PART 50 of 52 ONESHOTS in 52 WEEKS
古味直志の『刻どキ』 “Tokidoki” by KOMI Naoshi
Naoshi Komi is best known for the manga series Nisekoi, which was published in Weekly Shounen Jump from 2011 to 2016. The manga, which spanned over 200 chapters, was first devised as a oneshot, with the author frequently using the short form to explore a miscellany of novel ideas.
Of his ten published short works, one of Komi’s most renowned is a drama titled Tokidoki, which follows a unique and endearing relationship between two high school students. The 48-page story was first featured in Jump GIGA magazine in 2016, with Viz publishing an English translation in their localised version of Weekly Jump in 2017.
Iijima Hato, a happy-go-lucky high school student, is intrigued by a new girl in his class named Takagi Hatsu, who tends to keep to herself. A chance encounter brings the two together, and Iijima learns that Takagi’s reserved temperament is due to a rare disease, where her heart is limited by a predetermined number of beats. Takagi confides in Iijima, expressing a desire to live her life to the fullest, even if it will shorten her lifespan. The cheerful Iijima decides he’s up for the task, and declares he’ll help Takagi break out of her shell and make the most of the time she has left.
Tokidoki fancies some decent themes and promotes a beautiful outlook of love, courage, and living life to the fullest. It’s heartbeat concept is certainly gimmicky, though it suits the format of a oneshot, where author’s can have a bit of fun with offbeat ideas before they outstay their welcome. However, it fumbles in its characterisation and is frustratingly contrived.
Despite her initial reticence, Takagi is revealed to be a very passionate and expressive individual. She has a love of song-writing and poetry, which Iijima uses as a platform to convince her to perform at their school’s cultural festival. The author seems to be building toward an explosive and revealing crescendo, where Takagi is able to embrace her inner desires in a powerful performance.
The climatic scene is effective, with Takagi able to unleash her voice in a let-it-all-out moment of unfettered emotion. The wordless spread is strong visually, but for a character whose talent with words is allegedly sublime, it feels like a missed opportunity to truly delineate Takagi and underline her so-called aptitude in a distinctive way. There are no examples of her lyrics or poetry, readers are simply told she is talented. Like in Nante Nasakenai Bokura da, another oneshot where a poetic character’s prowess is divulged in bland exposition rather than demonstrated, Takagi feels deficient. For a scene that has the potential to be notable for its unique voice, the performance, which goes on to shape Takagi’s future, is ultimately unremarkable, in spite of its quality illustrations.
Further frustrations arise in a shock twist. The central characters make a compelling and lovable pair, and the way Iijima helps Takagi find her courage is tender and gratifying, but the author wants to make an impact, and does so through a cheap reveal, made all the more contrived by some misleading narration early in the story. It’s all a bit feigned and melodramatic.
Naoshi Komi’s illustrations are more than serviceable, though occasionally they lack character, with a heavy reliance on grey tone in certain panels. Some of the oneshot’s comedic scenes and exaggerated reactions also feel derivative, but on the whole, the art is vibrant and effective. Sadly, this doesn’t do much to aid the plot which, for me, fosters ambivalence more so than the stirring emotions it desires. For a loving story of boy-meets-girl with tragic underpinnings, I would much rather revisit Kodomo no Kamisama.
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Morning, Roo 