Eight friends arrive at school one snowy day, but as they wonder why no one else is showing up, they figure out the real problem is they can’t get out. If that wasn’t alarming enough, they then realize no one in the group can remember the name of the classmate who committed suicide just two months earlier — and perhaps one of them was that individual.
A School Frozen in Time is just what you’d expect from a supernatural mystery. Memories are scrambled, there’s no escape from this place or contact with the outside world, some are resistant to the idea that something out-of-this-world is happening or that they’d be the ones targeted, and everyone has their own hidden feelings and unexpressed desires. So far, about three of the eight have had their own little arc, and there haven’t been any obvious clues as to who’s behind this. I wouldn’t expect there to be since this series is still only at the halfway point and needs to explore the rest of the friends before its finale.
The manga doesn’t do a great job introducing us to its cast. Characters are almost all referred to by either their family name or personal name, so when the series starts throwing in the other half of their names before being fully acquainted with everyone, it’s just confusing. This is based on a novel series, and it’s like the manga just expects you to be familiar with the characters already. At least throw in full names either in a text box or in the character guide!
The series opens with the suicide and then jumps to a couple of months later, with Tadano, the talented, level-headed main character escorting his childhood friend Mizuki to school, who is the type to hide her pain with a smile. Then we have the energetic girl, the gambling-loving delinquent, the studious one, the timid one, and a couple of pragmatists. Figuring out who died the day of the school festival is not just a matter of appeasing a lost soul, but there’s a strong possibility they could be in real danger here.
Suicide is obviously a difficult topic, and while I came in expecting a lot of dark secrets and talk of other serious matters, so far, that’s been rather minimal. I wouldn’t be shocked if A School Frozen in Time brings up additional dark topics as we get closer to the victim and motive, but for now, the friends aren’t keeping huge secrets from each other. These revelations may also help make some of the characters more distinct. I mean, you have several people calmly discussing theories when some hot-headedness would certainly be warranted. There just seems to be a lot of overlap in personalities so far. It’s really weird how the manga has Tadano narrating about himself and Mizuki and waxing poetic in the beginning, but by the time the seventh and eighth characters roll around, the manga didn’t even bother giving them a short intro.
I also don’t think the art helps in regards to getting to know the characters. This was Arakawa’s professional debut, and boy has he come a long way. While it’s always hard to go to an author’s previous works after experiencing their later ones, the art in this manga can be quite rough. Characters are plagued with odd angles, unbalanced bodies, undetailed faces, and an overall lack of finesse quite often in A School Frozen in Time. The series is a drama, but at times, the art is almost comical — at the very least, cringeworthy.
For a lot of people, the weak visuals won’t be a distraction since they’ll be too interested in finding out the truth behind the suicide. And it is an intriguing story, especially since their teacher (who is never shown in full and is also Tadano’s cousin) surely plays a key role in unraveling the mystery. If A School Frozen in Time‘s original version were ever to be licensed, I would pick it up immediately. Until that happens, I kind of want to continue the manga just to find out what happens, but at the same time, I’m not invested in the characters, and the art is often bad. It’s too bad for the story, but as a manga, I’m giving this series one chilly reception.