I only just started really reading manga this year, but in that time I've already gone through a fair bit of cultural heavyweights, just some load-bearing works of the medium, yet this is the one I decided not to write a review for as I finished it last night and instead waited for a moment to be able to compose my thoughts. This is one I already knew halfway through I wanted on my shelves.
The word that comes to mind for YKK is "grounding". It feels, appropriately, like sitting down for a cup of coffee (or tea, I don't drink coffee), and having a slow, mellow conversation in which it's ok to just stop talking for a bit because look at the sky outside doesn't it look pretty? which is also appropriate because I'm pretty sure that's the plotline for several of its chapters. It's cozy, it's meditative, it's mysterious, it's funny and goddamn does it look pretty, and when it really tries it can be downright moving. It feels appropriate to have spent nearly a month getting through it in my evenings as the days started to slow down.
The plot and worldbuilding are both (very) sparse but the morsels we do get are delicious and, honestly, enough to figure things out, who needs exposition when you've read so much sci-fi all the blanks get filled in so easily. The cast is so good and we get so much out of the depictions of their day-to-day domesticity and interactions, their lingering looks and meaningful goodbyes after every time they cross each other and wonder when they'll get to meet again, content and satisfied nonetheless. There is a real pervasive feeling of acceptance in this, it's the final days of humanity after all, but one filled with making the best of circumstances and damn do these characters set an example for how I want to feel.
Absolute masterpiece, a must read for sci-fi fans, slice of life fans or just people who like books that feel like hugs.
The word that comes to mind for YKK is "grounding". It feels, appropriately, like sitting down for a cup of coffee (or tea, I don't drink coffee), and having a slow, mellow conversation in which it's ok to just stop talking for a bit because look at the sky outside doesn't it look pretty? which is also appropriate because I'm pretty sure that's the plotline for several of its chapters. It's cozy, it's meditative, it's mysterious, it's funny and goddamn does it look pretty, and when it really tries it can be downright moving. It feels appropriate to have spent nearly a month getting through it in my evenings as the days started to slow down.
The plot and worldbuilding are both (very) sparse but the morsels we do get are delicious and, honestly, enough to figure things out, who needs exposition when you've read so much sci-fi all the blanks get filled in so easily. The cast is so good and we get so much out of the depictions of their day-to-day domesticity and interactions, their lingering looks and meaningful goodbyes after every time they cross each other and wonder when they'll get to meet again, content and satisfied nonetheless. There is a real pervasive feeling of acceptance in this, it's the final days of humanity after all, but one filled with making the best of circumstances and damn do these characters set an example for how I want to feel.
Absolute masterpiece, a must read for sci-fi fans, slice of life fans or just people who like books that feel like hugs.
September 4, 2024
What do you say when you finish a work as momentous as this one? Genuinely at a loss, but I notice, though, that I do need to say something. It was beautiful. Reading this over the past year as the translations slowly trickled through has been such an important tether to the world for me, so grounding and rich and meaningful. Finishing it is--in the strongest sense of the word--bittersweet. It's just been indispensable, irreplaceable, and I am so thankful to have had it as a companion this past year. I could repeat myself forever here and just never get it fully across.
March 16, 2025
The end. I have enjoyed this particular scifi series, enough to continue buying the omnibuses for some time now. Its nice and cozy, while we dive deep into the characters and their lives and their thoughts. While the fifth volume really does focus on the passage of time, I believe it misses displaying some key moments, and didn't develop on some of the topics I wish it had.
Still, highly recommend.
Still, highly recommend.
Read
September 30, 2024Hard to find words to express how moving this is. The final volume has such impressively beautiful pacing, what it chooses to tell vs show vs not show or tell at all is so intentional and loving to the characters. This is just a really really beautiful story to even try to tell, and that this series can actually express (and translate) this story and these ideas of transience, identity, memory, confidence, and love, makes it something really really special
December 30, 2024
“May the night of humankind be a time of utmost peace.”
I just read this final volume in one sitting. It was as delightful and melancholic as the rest of the series.
