Overwhelming pictures with restrained text

The book is very large.
It is a picture book close to the size of a big book, measuring 285mm wide and 360mm high.
This is a picture book that captures the emotions of large, overwhelming pictures while keeping the text to a minimum.
Let's look at the cover first.
Above, you can see dense trees, and below, you can see water that is either a river or the sea.
The two men in the middle are lying facing the sky.
One man had black hair, wore a white t-shirt, and black pants.
The other one had yellow hair, wore a black shirt and white pants.
And on one side, a red-haired woman stands with animals.
Wild animals, presumed to be rabbits and deer, can be seen here and there.
Judging from the title, ‘Forest of Brothers,’ it is assumed that the two men lying in the middle are brothers.

Now let's take a closer look at the text.
When you turn the first page, the pictures on the left and right are similar like decals.
On the left, a black-haired man and a red-haired woman are facing each other.
Behind the woman, a forest and animals stand facing the man.
The picture on the right is almost identical to the one on the left, except for the man with yellow hair.
If you look at the short text at the very bottom, you can see that both sides have just met.


From the next chapter onwards, the pictures on both sides will be slightly different.
On the left, a man and a woman hold hands and choose 'I like it so I stay here.'
The man on the right is holding a wood-cutting machine in his hand.
I've already cut down quite a few trees.
The startled animals run away in all directions, and the red-haired woman also seems startled.
The man is thinking and planning the following.
Turning to the next page, the black-haired man on the left was chopping down three trees near the river with an axe.
A woman and a man are trying to move a tree while carrying it side by side.
We are preparing a small space just for them.
Wild animals are watching this.
In the picture on the right, the man has cut down about 20 trees and is marking an area to clear a wide area.
The red-haired woman is trying to go somewhere in a hurry.
It looks like she's running away from the man.
Wild animals have long since disappeared.


The distinction becomes clearer in the next chapter.
The man on the left is building a house out of logs without using any machines, while the man on the right is building a building out of concrete.
There are many laborers and some people watching.
In the picture on the left, a red-haired woman and a man are building a house using only what nature has provided.
If you look closely at the picture on the right, you can see a red-haired woman hiding behind a tree and watching the building go up.
The yellow-haired man seems to want to build a house like everyone else.


After reading this far, the story is roughly pictured in my head.
The man on the left and the man on the right seem to be taking different paths.
The man on the left seems to have chosen a life of living in harmony with nature, while the man on the right seems to have chosen a life of developing nature for human convenience.
The ending is somewhat predictable, but let's wait and see how both environments change.

The difference between "just as is" and "showing off to others"

In the next chapter, the house is completely built.
The man and woman on the left are admiring a log cabin with a red roof.
The surrounding wild animals also look at the house as if it were new.
The man on the right built a house with a large deck and sunbeds on the second floor terrace.
Men like to show off their homes.
An asphalt road was laid all the way behind the house.
As the seasons change, the next chapter becomes a little brighter.
The man on the left tends a small garden next to his log cabin.
Friends are riding bikes and animals are still nearby.
On the right, a man with yellow hair is calling people together as if he is going to have a party.
There are many people who travel by car.


The man on the left builds a wooden deck out of logs towards the river and boards a boat.
I'm trying to approach the water carefully.
The man on the right builds a swimming pool towards the river.
The man on the left is swimming in a flowing river, while the man on the right is swimming in an artificial blue pool.
And right in front of the river.
The man on the left lives off of what he gets from nature, while the man on the right becomes rich by exploiting nature.

The seasons passed again, winter came, and the river froze.
The man on the left is skating on the river with a red-haired woman, enjoying the refreshing breeze.
On the right, it seems like there are many other buildings built around the house built by the yellow man.
Decorate the tree on top of the cut down tree.


We are responsible for the consequences of our choices.

The man on the left chose to 'stay here, I like it just the way it is' without harming nature as much as possible, while the man on the right transformed the area around his house into a huge city while 'thinking about what's next'.
The beginning was the same, but the ending was completely different.
The forest on the left still remains dense except for a few houses.
The right side has become a large city with no forest to be found.
Over the past few decades, we have seen countless instances of apartments and factories being built in forests and nature.
The environment developed after industrialization can be seen all over the world.
The picture on the left shakes us up and reminds us to remember the past, which we had been forgetting.
It tells us to look closely at how much we have destroyed the Earth we borrow.
This picture book calmly shows the consequences of different choices, making us suddenly realize a chilling reality.


After reading "Brother's Forest," I feel like the two men aren't really brothers.
It seems to represent two groups of people who make different choices throughout humanity.
Are you one of those who strive to live in harmony with nature, or one of those who seek convenience by exploiting nature?