Akira Tachibana is one of her school’s best track and field athletes - until a foot injury takes her out of commission. Following a chance encounter, she decides to use her newly freed-up after-school time working at a local restaurant where she develops a crush on the middle-aged manager, Masami Kondo. Could a relationship work between a shy 17 year old schoolgirl and a hapless 45 year old single dad divorcee?
I saw the anime of this series a few years ago and really enjoyed it, then was reminded of the creator’s original manga after reading her latest series, Kowloon Generic Romance, so I decided to backtrack and read After the Rain. Even knowing the full story, this is still a really great book!
Jun Mayuzuki tells the story well with just the right balance between drama and light-heartedness. It helps that Kondo isn’t a pervy older man who can’t wait to jump into bed with Akira, and so the relationship is dealt with with tact and thoughtfulness, making him and the premise deeper than it could’ve been in the hands of a lesser writer.
The age thing is weird. Part of me thinks that having Akira be 17 is unnecessarily creepy and plays to readers who are into schoolgirl fantasies. Having her be even a year older and out of high school wouldn’t have changed the story - but then she wouldn’t be wearing the schoolgirl uniform. It feels calculatingly exploitative.
The attraction itself is also strange. Not that Kondo is grotesque but it’s unusual for an attractive young woman to fixate on a man in his mid-40s with nothing glamorous about him rather than the younger men clearly interested in her also in her life. But then I suppose we can’t choose who we fall in love with - the heart wants what the heart wants, eh?
Both main characters are built up strongly over the course of this book (which collects the first two volumes of the series). We see the struggle of an introverted, reserved girl as she tries to let her feelings be known (I really feel like Tomohito Oda 100% lifted her character for his series, Komi Can’t Communicate, because Akira is practically identical to Komi in all ways). And we see why Kondo lives the way he does, as a somewhat wishy-washy underachiever, and how Akira’s entrance in his life reminds him of the young man he once was.
For a story that seems as light and superficial as this one, Mayuzuki gives it some clever layers. In particular the small touches elevate it and make it seem more real - like when Kondo does a small magic trick when he first meets Akira, adding some understanding to how she developed a crush in the first place. Some parts of the story are more interesting, like the date comparison, than others, like when she went to get her hair done. I appreciate that Mayuzuki’s building on the supporting characters but it might’ve been a stronger narrative to focus on the two main leads instead.
Mayuzuki’s art is really pretty. Not just the perfect character expressions and body language but also the backgrounds. She does seem to invite some seediness into her work though by drawing Akira’s clothes as transparent in the light, so you can see her athletic figure through her clothes. It does feel like she’s pandering to a male readership in those instances for whatever reason.
I think I might have rated this higher if I hadn’t seen the anime before but even still I really enjoyed After the Rain, Volume 1 - it’s not hard to see why it’s been as successful as it has since it was first published in 2014. Subtly sweet, this charming tale of a Spring/Autumn romance is definitely worth a look for all fans of manga, even those who aren’t into romance.
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