A “mediocre” Vocaloid producer is struggling to the top. Akanenone, illustrating the current online music business has completed its first chapter.
Among so many comic books taking their subjects from music such as bands, piano, classical, jazz, and so on, I have been paying attention to this comic book choosing an unusual subject, that is a youth drama Akanenone illustrating the current music scene mainly of the online music and the Vocaloid.
Starting its publication in serial form on the Monthly Big Comic Spirits with the title of Akaneiro No Composer, the comic changed its title to the current one as its serial publication began on the weekly comic magazine Big Comic Spirits. The long-awaited latest, the 5th volume was released in August. Originally the serial was announced to be completed on the 5th. However, its new chapter “Professional” was decided upon enthusiastic responses from the app “MangaOne”.
This is a coming-of-age story of Akane Kanzaki, a music college student and a “mediocre” Vocaloid producer, who wants to become a professional musician, as he grows up with music through discord with Jin Kanzaki, his father, a famous music producer, and a meeting with Tomoru, an innocent singer. A distinctive feature of this work is likely that each character's background is pretty much varied to bring about multiple dramas on different occasions. Because of the staging of the online music business, completely different characters of “position as creator / audience”, “attitudes toward music”, and “age / youth” bump against each other, and create so many frustrations and catalysis. A typical lifestyle in the Internet society, allowing everyone to be creative, is represented with high resolution and the work is worth reading. In particular, “Voca-Sai” (Vocaloid Festival in English) illustrated in the 3rd and 4th volumes, could be appraised to be its achievement. (Although it is only a short and small description, personally, I love a warm scene of an elementary school student producer Zenemu.)
Then, encountering a fate Vocaloid producer, Sabisabi, and reunion with Tomoru are rendered in this Vol. 5, which builds the climax from the 1st volume “music college student chapter”. Foreshadows that are spread all over the story are unpredictably paid off, and we are overwhelmed by the ideas of composing stories. Please take a look at how Akane’s passion for music almost as tenacity and his struggle end up. And look forward to further development of the story.
