Who takes the time these days to climb a tree in bare feet to rescue a child's toy? To stop and observe the birds? To play in the puddles after a storm? To go down to the sea to put back a shell? The Walking Man does as he strolls at random through urban Japan - often silent, often alone - with his vivid dreams that let time stand still. Taniguchi is the author of The White Dog, A journal of my Father and A Distant Quarter, which won L'Alph'Art for best story in 2003 at Angouleme Comics Festival in France and best foreign work published in Spain at the Salon of Comics in Barcelona.