![\""What](\"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/wonderfulworld.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Truth: life as a young adult is hard.\u00a0Straight out of high school, your dreams and hopes are still fresh.\u00a0You constantly feel like you\u2019re on the verge of something big.\u00a0Dreams seem attainable. Time passes and nothing happens. You compare yourself to friends and fellow graduates, and wonder: what went wrong?\u00a0How did I get here?\u00a0How do I change it now?\u00a0Can I go back? What a Wonderful World!<\/em><\/a> doesn\u2019t answer these questions; it illustrates the paths chosen by a cast of interconnected characters and how they find hope in the face of reality.<\/p>\n The two-volume series by Inio Asano (Solanin<\/em><\/a>, Nijigihara Holograph<\/em>) contains nine short \u201ctracks\u201d about modern life.\u00a0Each track begins with a character\u2019s internal monologue about how utterly dismal everything is. Life happens (encounters with friends, family, even enemies and strangers), and by the end of each track, the lesson is learned: this is reality; accept it, find joy in the little things, and be happy. The story is then handed off to the next character, usually a friend or relative of the previous story\u2019s main character. This suggests that everyone feels lost at some point — it\u2019s just part of life.<\/p>\n Sound depressing?\u00a0A little.\u00a0But I believe it\u2019s a gem of a book. I grew up reading shoujo manga, so I was a little hesitant after reading the blurb on the back cover: \u201cWhat do you mean it\u2019s about real life?\u00a0Rated for \u2018older teens\u2019? Where\u2019s my bishounen and love story?!\u201d\u00a0But the yellow and brown colour scheme for the cover was eye-catching, and the design was rather unique as it didn\u2019t resemble those of traditional Japanese manga (of course, you should never judge a book by its cover).\u00a0The drawing style was believable, in between cartoon and real life (no oddly proportioned people here!).\u00a0Character design was accurate in portraying average, twenty-something people in an average town, living average lives.<\/p>\n I ended up loving it. Sombre, but with just the right amount of humour.\u00a0In fact, I laughed out loud in the middle of a semi-quiet cafe during the last short story, titled \u201cSyrup.\u201d\u00a0The story focuses on Syrup\u2019s friend Tamotsu, who almost gives up his dream of becoming a photographer because of an argument with a mutual friend.\u00a0Syrup, nicknamed thus because of his addiction to cough syrup, saves Tamotsu\u2019s faith in photography during a tussin-induced high.\u00a0In doing so, Syrup almost kills himself in a hilarious manner.\u00a0The story doesn\u2019t end there, but I\u2019m not going to spoil it.\u00a0The ending was bittersweet and brought a smile to my face.<\/p>\n Other stories include a girl who talks to and outwits a shinigami (Japanese death god) in the form of a crow; a kidnapper\/thief who ends up befriending and giving stolen money to the girl he takes as a hostage; a girl who rediscovers love for her long-term boyfriend; and, a jaded bully who restores his belief in life again after being forced to talk to his victim, and that’s just to name a few.\u00a0The quotes out of this book are enlightening.\u00a0A few of my favourites include:<\/p>\n \u201cLiving sucks.\u00a0And yet, I still want to live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t stress.\u00a0We all live in our own ways. And we all have doubts about whether it\u2019s right or wrong.\u00a0But there isn\u2019t<\/em> a right or wrong way to live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c…You\u2019ve probably realized that happiness never lasts.\u00a0That fleetingness is why we have to cherish each and every day…\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n They\u2019re really common quotes, but they\u2019re things people need to remember in order to be happy wherever they are in life.<\/p>\n What a Wonderful World!<\/em> is written and drawn by Inio Asano, and is published by VIZ Signature<\/a>.\u00a0This two-volume manga is available for purchase at your favorite stores and online retailers today and can be purchased directly through the publisher here:<\/p>\n What a Wonderful World! Volume 1<\/em><\/a> Truth: life as a young adult is hard.\u00a0Straight out of high school, your dreams and hopes are still fresh.\u00a0You constantly feel like you\u2019re on the verge of something big.\u00a0Dreams seem attainable. Time passes and nothing happens. You compare yourself to friends and fellow graduates, and wonder: what went wrong?\u00a0How did I get here?\u00a0How do I … Continue reading “VIZ Signature Presents Inio Asano’s “What A Wonderful World!””<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,22,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-books-writing","category-comics","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6960\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/uberscifigeek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWhat a Wonderful World! Volume 2<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"