I’m so grateful to the folks at Azuki, my favorite manga app for sending along this exclusive! I was happy to receive the first eleven chapters of their newest acquisition on the app: Koumori’s Our Aimless Nights. Sold as a coming-of-age story, here’s mostly non-spoilery first impressions by way of a short review!
Our Aimless Nights
Words and Art by: Koumori
Translation: Jan Mitsuko Cash
Lettering: Barri Shrager Translation
Editing: Sarah Burch Cover
Design: Glen Isip
Quality Assurance: D.S. Jay
Brand Manager: Evan Minto
Production Manager: Cynthia Kim
Let me be insufferable with my microphone from off a rooftop: I LOVE COMING-OF-AGE STORIES. Azuki has promised us that through their latest work: Our Aimless Nights, that we have a new entry in the coming-of-age genre with these two teenagers who form an unlikely connection with each other. This new manga series features the very cheerful, well-known. and well-liked high school girl Chika and the much more reserved, quiet, and introverted Waya. As they are as different as the sun and the moon, they find that spending time together outside the convenience store where Waya works, a special time that the two start to look forward to.
The first few chapters of Our Aimless Nights help set up not just how Chika and Waya meet but how they first start to interact with each other inside and out of school. Chika is going through a new transition in her family, and she announces it to her friends at school hoping for some normalcy and to try to set the tone for her school life. Later when the teenage girl discovers a quaint little corner store at night and stops for her snacks, she finds the quieter, teenage boy, Waya at the counter and as conversation blossoms between them, she realizes that they share common ground because of what’s happening in their families. Waya’s empathic nature is a balm to the girl who is still trying to adjust to this new normal, and he makes an incredible first impression on her who obviously needed a kindred soul to hear a kind word from.
The pacing of Our Aimless Nights really works well in this online format as the story moves in these shorter bursts of storytelling. The slow burn isn’t drawn out to a frustrating degree, and readers can point out the chemistry and instant connection the two share at their first meeting at the convenience store outside of school. Balancing the teens’ interactions at the corner store to the ways they see each other at school, readers will get a chance to view the worlds that both teens belong to: Chika who is always surrounded by friends and Waya on the outskirts of companionship and existing at school. I really felt that I was living for the moments that these two would make eye contact, especially at school. Waya isn’t bullied, or a social outcast and Chika isn’t the most popular girl at school–yet the distance between them in the school house feels like literal miles until at night, when they get to see each other face to face. The setup is thrilling and the small confessions about everyday life and minor secrets that make each other tick feel hard earned after reaching the end of every chapter.
I love Koumori’s dedication to making sure expressions get carried along on the page like when the intensified blushing erupted on Chika’s face when she gets caught staring at Waya when she witnesses a quiet scene meant for no one else’s eyes. I love the give and take of the emotional and physical distance between the two teens chapter by chapter as they get closer. I love all the little details in the manga series like how Chika looks in Waya’s memories and how Chika’s embarrassed reminiscing takes center stage in the panels afterwards. Moments like when one of them first smiles around the other sets the chapter for a grand yet quietly satisfying ending. Smaller moments like while one of the teens discovers a favorite little character at the store (think your run of the mill anime character with tons of merch, and snacks too) and makes sure to capture the sought after box of goodies for the other reveals a stunned and happy expression too good not to re-read the chapter for.
What makes Our Aimless Nights stand out is that it’s a well-paced, inviting story of connections and finding someone in your adolescence who makes you want to share parts of yourself with. Earlier on, at their first meeting at the convenience store, when Waya empathizes with Chika, he mentions that interacting with people can be difficult–a reason why he likes to keep to himself. Yet, Chika who is almost never lost for words starts to find herself unable to formulate what she even wants to say or feel about the boy. Worried about upsetting the status quo at school, Waya tries his best not to interact with the girl on campus–alas, the two have meaningful little moments anyway–much to the growing awareness of others. The manga has quickly become an endearing narrative on the quiet and loud parts of youth, how they are interpreted, and how they are reacted to with someone else who just might open their heart up for you.
I would recommend Our Aimless Nights for fans of the drama, romance, and school life genres via manga. I would also recommend mangaka Koumori’s work for the Seinen genre lovers in the chat. According to Anime News Network, Koumori debuted the manga on Futabasha’s Web Action website in July 2022 and the series is ongoing so we’re receiving a relatively newish series to enjoy! I’ve loved reading this advanced set of chapters of Our Aimless Nights. It feels so natural to read along and allow this manga’s mission of demonstrating how important relationships of all kinds are important, quietly taking up space in my heart.
I cannot express how much I got invested into the story of seeing both Chika and Waya start opening up and being around each other more, inside the convenience store, and more. I adore the effort here by the mangaka that everything in life takes effort and sincerity like budding relationships and nothing is truly aimless, meaningless, or worthless when the heart is involved. I’m looking forward to reading more, seeing how the school friends start to see these two silly teenagers and if a B-Couple arises from the chaos of everyday school life in the story as well!
Read Our Aimless Nights on the Azuki app or on the Azuki website here!
According to Azuki: “Chapters 1-5 are available now. New chapters will launch weekly on Thursdays until we catch up with the Japanese release, when we’ll switch to releasing every two weeks.”
Azuki is available on the web at www.azuki.co and in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. The app features 300 manga series, including international hits like Attack on Titan, Fire Force, and A Silent Voice. Azuki also publishes acclaimed new series like Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms, Natsume & Natsume, and My Dear Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files, with weekly new chapters available exclusively via the Azuki app.
Start reading for free today with advertisements, or upgrade to Premium and access the full Premium catalog featuring thousands of chapters for just $4.99 a month. A 14-day free trial and discounted annual plan are also available, and additional volumes outside the subscription can be purchased via direct volume sales (Premium members get 20% off all volumes). Most titles are available worldwide (except Japan). Stay up to date on the latest announcements by following Azuki at x.com/ReadAzuki, facebook.com/ReadAzuki, and instagram.com/readazuki.
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