ヨコハマ買い出し紀行 Quiet Country Cafe

YOKOHAMA KAIDASHI KIKOU: QUIET COUNTRY CAFE

OVA

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
2
RELEASE
March 5, 2003
LENGTH
32 min

DESCRIPTION

In the near-future Japan, global warming has brought the large city Yokohama underwater, and only the hills remain above the ocean surface. What used to be one of the largest cities in Japan now feels like a small town. Basically, the existence of the island country itself has been threatened. However, there is no feeling of desperation, devastation, nor hopelessness. People are enjoying laid-back lives, and they seem to appreciate each other's company, enjoying the quiet and peaceful time together.

This is especially so with Alpha, a carefree young woman who runs a cafe, named Cafe Alpha. She enjoys her life immersing herself in the beautiful nature all around her. There is nothing more precious to her than spending quality time with her kind friends. Oh, the fulfillment and the joy she finds in life... it all indicates her to be a compassionate human being, but she is not quite a human. She is actually a type A7M2 robot.

One day, upon hearing a radio forecast warning an approaching typhoon, her old friend who lives close by invites her to the gas station he runs, worried that her old cafe may not withstand the typhoon. Indeed, the passing of typhoon leaves Alpha with her cafe severely damaged. That's when she decides to go on a journey to raise money to rebuild her cafe, and also to see the outside world away from her friends and the comfort of a peaceful life.

(Source: AniDB)

CAST

Alpha Hatsuseno
Hekiru Shiina
Kokone Takatsu
Akiko Nakagawa
Oji-san
Shouzou Iizuka
Matsuki
Miki Nagasawa
Takahiro
Toshiyuki Toyonaga
Nai
Ryou Naitou
Kuukou no Uketsuke
Yuuko Maruyama
Misago
Otoko
Hidenobu Kiuchi
Obasan
Iseki Yoshiko

EPISODES

Dubbed

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Not available on crunchyroll

RELATED TO YOKOHAMA KAIDASHI KIKOU: QUIET COUNTRY CAFE

OVA Sci-FiYokohama Kaidashi Kikou

MANGA Sci-FiYokohama Kaidashi Kikou

REVIEWS

TeKSMeLater
40/100
Not as wholesome and thought out as the manga, though not necessarily a waste of time.

One of the things that makes Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou a beautiful piece of work is how Hitoshi Ashinano meticulously draws the minimalistic lines that visualize a post-apocalyptic world slowly coming to a silent state of peace. Despite how effortless it may look with the natural flow of curvy lines his pen traces, you could very well see the thought put into every bit of detail within a single panel or illustration. The second OVA, Quiet Country Cafe, may not have consideration of how important these factors are into exhibiting the transient effect of the manga, and the end result is something that falls below average than what the source material has much to offer.

Being two episodes adapting several chapters from the manga, it aims to have a theme about Alpha temporarily leaving the cafe after it being swept up by a large typhoon, albeit the other chapters that were adapted doesn’t really bear any connection to this beginning-and-end motif. The Misago even appears briefly with regards to a segment adapting Takahiro’s perspective, yet with no relevance whatsoever. In this mishmash of random chapters being adapted it sadly takes away the fact that no matter how slow or lacking in story YKK is, it has a clear direction with each chapter meant to complement the other, yet standalone in its own right. It may have to do with this OVA consisting of simply 2 episodes, but the previous OVA also had the same amount but is structured and executed better according to its themes—a presentation of what Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is. Quiet Country Cafe lacks none of these, making up a messy, out-of-context set of stories.

With a watercolor palette, the background art of Quiet Country Cafe is remarkable, blending well with the relaxing atmosphere accompanied by the Choro Club’s very playful pieces. The distinctiveness of the music plus the softly-colored set pieces within this OVA may as well be an unforgettable combination of audiovisual stimulation...if not for the lacking animation direction and jarring character models. Ashinano’s character designs, specifically his female protagonists definitely live by curvy—from the body to the face to the eyes—but the OVA takes it too far. Alpha looks like a blob, with neon green hair that is not even remotely close to her manga shade of green. In addition, the animation goes for some sneaky fanservice shots here and there, which would be fine in a normal anime, but this is supposed to be Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou—a work void with these elements. It takes away the wistfulness of the passage of time and distracts you with primal instincts. I do not discredit fanservice, but there are times when something needs to be put in its place, and it absolutely does not belong here.

The true saving grace of this OVA lies in its soundtrack—as mentioned, with the Choro Club’s anime debut, their rendition of Cafe Alpha and several entries to mix along with the environment establishes the atmospheric mood it’s aiming for. It may be arguable on which of the two soundtracks between the first and second OVA stands out, but it’s undeniable how both have contributed to the simple and laid-back feel in the animation. As for personal preference, Choro Club’s depiction of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou sounds a bit too similar to their work in the Aria series, which is why comparisons between two iyashikei works abound more. Another thing worth praising about Quiet Country Cafe is Hekiru Shiina’s reprisal of Alpha, which I believe did a fantastic job of portraying her—cheerful, yet also composed. Much of the voice cast did their characters some justice, although not to the same level Shiina has managed to justify Alpha.

Quiet Country Cafe may not be a wholesome successor to the first OVA, but in its portrayal of what composes the source material is remarkable. There may not be much to gain from this series in terms of technical and artistic prowess, but if you love the manga, it is more than enough reason to give it a try.
*If you have watched this OVA and enjoyed it, then by all means do I recommend the manga.*
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