The Bloom Into You anime is a subtle improvement on the manga (Anime Review)

I've had very mixed feelings about the Bloom Into You manga (although generally I like it, I just haven't felt settled with it or enthralled by it). So I was pleasantly surprised by how much more I enjoyed the Bloom into You anime. It isn't perfect, but it was a subtle improvement, and most importantly, it helped me sort out my feelings about the manga.

For those living in a yuri cave, here's the quick synopsis. Yuu is a first year high-school student at a co-ed high-school. She was on the softball team in middle school but isn't really passionate about things and hasn't decided what to do extracurricularly in high-school. Her teacher asks her to help with a student council project and she meets the likely candidate for the next student council president, second-year student Nanami Touko. In talking to Nanami, Yuu believes that they might be similar, that Nanami might understand something fundamental to Yuu that she is struggling with. Yuu has friends, but has never felt the ability to fall in love, never to be swept away, and is worried she's alone in this aromantic state. But she thinks Nanami is the same, that is, until Nanami suddenly confesses that she's in love with Yuu.

Thus begins the friendship, and perhaps more, of Yuu and Nanami. Yuu likes Nanami as a friend, is intrigued by her, and ultimately wants to protect her as she gets to know that the seemingly strong and confident Nanami is actually scared and insecure and delicate and emotional. Yuu wants to lend this fragile creature her strength, feeling honored that Nanami has opened up so completely to her when she is so guarded around everyone else.

But Nanami wants more. She is in love with Yuu and is sexually attracted to her as well. She goes so far as to kiss Yuu as a train passes (in a very well animated scene). Although Yuu doesn't feel any spark, and hates herself for that lack of feeling, she doesn't mind the feeling of the kiss and over time, she and Nanami continue to blend friendship with benefits, but in a clearly uneven exchange of needs. Nanami worries that she's getting more out of it than Yuu, but Yuu assures her she wants to spend the time together, and doesn't mind the physical contact. Yuu continues to struggle with her aromantic nature, but also begins to develop some comfort from just being close with Nanami.

First, and foremost, it is incredible to have a series that clearly depicts an aromantic lead character. I felt the anime actually does a much better job of making this the clear and central focus of the series than the manga did. It felt a bit more implied in the manga, whereas the focus was laser sharp in the anime. This was a huge improvement for me over the manga.

I love the pacing of this anime. I loved that when taking notes, I could summarize each episode in a single sentence. My favorite shows (live action and anime) are those where nothing plot-wise really happens, where it is more about the characters interacting in low-stakes, every-day situations (think Gilmore Girls). This show had great pacing for that. It was character driven, with no big dramatics. There is also some great use of music cues throughout the series, further adding to an overall well done presentation.

The art is a mixed bag in this series. There are some great moments, such as in the first episode when Yuu first thinks that Nanami might understand her, there is a hand movement that is simply amazingly animated. But there are also some strange choices. Throughout the first episode, and intermittently throughout the rest of the series there are some POV moments where our vantage point is presented as if we are looking through a character's eyes. This is so odd given the rest of the series in traditional third person presentation. It doesn't add anything, and the forced giggly camera movement and the move to first person is jarring.

The backgrounds are lushly painted, with classic soft lighting and pastel hues but with some wonderful detail. The detail in the student council room is incredible. They are using an old out-building with cracked and painted wood paneling, and it is some of the best background art I've seen in ages.

But on the other hand, the actual character animation art is very very simple and ends up not fitting in well with the backgrounds. It stays true to the aesthetic of the manga, but can't quite decide whether to be angular or rounded at different parts. Further, I really don't like the way the eyes are animated. They are very flat with simple coloring and just a slit of a pupil. They don't resonate with the viewer, they aren't windows into the characters' souls.

Episode two contains the first kiss, with the passing train, and as I mentioned, this was done with far greater intimacy and emotion than the manga. There was also an interesting use of desaturated gray coloring to signal to the viewer that Yuu isn't feeling anything while Nanami is blushing. However, they also added TV-style static which felt unnecessarily visually aggressive in attempting to drive the point home. It was gimmicky.

