Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? The Manga

By { Justinn } - Saturday, November 25, 2017 - No Comments

Hello people! While many of you are soaking in the crazy but fun bliss of C3 AFA Singapore 17 (apparently, the name has gotten longer...or is it just me?), I am sure there is a handful of us that would rather steer clear of the mad rushes. Anyway, because the holidays are here for a lot of people, there seems to be a bunch of stuff everywhere! The new Pokemon movie, the new Pokemon movie, and the new Pokemon movie. Sorry, I just couldn't resist because strangers had been talking about it while waiting to catch some monster opposite my flat! Sure, they were really loud. Well, there is another movie though...but I am going to talk about its manga instead.

I have no idea what is with the even longer titles these days, but I shall still list them down. Uchiage Hanabi, Shita Kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara Miru ka? or Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the bottom? For those who are watching the movie starting November 30th (this coming Thursday!)...actually, I think everything is automated now, right? Anyway, you could just say Fireworks. Incidentally, that happens to be the title of the Chinese translation (when translated back to English). Convenient, but absolutely lazy and missing some very important points.

As its very long title suggests, the premise of this story revolves around the theme of perception, and how differences in such could lead to some drastic consequences. I shall not spoil the story here, especially when I don't even know just how similar or different the two versions are. However, I can say that the manga has a continuity that will pick up from a rather common yet still effective plot device. If you fancy stuff like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, then you might just appreciate Fireworks!

The manga has an easily likeable style, quickly resonating with the general outlook towards life from the perspectives of a group of students. One could also feel the odds and ends of summer throughout the story, and naturally the fireworks that conclude one's memories of the season. But there aren't actually any fireworks in the first volume (I was left rather dumbfounded after reading 160+ pages), so perhaps there would be some in the second book or something. I am looking forward to that! As for the movie, I don't know...maybe I would watch it eventually.