Starange with a Sence of Loss: Route 255

Route 225 as a Movie

In summer evening, Eriko, 14-year-old junior high student, was given a request by her mother. It was to find her 13-year-old brother Daigo, who hadn't still come home from his school. Eriko walk around and found him at a small park near their home. And then she walked with him to come home but lost and wander a somehow strange scene. They passed a street and reached a river, which there isn't at their REAL world. Eriko and Daigo confused and asked a girl to see where is here. Daigo was surpirised that the girl was a classmate who had been died at his REAL world. They came back to the park and called their mother at a telephone box. She was angry and wanted them to come back home soon. They were reliefed and started fresh to come home. At this time they successed to find the way and reach their house but thier mother and father dissapeared. Trapped in the world that is very much like their own save for the lack of their parents, Eriko and Daigo find themselves desperate to return to the worrywart mother and apathetic father they never thought they'd miss so badly.

Mikako Tabe (Right) as Eriko

The is a parallel world stroy, which is one of a typical sci-fi fictions. But Chiya Fujino, the author of the story, doesn't depict as sci-fi tale or fantasy. He depicts as a coming-of-age story.

In fact the story is told from the point of view of Eriko. In the original novel and the manga, the first chapter's tittle is "Route 196". The autohor, Chiya Fujino, plays on words linking "Route" and its same pronounciation "Root". It is mathematics. Square root 196 = 14.  Square root 225 = 15. That is to say, this stroy depicets Eriko's mental progress from 14 to 15 years age, which is the most susceptible age in young people. She is in charge of her younger brother and trying to come back home and to win her loss feeling of parents. That is why I said that it wasn't sci-fi story. Unfortunately the original novel has only Japanese and French editons.

Route 225 as Manga Version

In the movie, the main charcter is acted by Mikako Tabe. She is one of the rising young actress in Japan. You can see her on "The Night Time Picnic" or "Fish Story". The director is Yoshihiro Nakamura, who is known as director of movies based on novels by Kotaro Isaka, who writes lots of best-selling books like "Golden Slunbers".

Its manga version is illustlated by Takako Shino. Her painting is fine and thin in pastels and bright colors.

The portrate and depiction of the main charctror is faithful of the original novel. She is slightly mean to Daigo. She is very slow to acknowledge the fact what they wander into another world and is bitter against Daigo who appears that. However the stroy itself is near the movie version. In other words, it is fusion between the good point of the novel and of the movie. 

I have to add one more information. In the manga vesrison, its ending episode is different from both of novel and movie. I don't know why but the manga version's one is more twisted than the others but maybe weaken a sorrow of loss than the novel and movie ending. It is depend on individuals which is more preferable.