Sand Chronicles 6
July 27, 2009
Hinako Ashihara – Viz – 2009 – 10 volumes
I had pretty much the same problem with this volume that I had with the last one, which was pretty much that I can no longer sympathize with Ann, who seems to have everything she wants and just isn’t happy with it. She breaks up with Daigo for some reason, because being with him is complicated and sad. I can sort of accept that this links back to the fact that she knew Daigo when her mother died six years ago, but I don’t know why it should impact her relationship. But fine. She isn’t happy, only sad, so she does something about it. Then she starts dating Fuji. Except she’s not happy dating Fuji, because she loves Daigo and would rather be dating him. And then is jealous that Daigo is also dating someone else, and this makes her so sad that she can’t be nice to Fuji anymore.
I realize that there are probably a lot of people that can connect with Ann, but I think I fail because it’s just not in my nature to be as sad as Ann is. I’m trying to come up with a less negative ways of phrasing that, but basically I have never had to deal with depression, which I realize is something Ann is probably struggling with, and it’s something that can be quite serious in real life. But having never experienced it for myself, stories like this fall flat because I don’t understand why Ann just can’t be happy.
I still like this story okay. It’s well-told, and the bittersweetness of the relationships is quite excellent. Despite the fact I hate Ann a little bit for treating Fuji so poorly, I like seeing her and Fuji together, and I wish something happy would come of it. Most of all, I like the main theme of the series, which is that time and life marches on despite anything else that may be happening with your life. I’m eager to see where the story goes now that the characters are no longer in high school. I suppose it won’t be terribly different for college life, but maybe the change of pace will brighten Ann up a little. Her grandma gave her a bit of a pep talk at the end of the volume too, so hopefully that’ll help a little.
But We Were There has pulled ahead of this story since I like the story better (the emotions are a bit more complex in that one) and I understand why all the characters do what they do in that series, even if I don’t necessarily agree with it. Both are quite good though, and very much worth reading.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
May 27, 2010 at 11:41 pm
I think that’s rather the point of it, actually, that Ann is miserable and can’t make up her mind about anything. It seems like she’s incapable of being happy – which is true. A long distance relationship is hard, especially when hindered by feelings of distrust and fear. Surely you’ve been in relationships in which you break up despite the fact that love is still there?
I suppose, in short, they’re just not ready for each other, mostly because of Ann – but also because Daigo doesn’t understand Ann’s emotions (as Fuji is).
Do have to agree with you that Ann treats Fuji pretty badly. I’ve always considered them to be soul mates. They’re so similar! Fuji loves her so much. I think she owes Fuji as much gratitude as Fuji owes her. I doubt this will stick as a romantic relationship, and it’d be against the spirit of this manga if Fuji never falls in love again, but it’d pain me if Fuji and Ann do not stay at least friends.
That’s my two cents. And yes, indeed, I disagree with you about Ann. I can totally relate to her, and this is much better in my opinion than We Were There.
June 1, 2010 at 11:01 pm
You know, I think you are right about me missing the point, and your comment made me pick the series back up a day or so ago. I missed it since bad shoujo tends to do that a lot – cycle through relationships over and over again – but in Ann’s case, you’re right, it reflects more of her character than it does in other series since it’s not really silly reasons that split them, it’s simply that they are missing a connection in each other again and again. And yeah, my relatioship experience is limited, so that situation has never happened to me.
Thanks for giving me a reason to jump back into this series, especially since the heavy drama in We Were There is beginning to wear on me a bit. These two are trying to out-depress each other, I think.