[Sung Chan-yeol’s Comics] In 〈He and the Moon〉, a Big Family Feels Both Close and Far Away

Every so often a work finds you in a strangely precise way, and, oddly, it stays with you for a long time. For me that work is Ikuemi Ryo’s 〈He and the Moon〉. I didn’t pick it up out of particular curiosity, but the moment I read it, even now—twenty years later—I find myself wanting to reread it on a whim. Completed in exactly three volumes, the manga is so peculiar it defies easy genre labels. It’s a family drama, but you rarely see scenes of unity or reconciliation; the characters all have slightly askew edges, and there isn’t a single dominant main plot that drives the whole book. And yet those oddly off-kilter elements are precisely what have kept the three words 〈He and the Moon〉 lodged in my mind for two decades.

〈He and the Moon〉 is the story of the Hagami family, three generations living under one roof. It depicts the everyday — and not-quite-everyday — moments of a grandfather and grandmother, a mother and father, and their three children. It’s hard to summarize cleanly because the story repeatedly shifts perspective and time frame. The first episode finds the eldest son, Aki, who lives on his own, returning to the family home claiming the house is haunted. The eldest daughter, Hirono, is being courted by a classmate named Arata, and the youngest, Honoka, feels a subtle unease in her relationship with her boyfriend, Hayato. Aki, who has spent his life as a high achiever, keeps replaying his final conversation with a co-worker who recently died. By alternating among the three perspectives, the narrative sketches not only the characters’ personalities but also the delicate distances each family member maintains from the others.

That is how 〈He and the Moon〉 threads its story together, revisiting the same stretch of time through the three siblings and then shifting narrators again to widen the story to the people around them. The manga feels remarkably full for a work only three volumes long not because of sweeping events or an unusual premise, but because it closely conveys what the characters feel and precisely captures the process of learning things about others that they previously did not know.

Another reason 〈He and the Moon〉 left such a lasting impression is that it so faithfully blends in the bustle of a multigenerational household — a family structure that has become rare. The bickering grandfather and grandmother who argue every day; the father who may seem a little foolish at times but works hard; the mother who cares for the family at home; siblings who gradually discover they are different people. They scuffle and squabble, yet they share the same roof and dinner table and even trade trivial, inconsequential remarks. That soft, cozy scene — familiar and, at the same time, slightly uncomfortable — will immediately resonate with readers who grew up in that environment or who welcome relatives at holidays.

Because much of the story is drawn from the characters’ interior narration, the manga’s variety and depth come through despite its understated presentation. In particular, the episodes told from Aki’s viewpoint sharply capture the helplessness of someone who has cruised through life only to be confronted with the equalizing reality of death. The way he accidentally begins to overcome that helplessness — the small, almost incidental miracles of life — will linger with thoughtful readers. But the book is not relentlessly heavy: Hirono and Arata’s storyline offers a gentle romance appropriate to their age, and, true to Ikuemi Ryo’s reputation as a cat lover, the story of the family cat Poseidon is moving enough to bring cat owners to tears.

Ikuemi Ryo’s delicate linework, contrasting use of screentone, and thoughtful panel composition all show the hand of a veteran creator. Because it was published long ago, 〈He and the Moon〉 is hard to find in print, but most e-book platforms carry it (including Naver Series), and the small number of volumes makes it an easy purchase. If you’re looking for a manga that isn’t flashy or epic but stays with you, I strongly recommend 〈He and the Moon〉.