Drawing From Your Memory by Shiki Kawabata combines the “kids learn to make manga” genre with an “I went back in time to save a classmate” story.
We first meet Mahoro after she’s had huge success. Her manga series spawned an anime, a movie, and a TV show. She’s being asked to come up with another series, which leads to her confession — her popular series was based on ideas and character designs from someone else who died ten years ago.
She and Yukishima were the only two members of the school manga club. He had managed to submit a piece for a magazine debut, but while she could draw, she couldn’t structure a story. He encouraged her, but she was good enough to know how much she still had to learn, which discouraged her. Then he dies. But he leaves her a notebook full of notes and ideas, which becomes the basis of her manga.
On the night she reveals her history to her editor, she falls, hits her head, and wakes up back in the manga club room ten years ago. She’s determined to give Yukishima more credit, and things spiral from there, with her attempting to change fate. She uses her adult skills, including pivoting to handle emergencies and delegating, to try and turn things around.
One of my favorite moments is when she, as a kid, thinks, “A morning with no deadlines… is the best!” The difference between being a working woman and a kid, that is.
There’s only five volumes in the series, so it’s not too much of a commitment, which I appreciate these days. I’m not sure I’m totally on board with “I’ll give up my own work to give him the career he deserved,” but I’m curious to see where this goes, particularly with more than one time loop coming up. (The publisher provided a digital review copy.)
English (US) · 