by Motoro Mase, 232 pages Fujimoto admits to himself that his faith in the National Welfare system has been shaken, though he's willing to be reconciled to it, given the chance. But as internal affairs inspectors begin to "observe" department staff on the job and conduct "thought exams" in the wake of the Kubo incident, he finds it harder and harder to accept the system as it is and keep his niggling doubts under wraps. As he dutifully delivers two more ikigami, the pressure from the exacting inspector mounts and puts Fujimoto's already frayed nerves to the test.
This time around, one of the unfortunate recipients is a talented photographer torn between the time-consuming art of analogue and the business-friendly convenience of digital photography. The other is a gifted dancer who loses site of his dreams under the weight of parental expectations. Both young men struggle in the gap between generations, only finding the right balance when fate gives them no other choice but to act or be idle.
Once again, I've sniffled my way through one of these. I don't want Fujimoto to get in trouble, but I don't know how else he (or the status quo) is going to change. As much as he'd like to believe in the system, I don't see him able to be the National Welfare cheerleader the scary inspector wants. Happily, he's finally as aware of this as the reader. The series so far has pretty much kept to a structure of two ikigami deliveries and a glimpse of Fujimoto's stubborn but subtly shifting mindset. It works, but the deeper in we get, the more I'd like to see the bigger picture, as well. I can only hope that the sudden scrutiny on the department is a reaction to increased instability in the system, but as we're usually (but not always) limited to the Chosen's and Fujimoto's perspectives, it's hard to know what's going on elsewhere in the government or in the hearts and minds of the people.
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