Nightfall Travelers: Leave Only Footprints & the Serenity of Scenery

An old saying implies that curiosity is the enemy of longevity, but I disagree. Curiosity is a wonderful thing. It leads to innovation, exploration, and creation. But as we grow, most around us gaslight us into believing that curiosity is a childlike trait that should be left behind. And that’s lamentable; we were meant to explore. But every day more people think that there’s less mystery in the world. But that’s not so, and Tomohi’s Nightfall Travelers: Leave Only Footprints (Yuuyake Trip) reminds us.

It may seem paradoxical that a manga about debunking ghosts and hauntings fosters curiosity or makes one crave mysteries. Normally, this would be true. If you disprove the fantastical, you legitimize the commonplace. But Tomohi’s childlike approach and SSR-tier art entrap you. The distinction between you and the characters blurs to the point where you stop being a reader and start wandering with them. You don’t lose yourself in the story; you become part of it.

⚠ This review covers the first two volumes of Tomohi’s Nightfall Travelers: Leave Only Footprints. Don’t worry, it’s relatively spoiler free. ⚠

Nightfall Travelers — Do You Believe In Ghosts?

If someone isn’t your friend, what would they have to say to get you to hang out with them? For Fujimo Amemura, those magic words were, “Would you like to visit a haunted place with me right now?”

That invitation was enough for Fujimo to accompany her classmate Akane Ninamori. But why? Are teenagers suddenly embracing their inner Josh Gates? Not quite. Akane has been an absentee member of her school’s newspaper club. And to make up for that lack of participation, Akane now has to look for her town’s haunted spots and cover them for her newspaper. With that, the two girls begin constant after-school trips to their town’s most paranormal locales. But instead of finding ghouls, apparitions, aliens, or yokai, the two girls usually quickly debunk what they set out to find.

For a manga that is so entrancing, Nightfall Travelers is fairly simple to summarize. However, something that is easily explained isn’t necessarily easily understood. Most people know that the moon is far away. Yet most don’t realize how far away it actually is. Yuuyake Trip replicates that warping of one’s understanding.

Throughout the manga, you understand the plot is basic; the girls look for ghosts while making pleasant memories. The day ends, and the ghosts weren’t real. Then the story repeats.

Yet you keep reading. You fill the things the girls feel: chills, soft breezes, and the fear and wonder of the unknown. But why? What about Tomohi’s Nightfall Travelers is so enchanting? It’s the art!

“If Only I Could Stay on This Long Road Home Forever.”

I usually avoid analyzing the art in manga or light novels when I review them. A manga’s art works in tandem with the story. It is a delicate dance where if one overshadows the other, it becomes muddled. That dance is something beyond my expertise. If the second season of No Game No Life came down to me drawing a one-inch straight line, the world would never see Shiro and Sora again.

But my inability to explain how something works doesn’t negate my ability to say how beautiful it is. I can’t explain how iridescent clouds form. But I can tell you that you’ll find God in them. Likewise, I can’t explain all the technical details of Tomohi’s artwork, but it’s pristine.

Watercolor-style art is the norm for Nightfall Travelers, but the way Tomohi uses light and color is mesmerizing. I didn’t need Akane and Fujimo to tell what they thought of the sights they saw; I FELT IT.

Yuuyake Trip takes place in an extremely cluttered mountain town, and Tomohi illustrated it in a way that triggers claustrophobia. While reading it, I felt like I was shimmying through dingy back alleys. When the story moved to open spaces, the horizon never ended. Tomohi’s art was so captivating that it forced me to feel the story’s climatic conditions. For me, that was a first.

“Even Though It’s My Home Town, I Don’t Know Much About the Streets I Don’t Have a Reason To Go To…”

I’m not so crass or insensitive that I’d say everyone should travel and explore. Those two things are luxuries. But even for those who can wander, barriers exist.

My buddy John has a six-figure salary (perks of working in hedge fund management). Both of us wanted to tackle the Arizona Trail. Now none of us will have the chance to touch the trail’s southern terminus. I couldn’t make it in time because I’m broke, and he couldn’t get the time off. That tangent may seem unrelated to Nightfall Travelers, but it’s not.

In the manga, Akane mentions that she can’t remember the places she often passes and that she doesn’t go to places she doesn’t need to. That apathy is pervasive. A lamentable mentality exists that convinces us “we’ll have time” or that “this place doesn’t concern me.” But as John and I can tell you, that’s not the case.

We vastly overestimate our time and opportunities. While it’s true that grand trips like backpacking the Arizona Trail are beyond most, there’s beauty in local places. And that’s something travel-oriented manga often miss.

But in the Yuuyake Trip, Akane’s and Fujimo’s adventures are infectious. The manga incites the urge to see sights unknown. It leaves you wanting to see if the stories you hear are true. Anything that does that is meant to be cherished.

Wonder will always warmly greet anyone who goes looking for it.

Nightfall Travelers: Leave Only Footprints Publication Details

Tomohi writes and illustrates Yuuyake Trip. Houbunsha’s Comic Fuz website has serialized the manga since its December 2019 debut. Seven Seas Entertainment releases the English version. Currently, only two of Nightfall Travelers’ five volumes are available in English. The third volume is estimated to be released in December 2027.

I mentioned curiosity a lot in this article, and curiosity is why it exists. I had never read anything by Tomohi. Even their light novel illustrations were unknown to me. But when I saw the cover art on BookWalker, the “kininarimasu” light bulb turned on, and I got a copy. Now I have a new addition to my top ten manga.

All images © Tomohi / Houbunsha
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