Like the meteor shower Alpha and Kokone watch, time seems to start slow and speed up exponentially. Months and then years are passing between chapters in this volume.
Relationships are finding their resolutions. The ocean continues to swallow up more of Yokohama.
*slight spoiler ahead*
Alpha, as spontaneous and adventurous as she is, feels compelled to run her cafe right into the twilight of the world. Cliffs nears the cafe are literally falling into the ocean. It’s only a matter of time before Cafe Alpha is swallowed up too and yet she remains. She sheds tears as she watches her friends grow and fade away, saying “[Time]. It’s so fast. It’s too fast.”
As I suspected, some plot lines are never resolved. We never see Director Alpha in the sky come down out of her ship. Kokone never quite gets to the bottom of discovering the robot’s origins.
But as I said, the relational matters, most important of all, find resolution. Takahiro and Makki seem to get married and have a daughter who also meets the Osprey. Alpha and Kokone seems to live together, riding out the end of the world together. It’s a hint that, yes, these two love one another romantically.
I could’ve easily read 5 more volumes of this cozy, slow moving series, and I would’ve loved to see some of the mysteries solved, but I’m pleased with this. Like the stand-in customer for the reader, I too shall return to Cafe Alpha and I expect to find myself welcome again.
“I think she’ll remember me even if is twenty years. It’s that kind of place.”
I just read this final volume in one sitting. It was as delightful and melancholic as the rest of the series.
Like the meteor shower Alpha and Kokone watch, time seems to start slow and speed up exponentially. Months and then years are passing between chapters in this volume.
Relationships are finding their resolutions. The ocean continues to swallow up more of Yokohama.
*slight spoiler ahead*
Alpha, as spontaneous and adventurous as she is, feels compelled to run her cafe right into the twilight of the world. Cliffs nears the cafe are literally falling into the ocean. It’s only a matter of time before Cafe Alpha is swallowed up too and yet she remains. She sheds tears as she watches her friends grow and fade away, saying “[Time]. It’s so fast. It’s too fast.”
As I suspected, some plot lines are never resolved. We never see Director Alpha in the sky come down out of her ship. Kokone never quite gets to the bottom of discovering the robot’s origins.
But as I said, the relational matters, most important of all, find resolution. Takahiro and Makki seem to get married and have a daughter who also meets the Osprey. Alpha and Kokone seems to live together, riding out the end of the world together. It’s a hint that, yes, these two love one another romantically.
I could’ve easily read 5 more volumes of this cozy, slow moving series, and I would’ve loved to see some of the mysteries solved, but I’m pleased with this. Like the stand-in customer for the reader, I too shall return to Cafe Alpha and I expect to find myself welcome again.
“I think she’ll remember me even if is twenty years. It’s that kind of place.”
January 26, 2025
I love this manga. Sometimes I looked at the panels for a long time, I read the dialogues in those panels over and over again. I didn't want to lose that moment, I wanted it to be engraved in my memory, but unfortunately mother nature wasn't that kind to me when giving me a mind... It was a manga that made me wish I had a photographic memory...
I learned that there are other mangas like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou out there. That it blongs to a manga genre called Iyashikei and i even read another manga in this genre and it is called Girls Last Tour. As far as i learned Iyashikei series are feel good manga series that has an overall melancholia on the plot and this is exacly what Yokohama Kaidashi Kioku was.
Girls Last Tour is another one of my all times favorite mangas, but it had a bad end, i understand a Iyashikei manga suppose to have melencolia over overall its plot, but a bad end gets into territoriy of feel bad...(HA HA) I am just saying though, acutally i love bad ends, but an Iyashikei supposed to be a feel good series with sweet sadness, you know melencolia, so i think Girls Last Tour kind of get out of Iyashikei territory with its bad end because it is not sweet sadness anymore, it didn't depress me or anything, i love bad a end anyway, but it can depress some other people.
