Undercurrent (manga)

Undercurrent (Japanese: アンダーカレント, Hepburn: Andākarento; stylized in English as undercurrent) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tetsuya Toyoda. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from August 2004 to August 2005. Kodansha collected its chapters in a single tankōbon volume. A live action film adaptation was released in 2023. The story is set in contemporary Japan, and follows the manager of a public bath named Kanae Sekiguchi, whose husband vanished while traveling. The French edition of the manga was widely reviewed, being praised for its dream-like qualities and calm pace, the richness of its emotions, and its characterization. Kanae Sekiguchi has recently reopened the Tsukinoyu (月乃湯) public bathhouse that she manages, after temporarily closing when her husband, Satoru, disappeared on a business trip two months ago. During her time alone, she occasionally dreams about sinking in water and being strangled. She is introduced to a man named Takayuki Hori who was sent by the public bath union, and allows him to stay for the next several months. Despite his quiet and mysterious nature, Hori works diligently to help keep the bathhouse running.