The Children of the Sea, Volume one is a typical manga illustrated graphic novel. It is sparse and not always expressive, or gives all the information you think you might be needing. Yet, there is something about it that draws you into things, and the story has enough teases to it, to make you (or at least me) want more. Daisuke Igarashi was new to me as an author/illustrator, but I am thinking I might want to look into The Children of the Sea series more. The story itself has us following the main character, Ruka, as she remembers the summer two boys entered her life and she was tossed out to sea, figuratively and a bit literally. A coming of age story that is not for everyone as things can be a tad abstract, have a folktale element, and sometimes can be a bit disjointed with story flow. The mixture of mostly black and white illustrations, with some having color, adds to the uniqueness and oddity of things.
This is a dense graphic novel. If the traditional manga format was not enough to make things a bit unique and harder to read (especially if you are not familiar with the format) the supernatural and paranormal events occurring would make this book so. The character of Ruka is not a likable person, but neither are the brothers she meets that summer. (Or at least I never really found myself warming to them). The boys have some abnormalities with their system, but nothing really to indicate they are not human. Of course, they need to be in the water unless their skin dries out too much says otherwise. They have an odd connection to each other, to the ocean, to their guardian and even Ruka herself. Missing animals from the aquarium that Ruka’s father runs, animals beaching themselves, animals from the extreme depths of the sea coming to the surface, whales singing new songs all are part of the mystery. A mystery that seems unsolvable. ‘
The ending is open, as there are at least four more volumes in this series. Though I am not a huge manga/anime reader, Igarashi’s series feels like it might be a good representation of the genre, and a classic story. The publisher’s description mentions the story is based in Japanese folklore and it makes me think of the Asadora! series by Naoki Uraswa. I could see this series as an animated anime series or a black and white classic film. It might not be the best book to start your manga journey with, but it is one that I think people could enjoy if you give it time, and a quiet spot to sit and savor. 