Reviews
In which robots think about their lifespans in comparison to humans, and my heart kinda breaks. Matsuki tries to learn things from Alpha which is hilarious. And in more emotionally traumatizing moments, Takahiro's grandfather and sensi talk about loneliness. Slice of life, how dare you have such sad moments?!? You can tell the manga is drawing to a close soon as Alpha lives past a generation of humans.
Say hello to my very broken heart, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. It is all your fault! As I said for the last volume, there's a pervasive sense of change in the air, and these chapters address how time is ever going forward. The most emotional thing is that these are our final chapters with oji-san. While the narrative never explicitly addresses his death, he speaks about it with Alpha in this volume, suggesting that she move into his house when he dies and before her house is swallowed by the sea. He also has a last coffee with her and they discuss just how much Alpha has grown. I will admit, I cried. He's been a quiet figure in the books, but such a good parent when we see that side of him. Matsuki also moves away, and Alpha struggles with being alone. Sensei also acknowledges her mortality, seeking to fill her final days with something more than quiet tea. The other Alpha also checks in once again, noting that more and more cities seem to be going dark, but there are still signs of life. Only one more volume left and readers really will be saying goodbye. It was a good choice to start the process early. Spread out the tears.
And so we come to the end. This review will cover both volume 14 of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, as well as the series as a whole. It's often hard to write reviews of a series like this book by book given the slow, slice-of-life nature. So I will sing its virtues in this final review. We start with the return of the customer who we never see because the story is from his or her perspective. It's a neat way to start off this final volume, showing in many ways how things have changed, but have also stayed the same. The rest of the volume are moments in time, each one featuring a time skip. Kokone's work changes, and Matsuki moves to the same faraway city as Takahiro. Eventually she Takahiro marry and have a child. Finally, the series ends with Alpha making a trip into Yokohama, just like the first chapter, for coffee beans. The young child she bought them from before is an old man and Yokohama is slowly becoming smaller and smaller. Who knows where her friends are, though we see that Kokone seems to live at Cafe Alpha now. Despite her losses, Alpha seems content, reconciling her longevity with the difficulties of living with humanity. It's a beautiful, but sad ending. The world goes on, and Alpha and the robots endure much longer than everyone else. But at least they are happy for there is always more to see and do, and people to meet. So what stands out about Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and makes it such a pleasure to read? It is such a contrast to the idea that human beings are inherently dreadful. Sure, people do bad things, but humanity in this series is filled with kindness and compassion. Something terrible happened, but everyone seems to have banded together to be helpful. The plot is pretty non-existent, and I wouldn't even say that the book shines at character development, but all these snapshots of life are wonderful to watch unfold. There's the full range of emotions available in YKK, and people's lives have weight. Readers never find out why some of the weird stuff is happening, but it adds to the atmosphere of the world. Mushroom people? They aren't hurting anyone so let them be. Same with the plane and the robots. There are better things to worry about. The twilight of humanity is peaceful, and the robots watch it, trying to navigate the difficulties of carrying their unique burdens. But there's always coffee and tea. There's always a gorgeous landscape to explore. There's always a new friend somewhere.