Written by Hinako Ashihara, Sand Chronicles first appeared in the US in Viz Media’s all too short-lived monthly magazine, Shojo Beat. It ran in Japan from 2003 till 2005, and Viz picked it up and began releasing chapters in 2007. As was common with the stories from the magazine, regular began being released after enough chapters had run.  Historical note: while Shojo Beat would eventually fizzle away, the “Shojo Beat” label remained and would become the label under which Viz released a wealth of shōjo titles – something their manga division has excelled at (unlikely their anime division…)

The central character in this series is Ann Uekusa, who is 12 when she moves to Shimane with her mother after her parents divorce. They live with Ann’s grandparents, and at first Ann has trouble adjusting to life in the small, close-knit, gossip filled town after coming from Tokyo which is depicted as being must like many Americans view New York (i.e. a crowded place where no one sees anything).  Ann’s mother has problems, however, and that is clear very early own. Not long after moving there, Ann’s mother kills herself.  Ann gets through it, in large part due her friendship with a town boy she meets named Daigo, and later a pair of siblings named Fuji and Shika who also become her friends. As the years pass, friendship turns to love, but then Ann moves back to Tokyo. The distance, rivals for affections, and Ann’s on-going psychological issues begins to strain her relationships with those who mean the most to her.

Sand Chronicles spans Ann’s life for well over a decade, from when Ann is 12 through when she is 26. Ashihara does an amazing job of pulling us along on Ann’s journey, as she makes friends, loses friends, falls in love, loses love, and copes with the various changes happening in her life while also trying to deal with growing up.  Before “New Adult” was vogue, this series truly is about that journey, told in a powerful story that also deals with the weighty subject of depression.

Along the way, we get a very realistic look at fairly realistic teenage relationships: a blend of confusion, uncertain, overstated optimism, casually given promises, betrayal, and heartbreak, along with the tender, awkward sweetness of a mutual first love.  Throughout the story Ann’s unresolved trauma behind her mother’s suicide is masterfully interwoven, managing to be both subtle yet clear, not only from Ann herself, but from those around her.   The main people around Ann are given well composed, nuanced stories and motivations of their own that drive their interactions with her, Fuji and Shika and the family issues they struggle with that ends up deeply affecting their relationships with Ann, Daigo, and each other.

The art is consistently well-drawn with distinctive characters, despite the somewhat large cast. The backgrounds are mostly simple, if there at all, yet with the detail needed to convey the place and feel of the scene. Sand Chronicles is technically a ten-volume series, however the actual story concludes at the end of the eighth volume. The remaining two volumes are a collection of “side stories”, including a look at the four friend’s parents as kids, stories with some of the side characters, and a look at the characters in their 30s.  So you can choose to just stop at volume 8, but if you want to see more about the past and future, snag the last two as well.  In particular, the story 30 years before the main story, about Daigo and Ann’s mothers, that starts volume 9 adds some extra depth to the main story and Ann’s mother as a character. Also in Volume 10, you can get a bit of Daigo’s past and his thoughts of events that happened during the story’s climax.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the series, and I hope we see more from Ashihara, as she seems very skilled at telling highly dramatic stories without overloading on sap or melodrama.

Sand Chronicles is available in both paperback and eBook formats.