Haruko Ichikawa Works Collection

This two-volume anthology gathers the finest one-shot stories by acclaimed manga creator Haruko Ichikawa, winner of the 2010 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for New Creators. The first volume, titled "Insects and Songs," features five distinct tales ranging from the peculiar relationship between a teenage boy and his uncle's daughter to a young man who crafts intricate insect models for eccentric clients alongside his siblings. Other stories follow a boy waking in an unfamiliar land guided only by an ethereal companion, a retired baseball player who adopts an adorable robot as his little sister, and a brief two-page secret vignette. The second volume, "25-Hour Vacation," presents three additional narratives that showcase Ichikawa's signature blend of the mundane and the extraordinary. A marine biologist named Nishi Otome takes time off work to reunite with her brother Kotaro, while a delinquent named Nana encounters a strange transfer student at Pandora Women’s College, situated on one of Saturn's moons. The collection concludes with the story of a genius high school student who begins living alongside a lonely man in the isolated, snow-covered mountains of the north. Together, these volumes highlight the author's remarkable ability to weave quiet emotion into surreal, beautifully crafted settings.