Details
Title:
Strobe in the Dark
Światło w ciemności
くらやみにストロボ (Kurayami ni Strobe)
Author: Hayakawa Nojico
Artist: Hayakawa Nojico
Volumes: 1
Publishers:
Dango (Polish, 2022)
Tokyo Mangasha (Japanese, 2011)
Shu Cream (Japanese, 2024)
Emotions as Fragile as Photographic Film
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Strobe in the Dark, known as Światło w ciemności in Polish, is one of the earlier works from Nojiko Hayakawa. I recall reading it as it was being published in a magazine around 2011, and instantly falling in love. I surely wasn’t the only one as it got officially published in Poland by Dango after 11 years!
Arata is a hobbyist high school photographer, popular among girls for photographing and selling prints of other school boys. Among them is Miyamoto, Arata’s childhood friend, who Arata has been having a long-time crush on. Miyamoto, a popular jock that he is, keeps getting confessed by girl after girl. Not quite understanding his sentiments, Arata keeps eavesdropping on those tender moments as Miyamoto keeps rejecting each one saying he already has feelings for someone. One day, Arata’s cover gets busted and he is confronted by his smiling best friend asking him “Want to know who it is?”.
The yearning for unrequited love, yet not being able to formulate your feelings to yourself, combined with the exquisite art style of Hayakawa-sensei creates this amazingly dreamlike atmosphere. Observing your loved one through camera lenses but not daring to approach has this particular ache that I enjoy in those kinds of stories. Also, I have a total weakness for a kind and calm seme who is already aware and confident of their feelings, meanwhile, uke is totally freaking out and losing his shit. If a seme has a crying scene, that’s my kryptonite.
What? Oh no, am I crying?
The art is simply amazing and right up my alley. The acrylic, melancholic colour pages and covers are a signature style of this author and I never can get enough of it. There is a purposeful use of negative space which further contributes to the overall dreamy quality of the work.
I consider it a miracle that Nojico-sensei’s work has been published at least in Polish as I endlessly lament that the English market has yet to get any of her manga printed. I am so jealous of French readers who got most of her titles! The Polish release is a standard Dango format which I highly enjoy for my yaoi manga: crispy white paper contributes a lot to the art with all those negative white spaces I mentioned before. The typesetting/lettering is also high quality, which only adds to the overall reading experience.
I highly recommend this particular title and others from Hayakawa Nojico. It’s a delightful read that will pull on your heartstrings but without too much drama. It’s a right balance of melancholy, emotional struggle and fluff. On top of all, the art is simple but striking. I can only hope that English publishers will pick up this author so that more people get to enjoy her work!
