Taiyou no Uta (The Midnight Sun) review
I just finished reading the short manga Taiyuo no Uta ('The Midnight Sun'). Based on a novel (and also later adapted as a movie), this manga charts the love story between Karou Amane and Kouji Fujishiro.
A street musician, Karou is a talented and passionate singer. Frequenting a certain plaza every night, Karou is an intelligent, pretty and talented young women with a frank personality. But she can only ever sing on the streets at night. And at 16 years old, has far exceded doctors expectations for her life expectancy. Because Karou suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum, a condition that means that her body is unable to repair the damage caused by UV rays, putting her at a very real and serious risk of skin cancer, coupled with steady brain damage. For this reason, Karou spends her days inside, either sleeping, or watching certain boy from her bedroom window. A boy who, although she can not speak to, or who is even aware of her existance, she falls in love with. But while busking at night with her friend, a chance meeting brings the two together.
There is so much to say about this beautiful manga, but it risks spoiling a lot of the plot. But I will say that this is a manga that is moving, sad and uplifting all at the same time.
The romance that plays out between Karou and Kouji is very touching and heartfelt. It's beautiful, and at the same time achingly bittersweet. A feeling that that is present throughout the majority of the manga. It's very hard not to be touched by this manga, and many readers will be likely moved to tears.
There is a lot of emotional realism in this manga, without it becoming depressing or heavy, and the overall experience is a very uplifting one. Karou's feelings regarding her condition are treated realistically, as are those of her family. She is treated sympathetically, but never pityingly (like many other characters with serious illnesses or disabilities often end up being treated in fiction), and the subject of XP is also covered in a pretty realisticly in the manga as well, being portrayed accurately, rather than being used as a plot device or 'romance sweetener', as many other authors could potentially have done.
Overall, this is a uplifting, moving and beautiful manga, that will stay with you a long time after you read it. It is among one of the most touching mangas I have ever read, and the final pages left me with tears in my eyes. At just 1 volume long, it doesn't take a lot of time to read, so if you are looking for something new to read, or have a spare hour to fill, then read this manga :)! I really recommend it.