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The first serialized work of the fledgling mangaka Inoya Kotoba, Runway de Waratte (Smile at the Runway) is a captivating work that narrates the encounter between a girl who aspires to become a supermodel in spite of her detrimental stature and an unassuming boy with a hidden attachment to making clothes. As each person finds encouragement in the other to continue pursuit of their ambitions, the two of them confront people who offer both ominous discouragements and impelling guidance. Regardless of hardships, the challenges that the characters took upon themselves are undoubtedly humanizing endeavors where each comes to realize his and her own inadequacies through ... supplementing for the flaws of others.

“True beauty is born through our actions and aspirations, and in the kindness we offer to others.”

There exists no greater complement to this manga than the words of model and designer Alek Wek. Amidst an era in which violent melees and cheesy romance dominate novels, films, and games alike, Runway de Waratte serves as a cherishable reminder that human virtues dazzle in the mundanity of everyday life with comparable, if not greater, brilliance than fantastical tales and melodrama. In applying a shonen format to a genuine modern industry, the manga has masterfully crafted characters that are both relatable and inspiring within a surreal narrative. Be it the grouchy mentor who stubbornly adheres to his lofty ideals regardless of criticism, or the father who hardens his heart to reject his daughter's ambitions, not a single persona is conceived superficial, nor is he conveniently imposed to shoulder the story line alone. The result of such portrayal of relationships is the blurring of distinction between protagonist and antagonist, between adversity and opportunity. The artistic rendering of thematic scenes and dialogues only serves to further elevate the struggle of the characters beyond mere physical or the mental conflicts, amplifying them into passionate messages that truly speaks at the audience.

Occasionally happening upon magnificent works like Runway de Waratte is what sustains my conviction in manga as a potential medium of quality literature as opposed to a source of cheap entertainment. Indeed, it is a fascinating epiphany in realizing how a well-composed story compels one to care so much for a subject he has no knowledge of. Reading the manga is an experience nothing short of mind-blowing, and I was reminded, yet again, how slight the line between fiction and reality truly is.

"We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best." - Aristotle.

A manga adaptation of a novel of the same name, Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai is a story that examines the fragile but purposeful nature of human life through recounting the unlikely relationship between a dying girl and a hollow boy. Ironically with the deterioriation of one person's health another was brought to life from the shell of a human he once was. Whether the encounter of ... the two is a result of coincidence, fate, or, - as the protagonists themselves asserted - choice, the bond they have come to share is a beautifully complex one wherein each enriches the other as acquaintance, as foil, as antagonist, as friend, as confidant, as lover, and as savior.

Tragedies that tug at one's heartstrings are dime a dozen these days, but tragedies of exceptional caliber evoke any emotion but forlornness. Towards the girl who is no longer there, sorrow is only secondary to the respect and appreciation I have come to perceive her with as a reader. "The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long." To the flame itself, perhaps, it matters not how long or bright it flares, but often that very brightness is what gives countless others the security of warmth.

(Nothing past the beginning of beginning of the series is spoiled)

Beginning with the chanced encounter between a broken young man and a company of girls preordained to a bitter fate, SukaSuka weaves the harrowing tale of former Quasi-Brave Willem Kmesh who was thrusted into a foreign and unforgiving post-apocalyptic world. Through Willem's desperate attempts to forge his convictions anew and as he confronts his haunting past, SukaSuka questions deeply the duality of good and evil, the frivolity of justice, the purpose of heroism, of choice and predestiny, and how one copes with their most dreaded losses of their loved ones.

This novel scrupulously brought its characters to life with depictions of agonizing emotions and ... intertwining fate. A young soldier who shoulders the survival of an entire civilization professed herself to be a disillusioned maiden desperate for affection; a man-eating troll of bullish strength and unfaltering joviality is but a wearied mother concealing her bitterest regrets; yet more comical, perhaps, was the hulking reptilian whose austere presence masked a compassionate and fatherly tenderness. SukaSuka portrays each of its characters as a meticulously-crafted clockwork of contradictions, illuminating the very passions, insecurities, and paradoxes that encapsulate human nature. The unlikely bonds tethered by the griefs of a motely group of individuals cast its dying world in a warmly glow.

At the corners of my faded memory are the many fables of otherworldly enchantments upon which my very fondness for fantasy was founded. Those were the tales of the tragic Oedipus, of the mighty Heracles and his impossible feats, of the long journeys of the shrewd Odysseus, of Orpheus who was cursed by his own peerless musical talents, or of Eros and Psyche torn apart by their forbidden love. In a similar fashion, SukaSuka is a story that is inspired by the classics, that imitates the classics, that appeals to the readers' penchant for the classics. Reminiscent of the mythologies which had so delicately stolen my juvenile heart, SukaSuka enraptures me as a story that sought to convey itself with the utmost grace and sentiment whereas the reader's enjoyment was secondary - it is a quality which defines timeless literature as opposed to cathartic entertainment. As I witness the story unfold before my eyes, I cannot help but marvel at the author's ingenuity and penmanship. Indeed, SukaSuka is a light novel which is yet to be matched by another of equal caliber. It is, in my heartfelt opinion, nothing short of a masterpiece.

So many anime series these days try to hard to cater to the people's tastes and try too hard to meet their expectations, but not this one. Gintama is a series that influences you, and not the other way around.

Say you raise a baby. The child is ugly, is annoying, is foolish. Why in the world would anyone want to put up with such a monstrosity for twenty years of their lives? Why, indeed. But it's simply that you do - you love the baby despite it being ugly, you love the baby despite it being annoying, you love the baby despite it being ridiculous. ... And is it worth it? Yes, because you have grown to love the baby without a logical condition, and because it is a beautiful thing to watch it grow up, not to meet your expectation of it, but to exceed your expectation of it.