I realised that i am a Iyashikei guy. I learned that March Comes in Like a Lion is also an Iyashikei manga (i am collecting it right now, but i haven't started to read it yet) I am just pulled to Iyashikei mangas... Even without knowing that they are Iyashikei, i go for Iyashikei mangas. (HA HA)
I learned that there are other mangas like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou out there. That it blongs to a manga genre called Iyashikei and i even read another manga in this genre and it is called Girls Last Tour. As far as i learned Iyashikei series are feel good manga series that has an overall melancholia on the plot and this is exacly what Yokohama Kaidashi Kioku was.
Girls Last Tour is another one of my all times favorite mangas, but it had a bad end, i understand a Iyashikei manga suppose to have melencolia over overall its plot, but a bad end gets into territoriy of feel bad...(HA HA) I am just saying though, acutally i love bad ends, but an Iyashikei supposed to be a feel good series with sweet sadness, you know melencolia, so i think Girls Last Tour kind of get out of Iyashikei territory with its bad end because it is not sweet sadness anymore, it didn't depress me or anything, i love bad a end anyway, but it can depress some other people.
I realised that i am a Iyashikei guy. I learned that March Comes in Like a Lion is also an Iyashikei manga (i am collecting it right now, but i haven't started to read it yet) I am just pulled to Iyashikei mangas... Even without knowing that they are Iyashikei, i go for Iyashikei mangas. (HA HA)
June 12, 2024
Una historia sobre el paso del tiempo: lo que se mantiene, se gana o se pierde.
En un mundo donde el mar no deja de avanzar y fuerza cambios; la protagonista (una robot que lleva una cafetería) te obliga a pararte, observar el paisaje, compartir con otros y, en general, disfrutar del momento sin planear demasiado.
Al principio me sorprendió que la gente lo recomendase como un manga relajante ya que estaba viendo al tiempo/mar como el gran enemigo que se lleva todo por delante (majora's mask THE MOON! ITS FALLING!! moment) . Hasta que caí en que no había que derrotarlo sino hacer las paces con él.
Su worldbuilding es muy tenue y algunas dudas quedan sin resolver, principalmente al ya no estar presente quiénes podían dar respuesta, pero me encantaron los flashbacks y me resultó un universo muy interesante.
Tiene un ambiente nostálgico pero acogedor, un estilo de dibujo muy bonito y me ha parecido como un álbum de fotos, una vez lo has leído puedes abrir cualquier página y revivir los momentos.
En un mundo donde el mar no deja de avanzar y fuerza cambios; la protagonista (una robot que lleva una cafetería) te obliga a pararte, observar el paisaje, compartir con otros y, en general, disfrutar del momento sin planear demasiado.
Al principio me sorprendió que la gente lo recomendase como un manga relajante ya que estaba viendo al tiempo/mar como el gran enemigo que se lleva todo por delante (majora's mask THE MOON! ITS FALLING!! moment) . Hasta que caí en que no había que derrotarlo sino hacer las paces con él.
Su worldbuilding es muy tenue y algunas dudas quedan sin resolver, principalmente al ya no estar presente quiénes podían dar respuesta, pero me encantaron los flashbacks y me resultó un universo muy interesante.
Tiene un ambiente nostálgico pero acogedor, un estilo de dibujo muy bonito y me ha parecido como un álbum de fotos, una vez lo has leído puedes abrir cualquier página y revivir los momentos.
August 10, 2024
This was such an enjoyable series. It's a far different end-of-the-world story than any I've ever read. And, yet, it doesn't quite end, because the story goes on in my head. It's such a relaxing thing to read. When the world is sinking slowly beneath the sea, and there's no place to go, and there's no fixing it, people go on with their lives. No strife. No tension. No stress. This is maybe how we should should live our lives now? Just live. Live as if the world is ending. Enjoy what time we have. Enjoy each other. Enjoy a day on a beach or a picnic in the grass. Visit friends. Have some tea. Or coffee. Relax. Talk. Laugh. Such a calming peaceful world. It's hard to imagine that this world we live in could be like that.
Read
May 24, 2024Overall series is a 3.5/5, but I don't want to individually rate these graphic novel collections.
