Hirayasumi

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TLDR; Finding beauty in the mundane.

Some quick backstory on the author Shinzo Keigo and Hirayasumi. The manga author recently just overcame cancer during the pandemic. Keigo's experience in the hospital at the time was described as boring and uneventful. Keigo missed being able to just "live" his life outside. After overcoming his battle, Keigo was inspired to write Hirayasumi on his way home from the hospital by simply looking outside his window in his parents' car. A central theme of Hirayasumi is enjoying the present or basking in the moment. That moment isn't necessarily epic or grand in scale, but just like us, the ... moments he illustrates the most are the moments we wouldn't think twice about (having a nice walk, enjoying the scenery around yourself, enjoying the fresh air, etc.). Moments where you look around and say I am glad I am here right now in this moment. Those moments were gone for Keigo when he was hospitalized, and now realizing how beautiful these moments are and how he took those moments for granted he writes and draws Hirayasumi.

Now onto the Manga. There is something about Hirayasumi just makes me feel at ease. The art style is so simple yet pretty. The characters feel relatable and realistic. The story isn't too complex nor does it have unnecessary drama. Hirayasumi perfectly encapsulates the feeling of slice of life. Hirayasumi carries this vibe that makes reading each chapter more and more enjoyable than the last.

Hirayasumi is so far very wholesome and just relaxing to read after a long day of work. It makes me thankful that I am still alive, still able to exist in this planet with others and it reminds me to enjoy the present while it lasts. Hirayasumi silently screams to me to slow down and enjoy the little things you walk right by every day.

At the expense of rising in popularity, both the manga and the anime industries started to grow a bit convoluted in recent years. It doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, but due to its growth, most authors are fixated on the competition and ever so slightly forget the significance of their individual expression.

Hirayasumi is a rare find in these conditions. With modest yet charismatic art drawn over straightforward yet engaging dialogues, it's the author's love letter for the things we take for granted in our lives. It's a love letter for the lonely old lady next door who loves to cook warm food for a complete ... stranger. A love letter for the beautiful mornings that we miss due to punctualities we need to attend to. A love letter for the stillness that we scorn for being boring and unproductive. A love letter for the delicate rain that gardens countless flowers. A love letter to the life that we lost to the pressures of having to perform like an adult.

It's an ingenious look into the simple pleasures of life; abundant and accessible yet overlooked due to its rather candid nature. And if someone's so inclined, one might even call it a case study -- of how the contrived society psychologically conditions us into only finding fulfillment from entertainments with price tags attached. And although subconscious, how it makes us hostile toward our own biological needs for lethargic resets and reasonable rest.

Just a quiet story about the daily life of two cousins.
With currently 5 chapters this story is leaving a very good taste in my mouth, with a refined art style and a calm and realistic story,i think it has a promising future.

Story (8): Until now it hasn't been so developed but i like the feeling it leaves me when i read it,i feel like i'm really experiencing the day-to-day life of the characters,something that didn't happen to me with other slice of life stories.

Art (9): Despite looking "simple" it is charming and very appropiate for this type of story,it somehow reminds me of Inio Asano ... and Yamamoto Souichirou.

Characters (7): They feel quite real and i'm quite interested in seeing how their lives unfold and solve their little daily problems.

Enjoyment (10): I'm really enjoying it. After reading very exhausting things like Chi no Wadachi or SUFFERING from how other are developing *cough* *cough* Kanojo Okarishimasu,i really needed something like this.

If you're looking for a peaceful and charm current manga give it a chance :)

That's the kind of manga that makes me like this genre. I like pretty much everything about it, from its story to the character, to the interactions they have. Simple yet so well executed and wonderfully portrayed.

Art (8) : Nothing much to say, it's a simple art but it is enough to emphasize the feelings the author wants to tell us, no need to have extravagant or handsome character design (not that i don't like pretty cd) because well, it's just talking about everyday life.

The story (10) : to put it simply, our protagonist, Hiroto, is doing part-time jobs left and right, is enjoying his ... life, meets a grandma, they become friends, and at her death she leaves her house to Hiroto, and then he welcomes his cousin to the house for her studies. And then his life goes on , encountering new people and facing everyday life's problems.


"Live each moment to the fullest" is an important key to the manga, as well as "what is happiness ?", is it being free to do whatever you want ? Is it owning expensive things? Is it having a family, friends or a good job ?

An easy example would be his best friend, Hideki. Unlike our protagonist, Hideki can be considered as successful by our society standards. He has a stable job where he works hard, a place to live, a wife and a kid that he tries to make happy. What could be better, right ? Yet he always thinks about the good old days he spent with Hiroto, while having hard times dealing with his job and family, especially his wife. He seems to not find happiness contrary to what's expected, he is even jealous of Hiroto, "why can a guy that does nothing but fooling around get to be happier than me who does everything and works hard, it's unfair."
So here instead of enjoying moments he can have with his family, instead of making things clear with his wife, instead of living each moment to the fullest, instead of reaching his happiness, he prefers to dwell in the past and run away from his responsibility, as we can sometime see him going to Hiroto's house whenever he argues with his wife. Which is clearly not the best solution to reach his happiness, because I believe that everyone has their own happiness and rather than chasing other people's happiness, you should focus on yours.

And almost every character has their own happiness, and like us they encounter problems or people that stand between them and their goal.
Like the cousin, who is trying to reach it by diving into the harsh world of manga and having troubles sharing her passion to her friends or even parents. "Living each moment to the fullest" can also be applied to her as she didn't realize how lucky she was to be living with her cousin until she had to live alone for a week. Don’t take anything for granted, enjoy every moment, even though it’s something you do on a daily basis, like eating without having to cook and washing the dishes, or going to bed without worrying about chores. You only start to truly realize how blessed you were until you can’t have it anymore. It might sound stupid, but I guarantee you this is not as easy as you might think.


There are also a lot of things to say about the other characters but there are just 37 chapters so far so I prefer to wait until this ends before writing any more because I think this manga has the potential to become something unique.
Overall 9/10

after reading the manga, one could believe that the music of nujabes was created to materialize the essence of hirayasumi so much we are facing something chill and lofi-esque.

it's a real ode to the simple pleasures of life that is presented to us; the work deals with the different worries, questioning, existential crises that everyone feels daily with always kindness, patience, empathy and self-indulgence as a solution; for oneself as well as for others. it's difficult not to identify with at least one character or situation experienced by them.

the author's pencil stroke, like his manga, is both simple and beautiful: without superfluous, it emanates a ... realism that makes the reading fluid and pleasant.

if you are a fan of jiro taniguchi's works, of yokohama kaidashi kikou, of mushishi or more generally of iyashikei mangas or of the mono no aware aesthetic, go for it!