Shuukatsu - Kimi ni Naitei Vol. 1

Summary:

Asaoka Yuuri is a final year university student in Tokyo searching for a job. However, at the interview, she flustered and got all nervous, especially because there is another confident interviewee, a guy named Manabe in her group. It was her 49th consecutive loss (as in failure in interviews)!

Dissapointed, Yuuri bought an unreserved seat (refer to notes below) for the train back to Kyoto (where her university is). And Manabe just happened to be in the same train! In a reserve seat no less. Unfortunately, Yuuri was not able to grab a seat in the train and fainted while standing. When she woke up, she realizes that she is seating next to Manabe. They chatted a little about her failure in interviews Manabe gave her some small advice about control & to not be so straightforward all the time before departing from the train station.

Back at the university, they bumped into each other again, and realizes that they're in the same university. However, the ever shy Yuuri pretended not to recognize Manabe eventhough he greeted her. Later on, Yuuri got some gossip information from her good friend about Manabe. It seems that he is actually a law student who actually does not need to go job searching. Manabe & Yuuri met again at the cafeteria, and this time Yuuri does not ignore him. Manabe even gave more advice to Yuuri regarding job searching & interviews, but it only got Yuuri depress because his advices cut to all her weakness. However, when she met him again while jogging (wow, how many times can they bump into each other within 1 week but not have met before this!), Yuuri got back her spirits again and even decided to go to Tokyo again for another interview. And it just so happen that Manabe is doing the same (although it is different companies this time)!

Yuuri failed yet again, and was crying her heart out (poor girl) in the middle of a heavy downpour when Manabe came to her. They took the train back to Kyoto again but the typhoon caused it to be postponed. unable to stand the humidity inside the train, both of them left and stayed in a hotel. (hehehe, no cheeky things happened eventhough they slept in the same room.)

The next day on the train, Yuuri was so exhausted that she fell asleep next to Manabe. And....he kissed her...Back at the university, they got friendlier with each other (who wouldn't after such a trip?) and even played badminton! Manabe explain the reason why he went for all those interviews is because he wanted to explore more possibilities for the future. That night, looking at her beloved books (seems like Yuuri likes reading storybooks), she realizes what Manabe's advice means when he said "what you're searching for can only be found within you".

The next day, Yuuri overheard a Manabe rejecting a girl's confession, saying that he don't feel like dating anyone, and she knew in her heart that she could not confess her feelings to him. Instead, she told him that she will continue to persevere in her efforts to find a career and hopes that as a friend, he will pray for her success.

Review:

I know, I know, from the summary, this sounds like a boring manga. But it's not! Classified under josei, it's a story of how a student makes the transit into the working world. Of course, there is the romance between the 2 leads as well. But what makes this manga a success is mostly because of the interactions between them. Most of Manabe's advices to Yuuri makes a lot of sense (although them bumping into each other all the time is too much of a coincedence).

This manga is very realistic in its potrayal of the struggles to find a job and start a good career, especially in the competitive Japan. There are plenty of capable and qualified people who are vying for limited positions. It's a kill or be killed kind of environment. Yuuri is potrayed as one of the more struggling students who lack the capabilities to perform well in interviews whereas Manabe is the complete opposite. In this volume, we can see that Manabe gave continuous advice to her, which helps her grow and develop and to be more confident.

The drawing is pleasant to look at, and the conversations are interesting especially to a university student who is graduating as well like me. I think this is one of the reason why I like it so much, because it is in parallels with my current situation. I wouldn't recommend this to younger teenagers readers who does not have much interest in job seeking and career stories. But this is a nice read if you're between 17 - 25 years old.

Notes:
For the trains in Japan, you can buy either unreserve or reserve tickets. For unreserved tickets, you have to fight with others to get seats, and if you don't, it means standing all the way to your destination.

Labels: Shuukatsu - Kimi ni Naitei

Posted at 9:24 PM