It revolves around 10 or so characters, mostly the students of a particular class, their family, and their teachers. The story itself feels like a mix of slice-of-life, mystery, and psychological horror, perhaps even supernatural horror depending how you interpret it. I won’t summarize the plot, but I will attempt to explain its appeal. He captures humanity in a way I have never seen another writer capture not just with his writing, but his art as well.
The beauty of Asano’s writing is how real, grounded, and raw he makes these characters feel. The only semblance of purity is Arie, the girl who is in a coma since the beginning of the story, while everyone else tends to be reflected in a poor light. Throughout the book, we see human beings being huge piles of shit, and how their actions affect others. Mostly it focuses on negative facets of human nature, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this if you’re sensitive to the subject matters I mentioned. The themes explored in this are your average Asano fare: existentialism, depression, suicide, despair, human psychology, philosophy, and surprisingly even spirituality (mostly Taoism, but other influences as well). Reading this will feel like a dream, which depending on your interpretation of the story, maybe is not so far off. This is a surreal as it gets, all while maintaining that signature Asano slice-of-life vibe.
Nijigahara Holograph has been compared to a David Lynch film, and that couldn’t be a more apt comparison.
There are so many layers to this 15-chapter story that it is simply mindblowing how seamlessly Asano made it all work. I had to constantly page back and forth, cross-examining previously cryptic scenes with new scenes that elucidated possible meanings. This book demands your complete attention, interest, and effort in actively seeking out meaning. I’m sure some have criticized it for being confusing, but this is not meant to be an easy read.
It takes a lot of skill to put together a story such as this, and Inio Asano absolutely nails it. This book is a puzzle, a maze, a dream, and a mosaic. Someone could write a book longer than this manga just analyzing it. When a story makes you endlessly theorize and try to piece together all the symbolism, timelines, and subplots, you know it’s a damn good one. Nijigahara Holograph is an absolute masterpiece.
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