Our Dreams at Dusk
Our Dreams at Dusk is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuhki Kamatani. The story follows Tasuku Kaname, a gay teenager who meets other LGBTQ+ people at a discussion lounge after being involuntarily outed. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's Hibana magazine from 2015 to 2017 and on the Manga One app from 2017 to 2018. Shogakukan collected the untitled chapters into four bound volumes under the Big Comics Special imprint. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the series for an English-language release in North America.
Plot
Set in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, high school student Tasuku Kaname prepares to commit suicide after his classmates discover gay pornography on his phone. Before he is able to do so, he witnesses someone leaping from a window, only to discover they were unharmed in the building where they jumped from. Tasuku discovers that the building is an open "drop-in center", where he meets other people with various troubles and learns to accept his sexuality.Characters
;Tasuku Kaname;Someone
;Tachibana
;Haruko Daichi
;Saki
;Utsumi
;Tchaiko
;Shuji Misora
;Touma Tsubaki
Publication
Written and illustrated by Yuhki Kamatani, Our Dreams at Dusk was first serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Hibana, premiering in the inaugural April 2015 issue. When the magazine ceased publication on August 7, 2017, the series transferred to Shogakukan's MangaOne app; there, it ran until its conclusion on May 16, 2018. Shogakukan collected the 23 untitled chapters into four tankōbon under the Big Comics Special imprint; the first volume was published on December 11, 2015, and the fourth volume was published on July 19, 2018.Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America; the first volume was published on May 7, 2019, and the fourth volume was published on December 17, 2019. Seven Seas' marketing manager Lianne Sentar said of the series: "It manages to represent so many different ways that people shape their identities and find their unique spaces, which is something anyone can relate to. It's no wonder this compelling drama has resonated with so many people."
The manga is also licensed by Ediciones Tomodomo in Spain, J-Pop Manga in Italy, Akata in France, Carlsen in Germany and Dango in Poland.
Reception
In her review of the manga, Erica Friedman, the founder of Yuricon, described the series' coming out narrative as "crucial for gay Japanese youth." Rachel Thorn, an associate professor in the Faculty of Manga at Kyoto Seika University, described the work as "a much more realistic portrayal of the reality for a lot of LGBT et cetera folks in Japan right now." Beatrice Viri of CBR praised the comic for exploring LGBTQ themes and called it a "beautiful, metaphorical art and a heartfelt story leaving a lasting impact."On August 14, 2019, the series was nominated for Best Manga at the 2019 Harvey Awards.
The Japan Media Arts Festival selected Shimanami Tasogare for their 2020 online exhibit "Manga, diversity and inclusion", a selection of "ive outstanding works that tackle diversity and inclusion issues."