Soujou Fly Again – Munaita

Yoshiyuki Kikusawa is a talented mechanic at JAW. He’s kind but stern when it comes to training his juniors, and he’s loved by his co-workers, who call him “Yoshi.” Because he’s open about his sexuality, people often assume he’s had many partners, but he’s strict in not letting his personal feelings affect his work and often says that airplanes are his boyfriends. But, while he’s dealing with the persistent rumors about him, he bumps into Gaku Maizuru, a young marshal. Even though Yoshi thinks Gaku is distant because he’s like him, he soon realizes that Gaku is friendly and they finally end up close-literally face-to-face…!

I love it when a story is about people with uncommon jobs.

Synergy Fly Again gives us a rare peek at the secret world of airline ground crew. These are the unsung heroes that keep the planes flying. Airplane nerds, most of them.

Yoshi is a middle-aged mechanic, strict, well-respected and well-liked by his colleagues. He’s a bit jaded and has sworn off dating after having poor luck. He had a bad break-up with a fellow mechanic who’s now married.

Yoshi meets Gaku on the airstrip, a popular, attractive young man man enthusiastically directing planes with so much zeal he positively sparkles. Gaku soon approached Yoshi making his interest known. The older man has issues and insecurities to deal with and doesn’t know what to do with such an honest confession.

Gaku has an open and direct attitude that I found refreshing. The age gap romance would have been cute, but it was, unfortunately, buried under piles of speech balloons and multiple secondary characters I couldn’t keep track of. The storytelling could have done better with more show than tell

I was more interested in the airport ongoings. The manga showcased the characteristic Japanese passion for work and attention to detail. The characters are the type of people who have poignant anecdotal reasons for choosing their careers. Very admirable. Me, I work because I need the money.

Even the little things have deeper meaning. They have a custom where the ground crew waves as the plane takes off. According to the story, this originated in Okinawa. They wanted to thank the people who visited the island and give them something to remember. Pretty awesome, right?

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