And the voice acting. I struggled with this. Yuu's voice actress is the same woman who voices Aoba in New Game! I love New Game! and Aoba, and I loved the sound of the actress's voice for that character. However, it is such a distinct voice that every time Yuu spoke, I just heard Aoba and it consistently, for the whole series, took me out of the moment. That won't be a problem for many people, but for me it was tough. This isn't meant as a criticism of the voice actress because I love her voice and acting, it was simply tough for me to not hear Aoba when Yuu was speaking.

Talking more about characters, I struggled with Nanami's best friend Sayaka who feels more like a stock character than a fully realized person. This is too bad because she could add value, but feels superfluous given the complexity of the Yuu/Nanami pairing.

Yuu's depiction is spot on. I love that Yuu's sense of fashion is not classically feminine. Her hair is done in two low short pig-tails, just enough to keep it off her neck, but nothing overtly pretty. She wears long Bermuda shorts on her time off, with random t-shirts and it adds to our overall understanding of her character.

Touko Nanami's arc is a bit of a sticking point for me. I don't want to give it all away in case you haven't seen the show. But I'm not convinced by her motivation and the extreme lengths she goes to fulfill that motivation. However, it does set up some interesting baggage for her to work through with Yuu and deciding whether she really wants Yuu to ultimately reciprocate or if she's content with loving on Yuu and getting little intimate affection in return (although she is getting support and friendship). Some of Nanami's internal thoughts in later episodes just seem a bit extreme and overly-dramatic, even by teenage standards. This is a challenge in the original manga as well as the anime.

Putting this all together, we have a show that improves on the manga, tackles a very important and underrepresented theme, that of aromanticism, and is overall well done technically despite some questionable animation choices. It distills the manga down to its purest and clearest form really focusing on Yuu's internal struggles with her identity. 

And yet, as much as I enjoyed it and preferred it to the manga, I still wasn't enraptured. BUT, the clarity of the anime presentation helped me to better understand this detachment. Normally, I love shows with tons of wistful glances, blushing cheeks, will-they-won't-they moments, and all the sweet drama of first love. So of course, a show based on an aromantic lead character will be bereft of this! I don't know why I hadn't made that connection when reading the manga, but it seems so clear now. What I want from a show is explicitly the opposite of why this show exists.

That being said, I can reevaluate the series' value in light of it opening a new world of understanding to me about aromanticism and appreciate it on those grounds even though it doesn't make my heart swell the way I would normally want an anime to. We are ultimately held at a distance from the two leads much like they hold each other at a distance. Due to this, there is a flatness and a detached quality to the writing. Yet, stylistically, this makes complete sense and when taken as a tonal choice to match the aromantic lead character's arc, actually improves the audience's capacity to relate to Yuu. 

In summary, this is a very well done show that adds a critical representation in media of an aromantic lead character. The animation is hit and miss, but there is more to like with it than to not like. The writing is more focused in the anime than the manga, and overall it is a well done show. Refocusing my expectations from yuri to exploration of another person's way of understanding the world, one that is very different than mine, made me appreciate the show much more. I give it a solid 8/10. If the animation were a bit better, it would probably rank a bit higher. This is an important show and deserves its place in the canon.

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Revue Starlight has moments but doesn't completely deliver on its promise (Anime Review)

I had heard so many raving reviews of Revue Starlight (Sentai Filmworks) that I finally got around to watching it. It had so much promise and so many strong elements and yet, for me, didn't quite achieve all that I believe it could have. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

This 12-episode anime centers around a performing arts high school for girls. One class in each year are made of performers, training in acting, dancing, and singing. The second class are those students who work backstage, write, and direct the performances. The show's lead is Karen Aijo, a talented performer to be sure, but not currently the top in her grade.

The anime clearly borrows (in both its themes and in its central performances) from the Takarazuka Revue as well as magical girl anime, and of course also clear references and deference to Utena.

Karen is currently rooming with Mahiru who adores her, and perhaps more. However, a girl transfers in, Hikari Kagura, who grew up with Karen. It is revealed that those two made a promise to each other to become stars together after watching a performance of a live show titled "Revue Starlight" in their youth. However, Hikari went off to London to study while Karen when to Seisho Music Academy in Japan.

The arrival of Hikari sets up somewhat of a love triangle, although those elements are perhaps only in viewers' minds as there is no explicit romantic content. However, it would be hard to interpret their emotions otherwise, at least for this yuri fan.

