(Illustration of Otome by the blog Tsubaki)
NOTE: Apologies this review is so late!
TRANSLATIONS NOTE: Can be read in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai and now English
Otome is a new student at Kyoto University with an eccentric way of thinking and a boundless sense of curiosity. This is the tale of her wondrous, bizarre year of exploration in an unreal version of Kyoto and the many adventures she has. It is also the story of her would be boyfriend, Senpai, who cannot find the right way to approach her and becomes entangled in a parallel set of adventures as a result.
night is short walk on girl is what you would get if you threw Carroll's Alice, Neil Gaiman's sense of urban supernatural and jean pierre Jaunet's Amelie into a blender. This novel took its time to be translated (10+ years to be exact) but it is every bit as wonderful as its 2017 anime adaptation, and which you prefer comes down entirely to personal preference.
But there is one major difference between the book and its film: time. The book takes place over one crazy year whilst the film has everything in one dreamlike night. Again personal preference will dictate which way of telling this tale you prefer.
On one hand the all in one night approach is more carrollian, but on the other side Morimi's novel being set over a year is more detailed and there is a sense of real companionship among the characters. Otome's friendships with party girl Hanuki and maybe supernatural entity Higuchi feel more closer in the novel. We get more backstories and even more segments (since even though the film was a very faithful adaptation, things were left out)
In terms of character Otome here is more eccentric and more naive about people, her naivete lessens as the year (and book) goes on and she becomes more attuned to the world around her. Senpai also has a parallel narrative which mirrors this. In this sense the novel has a coming of age function that the film for the most part lacks.
Honestly this novel is a little glowing gem. Surreal, quirky (without being cloying) and ever so carrollian.
NOTES:
- SiFi Enclopedia has some good notes on Morimi's other work (and is the only comprehensive guide in English)
- Morimi's novel The Tatami Galaxy is set in the same place as Night is Short... despite only featuring Hanuki and Higuchi as returning characters. Tatami has not been officially translated... yet.
- Although there is an anime TV adaptation of Tatami and plenty of TV and film adaptations of Morimi's other works (all are subtitled in English, for international friends, check availability)
- Here's an awesome essay about the adaptations of Morimi's works so far.
- This guide details the real life locations that are mentioned in the novel, including Bar MoonWalk, the very real bar that fictional Otome starts her weird adventures at.
- I want more translations of this author's work. Just saying. Apparently a lot of them are connected in places and themes.
