Music & Lyrics: Thoughts on Sekai no Hashikko to Anzu Jam and Akuma to Love Song

My 30-Day Song Challenge is slowly coming to a close. So I would like to talk about two manga that are music themed: Sekai no Hashikko to Anzu Jam and Akuma to Love Song. These are two shoujo manga that I very much enjoyed reading.

Sekai no Hashikko to Anzu Jam (世界の端っことあんずジャム)

(Manga 2013)

By Rira Kirishima

This shoujo manga is about a high school girl Hina, who is the “unofficial” Building Manager of the Apricot House. Anzu Shinohara is a resident at the Apricot House. He is messy and lazy, which drives Hina crazy. One morning, she enters Anzu’s room to complain about his habits, and she accidentally steps on his keyboard. As a result, Anzu makes Hina pay back the cost of the keyboard by doing errands as reimbursement.

Anzu is a fun character. He is the lead singer of a popular band. So throughout the manga, you see him showing his musical passions. I enjoy his antics towards Hina. He tends to tease her all the time, but he genuinely cares for her. The story is currently at the point where he is starting to question his feelings for her.

5/5

Akuma to Love Song (悪魔とラブソング)

(Manga 2006-2011)

By Miyoshi Toumori

Kawai Maria transfers to Touzuka High School after getting expelled from S. Katria Girls School. Maria  has a tough time making friends, but she slowly opens up to her new classmates especially Shin Meguro. This story shows the struggles of accepting one’s past and pain through music. Maria blames herself that she caused her mother’s suicide. Her comfort is singing the song, “Amazing Grace.” As for Shin, he seems to have a traumatic experience when he messed up during his debut performance as a pianist.

Maria has a cold personality, which makes people avoid befriending her. Even though she is harsh, she means well, and wants to try helping others. Maria may seem intimidating, but her brutally honest and direct persona is what I like about her. She isn’t two-face or fake. Instead, she says what she feels and means what she says even if it isn’t nice. And let’s be honest, the world is a cruel place. In my opinion, it is better to be honest as oppose to being nice because “being nice” all the time may come off as being insincere. Now in the eyes of other characters, she may seem like a “devil,” but I think she is just misunderstood.

5/5

Overall, I really enjoy these two manga. There is something about music themed romance I find appealing, and it isn’t because they have music in it. I mean how can you listen to the music if it’s in book format. You can read lyrics, but the most important part, the music, isn’t there. As I think about it right now, the possible reason why I like music themed manga or books in general is the emotion. Music is able to sway a person’s emotions and make you think about your memories. As for a music themed book, it tries to do the same. So yeah, I guess that’s why I like music themed books.