Award winning mangaka Taiyo Matsumoto brings pathos and humanity to Tokyo These Days as he examines the idea of 
finding one’s purpose through the lens of manga publishing. This was easily the most interesting and compelling book I’ve read in a while and the layout feels very cinematic.
The first chapter is titled “Today I’m Retiring for Personal Reasons” and this convention carries throughout the rest of the book with the chapters titled like they are calendar or journal entries. We get a glimpse at the inner life of Shiozawa, a manga editor, as he reaches a personal and professional crossroad. We’ll see the larger affect he has on his environment and its inhabitants dealing with this decision and how it opens this story up.
We find Shiozawa getting ready for work and having a conversation with his pet bird, who tells him it’s sad he’s retiring (he understands birds, but it’s not commented on.) He’s been editing manga for 30 years, but his latest magazine folded and he feels responsible. He realizes he’s spent 230 days total on this particular train getting to and from work and the scope of how entirely his life revolves around the field of manga begins to overwhelm him. He goes to meet an old colleague and we learn about just how different they are.
Chosaku is an artist who smokes, drinks, is overweight and generally overindulges in all the ways Shiozawa doesn’t. The dichotomy of these two is reflected in the lives of the other characters we’ll meet, but the thing they have in common is how they have devoted their whole lives to manga and how drained they are. Chosaku is still going through the motions, but Shiozawa points out his books have lost their shine and his heart isn’t in it. He wants Chosaku’s work to shine again, he loved that work. The rest of this first volume shows these men dealing with their sense of purpose and direction, but they wind up influencing others around them.
Liliko Hayashi was a young editor who looked up to Shiozawa and seeks out his help with a troublesome artist, Aoki. Shiozawa used to edit his work before assigning him to Liliko and the relationship is in bad shape. She is frustrated by Aoki’s hollow work and terrible attitude. Aoki is frustrated by what he sees as her interference and lack of support. They both hope Shiozawa will intervene and help, but he has stepped back and no longer wants to be involved with the field.
Their development will mirror the affect Shiozawa has on others around him; everyone in his sphere winds up asking larger questions about their commitment to manga, art, their lives, their purpose and the future. Shiozawa eventually decides to try and make one last book, one perfect manga that is just for him. It doesn’t have to be successful, there is no publisher supporting him, he’s just putting his retirement money into this idea. He decides to recruit artists and creators whose work he loved, but some of them no longer work in manga and he needs to try and lure them back.
Describing this book as cinematic is to say that there are quiet moments where the story is allowed to breathe and the audience can sit in the emotional impact of what just happened. There are wide shots of the skyline or cityscape to show just how small Shiozawa feels. There are small, everyday occurrences that fill out the background and give the world a more textured and authentic feel. The art isn’t what I would describe as clean, but it is also very intentional and highly detailed. It is a believable, modern Tokyo illustrated here, and it is very much another character in the story.
Viz rated this book Teen, which I believe is the right designation for it, but I think older readers likely will experience the book differently and more fully. There is very little in the way of bad language and a character smokes. Outside of that there is nothing objectionable in this book and teen readers should have no trouble understanding this world. The emotional journey of the characters will likely land differently with adults who have experienced some of the adult life experiences the characters here reflect on. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to libraries that are looking for manga that isn’t action, adventure, love or mystery.
Tokyo These Days Vol 1
By Taiyo Matsumoto
VIZ Signature, 2024
ISBN: 9781974738809
Publisher Age Rating: Teen
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
