Memoirs of a Dancer (Dansaa no kiroku) is a 2014 one-shot manga created by Wada Takashi.
A scuba-diving astronaut was sent on a research expedition in uncovering an underwater city on a Flooded Future World where he discovers a projector containing the holographic recordings of an aspiring yet alluring ballerina.
Contains the following tropes:
- Bittersweet Ending: The ballerina finally gets to dance at the grand theatre like she always wanted, albeit postumourously, thanks to Podolski sacrificing his battery powering his oxygen supply. He also misses his final departure in doing so and leaves behind his wife and child for a Hologram.
- Flooded Future World: For reasons unknown, the ballerina's home planet becomes the lost city of Atlantis but on a genocidal scale with all of its futuristic technology being water-logged yet intact.
- Hologram: All that's left of the ballet dancer is the footage she recorded on a hologram projector which acts as her log book. Podolski became entranced by the image that was once her such that he missed his only flight home to fulfill her final wish of performing as the lead ballerina in the grand theatre. Even stopping himself from touching the projection so as to not break the illusion.
- The Last Dance: With the water slowly rising, The ballerina gracefully yet sorrowfully does her final dance as her last diary log which Podolski took the projector to the grand theatre where she was to perform. Her dance had captivated Poldolski to the point that he envisioned the rest of the dancers and the audience.
- Minimalist Cast: The one-shot only consists of the protagonist Podolski, his superior, his wife and the ballet dancer with only the first one physically present and the rest over transmission or Holograms.
- No Name Given: Barring the protagonist, his superior and wife are not mentioned by name while the ballerina is long dead with only her holographic recordings left.
- Posthumous Character: The ballerina is this thanks to her planet becoming a Flooded Future World centuries ago. However, the memory of her is still kept alive due to a recovered holographic projector.
- The Voice: Podolski's wife is only overheard on his earpiece though he does stare at a picture of her and their child.
- Uncertain Doom: The manga ends with Poldoski taking a seat at the now-underwater grand theatre and replaying the The Last Dance of the Ballerina on loop. Given he missed his final flight back to his home planet and family as well as giving up the battery of his oxygen supply to keep the projector running, it won't be long before Poldoski will perish on this long-drowned world but he wouldn't have it any other way.
