Introduction
"Memories," to quote the ninth volume of Yuki Obata's We Were There, "are simply a product of one's imagination, created from fragments of the past. Remembering is the same as seeing an illusion." If true, then Nanami Takahashi and the rest of the cast of Obata-san's Shogakukan Manga Award-winning shōjo may be down-right delusional. Memories are where this manga series eats and sleeps. Every major character is haunted with memories of one kind or another: tragic loss, unrequited love, missed opportunity, fateful meetings, quiet moments. In life, everyone wrestles with memories like these but young Nanami and those in orbit around her seem dominated by them. How the past controls the actions of the characters in the present is the theme of the story. With every passing page and chapter, as the present becomes the past, the characters seem compelled forward to an inexorable end, their actions dictated by what came before like a falling domino pushing down the one in front of it and so on until the last one falls. While occasionally tiresome, it all works largely thanks to the genuine and believable rendering of the cast.
It's easy for someone of my, shall we say, "advancing years" to cynically dismiss the trials and tribulations of young love with some pithy talk-to-the-hand, been-there-done-that, thanks-but-no-thanks, get-over-it epigram, especially with the saccharine way in which it's presented in these pages. But if I could reach into the age-encrusted vaults of my memory, I might recall that almost mystical first time I experienced one person acknowledging another on a level beyond the ordinary, when one soul touched another and forged an intimate bond of understanding. Nanami had such a bond with boyfriend Motoharu Yano and lost it in a way she struggles to come to terms with. There was no fight, no acrimony, no break-up; Yano simply moved away and subsequently disappeared without explanation. As volume nine begins, Nanami (or Nana-chan) is in the waning days of her college life, sagging under the intense weight of job hunting and facing her future while wandering the streets in wistful retrospective about a lover lost under the selfsame sky. Her life is populated by sympathetic friends who counsel her to "move on" and pursue other romantic opportunities. Enter Masafumi Takeuchi.
Takeuchi is the Other Guy; childhood friend of the missing Yano and fellow suitor for Nanami's affections. Takeuchi is also, in a word, the anti-thesis of Yano. Living and soon to be working in the same city where Nanami is graduating and looking for a job, the two naturally gravitate together, but memories of Yano haunt them both. Nanami, in particular, struggles to move past her failed relationship without the closure she needs to be free. Refrains of "Yano" are persistent in the echo chamber of Nanami's mind and Takeuchi knows it only too well. His one advantage is the empathy he is able to show Nanami whenever memories of Yano seize upon her. His carefully orchestrated courtship and Nanami's inner conflict comprise much of the story in Volume Nine, a manga title that succeeds on a number of fronts.
Highlights
The first thing that strikes you when leafing through the pages is how neat and organized it looks. Everything feels very regimented; the panels are laid out with geometrical rigidity, composition focuses on the subject to the exclusion of all else, and the dialogue is arranged neatly to avoid unnecessary obstruction. There is no waste, no dissipation of energy on ancillary information. Every square inch of every page is devoted to precisely communicating only the most essential of information. That's not to say it isn't pretty to look at. The character designs are textbook shōjo: clean, narrow—almost sketch-like—stroke to the lines; clean, round faces with large, expressive eyes; and simple environments that don't distract from the action. These might all sound like vices to some, but the cumulative effect is a manga that effectively draws the reader confidently forward, never disorienting the eye and thus never compromising readability. The story simply and pleasantly flows from page to page. My one gripe here is Obata-san's occasional slip into the doll-like chibi-style rendering of characters. I recognize that chibi is manga shorthand for conveying a specific mood or mindset but it breaks the story's very painstakingly established sense of authenticity. Fortunately, that is only a minor hiccup that shouldn't seriously inhibit anyone from getting into the story. As for the story…
Let's be clear. This is a romance story: girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl pines over boy, girl gets it on with boy's best mate, etc. There are no explosions, car chases or demon attacks. There isn't a mech, monster or mad scientist to be found anywhere, not even a gun. Nobody uses magic, draws a sword or even farts. As a guy who doesn't like too much sugar in his love stories, there are times when I wanted to slap (figuratively speaking) Nanami around a little and yell "Enough with Yano already!" That said, those moments were few and far between and I venture to say that even those with an allergy for love stories may find something to appreciate here. The parameters of the story are unapologetically human without resorting to epic tragedy or melodrama—tragedy yes, but not epic tragedy. These are simply young people with a whole lot of life in front of them trying to figure out how to move forward and who to move forward with. And for that, Yuki Obata and We Were There are to be congratulated.
Overview
As shōjo, We Were There is part of a sub-genre of a sub-genre of a sub-genre and not likely to garner much attention from the bulk of North American readers, which is really too bad because it's actually pretty good. The fact that it won a prestigious manga award in Japan and got adapted into an anime series, two honors that don't befall every title under the sun, should tell you something about the quality of the series. Unfortunately, because of its narrow appeal I can only offer a recommendation with reservations: if you are a shōjo aficionado than you will find this title to be a worthy addition to your collection but if not, you may be one to appreciate it on its merits or, more likely, you will have little patience for it. All things being equal, We Were There deserves recognition as a well-rendered manga title with believable characters, interesting story arcs, strong panel design, good pacing and an honest approach to its story in a genre over-saturated with perfidy.
ComicsOnline gives We Were There #9 3 out of 5 haunting memories.
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