Insomniacs After School is a manga that ran from 2019-2023, following a high school romance between two insomniacs who comfort each other through their sleepless nights. The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place is a 2003 post rock album by band Explosions in the Sky. These works are not remotely related. They also compliment each other perfectly.
Insomniacs After School starts with protagonist Ganta Nakami going to school after getting no sleep, since, as you might have gathered from the title, he’s an insomniac. His classmates try to get him to do some work for the culture festival, but he runs off to find a place to rest. This place happens to be the astronomy tower, where fellow insomniac and deuteragonist Isaki Magari is resting. They split the space and use it as their secret napping place for a while, but they’re eventually caught by a teacher, who forces them to either leave the tower or reform the Astronomy Club to keep using the observatory. They agree to this and this kicks off the events of Insomniacs After School.
The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place is Explosion in the Sky’s third studio album, coming after their well-received 2001 release Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever. “Post-rock” as a genre doesn’t really have a concrete definition – the only thing that “defines” it is using rock instrumentation while evolving from “traditional” rock song structure. Generally, the term has come to mean instrumental rock without lyricism, with this album helping kick off the “second wave” of the genre. The other thing post-rock is known for is building to emotional crescendos, having long runtimes and a soundscape that compounds in complexity throughout these prolonged durations. Since it doesn’t have any lyrics, The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place isn’t really about anything, but the most common interpretation is that it’s a post 9/11 take on the genre – Music critic Hartley Goldstein argues that the sound is “laced with an intense yearning for optimism in the face of horrific circumstance.”
After this introduction, the characters of Insomniacs After School don’t have a clue on what to do in the Astronomy Club, since it’s been abandoned for a few years and everyone who was in the club graduated years ago. The duo track down one of the former members and figure out their club activity – taking pictures of the stunning night sky to send to national photography competitions. And this is what makes this manga so special – in between dozens of chapters of a generic, saccharine, pretty cute high school romance, there appears gorgeous, breathtaking panels of the infinite, vast night sky; the night previously so cruel to our protagonists becomes something beautiful.
Legend has it that Pink Floyd’s album The Dark Side of the Moon syncs up with 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, with the lyrics synchronizing with what happens on screen uncannily often. This falls apart after the first “cycle” through the album, but it’s still a fascinating way to view the two pieces of art. Obviously, Insomniacs After School and The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place don’t sync up like this, considering that one of them is kind of a book that everyone reads at a different pace. Yet, listening to the album while reading the manga is a life affirming experience – part of it is the album’s timeless, simplistic melodies, sure. But what makes it really special is when the crescendos of the two combine and intertwine to create something greater, where the music swells as the characters of Insomniacs After School try to capture the immeasurable beauty of the moment in a single shot, where both them and you are reminded that despite everything, despite all the sleepless nights and violence ravishing the world, the Earth is not a cold dead place.