Kagen no Tsuki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kagen no Tsuki

下弦の月 (Last Quarter of the Moon)
Genre	Shōjo, Mystery, Supernatural
Manga
Authored by	Yazawa Ai
Publisher	Shueisha Egmont Manga & Anime
Serialized in	Ribon
Original run	1998 – 1999
No. of volumes	3
Movie
Directed by	Nikai Ken
Studio
Released
Runtime	112 minutes

Kagen no Tsuki (下弦の月 or Last Quarter, literally Last Quarter of the Moon, Kagen no Tsuki^?) is a three-volume manga series by Yazawa Ai. It was first published in Ribon, a manga magazine primarily read by teenaged girls. In 2004 it was adapted into a live-action movie. The film has been released in the USA by Geneon Entertainment, but as yet the manga has no official English translation.

[edit] Plot Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Mochizuki Mizuki is a high school student from a dysfunctional family. When Mizuki was in grade 5, her mother committed suicide after discovering that her father was cheating on her. Eventually, Mizuki's father married his mistress, and Mizuki was less than happy to live with her stepmother and halfsister, who was her father's illegitimate child.

At the beginning of the story, Mizuki had just broken up with her boyfriend, who had cheated on her with her best friend. Lonely and depressed, she was wandering along the streets of Shibuya when she noticed a young musician performing by the street. Enchanted by his beautiful song, she struck up a conversation with him and gathered that his name was Adam, and he was twenty years old. He also said he was from England, and was staying in Japan for a couple of weeks. When it became late and Mizuki got up to leave, she was surprised when he pleaded with her to stay. She assured him that she would listen to his music again, and asked where he would perform the next day. He replied that he would perform for her wherever she wanted, taking her by surprise.

As their friendship gradually grew, Mizuki withdrew from her original life. She stopped going to school and to her part-time job, and when Adam invited her to live in his house, she moved out of her home. As the weeks passed, they developed a relationship, until one day, Adam and his belongings disappeared from the house. As Mizuki considered waiting for him in the house for the rest of her life, her cell phone rang, and it was Adam on the line, although she never gave him her phone number.

He apologized for leaving Mizuki and thanked her for being so wonderful to him. He said he had to go and wanted to take her with him, to which she replied that he should take her with him. He told her to meet him where they first met. Mizuki rushed home, packed her belongings, and set off to meet him. In the taxi, she heard Adam singing his song on the radio, and was shocked to discover that he was a professional singer. The DJ announced that the song was Last Quarter, by the band Evil Eye. She found him at a junction, across the road from her. Unbeknownst to her, her ex-boyfriend Tomoki happened to be in the area, and had just noticed her. Mizuki thought about her decision to run away with a singer, and despite thinking that it might be foolish, made up her mind to leave with Adam. Although the light was red, she crossed the road to meet him. Tomoki shouted for her to stop, but a car sped up to the intersection and hit Mizuki…

Mizuki was now in front of an endless metal fence. As she wondered where the entrance was, a young girl walked towards her, crying and looking for her cat. Feeling sorry for the girl, Mizuki offered to help, and soon found the cat. The girl happily left with the cat and disappeared, but oddly, the cat soon returned to where Mizuki was, and walked through the fence. Mizuki was wondering if it was a dream, when she saw Adam across the fence, alone.

In a hospital, the young girl Mizuki had met woke up from a coma. The television by her bed had just finished playing Last Quarter on MTV. The young girl's name is Hotaru. She had been hospitalized because she met with a car accident while searching for her lost cat, Lulu. After she was discharged from the hospital, she continued to look for her beloved cat, when one day, she came across a cat which looked exactly like hers. The cat hopped through a fence surrounding an old and deserted mansion. A sign on the fence said 'do not enter'. Cautiously, Hotaru entered the mansion, and was surprised to find Mizuki inside. Mizuki was equally astonished to see her. Both of them were happy that their encounter had not been merely a dream after all.

As they conversed, Hotaru came to understand Mizuki's peculiar situation. Mizuki did not remember her own name. Neither did she know who she was, where she come from, and why she was in the house. She only knew that she loved Adam, and needed to find him, but she was unable to leave the house. She demonstrated this to Hotaru - when she tried to exit the house, she ended up in the house again. Seeing Mizuki's exasperation, Hotaru decided that she must help her leave the house.

When Hotaru went with her friend Sae to see Mizuki, she made a startling discovery. Sae could not see Mizuki - Mizuki was a ghost. While Sae was initially frightened, she eventually agreed to help. Gradually two of Hotaru's schoolmates also became involved in the quest to help Mizuki leave the house.

The children named her Eve, since her lover was called Adam, and none of them knew her real name. As they searched for clues over the course of the story, they came to realize the complexity of Eve's situation. The more they knew about her identity, the more perplexed they became. They found her real body to be that of Mizuki, who was in a coma. However, Eve was starting to recall memories which could not have belonged to Mizuki. If Eve was not Mizuki, then who was she? Also, who was Adam, and where was he?

[edit] Main Characters

Mochizuki Mizuki is the protagonist of the story, and is a 19-year-old high school student. She met with a car accident and ended up in a coma.

Eve is the identity of Mizuki's ghost when she was in a coma. Eve had no recollections of who she was, but remembered that Adam was her lover, and that she must find him.

Adam Lang is the lead singer of the band Evil Eye. It is implied that he committed suicide at 20 years old, after his girlfriend died of an illness.

Shiraishi Hotaru is a young girl who met Mizuki when both of them were in a coma from separate car accidents. When she found Mizuki's ghost (Eve), she became committed to helping Mizuki.

Kayama Sae is Hotaru's best friend. She is sensible and loyal to her friends. She also tried her best to help Eve.

Sugisaki Tetsu is Hotaru's schoolmate and the son of the doctor who took care of Hotaru when she was in a coma. He became involved in the quest to help Eve as well.

Miura Masaki is Tetsu's best friend. He is the son of celebrities. His parents had divorced, and he lived with his father, who was always away at work. Although he sometimes made tactless comments, he sincerely wanted to help Eve.

Anzai Tomoki is Mizuki's ex-boyfriend. She put up with his infidelity until he cheated on her with her best friend. After they broke up, he wanted to apologize to her, but she met with an accident before he could do so.

Kamijou Sayaka is Adam's beloved girlfriend. She was studying in England when she met him. Unfortunately, she died of a disease at about 19 years old.