Saitou Shinji is an Ordinary High-School Student living a peaceful life on a peaceful island… way too peaceful for his tastes. The only two things he enjoys on the island are the pranks he plays and the time spent with his Childhood Friend Kana, a cheerful girl who loves taking photos and understands Shinji better than anyone.
However, when he runs away after an incident where he got angry and punched several classmates in the face, he receives a mysterious e-mail on his cellphone: "If you answer this e-mail, you too can become an invisible man!" He answers it while laughing it off… but the day after, everyone has inexplicably forgotten about the incident, and a mysterious white-haired girl appears before Shinji, calling herself an "invisible woman". He soon realizes that answering this e-mail may take away from him the only thing he holds dear…
Toumei Ningen no Tsukurikata (How to Make an Invisible Man) is the very first series of Masuda Eijinote , which was serialized in Shonen Champion from February to March 2010. The manga went relatively unnoticed when it was first published, but with the success of Masuda's later work My Monster Secret, the eight chapters of the series were finally compiled in a tankoubon in 2014, allowing the readers to rediscover it.
This manga provides examples of:
- Art Evolution: The two bonus pages and the cover were drawn four years after the series, and it shows. But even in the series itself, you can notice a slight evolution between chapter 1 and chapter 8.
- Birds of a Feather: Both Shinji and Kana are bored to death on this island, which is the reason they stick to each other, according to her.
- Bittersweet Ending: In the initial version the story ends with Shinji managing to reappear in the world and be reunited with Kana, but his sister has to keep wandering with her fellow invisible people, unable to find her place. However, in the epilogue added in the compiled version, she finally manages to get back to the world years later, when Shinji and Kana are already married and have a child.
- The Cameo: Shinji and Kana make a furtive appearance in the volume 3 extra of Sakura Discord, as well as in chapter 69 of My Monster Secret (second panel of the first page) and chapter 40 of Shuukan Shounen Hachi.
- Childhood Friend Romance: It's obvious from the start that Shinji and Kana love each other, although it takes the latter a while to realize the nature of her feelings. The bonus epilogue shows them together with a child who is probably theirs.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Miki will not let go of Shinji after she has made him an invisible man, even if that means getting rid of Kana… or so she claims. In the end she never tries to directly hurt Kana, but attempts to turn her into an invisible woman later. Which means she wants to be with Shinji even if that means taking Kana with them.
- Idiot Hair: Though Kana is less an idiot than happy-go-lucky.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Kana and his love for her is pretty much the only thing that ties Shinji to the island, and to his life in general. And it's the same for her, as she becomes completely depressed after forgetting about him.
- The Prankster: Shinji's introduction scene has him stealing the Principal's wig. With a fishing rod. From the school's roof. He had to be seriously bored.
- Minimalist Cast: There are only three named characters, and past the first half of the story they are the only three on screen, reinforcing the feeling of loneliness of each of them.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Shinji's cry of despair in the first chapter. I. AM. BOOORED!
- Psychological Horror: To an extent. The story is based on a simple but terrifying prospect: being entirely forgotten by the people you love overnight on one side, and forgetting the people you love overnight on the other.
- Riddle for the Ages: Who created this e-mail, how, and why it makes people invisible is never explained. It just exists. Not that it really matters, as the important theme of the series is to find the place you belong, and what is truly important for you.
- Stalker with a Crush: A pretty determined one, who introduces herself by french-kissing her target. Made even creepier when it turns out that Shinji is her little brother.
- Unperson: Becoming "invisible" doesn't just mean nobody can see you. It means nobody can see you, hear you, notice your presence, or even remember you, even if they are family, friends or lovers. You even disappear from the photos where you were. Your existence is literally erased from the world. But even with that, Kana keeps a vague, residual feeling of having lost something; her bond with Shinji is just that strong.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Miki isn't the kind of girl you want to be involved with. Although by the end she gives of more of an Ambiguously Evil vibe.