This is a rather unique story approach, as it's a cozy...post-apocalyptic story. There's androids and humans living together, a cafe, and hints of a world left behind. My favorite parts of the story were the cozy vibes and the time skips, showing how the androids will eventually inherit the earth. I wish there was more information about what happened, but that just wasn't what this author was trying to tell. While I think this manga was overly hyped, it was a good read and an important piece of manga from the 90s.
This is a rather unique story approach, as it's a cozy...post-apocalyptic story. There's androids and humans living together, a cafe, and hints of a world left behind. My favorite parts of the story were the cozy vibes and the time skips, showing how the androids will eventually inherit the earth. I wish there was more information about what happened, but that just wasn't what this author was trying to tell. While I think this manga was overly hyped, it was a good read and an important piece of manga from the 90s.
August 7, 2024
as beautiful as the first time I read it
Read a fan translation of this story long ago in 2006, just as Ashinano finished the series I think. Loved it then and I love re-reading it now. There are so many details I had forgotten about. It’s full of nostalgia for me. Looking forward to reading it again and again from now on.
Read a fan translation of this story long ago in 2006, just as Ashinano finished the series I think. Loved it then and I love re-reading it now. There are so many details I had forgotten about. It’s full of nostalgia for me. Looking forward to reading it again and again from now on.
August 16, 2024
As a series, this is a beautiful piece of climate fiction. While some observe from afar, fearful of whats to come, others make coffee, go swimming, repair the shutters. Do you spend your limited time desperately trying to preserve what was, or enjoy life as it is, as it comes? You might argue that there is some naïveté here, but its comforting in its own way. The sea is inching higher every year but for now, at least, its gotten a little bit easier to walk to the beach.
September 17, 2024
I’ve really enjoyed this whimsical slice of life series. The art is beautiful and strangely nostalgic even it being my first time reading it. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a peaceful story of a seaside cafe run by a friendly robot.
December 17, 2024
We finally got to the reality of robots observing the passing of time. There are a lot of time jumps in this one, and we see how that's affecting Alpha. At the same time, the world is changing and remembering, which I found to be an interesting concept.
August 17, 2024
I’m so glad I finally got to finish this series. It’s such a peaceful read. I’m so happy I got the physical copies so I can return to it again and again.
August 18, 2024
Nice cozy story, but was hoping for more of a conclusion
September 2, 2024
may the night of humankind be a time of utmost peace
September 5, 2024
Sad to see it wrap up, but love how all the characters get more time in the spotlight, and how the story keeps going. Definitely a series to return to; it's classic for a reason.
September 25, 2024
So sad this weird robot cafe series is over :(
October 11, 2024
A bittersweet ending to this wonderful series! I love that we got to see many of the characters grow up and Alpha’s understanding of life deepen. Really wonderful.
November 6, 2024
I’m going to miss this series so much. Definitely want to return to it. What a wonderful conclusion.
February 1, 2025
loved this series 🥰
February 7, 2025
weren’t they cousins?
“may the night of humankind be a time of utmost peace.” this series is such a beautifully drawn work of art. it deserves to be viewed and appreciated.
“may the night of humankind be a time of utmost peace.” this series is such a beautifully drawn work of art. it deserves to be viewed and appreciated.
August 9, 2024
Kindof an underwhelming ending to such a moving series but still very good.
February 4, 2025
A nice ending to the series - the overall plot doesn't really exist anymore (the seas are rising, the cliff behind Alpha's coffeeshop is collapsing, nature is overtaking abandoned structures in weird ways that aren't explored, everyone but Alpha and the other androids are aging, etc) so it's largely a collection of quiet meditations about life and family.
September 14, 2024
This manga has so many things going for it. It is truly a masterpiece in comic writing. I don't think I've ever read anything with nearly the same atmosphere and I don't think anything will ever come close to emulating it.
The art is absolutely stunning. Every color page was a marvel to take in, especially when printed on the uncoated paper.
What I liked:
•The slow and cozy atmosphere surrounding a post-apocalyptic flooded world and a robot that runs a cafe
•I think one of my favorite segments of the manga was when Alpha's Cafe is destroyed in a storm and she leaves to explore the world.
