The consistently high ratings of the TV drama series "Theseus no Fune" (Ship of Theseus), which aired its finale in March, proved once again that stories based on time travel theme are surefire successes. I talked about the original manga previously in this column.
While I definitely commend how the TV drama's story was boldly modified from the original so that the culprit winds up being different, I couldn't help but feel that the storyline of "changing the future by traveling into the past" is in and of itself a storytelling device that guarantees a certain level of success, similar to using all-purpose seasoning when cooking.
Even so, unless new twists or other unique traits are added to the story, this archetype will eventually grow stale. The overall story of "Ship of Theseus" already has a similar feel to forerunner time travel manga "Boku Dake ga Inai Machi" (Erased) by Kei Sanbe.
The development and popularity of "Summer time rendering" should be a good litmus test to help us predict the future of this genre.
The story unfolds on an imaginary island off the coast of Wakayama Prefecture, called Hitogashima, where the protagonist Shinpei was born. He left the island two years prior, but has returned to attend the funeral of a girl called Ushio, a close friend from childhood who was almost like family. Ushio died trying to save a drowning child at sea.
According to the island's lore regarding a strange endemic disease, if you see a "shadow" avatar that looks exactly like yourself, you will die. Ushio's younger sister Mio tells Shinpei that she saw Ushio's avatar before Ushio died, and apparently Ushio's corpse showed that her neck was bruised as if someone tried to strangle her. Shinpei is shocked by this eerie information, but soon he himself is murdered by someone.
The death of the protagonist becoming a time-traveling trigger is reminiscent of "Replay" by Ken Grimwood, a classic masterpiece novel of this genre. You might also recognize this plot device from the survival video game world of "Resident Evil" which has become extremely popular since its release in 1996. Participants attempt to solve a mystery, collect weapons and other items to fight the enemy and struggle to survive until the very end. If, however, you are unsuccessful and die in the game, you can return to a "save point" and replay the game from there. This game-playing mindset is reconstructed to be true to the original in "Summer time rendering."
In this cleverly devised scenario, it's a surprise each time to see how the world of the future is altered by Shinpei traveling back in time. I suspect that the mangaka Yasuki Tanaka must be quite a game aficionado. At the same time, as a story featuring teenage protagonists, the feelings and mentality of the characters are described with care and sensitivity. Also to Tanaka's credit, the imaginary setting of Hitogashima is illustrated so beautifully that one would want to visit it.
Having said that, unless you concentrate and pay close attention to the details, there is a danger of losing track of what is happening. Shinpei travels back in time not once or twice but a number of times, and this story has a structure that is both complicated and elaborate. While that is in fact the main charm of the story, at the same time, it's a little too geeky.
Now that the final climax seems to be in sight, I really would like to witness and analyze whether this manga is an extreme and final end of the evolution of this genre's possible development, or whether it can offer a new horizon.
-- Kanta Ishida, Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer
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