Aida Harumitsu

While young and in her prime, Nadia decides to retire from pro swimming after the Olympic Games; to escape a rigid life of sacrifice. After her very last race, Nadia drifts into nights of excess punctuated by episodes of self-doubt. But even this transitional numbness cannot conceal her true inner quest: defining her identity outside the world of elite sports.

The man of her dreams is coming! So, Nanako is very excited. She cleans her room, which she doesn't usually do, and even puts up some flowers to wait for him. Then Takano arrives. The story is set in a one-room flat and depicts a slightly dry and "modern" love story. The protagonist, Nanako, seems to be very fussy about music, but the author's sense of rhythm also pervades the whole story. The timing of the dialogue, the use of sound effects and the tempo of the story are all exquisite. The title comes from a French word game in which a boy and a girl share two seeds of fruit and say "bonjour philippine" to each other the next time they meet.

The daily lives of the personnel of the St-Vincent hospital in Montréal.