Kyoichi Katayama

I rarely- make that "never"- read Shojo. Manga, yes, but never the kind targeted at pre-teen/ teenage girls. I'm glad I picked up the manga version of "Socrates in Love".

It's drawn in one of the styles that I find really pleasing to read (sorry, don't know what the style is called), and the text comes from this novel (by Kyoichi Katayama; the manga is drawn by Kazumi Kazui. I don't know who adapted the text). And it's a heart-wrenching, bittersweet story about a young love ended when the girl, Aki, dies of leukemia.

Written in the 1970s, the novel has beautiful lines in it like

"No matter what I looked at, my memories would suck me in. I closed the lid on my heart and turned my back to the ocean."

"...And that was why, whenever I woke up, I'd be crying. It wasn't because I was sad. When you return from a happy dream to sad reality, there's a chasm you have to step across, and you can't cross it without shedding tears. It doesn't matter how many times you do it."

"I was in a place where one death had wiped out every emotion. That was where I was. I didn't see anthing, hear anything, or feel anything. But was that where I really was? If not, then where was I?" (which leads into a flashback of Aki and Saku-chan meeting as children)


Part of the reason I believe this manga adaptation is so successful is that Kazui (art) renders some of the words of the novel unnecessary: she communicates the author's intent succinctly, purely through drawing alone. I understand why "Socrates in Love" is well-loved in Japan, and hope this manga adaptation is as well.

(And yes, I do plan to read the novel.)… (more)