I love the short film of this story, so I decided to read the manga. There is that missing beauty of Shinkai's animation, yet the emotions come across just the same. Shinkai's stories do so well at taking any simple story, something very realistic and relatable even, and tying it in with every detail-- from the weather and other parts of the environment, to what is focused on in each frame-- to create a connection between two people that can transcend the simplicity of a single moment. A beautifully woven tale of a bond formed in the rain, of hope and how to latch on to it, of shoes and being able to walk in them, of needing help even when the sun is shinning, of taking steps until you reach a tough decision, take a leap of faith, and are finally able to move forward.

The drawing style might not be as captivating as the final animated version of this story, however, basing it against it's medium, the drawing is beautifully done. The speech bubbles were a bit confusing at times since there are many scenes in which people are not shown in frame with their words and all the bubbles from different people look the same. This makes it a bit difficult at times to pinpoint which character is saying what, though mostly I think I was able to figure this out from context. I also love the way this one ends, the last page seems like a perfect culmination of the many pieces that were spread throughout the book that connected these two characters and what sparked from this connection. This is a quick read, just a single volume of manga, and I would certainly recommend it to fans of Shinkai, as well as the animated short film for it. I would also recommend for those who love seeing a story slowly come together from bits and pieces collecting and sparking off one another. ( )

映像美で評価されるアニメータの新海氏。彼の作品はワンシーンを拝見したのみだが、鮮やかで洗練された絵はそれだけで魅了されるに十分なものだった。きっと彼が見る世界の風景とは、私が見るのとは異なっていて、光線や陰影、物質の動作への感受が優れているはずだ、と思った。
さて、小説の魅力とは、すなわち喩えの美しさに他ならない。どんな書籍もストーリーとは結局単純である。本作を数ページ読んで残念に思ったのは、喩えが厭らしいことだ。まるで中二だか、ロマンチストだか。映像美に対して期待した質感とは外れるものだ。冒頭は読み進むに意図的なコンセントレーションが必要。ただそういう厭らしさもエピローグのみ。著者の処女作であるががゆえの不慣れさかと勝手に解釈して、読み深めれば、良い。各シーン・各一行を読む度に一呼吸を置いて余韻を味わう必要がある。それ以上の高評価はわたしがするまでもない。 ( )