Title: 海で拾ったきみに捧ぐ
Author: Sagami Waka
Release Date: October 25, 2018
Publisher: Tokuma Shoten (CHARA Comics)
I was going to review this in Japanese on my Tumblr site, but since Tumblr will probably reject the cover image I decided to write my review here in English. I picked this title up as part of Chara Comics’ birthday fair which is held in the summer each year. When you purchase books (manga or novels) from their list you can get an extra booklet of your choice (with short stories from three manga or novels depending on what you buy) and a random bonus small illustrated item. I am glad I selected this title because I found the manga to be quite enjoyable. Not as light as some other stories I’ve read, but it has enough going to want you to read on.
The story is about a novelist who is experiencing writer’s block. One day on his walk to the beach he finds a naked young man lying there unconscious. He takes him to his friend’s medical clinic where the young man wakes up with no memory. The novelist takes him home and asks him that if he is to stay he has to pick between being a pet or a lover. The young man who is later named Ren by the novelist answers immediately that he would be his lover since that way he would have more rights than a pet.
They start living together but there is still the mystery of Ren and if he really has lost his memory or if it is just an act. Ren turns out to be a really kind and outgoing person who is usually smiling and slowly influences the novelist (who is usually not very sociable others other than with his close friends) in a good way. Ren remembers that he is a big fan of the novelist’s works and starts helping him get back in to writing. The novelist also becomes quite attached to him that he is hesitant to let him go. There’s a lot of smut involved but I will ignore that since that’s not what I look for in stories. Without giving much details, the story progresses and you soon find out what Ren is really hiding and what he was escaping from the day he was found on the beach. It’s a good read and a happy ending. In the end, Ren is the one who helps the novelist come out of hiatus and release a new novel, based on their experience. However you never do find out what Ren’s real name is and what the novelist calls him after everything is revealed. I guess that doesn’t matter much.
My favourite part is when the novelist finds Ren who has gone back to his apartment where he originally lived. He appears with a scary look on his face and after demanding to be let in, he explains in an unpleasant voice that he used the fact that he was a well known author for the first time in order to find Ren’s whereabouts. He then continues to tell him that this was not the reason he was writing novels. Ren then says “I’m sorry…”, with a question mark. I thought this was really cute and it shows the novelist who was not keen on doing much really went out of his way to find Ren because he had become an important part of his life. That’s when he tells Ren that he wants to stay with him because he likes him. It is really nice to see the growing progress of the novelist’s feelings for Ren throughout the manga.
The title translates to “Dedicated to you whom I found by the ocean”.
Purchase:
Amazon Japan | CD Japan | Honto
Cover image from Amazon Japan.