The Silent Room

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Small Talk:
I’ve been collecting the Viz publication of the Black Lagoon manga. I bought Volume 6 recently, completely forgetting the fact that I am missing Volume 5. Oh well, I guess that’s another trip to Borders then :p

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Short stories are fun to read, and also fun to write. It’s like a simple display of an idea, a message or a concept in a small package that is quickly digested and easily understood. It is why projects like 15Malaysia can be so successful, and why Bus Hashiru is such a pleasant manga to read.

Bus Hashiru, a.k.a. The Bus Takes You And Runs, is a collection of short love stories written and illustrated by Sahara Mizu. I discovered this manga while browsing the fresh offers on the BakaBT Anime Community (formerly known as Boxtorrents) several months ago. The artwork is stunningly beautiful, especially the watercolor pages and the minimal amount of dialogue used.

Bus Hashiru features several short stories about innocent romance, all of them involving bus stops. Most of its short stories are set among high schoolers and young working adults, plowing through the grind of studies, exams and work routines. It explores the shyness when two people couldn’t bring themselves to admit their feelings to each other.

It only spans across seven short chapters, but reading all of it in one sitting makes for a very, very satisfying experience. If you are a fan of Honey and Clover, you will definitely love Bus Hashiru. This manga comes highly recommended from me, so do yourself a favor, register an account at BakaBT and give it a spin!