Ah, the innocent days at the dawn of the camera, before cats told each other not to stand still for photos…

I suppose on some level Mori Kaoru represents a sort of Platonic ideal of slice of life, arguably the most overused term in manga and anime.  She’s no pretender – when she goes full bore into slice of life mode, she commits 100%.  For a monthly manga like Otoyomegatari that can be a little frustrating, as I’ve noted before – chapters like this one do tend to make one wish something more had happened.  But on the other hand, no other series is quite so good at them and no other artist presents them quite so beautifully.

Although the focus (pun intended) on it has perhaps gone on a bit too long, the camera is a very interesting piece of technological development.  It’s impossible for moderns like us to imagine what a revelation seeing yourself on film for the first time would be.  Or seeing your children, or your lover, or your cat.  Of course for Henry, the camera is an invaluable tool in his life’s work – documenting the daily lives of the people he meets in Turkey.  Their unfamiliarity with it can present challenges – as can the local social mores, which prevent him from taking photos of the women at their ease.

Fortunately Talas is a women of considerable mettle and a keen observer, and she happily volunteers to snap the pics herself – which the husband allows provided the wives themselves aren’t in them (an edict the three women promptly ignore once the euphoria of the moment is upon them).  Talas has already more or less figured out how the camera works, and once the sister-wives see the product of her labors they become quite enthusiastic about getting maximum use out of the camera.  The kids won’t sit still, but the cat does (and so do the flowers and trees), and both Mr. Smith and his hosts have treasured documentation of their time together.

Where do we go from here?  Well, I’ve already made clear my opinion that we’re headed for a sort of reunion tour, where Henry and Talas revisit all his old friends, concluding of course with the ones most dear to him, Karluk and Amira, before sailing back to England.  I would be remiss in not mentioning that it continues to be possible to follow this journey (whatever course it takes) in English thanks to the efforts of those who are taking the time to translate it.  My gratitude to them, both past and present, for giving us timely access to Mori-sensei the writer, as there can be no better complement to Mori-sensei the artist.