ホテル・メッツァペウラへようこそ 1巻

A very neat manga set in Finland

ホテル・メッツァペウラへようこそ (translated to "Tervetuloa Hotelli Metsäpeuraan") follows a young man named ジュン, recently arrived in Finland, who's picked up one snowy night by the two employees of the titular hotel. ジュン has a rather mysterious past: he came from Japan with few possessions and no friends, apparently speaks fluent Finnish, and is covered in 入れ墨 (typical of yakuza). ジュン is timid and eager to please, and we begin to, little-by-little, learn more about his past life as he tries to make his way among new friends and new experiences.

I'm not generally a huge fan of slice of life manga; they're good in short chunks, but in general I don't normally find any reason to go back to them after I finish. The jury's still out for ホテル・メッツァペウラへようこそ, but I was surprised at the atmosphere this manga is able to evoke: ジュン has been scarred in some way by his experiences in Japan, and that informs his every action and understanding of his new colleagues, the butler and chef of the hotel. Add that to the fact that being set in Finland during the winter months means little daylight and lots of snow, and you end up with an almost somber atmosphere at times.

The few guests we see add to that: even the cheerful ones serve to highlight our sense of ジュン’s alienation, and while we can begin to see his process of being able to trust the people he's with, little by little, in this first volume, there's still a long way to go.

Furigana is not given in this book; despite that, the language used is quite simple and not very dense. Any foreign words are written entirely in katakana and explained immediately afterwards. I also want to note that the physical version is beautiful; the cover has an awesome texture to it and the pages are thick. Recommended for those who like nice books on their shelves.