Mikazuki March
Crescent Moon Marching

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

This manga is delightful. As a musician myself, it resonates on several levels, and has been a treat to read.

However, in order to explain why I like it, there's some things that need to be said prior.

Firstly, if you're looking for a compelling character drama or incredibly exciting plot - then this manga is probably not the best choice. The cast of main characters do have decent personalities and interests and motivations, but they're by no means unique or deep. Certain ones are certainly complex, yes, such as our main protagonist and one of the main deuteragonists, but they are by no means the highlight ... of this manga. If you really squint at it, several characters can be compared to pre-existing ones out there in other works, with nearly identical personalities and behavior (not saying they are copied, just saying they are not very unique). The plot itself is also very box-standard for a manga of this type, with very standard music performance based plot analogous to that of K-on, Bocchi the Rock, and any other music-performance based manga/anime story out there. In those two regards, this manga is quite standard.

However, if you're looking for a neat manga that captures the essence of being a musician well, then I believe this has done exactly that. As a former member of a highschool band that did concerts, occasional marches (nowhere near what is depicted in the manga but still to some degree), and pep performances (mini performances in the bleachers of stadiums in between basketball and American football games), the core of what it feels to be in a band is captured incredibly well. Many of the thoughts that run through the characters mind are reminiscent of things I myself have either saw or experienced, and that relatability can really draw someone in. Especially as a musician who later leaned towards the competitive side of things, the depiction of competition is quite well done, and was fun to read. Though it is certainly not going to resonate with every musician out there, I'm sure it will for some, and thus is worth a read.

On top of the supposed relatability in the music department, the manga also carries a central coming-of-age theme that is honestly quite well done. My only critique is that besides for the main character, nearly every other person's "arc" is a bit rushed and feels a bit too fast, but it's only fair for such a short manga and is a nitpicky detail. This is one of those cases where I feel like given more time, this could've been something incredible, but I suppose that just will never happen.

Additionally, for a 6-volume, very underground manga, this has some very nice art. The artist clearly knows instruments well; the flair of the brass and metals under light looks gorgeous, and in general the art is quite clean.

All in all, I would recommend trying it out! Not for everyone, and in my opinion not the best music-centric manga out there, but it has a charm and appeal that I think many will enjoy.

Mikazuki March does an excellent job of capturing the collective emotions of a marching band. Outside of Euphonium's parade episode and a handful of other under-the-radar ongoing manga, marching is a pretty unique subject to Mikazuki March within the scope of animanga. It gets so much right about marching fundamentals, learning drill, memorizing music, and first-year performance anxiety. The struggles of each character feel real and similar to those of real people I have played with in the past. The band singing their program on the bus was absolutely perfect. While the series obviously had to choose a few characters to center around, it would ... have been interesting to see more details about what goes into a successful drumline and frontline. The way events can happen out of order was a bit confusing until I figured out what was going on. The other bummer for me here is how clear it is that the story was severely stretched thin chronologically by a page limit.

Hamada Yamachi's art here is simply fantastic. The inspiration of shoujo manga in the brushes, character designs, and atmosphere shines brilliantly. While it's hard by nature to capture musical expression into panels, the artist makes it very clear exactly how the players and audience feel at any given moment. Every environment feels lived-in, especially the cafe.

-*-*-*-

There are some differences between the JMBA's approach to field shows and what you'll see in America, particularly due to the fact that American football fields are typically not used. This is apparent in scenes that feature the drill cards and the marching scenes. I was a bit surprised to see stage props. In North America, stage props are usually only created by bands that work on one program for the entire year, rather than those that come up with a new one for every appearance. In general, some American high school bands are parade bands first, which are judged at parades, others focus on a fresh field show with its own drill for every home Football game, and others work on one annual show performed at several contests in front of judges.

It was also interesting to see enthusiasm for DCI (Drum Corps International) become a key part of the narrative. In my formative marching experience in an annual-program band, many students crafted their entire personalities around how badly they wanted to get into a drum corps. Students would hold DCI finals pay-per-view watch parties every year. Seeing those groups perform was a driving factor that kept me wanting to practice and improve. There's really nothing quite like it.