かんぺきな街

KANPEKI NA MACHI

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
1
RELEASE
January 1, 2016
CHAPTERS
5

DESCRIPTION

An unemployed young man, after going to the lost property center and recovering something bizarre, meets a mysterious girl.

Note: Includes an oneshot called Neko Sagashi.

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

scribemiri
86/100
Messy lives in a not so perfect city
A man in his mind twenties that is unemployed and lost.
A young girl with a curious air about themselves that makes you wonder what that is about. And a classmate of hers that kept to a promise with friends that no one else did. And in that eventuality, he is alone, and his friends are not present for their promise, which was to save money for this day to leave town. And in his retelling to his classmates who came to give him his grades from an assignment. He, in a flight of anxiety, rushes to find other reasons for what he can do with all the money he had saved, but it just comes across to the other characters as excuses and relays a sense of pity. And when he notices their gazes he shouts, “don’t judge me.”

These examples shown early on give us an idea of the characters and their angst. The author uses this angst that is shown in the story to convey a sense of characters that live messy lives – loneliness and unbelonging are two feelings that come to mind here, as these characters are unsure of their discomfort and direction in their lives yet in the story.

`<img width='440' src='https://files.catbox.moe/9c0o8o.png'>
`
I also want to talk about the author's choice of art style here. It may well be their signature style, but I feel it only elevates the feelings being expressed in the story and how the characters are undergoing a messy part of their lives right now. The composition and dark tones direct me to this consensus as well.

I really like the way things are drawn in this story. The expressions characters have in these two panels are just examples of stoicism and how we as people have stuff, we dwell on, but we continue anyway. Looking for something, and for answers.

The manga likes to play around with this. There are even queer elements to explore here, with the main character’s ex being a trans man. And the`` dialogue for it is kind of interesting, it does not feel invasive or difficult to witness, but it does still however lead to a content warning about the main character’s initial discomfort with how he feels about his ex’s transition. The whole gender exploration is a minute detail but it’s what made me find this little story to be an interesting gem. It’s the author’s capability to play around with these things in the background of a bigger story that makes me feel so compelled to finish it. It’s also nice to see curly hair representation here too. But the whole angst atmosphere, and the way characters comfort each other while they navigate their problems is a fun little melancholic romp to me.

I might be overselling it, but I think it’s worth a try for those who want something a bit different and want to read a short story.
```
Disclaimer: I don't use number metrics for some of these reviews. I kind of just want to explore themes or topics that are represented in stories and express whether it's something of import.
```
Continue on AniList