Hirayasumi, Vol. 2

With a carefree outlook on life, Hiroto knows better than anyone that slowing down is sometimes the best way to move forward.

At 29 years old, carefree Hiroto Ikuta doesn’t have a girlfriend, a full-time job, or a plan for the future—and he couldn’t be happier. Hiroto’s breezy attitude isn’t easy for everyone to understand, though. In a world filled with anxiety, confusion, and grief, Hiroto and the people who surround him are all just doing their best to figure out this thing called life.

The summer weather isn’t the only thing heating up around Hiroto’s little family home. Hiroto’s best friend, Hideki, starts growing increasingly worried about becoming a father; Yomogi, Hiroto’s new friend, begins to crack under the stress of her busy real estate job; and Natsumi’s friend Akari struggles with her self-confidence. For people under so much pressure, Hiroto’s laid-back demeanor can be downright frustrating. But with things reaching their boiling point at the Asagaya Tanabata Festival, Hiroto’s positive outlook might be exactly what everyone needs to relieve the tension.

Keigo Shinzo debuted as a manga creator in 2008 with his work “Nankin” and has since gone on to create award-winning hits such as Bokura no Funkasai (Our Eruption Festival). In 2016, his work Moriyamachuu Kyoushuujo (Moriyamachu Driving School) was made into a movie, and two years later, his series Tokyo Alien Bros. was adapted into a live-action drama. During the coronavirus pandemic, when Keigo was diagnosed with lymphoma, he decided to write the one-shot “Akusei Rinpashu de Nyuuin shita Toki no Koto” (About the Time I Was Hospitalized for Malignant Lymphoma), in which he chronicles his road to recovery as well as how he got the idea for his award-nominated series Hirayasumi.