A Summer Memory With You ~Sea, Fireworks, and a Lap Pillow~

I absolutely love the "childhood friend" relationship dynamic. That distance that's neither too close nor too far, sharing so many memories from way back, being able to show each other your unguarded selves. And yet, somewhere in your heart, you have special feelings for the other person. That kind of "childhood friend" — close, yet just a little bit distant — is exactly what I love. The heroine of this work, Mana-chan, fits my ideal image of a childhood friend perfectly. When she meets the protagonist again after a long time, there's a warmth to how she thanks him for the long trip home and speaks to him gently, almost like the bond of family. At the same time, in her occasional teasing remarks and reactions like "Hm?" and "Ehh?", I could feel the warmth that only comes from a long-standing relationship of trust. On top of that, the situations and ambient sounds used to bring out Mana-chan's "childhood friend"-ness were wonderful too. The walk home, the house, the sea, the festival — the sound design gave a real sense of immersion, as if I had truly returned to my hometown... And within that setting, the happiness of sensing your childhood friend right beside you is irresistible. Personally, the footsteps (especially the sound of her geta), her sleeping breath, and the sound of the waves struck my ears with a kind of impact so strong it almost made me feel like she was really there beside me. On the final day, the little reveal about their high school days and the line "I've grown into a good woman too, you know" struck a chord with me. I had thought the distance between us would stay the same, neither closer nor farther — but then she does something that makes it seem like she's quietly moved a step ahead without me noticing... I felt that same bittersweet quality of a "hometown childhood friend" here as well. And at the very end, when she says "See you again," there's a certain loneliness in her voice. But within it, I could also hear a quiet strength — a belief that we truly will meet again. In the way her true feelings kept flickering in and out of view right up to the end, I felt I had heard the very essence of what it means to be childhood friends. Thank you so much for letting me experience such a wonderful summer, and such a wonderful time with a childhood friend.

The voice and the setting were dead center in my strike zone, so I ended up buying it without even thinking. I'm from the countryside myself, and I really wish I'd had a childhood friend like this. I found myself imagining things like, if it weren't for the grandmother, maybe we would have gone off and had fun together in Tokyo... but then again, it doesn't feel right to blame it all on the grandmother either... I want to go home more often, to reach out and stay in touch more. When I tried to write out all these feelings welling up in me, it just wouldn't come together into proper sentences... Please, please make a sequel — maybe set during New Year's or spring break. I will definitely buy it.

I got to fully savor that feeling of going back to the countryside during summer vacation. Walking with a childhood friend down a road where cars rarely pass, so all you can hear are footsteps and cicadas. A childhood friend you only see in summer, not a lover, but when you do meet, the small talk just keeps flowing in a comfortable, unstrained atmosphere. It really made me feel like this was a relationship built up over a long span of time. The highlight of this work was the sheer power of the fireworks display. The powerful sound of the fireworks that just draws you in, combined with the somehow deeply moving conversation with your childhood friend right beside you, made it feel like I was truly there at the fireworks venue — it was really touching. My own hometown isn't really like that, so I've never experienced anything like this myself, but this is a work I'd recommend listening to on a summer day when you want to feel that sense of "nostalgia, wistfulness, that certain something."