This is the epitome of slow paced and slice of life. The story centers around Alpha, a very human robot, and her life at the Alpha Café, the people she meets, the friends she makes, and her mysterious owner.

Across the 14 volumes there are less than 10 named/important characters. This is quite impressive, given that the story spans something in the realms of 20-30 years. The author has created a tale which is happy – Alpha and her friends! Alpha’s adventures! But at the same time, without looking too deeply, there is a pervasive melancholy. Perhaps it is the references to the past, the fact that we don’t know how far ago the past really was? The fact that there are substantial environmental changes seen within the human characters life as well. The constant refererences to the encroachment of the sea over the land.

The passage of time, and change, are coupled with the sense of things staying the same. The art work is lovely. Clean lines which convey a sense of wonder and change. The characters have surprising depth – as you would expect. Slice of Life manga, by their very nature, are character driven. There is no real “bad guy” in this, and I found a lot of questions left unanswered. For instance – I wasn’t really sure how the supernatural/gods theme fitted, but I found it fascinating the way that robots (technology) and the occult (religion/gods) simply co-existed. And what and who was Alpha's owner???

This didn’t seem to matter though. If you are after a gentle read this is not a manga heavy on the dialogue. If you are after a gentle read, where nothing *really* happens, but you still can’t look away, this is the manga for you. (As a side note, I watched the anime “quiet country café” before I read the manga, and I found it really hard to get into. I think though, that I would have more enjoyment now that I have read the manga.)