I wanted to discuss this manga again so badly with someone and then I remembered about afternoon and our literal origins lol.

Anyways, would love to have a discussion about this manga in general. I reread it this past week and by the 10th chapter I was already in that peaceful world that Ashinano made. I havent' read it through in quite some time at least like 5 years but the effect was all but the same. I did notice a few more things or rather they just stood out more.

Alpha and Kokone's relationship was much more physical than even the manga implied I think. Kokone was honestly head over heels for Alpha. Alpha was quite the hobbyist lol, tinkering with her scooter, fixing up her cafe over and over, repairing the old toy airplane engine, etc. She struck me as much more of a male character this time around with a few exceptions.

I read it with a darker adult mind as well so another thing that I saw was how a lot of characters had a very low guard on the surface and at the same time the machines had their guard very high which was only subtly shown. Makki and the guy with the flying lizard for example were alone a lot, kokone and alpha's guns and how it's VERY subtle but their presence is made clear enough that they both have it close by at all times even if later in the manga you don't see them(the guns that is) much more because by that time I think the point was made. There was a bit more of a creepiness factor once night fell for me this time around, especially in the later chapeters with the sand people and fake buildings. It's hard to describe but it's like you're expecting at any time for things to head south and really go bad for the last remaining humans.

The setting overall is utterly fantastic, i've read hundreds, probably thousand(at least >1k anyway) of manga by now but YKK is just outstanding in the way its setting draws you in. The scenery, the subtlety of the details that just leave so much to speculation and implication. A notable one was the way mt. fuji's top is blown, it could've been the volcano erupting but also due to the way it's lopsided I took it to mean an asteroid had hit it. I just can't get enough of it, I've yet to read a manga that has such a peaceful setting, i'm honestly shocked it's not formally studied more. I still can't understand totally why it makes me feel the way it does. If regular people found out about something like this existing and it some how miraculously hit main stream I wouldn't be surprised it would become a smash hit. In fact, if I think about it hard enough The Office somewhat goes in the main direction of where YKK paved the way in terms of a peaceful setting where time passes yet nothing really matters, at least in the early seasons, and that's something that's cited in why it's so popular.

I dunno, I just could go on and on about it, I didn't expect that re-reading to make that big of an impact on me. If anyone is willing to discuss anything about it I would love to talk about it with you!

I'm really glad you posted this! YKK was the very first manga I ever read and I absolutely loved it. Like you said, the peaceful atmosphere and the attention to detail really drew me in. I really enjoy introspective media where the main character is somewhat detached from the world, and I think YKK achieves that through Alpha being an android. The theme of nature reclaiming more and more land while humanity slowly declined portrays just about the most acceptable apocalypse I can think of. The whole manga had such a spiritual feel to it, for me, an appreciation of fleeting beauty and the importance of caring for and loving others. How it ends on an image of hope with the young girl taking flight.

>>2
Was it really your first manga? How do you beat that sort of introduction to the medium? Literally some of the best it has to offer. Wow!

I definitely agree, it's not just a comic or something to just consume. YKK is an experience all together. The setting itself is really the star. I think if I were to pick one thing overall is how well it shows the passage of time. There's a panel where alpha and makki are in the cafe and makki is asleep and all of a sudden she begins to remember her as a child in the same sleeping position then takahiro as well and she laments how fast it has been.

Speaking of time, the magical thing about it all is that no concrete numbers are ever mentioned yet you know time has passed through the clues, some overt like takahiro's growth spurt and some not so like when you realize that the grandpa is just not mentioned anymore.

I don't find the ending hopeful to be honest. What future does the little girl have? At least alpha isn't alone, that gives me some solace. I only recently found out that the original ending was supposed to be much darker, the enitre manga too. It was more about how alpha was going to be little by little left alone until she commited suicide, the last pages being her shooting herself and then just one final black panel right after. It may have been dark but that would've cemented this manga as legendary IMO out of sheer cruelty for the character alpha and the reader alike. Guy might've been unironically killed lol.

>>3
Speaking of the unspoken too even though i know it goes against the iyashikei feel now that i want more i would've wanted to see alpha in some of her darker moments. You just know she's experienced some level of loneliness at the cafe after awhile that all the peace in the world couoldn't solve. Also maybe see her experiencing grief at true loss like when gramps died, maybe see how she reacted.

I imagine that she would essentially just become super depressed for awhile being despondent at the entire thought of existing alone without anyone.

>>4
Imagine Alpha comitting suicide after years and years and years of waiting, after she sees humans around die, she becomes more and more lonely, and convinces herself that the owner is never coming back.

>>5
Apparently that was the original ending. In fact, from what I understand, about halfway through the manga it was supposed to get really dark as more and more people began dropping off and it would've ended with Alpha shooting herself. I guess either the editors stopped it or the mangaka decided to change direction. I think it was a good idea to change it, this manga is just too wholesome. We have enough edginess as it is.

Yeah? Please share. I'm sick of happy ends in anime and manga, to the point I've been watching just cgdct shows for a while, and getting my bad ends fix with western books.

Also there could've been a situation like what happened to 177013, where happy end was slapped onto the main series and tied to it with duct tape. Still better than a vanilla cake.

Are there other manga that have a similar feel? I also like Yotsubato but it's very different.

>>8
Hitoshi's other manga.

>>8
Besides >>9, Aqua/Aria is what feels closer.

Also Toyoda Tetsuya's manga has a similar vibe. It's a shame that he made so little, I consider him an underappreciated artist in our circles.

>>11
Tetsuya is FANTASTIC

Undercurrent is one of the THE most underrated slice of life mangas i've ever read. It's a damn shame it's so short.

>>12
Goggles and Coffee Jikan are great too.

I discovered YKK recently... I don't usually read mangas or watch animes but this one really caught my eye. I sometimes read it before sleep, when I want to get relaxed. I'm still on volume 6 because I enjoy reading at a slow pace, but I fell in love with it since the first page! The art is so beautiful and calm... the stories are so peaceful... it's comfy

Hello YKK friends! I have a question that I can't find the answer to online, what is the model of the motorcycle owned by Alpha? what about Kokone's? I hope they do exist!

The closest thing would be to take an old vespa or lambretta and cut it down.

>>16
I don't think so, I looked up Alpha and I've never seen a Vespa or Lambretta with bike-style handlebars. They were always straight.

Blue horizon night Anthony dover book on amazon final truth

If you are still reading YKK make sure you are using the Yugen scans. They're not perfect but they're the best we have. Definitely don't use MangaProject, the translation is really bad at parts. You can read Yugen on MangaDex or get it from the scanlator's blog or torrent trackers.

>>5
In the last chapter she implies that she knows he must have passed away by now. She says 'Owner, are you watching over me?'

>>3
Where did you read about what the ending was initially meant to be?

>>8
Besides what the others recommended, I have to recommend Chirori. It has a very similar feel as YKK and Aria.

The feel is very different but I also enjoy BLAME fully for the mood that the art inspires. It's the only other anime or manga that I appreciate in this way, but the mood happens to be pretty different.

I didn't know about Toyoda. Thanks for the recommendation guys. I'll read his work when I'm caught up on Kotonoba.

I'm glad for this thread. Thank you.

>>19
BLAME!

YKK is getting an oversized omnibus english release!

>>8
Daisuke Igarashi's stuff is very different from the typical manga fare but also very good. Start with Children of the Sea - it's more accessible than Hanashippanashi. It also got an anime adaptation recently. (I say recently, but it was probably several years ago at this point.)

There's also the Emanon stories by Tsuruta Kenji.

>>21
I preordered it awhile back. Hopefully it's a good one too.