Daytime Shooting Star volumes 7 and 8 (manga review)

    I think the last time I wrote about "Daytime Shooting Star," I swore off finishing the series even though people told me that it ended better than it began. Well, I'm a completist and it was killing me to only have part of the series on my bookshelf, so I'm back to reading it. In this quick review, I touch on volumes 7 and 8.

    Quick synopsis: Suzume moves from the country to Tokyo to live with her uncle when her parents go overseas (or something that parents seem to do in manga a lot). In Tokyo she meets a friend of her uncle's who just happens to be a teacher in her school. She falls for him. The question is whether he will fall for her, and whether anything will happen.

    And so if you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know that it is that premise which really really pisses me off. Adults should not have anything to do romantically with children ever. Especially educators. And the frequent depiction of "May/December" relationships between adults and high-schoolers in manga is deeply upsetting to me because it appears to normalize something that shouldn't be normalized. 

    Adults should, if they become aware of some infatuation from a child, either 1) ignore it, 2) make clear that nothing can happen ever, 3) stop all interactions with the child, or 4) some combination of all three. That's where "After the Rain," although it starts by veering into not good territory, actually handles those three points quite well and we see how the adult guides the teen back to a better place and away from the adult. 

    Thankfully, although it isn't done with the elegance of "After the Rain", volume 7 of "Daytime Shooting Star" does finally show the teacher taking some responsibility for the path he is going on and perhaps trying to make it right. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't go into details, but it's a start to maybe some repair work in this series. 

    Volume 8 goes a bit further as it reintroduces the teen boy character, Mamura as a potential love interest of Suzume. What somewhat bothered me is how the author conveniently has Suzume's friend Yuyuka fall for someone else after she seemingly had her eyes only on Mamura. While this clears the path for Suzume and Mamura to eventually get together (which of course would be healthier for her), it felt too convenient and easy to just brush aside Yuyuka and her story arc. 

    I think back to one of my favorite series, "Ao Haru Ride," and how Futaba and Yuri must work through their mutual crush on the same boy and how it affects their relationship. That was so well written. I am doubting we'll get that level of depth of writing in "Daytime Shooting Star." But at least maybe we can see Suzume realize she's better off with a fellow teen her age. 

    What I'm a bit worried about is that the teacher still admits to the uncle that he loves Suzume. So although he appears to end things in Volume 7, why isn't he questioning himself as to why he got so emotionally (and almost romantically) involved with a child? Sounds like he needs some serious therapy. I doubt we'll get that level of depth in the writing either.

    On the art side, I really do like the overall style. It's somewhere between the older shoujo style I love, and the newer more cartoony style. The facial expressions are great, and when it wants to, the art can be really well done. It's on the "plus" side for art quality.

    Should you keep reading this? Who knows. I will because I want to see where it goes and because I hate having partial series on my shelf. That being said, although maybe it has taken a turn for the better, I don't see it handling the rest of the story with any more depth, nuance, or maturity than it handled the first half. So I still think this will end up as a so-so series.

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Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.

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Gender Queer is a phenomenal graphic novel (quick review)

    Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe, is a phenomenal, touching, and elegantly written graphic novel about a gender non-conforming/non-binary person who is also asexual. It is rare enough to get solid representation of and by someone in the non-binary community, but perhaps even more important is the exploration of asexuality and the intertwining dysphoria that accompanies both aspects of the author's experience.

    It covers roughly the first 25 or so years of the author's life, as E [note: E uses Spivak Pronouns] goes from a carefree early life to increasing pressure by the outside world to conform to (and confirm Eir) social gender norms. In addition, the treatment of menstruation, gynecological visits, body dysphoria, and so much more is laid bare for non-binary/asexual readers looking for an image of themselves in media, and for those looking to better understand non-binary and/or asexual experiences.

    One of the things about this graphic novel that was most impactful to me was the somewhat dispassionate (and I mean that as a compliment) style of both the writing and art. There is nothing performative, nothing trying to make some grand point, nothing overly emotional in the presentation. This is almost a journalistic memoir in it's clear, simple retelling of various experiences in Eir life. Rather than undermine the value and insight of the memoir, that style serves to make the actual insight more profound because it is not presented through any intense layers of emotion that might distract or detract for some readers. I found it to be incredibly moving, insightful, and beautiful and the style of both art and writing served it extremely well.

