Synopsis
Yuzu and Kanon, who met as children, meet again in junior high.
At first glance, their personalities and upbringings seem polar opposites, but they naturally find each other deeply attracted and develop a special bond.
They spend their after-school hours together, share secrets, and feel a special place in each other’s hearts.
However, as their environments and family circumstances fluctuate, their relationship repeatedly drifts apart and hurts one another.
Despite feelings that cannot be fully expressed with words like “best friend” or “love,” they remain deeply aware of each other.
Eventually, as they grow up and walk separate paths, Kanon and Yuzu meet again.
It’s a feeling that can’t be described as love or friendship; it’s simply a wish that “I want you to be in the light.”
This earnestness and pain lead the two to rethink their lives.
Review
■The Nameless and Deep Relationship
How can we best describe the relationship between Yuzu and Kanon?
At first, I thought it was a close friendship, but halfway through, I realized it wasn’t that. On the other hand, when asked if it was homosexuality, that also seemed a little off.
Relationships in which both parties care for each other but require a certain distance sometimes arise as a result of homosexuality’s lack of social understanding.
However, rather than hiding their love, the relationship between the two in this story seems like one in which they have voluntarily distanced themselves out of their deep concern for each other.
In reality, they were separated for a long period of time due to external factors beyond their control, but it feels like that time apart has fostered even greater feelings of cherishing each other. By wishing strongly that they would never forget.
At the end of the story, we sense a change in their relationship, one in which they are always drifting apart.
I’m intrigued by the developments after they meet again and their future.
■Strong character fostered by an uncomfortable mother-daughter relationship
Yuzu’s mother clearly lacks love for her daughter. Kanon’s mother, too, seems to value herself more than anything else.
Both characters have troubled parent-child relationships, but Yuzu, who grew up in an economically secure environment, seems to have grown up in a privileged environment. On the other hand, I think Kanon’s upbringing was quite harsh. Not only was she poor, but she also had problems with her parents and her grandmother, making her an environment in stark contrast to Yuzu’s. However, it was this environment that made her strong. Throughout this story, I was moved by Kanon’s strength. I was particularly drawn to her mental strength, which allowed her to attend a girls’ school while working.
