There is great injustice in the anime world when a mangaka so talented goes relatively unheard of.
I am upset. I am upset at the sadness of this short series, I am upset it is only a short series, and I am upset that Kaori Ozaki remains a fairly low key name. I can see how that can't be helped, considering she has just one work of significant length and that it took her about a decade to finish it, but that in no way lessens the brilliance of Ozaki's talents. Her art isn't beautiful the way Mori-sensei's is, nor are her stories classics to be showered in fame for years and years to come, but there's something about Ozaki-sensei, and it's something I wish there was a lot more love about. There's an earnestness to her work, a real and almost terrible insight into the hearts of human beings, but never one without the light of hope and wonder. There is fun to be had in an Ozaki manga, there is love, compassion, sympathy, and faith. Faith that things will be alright even in the bleakest of times, and faith that companionship and feelings for others will always come through in one way or another. Her stories aren't happy ones. Natsuru and Suzumura lose much in their short-lived relationship and powerful friendship, and in the end, their love and need for one another isn't enough to carry them through the storm of lies the world wove around them. It's a story about the sad and fragile beauty of naivety, of genuine feelings that don't quite reach, but it's nevertheless hugely powerful in its impact. Even after being separated, there is hope for something better, and in worlds like this, where children are forced to bury their grandfathers in secret and live in constant fear of losing everything because of a selfish parent, it's that hope that really makes Ozaki's works so emotionally compelling. They're sad and touching, but in the end, you can't help but smile in the hope that something has changed for the better.
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