Name: Go with the clouds, North-by-Northwest, volume 4
Rating: 4 (1 reviews)
ISBN: 9781647290856

Aki Irie

From Aki Irie the creator of 'Ran and the Gray World". Kei Miyama lives in Iceland and has 3 secrets. He can talk to cars, his weakness is beautiful girls and his occupation is a detective.

Go with the clouds, North-by-Northwest, volume 4

From Aki Irie the creator of 'Ran and the Gray World". Unbeknownst to Kei, his little brother Michitaka has a dark power and an even darker history. Freyja has gone into hiding to escape him, but Kei helps Sigrún track her down—exposing her to potential danger. Meanwhile, a mysterious detective is hot on Michitaka's trail... Against this backdrop of tension and fear, Kei continues to explore the stark beauty of Iceland, though nothing in his new surroundings could be starker or more beautiful than Lilja. As their mutual antagonism reaches new heights, could something else be developing between them?

altlovesbooks

I'm super into Aki Irie's art in this series. There's just consistently epic two-page scenery shots, great manga panel layouts, character art, and food, and I'm here for it. This series also has the unique distinction of being the only manga series I know to take place in Iceland, and I do love unique premises. I'd be misleading readers though if I didn't mention that not a whole lot is going on story-wise. It's like a magical realism slice of life series, but with short little vignette stories that flesh out the backstory of Kei, the series' protagonist, and his younger brother Michitaka. Neither of them seems like they had a good history growing up, but as readers we're kept mostly in the dark about the past and the history, and instead are just along for the scenic ride.

If I had to compare this series to something, it'd be like roadtripping Getbackers in Iceland. Aki speaks(?) to cars/vehicles(/maybe machines too?). Michitaka seems to have strong rapport with animals. There's an element of magical realism to their "powers" (and I use the term hesitantly because it's nothing flashy, nothing overtly spelled out for the readers) that makes the entire stay in Iceland something mysterious. This particular volume, though, has some low points. I'm not super into the fan service-y interactions between Kei and Lilya in this volume, and I hope things improve in the next one. I'm still all in on wherever this series goes from here, though.

Go with the clouds, North-by-Northwest, volume 4

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