See the Forest

A collection of surreal oneshots with a garden theme. Story 1, Mansion Aquarium: A sick boy finds himself in an usual situation. Story 2, Eureka Garden: A girl with a wild imagination is enchanted by a garden. Story 3, The Garden of Me: A young wife copes with a troubled marriage. Story 4, Two Guys in a Garden: A student gets way more than he bargained for when he visits his professor’s house. Story 5, A Gardener’s Day Off: A man has a peculiar encounter on his day off from work.

Consists of several short, poetic stories revolving around themes of love, childhood, and introspection. With her intricate, cut-out line drawings and sensitive style, Nakano immerses us in a world of hauntingly nostalgic beauty, blending everyday struggles with a touch of fantasy. The stories include that of a woman who applies makeup to conceal her beauty from the eyes of other men, reserving herself for her lover; an author who discovers an elf in his garden; and a little boy who encounters a fantastical being capable of controlling the stars. These are all small, captivating tales to be savored slowly. A carefully crafted collection of stories, where each word and illustration is infused with poetry.

Kazushi and Luc get lost in a dense forest on their way back from delivering flowers. There, they meet a group of mysterious, carefree young girls with only an absent “Madame” to supervise them. What secrets hide in this forest?