The characterization of manga (graphic narratives) and anime (animated film) as ‘superflat’ is usually accompanied by overlooking the materiality of their craftedness. Media-aesthetic discussions of craftedness focus on stylization, hyper-mediality, and parodic intertextuality rather than the persistence of manual craft, the role of hand drawing, and the preference for an analog look. Taking In This Corner of the World as its example, this article investigates how the story of a hand and its pictorial representation are entwined with the comics-specific employment of free-hand drawing, printed pages, and serial publication format. It arrives at the conclusion that a pragmatic orientation towards tangible proximity between past and present, characters and readers, or viewers, outweighs invitations to critically reflect on the medium of comics as such.