Manga / Land of the Blindfolded

aka: Mekakushi No Kuni

"If there were a 'Land of the Blindfolded'... would people understand... the concept of "sight?" My "blindfold"... is defective. Sometimes it slips a little."

— Kanade Otsuka

Land of the Blindfolded, or Mekakushi no Kuni, is a Shōjo manga that revolves around Kanade Otsuka, a young high school student who describes her world as a place where everyone wears "blindfolds." Kanade's blindfold slips off occasionally, allowing her to see the future whenever she comes into physical contact with someone. But Kanade's not alone with this special ability - a boy named Arou Naitou can see the past but refuses to meddle in people's lives, while another boy named Masahiro Namiki can also see the future, but uses his power only for his self-benefit. All Kanade wants to do is to use her power to help people, but it won't be such an easy task.

The Mangaka is Sakura Tsukuba, who also wrote Yoroshiku Master, Penguin Revolution, and several one-shot mangas.

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Contains examples of:

• Always Save the Girl: Arou and Namiki are always like this towards Kanade.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Namiki several times towards Kanade and Kaicho towards Arou.

• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Implied between Namiki and Kaicho, but it's left open-ended on whether or they'll actually get together or not. See Pair the Spares.

• Betty and Veronica:
  • Arou (Betty) and Namiki (Veronica) for Kanade.
  • Kanade (Betty) and Kaicho (Veronica) for Arou.
• Boy Meets Girl: Kanade meets Arou in the beginning of the first volume when they bump into each other, and later into the same volume Kanade meets Namiki when he saves her from getting smacked by a man she had saved from a car accident she foresaw.
• Breather Episode: Played with. In several chapters, it starts off being a simple Breather Episode, but ends up more serious than meets the eye; an example would be the Beach Episode, which began Lighter and Softer and ended up being the gradual start of the major arc involving Arou's power and his past. Played straight with the chapter where Kanade and Arou share their First Kiss.

• Crazy Jealous Guy: Arou and Namiki (usually Played for Laughs) towards Kanade.

• Dance of Romance: Namiki and Kaicho.
• Darker and Edgier: As the story moves towards Arou's power and his past.
• Disappeared Dad: It's never mentioned where Kanade's father is. Arou's dad is never around for the most part.
• Everyone Calls Her Kaicho: We never learn Kaicho's first name, but it's revealed her surname is Someya.

• Foreshadowing: Whenever Kanade or Namiki gets a glimpse of the future.

• Good Parents: Kanade's mom, who is very doting and wise, but she is very keen at reminding Kanade to study for her exams. Arou's dad counts too, but he just isn't always around and makes certain harsh choices (such as taking away anything that belonged to Arou's mother following her death so Arou - when he was only a child - won't unhealthily keep following his mother in his memories, which kept eating him away in the process) for Arou's sake. Sanae, Arou's mother definitely counts.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Arou and Namiki towards Kanade 24/7, rarely Kanade towards Arou.
• Green Thumb: Arou. Sou (Arou's uncle) and Sanae (Arou's mother) had lived in the mountains and grew their own vegetables prior to her meeting Gorou (Arou's dad). This makes Kanade and Eri believe that Arou's gardening skills must be genetic.

• Hopeless Suitor: Namiki towards Kanade and Kaicho towards Arou.
• Hot Springs Episode: Including Fanservice... of sorts. When the hot spring labels for men and woman get mistakenly changed twice, Kanade steps into the hot spring and accidentally sees Arou leaving the hot spring... naked. And then when Namiki steps into the hot spring, he accidentally sees Kanade leaving the hot spring as she reaches for her towel... naked. Hahaha... fun night.

• Indirect Kiss: Namiki-san does this purposely to Kanade when he takes a lick of her ice cream. In retaliation, Arou lets Marota lick Namiki on the lips as a "disinfection."

• Jerkass -> Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Namiki. He starts off as this, though has his redeeming qualities by helping out Kanade (and a lesser extent, Arou). However, it seemed like he was trying to ruin Kanade's and Arou's relationship during Volume 4, where the two kept miscommunicating each other, but from the end of that same volume onward is when he really starts gradually developing that Hidden Heart of Gold. Played straight with Ezawa.

• Ladykiller in Love: Ezawa, who becomes more faithful to Eri.

• Love Triangle:
  • Arou/Kanade/Namiki
  • Kanade/Arou/Kaicho
• Loving a Shadow: A platonic example between Arou and Kaicho, who resembles his mother.

• Morality Pet: Kanade towards Arou and Namiki.
• Motifs: Blindfolds and flowers, among others.
• Official Couple: Kanade and Arou, Eri and Ezawa.

• Our Ghosts Are Different: A panda ghost? NICE.
• Pair the Spares: Implied between Namiki and Kaicho, but it's left open-ended on whether or they'll actually get together or not.

• Poor Communication Kills: In Volume 4, Kanade becomes a Stepford Smiler after she foresees Kaicho confessing to Arou and doesn't know what to do about it. Because she tells Namiki-san about it instead of Arou, Namiki leads Arou into believing that Kanade doesn't trust him enough. The situation only worsens whenever Kanade is disheartened to see Arou and Kaicho together. They all eventually get better.
• Pseudo-Romantic Friendship:
  • Kanade and Eri. Complete with a flashback chapter of both Kanade telling Eri she liked her (and Eri would tell her later on that that was the same time she started liking Kanade as well).
    Kanade: Eri! I like you! Thank you!
    Eri: Ha ha! That sounds so much like a confession of love!
  • And then again:
    Eri: Kanade, I like you very much! That's why I have always... always... been taking notice of you! I've always... always... liked you a lot!

• Relationship Upgrade: Kanade and Arou, in the Volume 2.

• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Ezawa and Eri.
• Ship Tease: Namiki and Kaicho. Chapters 31 hints at Kaicho developing feelings for Namiki, and in Chapter 38 Namiki begins to reciprocate as well, though Word of God narrates at the end that Namiki and Kaicho aren't the type to easily become a couple, and it's left open-ended whether or not Namiki and Kaicho will get together.

• Story Arc: Usually per volume, though Arou's past is one of the most major arcs in the series.

• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Although Kaicho seemed cold and harsh in her debut, it's soon shown through her interactions with Kanade and the others that she's actually a nice person and that she's only serious about her responsibilities as the student council president.

• Team Pet: Namiki's dog, Marota.

• The Unfavorite: Namiki, whose parents feared Namiki for his power.

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