Natsu Tadano brings a sweet yet clear-eyed and always humane touch to a story of love doomed by illness. His vivid art brings this quiet love story alive, and undergirds the surprisingly deep philosophical themes of the text. Ichika and Prof. Yurugi (her philosophy teacher) must decide if the pain of losing someone is worth the moments of happiness and comfort they can afford each other.

He was my reason for living-

It's been three years since college student Ichika Sendawara was given two years to live, and she naturally feels like time is running out. But then, on the train, she happens to see her beloved teacher Professor Yurugi, who had vanished suddenly at the end of last semester.

That one glimpse stokes the fire of a passion she had more or less given up on...but they may have more in common than she ever suspected. The economy in storytelling in this first of three volumes only serves to underline the poignancy of their connection-is a brief flash of happiness worth the pain of separation?

• Life is fleeting, and love all the more so.