Title: 魔法遣いに大切なこと: 太陽と風の坂道 (Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: The Sun and the Breezy Hill Road) Vol. 1
Author: 山田典枝 (Norie Yamada)
Artist: よしづきくみち (Yoshizuki Kumichi)
Book Size/Pages: B-6, 180pp., w/furigana
Original Serialization: Monthly Dragon Age 1/04-5/04
First Printing: 6/1/04
Rating: 4/4

Finally, a "sequel" to Someday Dreamers. The title no longer sports the English title though, so I can't call it that, but it's from the same author and artist as the original.

The characters are completely different in this series. Rather than having Yume (trans. "Dream"), we have Nami (trans. "Wave"). And like Yume, Nami also speaks with an accent. The story is set in Nagasaki, so I guess that's the accent she speaks with. The story I feel is a little slower that the previous. Rather than making magic the focus, it focuses a lot on the relationships between the people. Hopefully magic will become a bigger factor in the second volume.

Bonuses are 4 color pages in the front, and then a map of the real life places that this story takes place. This volume is also size B-6 rather than the A-5 of the first series. I don't mind, but I would have very much like it to be consistent.

1. 光と風と夢 (The Light, Wind, and Dreams): 松尾ナミ (Nami Matsuo) is entering her last year of high school. She not all that great in academics, but she loves photography. Lost amist the cherry blossoms she's taking pictures of, a motorcycle comes zooming by and the driver wipes out to avoid her. Being a mage, she also has magic abilities, but she's not good at it and fails when she tries repairing the bike. As the driver leaves, he drops his student id. At home, she lives with her mom, her dad (who sometime is on vacation), and her brother, 秀樹 (Hideki). She doesn't seem to have an interest in becoming a professional, licensed mage despite her abilities. At school, she's been elected class leader and has an array of friends, 森山理恵子 (Rieko Moriyama), 渡辺千花 (Chika Watanabe) and 林田康平 (Kohei Hayashida, fellow photographer). She also has an apparent rival, 浜浦香代子 (Kayoko Hamaura). There's also a new student in class, 富永龍太郎 (Ryutaro Tominaga) who Nami recognizes as the biker. When Kohei tries to take a picture of him, Ryutaro grabs the camera and rips out the film.

2. 見えない明日 (Unforeseeable Tomorrow): Ryutaro doesn't show up to class most of the time, but shows up when there's an individual meeting with the teacher to talk about after-high school plans. Ryutaro explains that he just wants to find a job, despite his teacher saying that he should think about college as he has good grades. The other students have their own ambitions, all except for Nami who still doesn't know what she wants to do.

3. １８歳の地図 (18-Year-Old Map): It's Nami's 18th birthday and friends and family celebrate. However, Nami doesn't like this day as her parents have always given her presents that concern magic. Whether it's a how-to guide to becoming a mage, a video, or even a toy ring. She leaves her family's celebration to go to her secret place and finds that Ryutaro is there. She discovers he's not at school because he's working to pay for the repairs to his bike. She explains to him her situation. As they're leaving, he tells her to take care of her mother.

4. 愚図 (Fret): Nami, being the class leader, is called to bring Ryutaro's returned papers to his house. She goes there and finds that no one is home. She looks at his marks, all of which are in the high 80s and 90s. She goes to a church nearby and sees girl, すもも (Sumomo), who draws very well. The nun explains that she's mute so that's why she keeps to herself. Back at school, Ryutaro shows up again, this time hiding a puppy in his backpack. He found it injured on the way to school, so he thought he would take care of him. When he first came to class, he was pretty violent (with the film thing and all), but now classmates realize that he's quite a gentle person. Kayoko talks with him, and Nami feels uneasy seeing the two of them.

5. 心からの言葉 (Words From the Heart): As always, Kayoko picks on Nami and teases her about her magical abilities. Nami returns to the church to be with Sumomo. While playing with her, Sumomo almost drowns. As Nami is taking Sumomo back to the church, she meets Ryutaro and finds out that Sumomo is his little sister. Ryutaro becomes all huffy and tells Nami never to visit them again. Nami is left brokenhearted as she realizes she's in love with Ryutaro.

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