Dear Readers, to tell you the truth, we were supposed to do the seventh bibliobattle session in March. But since the supposed sixth session collided with Ramadan and a lot of us are muslims, we had to shift the session from our usual time, and we failed to gather enough people for the activity. Hence, this is the sixth session of the bibliobattle report. We apologise for the inconsistent activity. We will do better next time.
The sixth session of KAORI Nusantara Bibliobattle was held on 28 March 2026, as usual on the KAORI Nusantara Discord server. Going a little bit differently from the last bibliobattle session, this time we brought “one-shot manga recommendations” to the table. The session itself gathered 5 participants, including 2 duelists.
If you read the previous bibliobattle report, we are still using the same steps in each session, with either watch-along or silent reading for the activity.
This session recommended two one-shot manga, which look different but actually have some similar elements. The first one is That Summer, written and illustrated by Matsumoto Tomo, presented by Duelist Hal. The second one is Death Note One-Shot Special, written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, presented by Duelist Dany M.
“That Summer tells the story of a Japanese schoolgirl living in a town where a US military base is located. One day, she meets a teenage boy who lives on the base, whose behaviour initially annoys her, but the more she sees him, the more she becomes attracted to him. The comic depicts a close relationship, yet it feels distant because every time they meet, the boy remains inside the base, which is separated from the surrounding town by a wire fence. As the main character herself says, “even though they are separated by just a wire fence, the distance feels like two different countries.” While the focus is more on personal relationships than politics, the work demonstrates an insight into the pervasiveness of geopolitics in everyday life.”
“This was once published in Lala Deluxe magazine. So a shoujo comic. The story is classic, right? Two people meet. They get to know each other; they didn’t get along at first, but they get closer and closer. The interesting element is that the setting is in a city where there is a US military base. So, the guy is the son of a US soldier stationed there. This aspect is interesting because the situation is used to create a condition where, even though they are close, they are still distant. After all, the students can’t leave the base. So they can only chat behind the wire fence that separates the base from the surrounding city. The comic that also includes a background of social conditions in politics, meaning the authorities actually have quite broad insight into environments like that. Even though it’s a one-shot comic, we can also see a little bit of a picture of a reality that exists, where in several locations in Japan, there are indeed military bases, and they can then use that as material to create conflict in the story.” (Hal, The Indonesian Anime Times)
“One of the charms of reading the Death Note manga is actually watching the psychological duel between two intelligent individuals. Indeed, many “coincidences” occurred in the original series. But in a manga like this, it seems like such things are hard to avoid. Now, in this Death Note One-Shot Special, we’re once again invited to see intelligent individuals thinking like intelligent individuals. Minoru’s character could even be said to be smarter (and more cautious) than Light Yagami. Because it’s short, “coincidences” are also avoided. This anime is highly recommended for those who enjoy reading mystery comics.” (Dany M., The Indonesian Anime Times)
For the Q&A session, a question emerged from a participant who noticed that both manga have “American elements”, so how did the manga discuss the socio-political issues? For That Summer, Hal replied that the comic doesn’t really have political elements, but maybe you could say that there is a reality depicted there. The US military base is like a world of its own, even though it’s within the city. Even though it’s something close, it’s also something very foreign. That’s roughly how it’s portrayed. As for Death Note One-Shot Special, Dany replied that the modern setting spiced up the conflict between the characters. Information and news spread fast with the internet and social media, compared to the original Death Note; watching the characters navigate that new element is refreshing and relatable.
With that, the session entered the voting session, which resulted in 3 votes for That Summer, 2 votes for Death Note One-Shot Special. After a 20-minute silent reading session, the participants were encouraged to express their first impression of the manga. The participants expressed that the manga was pretty much the “childhood pool experience”; when we go to the pool, met another children, get chummy real quick, play together, and never meet again. The participants were also elated by how elaborate the military base setting was from a historical perspective, making the story feel more profound.
The Indonesian Anime Times ┃Event report by Vina Nurziani
