The Bus Takes You and Runs.

As one would expect, Sumomo Yumeka / Mizu Sahara once again puts a romantic spin on something as simple as riding a bus. The various segments involving people in buses, people waiting for buses and people being left behind by buses are once again wonderfully illustrated in a distinct clean style. Bus Hashiru explores a different side of love. It goes beyond the confession part of love and delves into what happens after feelings are known. It also puts a light on a love beyond the romantic one. The characters are, as always, endearing and appealing. A very charming and bittersweet collection of stories.

Bus Hashiru introduces us to a world where unforgettable moments can be made through a normal daily thing such as a bus stop. All stories revolve around this concept as it attempts it to symbolize a person’s desire to connect with someone. The idea of waiting on a bus stop is likened to the idea of waiting for the right person to come into your life. It also uses the idea of getting on or off the bus as a metaphor for being invited to a person’s life or being no longer a part of someone’s life. There is also the idea of anxiety ofnothing interesting will happen in your life, likened to the dread when waiting for a bus and getting a sense of relief and excitement as it finally arrives. A sense of determination to wait on time is shown as you’ve already made a promise to yourself or with someone. The theme of a bus stop is utilized creatively by each individual story as it tries to get a grasp of the sentimentality of waiting displayed in several settings. It can be used so much more as everyday things such as bus stops are always an intersection of human thoughts. In it you can find people waiting like a salaryman who is catching up with a work deadline, a student who is about to meet a date, or even a little kid who is all hyped-up looking forward to the activities he’ll do with his friends. Among those lines of consciousness, there will always be an occurrence when two separate streams of thoughts get tangled up and an event between them occurs. Bus Hashiru offers these kinds of different scenarios, albeit not all of them get a happy ending. There are bittersweet moments filled with regret and some are beautiful realizations of an unexpected encounter. Brief yet simple, it’s an experience that hits deep as one ponders how a simple means of transportation can unexpectedly bring people together but it can drift people apart as well. It is a work to be acknowledged through its melancholic yet reflective narrative.