Candy Box Creations got a volume release a year after the release of its first story: "Tree". This is an anthology of five self-contained and disconnected stories Yasuo Ohtagaki wrote during "Gundam Thunderbolt" hiatuses. His reasoning being the manga was getting so sad he wanted to start writing happy and upbeat stories that challenged him and flexed his skills as a writer, making him try unusual writing techniques and new approaches to stories. I say upbeat, but these "upbeat" stories by Ohtagaki include things like attempted self euthanasia, a tank battling commandos in a burning forest, Lovecraftian horrors staging a kidnapping, an elderly men getting time displaced, coping with the loss of a loved-one and more.
If you at all like "Moonlight Mile" or "Gundam Thunderbolt", I'm positive one of the five stories here will resonate with you. If you've already read these individual stories as we've published them, fret not. Ohtagaki included authors notes in the volume versions of these stories explaining his creative process, bringing something fresh to this release. With this done and the redone Moonlight Mile out of the way, it's high time we get back to "Moonlight Mile". Expect chapter 18 in March or my name isn't Mina Moon. Okay that's not name, but I mean to expect it in March or my online handle isn't Mina Moon. You get what I meant. Now a word from each of us.
Mina: I knew from the moment I read "Tree" that this this was going to be special. I enjoyed myself, I cried a little and rode the emotional rollercoaster Ohtagaki has mastered so well. This was an incredible experience across every story.
Hichikarah: Ohtagaki is a master of tragic writing. The way his writing so brilliantly captures very human expressions like grief, compassion and loss never fails to amaze me. The one feeling people don't give him credit for expressing in his works is joy, and that's for good reason. Joy is not something often seen in an Ohtagaki work, but it is something that must be earned in his works. Each story in this series works to earn a heartwarming pay-off, just like in his normal works, but without typical suffering or thorough character journeys like in his main works. Sometimes less is more. Ohtagaki has proven here that he can drive a reader to tears in 30 pages without extensive character-writing or suffering. It's an unusual turn from him, but this series shows his diversity as a writer well. Emotional works like this remind me why I've stuck with his manga for so long in the first place.
No More Cheese Dip: When I finished editing "Mama Mia" I just could not stop crying. I no joke went to my mother with tears in my eyes and when she asked what was wrong I told her that I was reminded of how much I love her and gave her a big hug. It takes a lot for a work of fiction to make me do something IRL like that. I felt profoundly moved by "Scorpion" too and I've fr not felt this way reading a manga in a long freakin' time.
