The only common feature running through these stories is a grown-up protagonist somehow coming face-to-face with his childhood past, in a testament to the loss of youth, the disillusionment of growing old, and nostalgia for better times.<br /><br />In the Adachi pantheon, this is a rare diametric view of his eternal theme of "youth," in this case youth as seen through the lens of the past. It's a powerful statement from Adachi that might even be an acknowledgment of his steadily-creeping age.<br /><br />What is impressive about these stories is not the plots or characters themselves, but the absolutely perfect way he tells them, another facet of experience that comes with age. Most of the stories may require multiple readings to fully appreciate the airtightness of the plot and visual motifs."