Sunadokei
Sand Chronicles

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“Memories are always blinding. They cause you pain… and sorrow.”

As you prepare to move, packing your belongings and separating the valuable from the unnecessary, you stumble upon an item—a photo album, perhaps—that unlocks a cascade of memories. “Look how far I’ve come since then.” You smile, recognizing your growth since those days. But "Sunadokei", or "Sand Chronicles" as it’s known in English, isn't about that satisfying feeling of moving past your old self. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Hourglasses frequently appear in this story, symbolizing the relentless passage of time as we follow the heroine, Ann Uekusa, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Yet, something remains ... unchanged; ever since tragedy struck at a young age, Ann has never been the same. Despite her efforts to rebuild herself as her surroundings and the people around her change, she’s still stuck in a rut. As readers, we are accustomed to rooting for heroes who grow, change for the better, and become wiser. However, Sunadokei’s heroine defies this expectation. Ann is not someone to root for; there are no “development” or “redemption” arcs for her. Instead, you find yourself frustrated with her stagnant state, even as you empathize with her circumstances. “Why can’t she just get over it?” “Why can’t she appreciate what she currently has?” These questions are raised within the story itself, and the answers remain elusive until late into the story. But by then, it’s painfully obvious that this is not the point of the story. It never was.

Sunadokei’s narrative is tedious. Reading it from start to finish is a constant battle between your frustration with the protagonist's convoluted inner workings and your impatience to reach a satisfying conclusion. Ignoring the narrative's intent would be a mistake, though—you’re meant to feel frustrated with Ann! Processing trauma is neither pleasant nor logical. The thing is, you can't simply "get over it" because someone else says so; something broken can't be fixed just because others wish it, or even try to help to make it "better". Ann’s journey isn’t about setting her up for a satisfying conclusion. It’s about an intimate exploration of the self and coming to terms with the fact that the shaky ground she stands on might be all she has to continue her path for the rest of her life, with no amount of time in the world to "remedy" it. In the end, the mantra that "time cures it all..." isn't something that works for everyone, especially not when you feel like time is moving forward for everyone else except yourself.

Sunadokei is an emotionally charged story, cutting open and displaying the hearts and minds of its characters. Despite its occasional dull moments and some unnecessary subplots, it poignantly conveys one of the most fragile aspects of the human psyche. Each volume is quite lengthy, so don’t be misled by the low chapter count. Take your time if you decide to pick this one up.

Sand Chronicle is one of the manga that made me can't stop reading when I started. This manga tells about a girl named Ann who returns to her hometown with her mother. After a few days in her hometown, her depressed mother finally disappeared and was found to have committed suicide. Her mother's death had a major impact on Ann's character in the future. When she was sad because of her mother's death, there was a boy, Daigo, who helped Ann to rise from adversity. long story short, they both end up falling in love and dating each other. However, their happiness did not last ... long when Ann's father came and asked Ann to live with him in Tokyo so that a long-distance relationship between Ann and Daigo began which would later be faced with many obstacles.

Sand Chronicles, in my opinion, is one of the most realistic manga I've ever read. how they deal with long-distance relationships and the arrival of a third person, and how they deal with their respective traumas are well written and feel real.

In Sand Chronicles, we have 3 characters that are often highlighted. First, there is the protagonist of this story, Ann. Ann is quite an interesting character, we are shown her struggles in making decisions and obstacles in her relationship with Daigo. Her character development is also quite good, she was initially traumatized and afraid of losing her favorite person due to her mother's death in the past, finally managed to move on and keep looking forward, who at first always depended on others, finally able to be independent. The next character is Daigo. Daigo is Ann's childhood friend and first love. Daigo is a kind and loyal man, even when Ann's actions hurt him, he remains firm on his feelings for ann. You could say Daigo is my favorite character in this manga. why? because his characters are very realistic and different from the male leads in other shoujo manga. he's not the typical bad boy or playboy, nor is he a popular guy. just an ordinary boy who is kind and loyal to ann. The next character is Fuji who is the third person in Ann and Daigo's relationship. I hate this person. He is your typical male lead shoujo who is rich, handsome, but has a dark past. You could say that the root of all the problems that occur in this manga comes from Fuji's cowardly and arbitrary actions. Fuji is a coward, he takes the opportunity when Ann and Daigo's relationship is strained.

Overall, I enjoyed this manga. it's frustrating yet I can't stop reading until finished the rest of the manga. I'm so satisfied with the ending, maybe it feels a bit rushed. but it's not a problem anymore because all of the conflicts have been cleared. for anyone who looking for a story with a realistic relationship, then this manga is for you.

I loved the beginning, it had what felt like the start of a story with some actual depth and characters that didn't fall completely into stereotypical roles of shojo. But towards the middle it just became so... cliché, so... disappointing. Ann goes back and forth between being utterly and madly in love with Daigo and being depressed about her mother. In the beginning she had other characteristics but midway those two things are all she really is: obsessed or depressed. And the side characters that you got to know in the start of the series are suddenly doing things that make absolutely no sense, and ... there's no proper build up or explanation. I also hated the ending so much, it made me feel like Ann was being jerked around and played with until they said "okay... I guess that's enough, come on." I didn't feel any happiness or relief, just annoyed and disappointed. I guess I was hoping to see some sort of growth with Ann or at least see her be happy, but I don't feel like either or those happened. Its a strong start, but a sad and cliched mess about halfway.