•Knowing that human life is slowly slipping away but never quite feeling the ramifications of it.
•The tragedy that is Alpha having all of these experiences with humans and casually accepting them changing over years of not seeing them at a time. She is fully capable of waiting forever when her friend leave and when they eventually will die. She is also capable of growing and changing so maybe one day, many years after someone has died, will she miss them?
•The ethics of creating such flawless robotic life in the first place. Alpha and the other robots are doomed to make relationships with people that are dying and are fated to eventually die alone.
•Soso much more. It was a very somber series that I won't forget
•I really enjoyed some of the vagueness which can leave things up to interpretation. The flying ship with another Alpha model had the most screen time out of these vague topics. I enjoyed what we got and it made me come up with my own theories surrounding it. To me, upon a single reading so this may change with subsequent readings, it appeared that the ship was somehow bringing the flood or benefiting from the flood. I know the ship Alpha made it clear she was concerned for human life and hated seeing it dwindle, but made it very clear that she wished it would all turn to "blue light" which is how she describes the submerged lights so she could finally visit. At the same time, she doesn't want that happening since it spells the end of the life she has been observing.
Didn't like:
•There seemed to possibly be a suggestion of an underaged relationship. It felt strange when I read it but since the series does not ever focus of romance I chalked it up to being more of a conversation surrounding companionship but it was strange nonetheless. It was all contained in one short chapter and never was touched upon again.
•I had a harder time tolerating some of the vagueness scattered in the series. The mushroom, people statues, and Osprey are all things I wish had a little more substance and explaination. Maybe this will change and I will come to understand more with further reading. I do enjoy when a story offers more the next time I read so I am looking forward to seeing if my thoughts on this change in time
The art is absolutely stunning. Every color page was a marvel to take in, especially when printed on the uncoated paper.
What I liked:
•The slow and cozy atmosphere surrounding a post-apocalyptic flooded world and a robot that runs a cafe
•I think one of my favorite segments of the manga was when Alpha's Cafe is destroyed in a storm and she leaves to explore the world.
•Knowing that human life is slowly slipping away but never quite feeling the ramifications of it.
•The tragedy that is Alpha having all of these experiences with humans and casually accepting them changing over years of not seeing them at a time. She is fully capable of waiting forever when her friend leave and when they eventually will die. She is also capable of growing and changing so maybe one day, many years after someone has died, will she miss them?
•The ethics of creating such flawless robotic life in the first place. Alpha and the other robots are doomed to make relationships with people that are dying and are fated to eventually die alone.
•Soso much more. It was a very somber series that I won't forget
•I really enjoyed some of the vagueness which can leave things up to interpretation. The flying ship with another Alpha model had the most screen time out of these vague topics. I enjoyed what we got and it made me come up with my own theories surrounding it. To me, upon a single reading so this may change with subsequent readings, it appeared that the ship was somehow bringing the flood or benefiting from the flood. I know the ship Alpha made it clear she was concerned for human life and hated seeing it dwindle, but made it very clear that she wished it would all turn to "blue light" which is how she describes the submerged lights so she could finally visit. At the same time, she doesn't want that happening since it spells the end of the life she has been observing.
Didn't like:
•There seemed to possibly be a suggestion of an underaged relationship. It felt strange when I read it but since the series does not ever focus of romance I chalked it up to being more of a conversation surrounding companionship but it was strange nonetheless. It was all contained in one short chapter and never was touched upon again.
•I had a harder time tolerating some of the vagueness scattered in the series. The mushroom, people statues, and Osprey are all things I wish had a little more substance and explaination. Maybe this will change and I will come to understand more with further reading. I do enjoy when a story offers more the next time I read so I am looking forward to seeing if my thoughts on this change in time
August 6, 2024
Beautiful slow decline of humanity
This manga slowly shows how humanity accepts its decline stoically. From the perspective of android, Alpha, we see how world gracefully changes.
This manga slowly shows how humanity accepts its decline stoically. From the perspective of android, Alpha, we see how world gracefully changes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews