The story of The Conductor revolves around Naomi Kuchiki, a flutist, who has very unpleasant nightmares; consequently she decides to consult a psychologist who concludes that she has selective memory loss. At the same time the police inspector finds a headless mummy in an apartment, right across the room of Naomi, with a worn out photo in its hands.
The story proceeds by introducing the friends of her concert group, Yasafumi Yuuki, a concert director, Akiho Maya, violinist, and Kazuo Tamaki the pianist. All seem to have a dark past that is connected with each other.
While the plot and the relationship of the protagonist becomes clearer with each chapter, the different plot twists that happen were sometimes predictable, though overall it wasn't of much importance as the narrative itself was done well.
The cast of characters is limited, but certainly enough to present the story narrated. The relationships between the different characters are displayed well, though some are presented a bit too dramatic. Their behaviour and actions are at times exaggerated, giving an unrealistic feeling of the characters.
No big character development takes place; nevertheless, these developments are gradual and according to how the story develops, which is a plus to the manga. One thing that may bother some readers is the fact that some characters presented remain unexplained, with little background information to fully understand their motives/goals.
The art of The Conductor is what were are used of a shoujo manga: handsome male characters with beautiful female characters. This has an issue though: the characters design is generic and works a bit detrimental to the story. The background is simplistic. There is also a lack of shading in the different scenarios, making it difficult to transmit the horror aspect of the story.
The Conductor was overall an enjoyable read with an interesting story and character development. The mystery revolving around the lead characters was also interesting, making it easier to follow the story. Personally I am no fan of the shoujo type of character design, making the reading less enjoyable for me as it felt generic. However, if this doesn't bother you, than this manga is worth a try.
Thank you for reading.
