And Yet the Town Moves (Japanese: それでも町は廻っている, Hepburn: Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru), abbreviated as Soremachi (それ町), is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Masakazu Ishiguro. The manga ran in the monthly magazine Young King OURs from March 30, 2005, to October 28, 2016, and fifteen bound volumes have been released in Japan as of April 2016. The anime adaptation was broadcast from October 8, 2010.
The series follows the exploits of whiny Hotori Arashiyama, her friends, family, neighbors, shopkeepers and colleagues at the local maid cafe. The typical slice of life format is occasionally interspersed with stories dealing with aliens, ghosts and the paranormal.
Born on May 10. Hotori is the clumsy, whiny and happy-go-lucky but mostly good-natured and well-meaning main protagonist of the series. Arguably the most well-known teenager in town, she is very knowledgeable of all there is worth knowing about in their community. Possessing a face of childlike innocence, older townsfolk treat Hotori as a granddaughter while toddlers are effortlessly amused much to her annoyance. She is a huge fan of detective fiction and mystery novels; her deep dislike of mathematics stems from her belief that it offers little value for aspiring detectives such as herself. These unusual interests put her at odds against her math teacher (she has good grades in all her other subjects) and the town's patrolling police officer (she has vigilante tendencies). After being reminded by the Maid Seaside Café owner of all the free curry meals she enjoyed there as a child, Hotori began working part-time in the restaurant. Having almost non-existent cooking skills coupled with her lack of female charisma, Hotori is relegated into cleaning duties and running errands. Despite her limitations, she is very earnest in her work and genuinely wants to help not only the elderly proprietress but also the shopping district as a whole.
Born on September 10. Toshiko is the pretty and well-endowed friend of Hotori. She decided to work in the same café when she discovered that her crush, their classmate Hiroyuki Sanada, is the lone regular customer. Her superb culinary talents and irresistible feminine charm instantly make her an indispensable asset for Maid Seaside Cafe; she has the desirable qualities of a maid that proprietress Uki Isohata has not found in Hotori. Toshiko's only failing is that her lack of humility more often than not manifests into arrogance. Even if her brutally frank personality often clashes against Hotori's immature antics, they are still very close friends. She disapproves of Hotori's childish habit of nicknaming her "Tattsun" (sometimes extended even further into "Tattsun-tsun"), but later relents when the moniker catches on and everyone else begins using it.
Born on February 16. Hotori's childhood friend and classmate. As the only child of a widowed fish merchant, Hiroyuki helps out often at their shop; he is quite skilled in preparing and cooking seafood. Being raised alone by a rarely affectionate father who was also known as a local troublemaker, they act more like siblings in a love-hate relationship. With his teen-idol good looks and congeniality, Toshiko is very enamored of him. But Hiroyuki hardly notices her advances because of his longtime secret crush on his childhood friend. Whenever he is alone with Hotori, he often fantasizes scenarios wherein he is able to muster enough courage to finally confess his feelings for her.
Born on April 6. Proprietress and head maid of the Maid Seaside Café, Uki took over the ownership of the restaurant after her husband died more than a decade earlier. To keep up with the current trend of the present generation, she converted her curry shop into a maid-themed cafe. Business started slow because the restaurant was severely understaffed with just her doing the cooking and Hotori waiting on the tables. Though they are unrelated, Hotori has known her for a long time and lovingly calls her "Granny". Although somewhat tyrannical at times, Uki genuinely cares for the well-being of others and is a well-respected elder in their community. Aside from her troublesome spine, she appears to be in good health and is still quite outgoing for someone her age.
Born on November 29. Oya High School mathematics teacher. He is also Hotori's homeroom teacher and sees her as one of his two nemeses (the other being his own math teacher from childhood). Hotori has a crush on him.
Born on September 8. Initially mistaken as a younger boy by Hotori due to her short hair and slight build, she is in fact an upperclassman at Oya High School and the most laid-back member of its ping-pong club. Despite her seemingly uncaring personality and non-conformist nature, she is unexpectedly devoted to her parents and a good friend especially towards Hotori. Futaba plays bass guitar and is a cat-lover.
Hotori's sister and youngest member of the family. 3 years younger than Takeru. Also likes detective stories and has good investigative skills herself.
Born on August 22. Tsundere classmate of Takeru, whom she has a crush on. Her nickname is "Ebi-chan".
Media
Manga
The manga was originally published in English through JManga, but is now currently available as a read-only/download-only subscription at Crunchyroll.[8] However, as of November 18, 2015, BookWalker[9] released the English digital book volumes for purchase as well.
120. "Tatsuno Toshiko's Friend" (辰野俊子のお友達, Tatsuno Toshiko no O Tomodachi)
121. "Migrating Bird" (立つ鳥, Tatsu Tori)
Chapters not yet in volume format
These chapters have yet to be collected into volumes. They were serialized in issues of Young King Ours in May 2009, November 2015 and from March to October 2016.
134. "Kon-Senpai Special" (紺先輩スペシャル, Kon Senpai Supesharu)
135. "Evil" (悪, Aku)
136. "The Blessed Café (Forever)" (至福の店フォーエバー, Shifuku no Mise Fōebā)
137. "Gone with the Wind" (嵐と共に去りぬ, Arashi to Tomo ni Sarinu)
138. "Girl A" (少女A, Shōjo Ē)
Anime
Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru has been adapted into a 12-episode anime series that started airing on October 8, 2010. The anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, co-directed by Naoyuki Tatsuwa,[1] and produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System and Shaft. The first Blu-ray/DVD of the series was released in Japan on December 24, 2010.[25] The opening theme is Down Town by Maaya Sakamoto and the ending theme is Maids Sanjou! (メイズ参上！) by Maids (the main female cast) and arranged by Round Table,[1] both released by Victor Entertainment. The CD of Down Town was released in Japan on October 20, 2010 and the CD of Maids Sanjou! was released on November 24, 2010.[26] At Anime Weekend Atlanta 2011, Sentai Filmworks announced that they have licensed the anime and release the series in 2012.[27]
^"Hotori Arashiyama character page". Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru website. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^"Uki Isohata character page". Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru website. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
^"Harue Haribara character page". Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru website. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^"Natsuhiko Moriaki character page". Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru website. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^"Blu-ray/DVD page". Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru website. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^"CD page". Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru website. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
