Kei Miyama

Hokuhokusei ni Kumo to Ike is known in English as Go with the Clouds, North-by-Northwest. It is a manga by Aki Irie, who both writes and draws it. The series began in March 2016 in the magazine Harta, later moved to the magazine Aokishi in 2021, and in late 2025 it continued with a new publisher, Yukiwariso. Vertical publishes it in English. The manga was nominated for the Manga Taisho award in 2019 and placed 11th for male readers in that year's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guide, a well-known Japanese ranking of the best manga. The anime was announced in April 2026. It is made by the studio Qzil.la, with Takashi Sano as chief director, Yosuke Kubo as director, and character designs by Chikashi Kubota. Tomohiro Ono voices the lead. It is planned to air on the Japanese channel TBS in 2027, and Netflix will stream it around the world. The story is set far from Japan, in Iceland, an island country in the cold North Atlantic. Kei Miyama is a 17-year-old Japanese boy who lives there with his grandfather. Kei works as a private detective, and he is good at tracking down people for his clients. He also has a strange, almost magical ability: he can communicate with machines, including cars. This gift helps him in his detective work. He is calm and capable on the job, but he gets very nervous around pretty girls, which adds some light comedy. Many of Kei's cases are small and warm, like searching for someone's lost dog or helping a woman find a man she fell for. These quieter stories give the series a gentle, healing feeling. In Japan this kind of relaxing story is called iyashikei, which means "healing type." But there is also a deeper mystery under the calm surface. Kei's younger brother, Michitaka, is hard to find, and the search for him becomes very personal. Michitaka seems sweet, but there is more to him than it first appears, and the police are also looking for him. This thread slowly turns the story into a journey that reaches beyond Iceland. The genres are adventure, mystery, and slice of life, a style that focuses on everyday moments. It mixes a quiet, unusual road story with a detective tale and a family drama. Critics have praised its plot and its characters, and one French reviewer called the story and artwork "breathtaking." The cold northern setting is a big part of its special mood. For viewers who enjoy slow, thoughtful stories with a strong sense of place, a likable young hero, and a mystery that keeps getting deeper, this series promises a calm but gripping trip to the edge of the map.