IRIE Aki

From Vertical: The story takes place in Iceland, at land’s end, 64°N. Kei Miyama is a 17-year-old with three secrets: he can talk to cars, he can’t handle pretty girls, and he works as a private investigator. One case has him searching for a beloved dog, another involves reuniting a woman with a man she fell for at first sight. And then comes a case that strikes close to home…

An independent collection of short stories — Ultramarine Schooldays highlights the color that evokes faithful memories, tenderness, and melancholy. These stories take place in Japan and in the West, in the past and in the present. They may involve a romance in the city, an energizing walk in the forest, the daily mundane life of a waitress working in a café, or a medieval…