    Many of you may have heard or come across Gender Queer in that conservative media has been bashing it as pornography. It is not. There are some moments where sexual acts are depicted, but they serve as points for unpacking internal experiences, sensations, feelings, and understandings of self. They most definitely are not depicted pornographically or for any eroticism or titillation . Like I said in the paragraph before, the whole thing has a slightly dispassionate, journalistic quality, further emphasizing that this is not porn. 

    Worryingly, even the New York State Education Department came out against this book recently in a disappointing way when the pulled a twitter post from the state librarian championing this book and its personal meaning to her and her child. [Tweet posted below this review for posterity because it has been removed from twitter]. Lauren Moore is the head of all libraries in the state, not just school libraries, but public libraries, research libraries, state university libraries, and was absolutely correct to give this graphic novel a personal shoutout because it is most definitely appropriate to adult, teen, and maybe even some younger readers. It is so disappointing that the government can't even respect freedom from censorship and the LGBTQ+ community in what is supposed to be a liberal state. (And for those who know me, I am risking my job over this post because NYSED was not pleased with me when I wrote to them directly with my concern over their response and statement, but that's a story for another day).

    So although this review is coming out well after the graphic novel was published, I wanted to respond to the March 2022 dust up with New York State and give this graphic novel another bit of positive press. It is a truly beautifully written, drawn, and observed memoir about two underrepresented and frequently misunderstood aspects of the LGBTQ+ continuum. I highly recommend it.

What a beautiful statement that should have been entirely non-controversial.

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Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.

All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.

Kageki Shojo volume 4 (manga review)

    I want to love this series, but "Kageki Shojo" volume 4 (by Kumiko Saiki, published by Seven Seas) just spins it's wheels and keeps us at arm's length from our lead character.

    "Kageki Shojo" is the story of an all-girls performing arts school where the goal is to enter the adult all-female performance troupes upon graduation. Watanabe Sarasa is the tall, goofy, high-energy, raw talented, odd-ball who is also positioned, maybe destined, to be a great and unique talent. Should be an amazing series, right? Sadly, this volume doesn't do anything meaningful and in four volumes, I'm not getting a good feeling for this series living up to it's early promise.

    Volume 4 focuses on a once-a-decade school sports festival where the main competitors are the adults from the performance troupes. It is set up as a type of fan service to the fans of the performance troupes. By various circumstances, Watanabe Sarasa has to fill in for one of the adult performers. Of course, her elevation to this position should be a source of great drama amongst the other students, but by and large, that just doesn't come to fruition. While some grumbling is hinted at, four volumes in, everyone seems to have more or less accepted our odd-ball with the high-ceiling untapped talent. Which makes it pretty drama free. 

    In addition to there being no real inter-personal conflict, there is no intra-personal conflict either. Yes, you might say that the whole end of volume 3 (she must find who she is as an actress instead of perfectly mirroring other's great performances) has it's fulfillment in this volume. But it wasn't enough. There is no interiority which how Watanabe is written. We don't really know what she's thinking or feeling or struggling with, not in any depth. (If you read this with any regularity, you know I like my characters with angst) The story is told too much from a third person perspective without enough internal insight. And with little meaningful plot or inter-personal conflict instead, there just isn't much actually happening. Hence my "spinning it's wheels" comment earlier. 

    What continues to be most sad for me as I read this series, is that the prequel volume "Kageki Shojo: The Curtain Rises" focused on Watanabe's roommate, Narata Ai, who is much more interesting and is given much more internal conflict. She's beautiful, somewhat famous already, but an outcast in many ways, with complex internal emotions, she holds others at a distance, and her outcome and destiny are not as clearly fixed as Watanabe's. 

    In fact, I always read Narata's arc with the potential to be very open ended and potentially sad. She was a teen idol in an idol group, who was the outcast of that group. Her move to the Kouka school almost has the feel of going into exile, almost like Maria in "Sound of Music" going back to the nunnery. So what will this hold for her? Will she continue on to join Kouka's troupe? Will that make her happy? Does she long for something else? Is that something else in entertainment, or is it something totally different? There's so much to explore with her character. I so wish that we got more of Narata in the main series. I really wish she was the main character in the main series. She is simply more interesting.

