I had a good enough time reading 126 on a Sunday morning with the window open to the rain, and the prospect of catching up (and performing the party trick of finishing two issues in one day) was so tantalizing… that I pretty much just read Harta the rest of the day. It was a really nice time! Though there were probably other things I should have done… And wowee! Now I’m caught up again! How about that!

Some highlights:

There’s a 新連載, based on a 読み切り I remember albeit not in detail: レインアパート by おみたし about a bond between a very tall demihuman of some kind and a girl, in a mysterious rainy future world. The specific choice of character designs make me a little uneasy given the way that some Harta series are… But the atmosphere seems really strong! And I could see this having a quiet sentimental kind of sci-fi tinged charm similar to something like ヨコハマ買い出し紀行.

I quite enjoyed the 読み切り 本食い虫と魔法人形 by 大峯鶴次. I was especially intrigued since it seems like the author’s other works are two short story collections both published by the Harta label this year, but as far as I can tell I don’t think the author has published enough shorts in Harta to fill two volumes so I wonder if most in there are originals? Which makes me intrigued? It looks like there was one short by them in 119 which I specifically remember and also enjoyed! So that’s a good sign too! Anyway – roughly it’s about a fairy who eats books and the robot caretaker of an aging library, and I thought it was cute, inventive, and sweet.

Again, the Kyoto gags in this chunk of キラキラとギラギラ by 嵐田佐和子 really do it for me.

The 読み切り １万年後の地球にて by ふじの菜々was a pretty sweet short one about the kind of friend/companion you can trust to connect to whenever.