A Brief Moment of Ichika Volume 1 Review

Recently there has been a notable uptick in manga and light novels being released in the West revolving around a bittersweet romance, usually because a character has some kind of incurable disease. I’m quite a fan of this subgenre myself, so when Kodansha announced they had licensed A Brief Moment of Ichika, I knew I had to read it. But has it proved a good read? Let’s find out!

The story follows protagonist Ichika Sendawara, who at the young age of 16 was told she only had two years left to live due to an incurable disease. At the time Ichika was a second-year in high school and perhaps due to youthful optimism decided not to worry about how long she had left (after all, she reasons, some people are told they have months to live and then live much longer), instead focusing on the here and now.

Perhaps that upbeat attitude has paid off for Ichika, as when we first meet her she’s now a second year in college having lived for three years so far and although her symptoms started to get worse in her first year (around when her two years were up), she’s managed to stay stable since. This is thanks to meeting Professor Yurugi, whom she fell for after he helped her on her first day. She attended his classes, took lessons with him in his office and gradually became friends with him until the day he suddenly quit his job at the start of her second year without telling her.

Three months later, Ichika finally reunites with him on the local train line but her happiness is short-lived when Yurugi reveals the reason he quit his job so suddenly is because he too is living on borrowed time. In Yurugi’s case, he’s been given a year to live and Ichika can’t even imagine a world without him, knowing full well that he’s been her reason for living since she got into college. Still, if he only has so much time left then Ichika doesn’t want to be left with regrets and quickly confesses her feelings to him.

This sets off an awkward series of events because Yurugi doesn’t know about Ichika’s illness (she refused to tell anyone to avoid pity, so only her family know the truth) and he doesn’t necessarily want to get into a relationship knowing he has so little time left even if he does like her too. If he’s with Ichika he’ll leave her behind sooner than later and surely that is going to cause her pain.

However, to Ichika not being able to see him in the time he has left could cause her irreversible damage given she’s carried on living due to, she thinks, her feelings for him. When she’s with him she doesn’t have to think about anything, not her illness or the time left so she doesn’t want to be separated from him just because he wishes to keep her at arm’s length.

I admit that my feelings toward A Brief Moment of Ichika are somewhat mixed. I appreciate that this is a story told from the perspective of the character who is living with an incurable disease as opposed to a downtrodden protagonist who exists to be saved by them before they depart this world, which is the usual trope. It’s an interesting spin to have both of your main characters living on borrowed time, too. Although some people may find themselves put off simply because this is an age-gap romance between a former teacher and his student.

Where I struggle with this one is the fact it feels like some of the drama comes off as manufactured. I don’t understand why Ichika can’t just be blunt with Yurugi that she’s in a similar situation to him. She doesn’t want him to pity her but it would give them equal standing and allow them to support each other. In fact, during an argument, she does tell him she’s dying, but for whatever reason Yurugi either ignores her or doesn’t hear her and there’s no real indication which it is. Ichika never brings it up again either, which doesn’t help.

I think the fact these two characters are constantly talking past each other is the one thing that prevents me from being able to truly care about their story. It’s awkward, cumbersome and often frustrating, but not in the way you’d expect from a teenage-led drama like this.

This is a series that’s already complete at three volumes and knowing it’s short does keep me on the hook for further instalments, aided by the fact the situation has started to change substantially by the end of the volume. I hope things improve because with some tweaks this could easily be something I grow quite attached to.

The series is mangaka Natsu Tadano’s debut in the West and their first multi-volume series generally speaking, but despite their relative newcomer status, their work here is good. The art is cute and packed with small details to discover if you remain on a given page long enough. Some of the earlier chapters feel like they’re overwhelmed with text at times, but that does improve as the book goes on.

I like that the style of the art also reflects Ichika’s almost whimsical and happy-go-lucky approach to life. And there’s something to be said for the fact that Ichika and Yurugi have designs that reflect their outlook on their respective diagnosis. Ichika, who’s been ignoring it, still looks bubbly, while Yurugi, who is counting down his days, constantly has bags under his eyes and looks aged beyond his years.

A Brief Moment of Ichika Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to Kodansha under their Vertical imprint. This release has been translated by Gwen Clayton and it reads well with no problems to note. No extras to speak of here sadly (I was hoping for colour pages, given the lovely cover) and I will say I was somewhat confused to find this arrived shrink-wrapped, given the 13+ age rating and lack of content warnings. Perhaps in preparation for a future volume?

As mentioned this manga is complete with three volumes. Here in English, Kodansha has #2 scheduled for a release in July with the final instalment following in October.

Overall, A Brief Moment of Ichika’s first volume is somewhat difficult to get into due to the characters. However, I like the original spin mangaka Natsu Tadano is putting on these well-worn tropes, so I’m willing to stick with it to see how things progress.

Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).

A free preview of Volume 1 can be found on the publisher’s website here.