    So "Kageki Shojo" volume 4 is fine. The art is somewhat simple, but still engaging. What little conflict there is is fairly superficial, the plot itself isn't that interesting, and we don't really get any insight into the lead character. I just don't know where this series is going, or what it's trying to say or be. Or maybe, I do, and it's too simple an outcome and I'm looking for something more that will never be there. (shrug). Ah well, it's not bad, I'll keep reading it, but it isn't great either. It's just sort of fluff.

BTW, this is the 300th post on this blog!

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Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.

All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.

Love at Fourteen volume 11 (manga review)

    If you've read any of my prior reviews of "Love at Fourteen" volumes, this one will sound awfully familiar. Unfortunately "Love at Fourteen" volume 11 (by Fuka Mizutani, published by Yen Press) exhibits the same juxtaposition of a truly wonderful main couple with absolutely morally and ethically fraught romantic relationships between adults and children. In short, if you aren't already committed to seeing this series through (and I've toyed with stopping multiple times, but I'm a "completist") then don't bother starting now.

    Kazuki and Kanata are nearing the end of their middle school life together with Kazuki set to move away soon. This volume focuses mostly around a class ski trip. What is beautiful about this volume is the clear eyed, sweet, and very well written relationship growth between Kazuki and Kanata. Although this volume, like many before it, keeps minimizing our time with the main couple in favor of the side couples, what it did offer with Kazuki and Kanata is some of my favorite writing in the series. I don't want to spoil anything, because it comes late in the volume, and it's just a really unique thing to see in a manga, or most stories about middle-schoolers.

    But that hardly makes up for this volume's faults (which mirror the series' faults). And that is we have two adults who are in seriously flirtatious situations with middle school students. These are children. And under no condition should adults even take a first step in that direction with children. This series does nothing to comment critically on that, and instead, seems to try and find beauty in these burgeoning relationships. I'm not okay with that at all. And I keep seriously thinking about stopping the series. I'm not proud of myself that I haven't. I keep thinking each volume might be the last. It's not a good excuse. I shouldn't give this author any more of my money, no matter how good the main couple's story and writing is.

    In addition to the two side couples that are an adult and 14-year-old, there is a third adult, the school nurse who has an interesting dynamic with another teen. There is a truly, and uncharacteristically, aggressive scene in this that left me quite uncomfortable. It's played off as a type of defensiveness but it reads as manipulative and emotionally unstable by the adult. Yuck. It then also positions the child to try and be this adult's "savior." Double yuck.

    There just seems to be so many manga series about May/December (to use an awful euphemism for predatory) adult/child relationships. I think "Love at Fourteen" is one of the most dangerous because the whole series is supposed to have this gentle, wistful tone which tends to minimize the issue here. An issue which the series NEVER critically comments on. This isn't a series that warns against the dangers of this type of relationship. It's not even a series that presents any hint of danger for anyone involved in these types of relationships. It's like it is normalizing it. 

    The only time I have ever read a manga about a teen/adult relationship that was remotely appropriate in how it was handled and commented on was "After the Rain" in which the adult recognized what was going on, set clear boundaries, and made it his responsibility to push her back towards being a teen and living the life she was supposed to lead. He actually helped her heal the issues that drove her to crush on him. He acted like a responsible adult. While that series is certainly not criticism free, it was a really solid attempt at exploring a young woman with a crush on an older man and how the man could actually be a decent human being and help the child stay a child.

    In "Love at Fourteen" we have two, and maybe three, predatory adult women who are actively flirting with 14 year-olds. And it's not even a game to them or something darker or more malevolent. They are clearly depicted as being romantically interested in these children. NOT OKAY EVER!

    So basically, while the mangaka has some clear writing skill, she is using it for some not good storylines. If this series would just stick solely to the main couple, Kanata and Kazuki (both teens), it would be a brilliant, beautiful series. But volume 11 typifies and advances all the problems in this series. 

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Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.

All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.