Each grade performs a theatrical event that they work the entire year to create. But instead of changing the performance piece each year, they are required to redo it, but making it better each time, honing their skills. In their first year, they too performed the very same "Revue Starlight," a performance about two priestess, longing to be together, but who only see each other once a year at a special festival. Unfortunately, one year, they are permanently separated ending in tragedy. We meet Karen and company in year two, for their first revival of the show.

However, we are soon introduced to something bigger going on behind the scenes. The girls in the performance class are competing in a special set of metaphysical underground auditions, lead by a talking giraffe and pitting them against each other in combat. The purpose is to find the top star who will outshine all other performers and grant that person their theatrical wish. Karen is not initially invited, but crashes her way in, and with the addition of Hikari, their desire to be top stars together may not come true as only one can win in these "auditions."

For the good parts of the series, there were some really evocative visual elements to the show with overall well done animation. I LOVED Karen's transformation and how "princely" her outfit is. The pose she strikes just before being clothed in her new costume is sublime but epic (but really, ribbons covering teen nakedness - why do magical girl transformations have to involve being naked?).

Before talking about the lead characters, there are a couple of great side characters. Daiba Nana, referred to by the nickname "Banana" is by far the best. She was interesting to begin with, but what seemed like cute quirks come out as being much more complex. She has two stunning episodes mostly to herself, one of her backstory, and one focusing on her current mental state. She has really stuck with me and is an excellent part of the show.

The other side characters that stood out where Maya and Claudine, the two rivals fighting for the top spot each year. I mostly didn't care about them until the end of the series where their arc comes to a conclusion and I am so glad I stuck it out. It's a very cool pairing, the closest we get to some actual potential romantic coupling.

Now for the parts of this series that didn't quite get there. A show with all girls, with implied yuri, in the theater world, with great visuals, and heart wrenching emotions should be exactly what I love. However, it never mustered the consistent emotional intensity it could have, leaving me content to move on instead of immediately rewatching it again and again.

The show paid homage to Utena with its fight scenes but didn't have any of the romance or gender fluidity that added a depth to that show. Revue Starlight is simply a much lighter tone even though it wanted to be a serious drama. It never found the balance between its comedy and cuteness and its attempts at pathos. It was neither serious enough nor cute and funny enough, but found a somewhat bland middle ground.

There are also structural problems with the way Hikari's character is introduced. We spend so much time in the first episode seeing Karen and Mahiru's relationship as friends and roommates that I assumed they were the two leads. Hikari's introduction into the show comes with no foreshadowing.

Then when Hikari is introduced, the show spends so much time with so many side characters that it starts to feel like an ensemble show rather than about the relationship and promise between Karen and Hikari. We also don't really get enough time or depth of understanding with the two leads to genuinely care about them as people. Think of how we come to fall in love with the initially whinny and helpless Usagi in Sailor Moon. We get none of that here. We are supposed to care about Karen and Hikari, but we don't really.

The episodes also start to follow a boring pattern of spending some time in class and the dorm and practice and then the big fighting underground audition scene. Thankfully a few later episodes break this pattern up, particularly Banana's two episodes. But it is the fighting auditions I have the most problem with, and yet they are the bulk of, and kind of the point of, this show.

So these are performing artists who instead of performing in auditions of dance, drama, and voice, engage in fights with each other with weapons. Ostensibly they are singing while doing this but not really. And what does the fighting prove anyway?

There's a "male-ness" in presenting this as a show for young girls about empowerment but that bases that empowerment on physical fighting. Of course women can and do fight, compete in sports, go off to war, etc... but I just don't see the connection here between the weapon's based fighting and being the top theatrical star.

By the final episode, to resolve the whole thing, the fighting just gets ridiculous and then they add all sorts of nonsensical discussion, revelations, explanations, etc... trying to be profound. Yet, the quality of this writing is really lacking and seems more like the sort of story an 8-year-old would write (both the anime's final resolution and the Revue Starlight show-within-the-show's plot). The adult in me just couldn't tolerate the garbage nonsense coming out of their mouths in the final episode.

But these weren't the only problems I had with the show. When they were showing the girls practicing ballet, I'm not sure that the form they were exhibiting with their movements was actually very good or accurate (my sister is a professional dancer and ballet instructor). There was also some unnecessary fan service, culminating in group shower scenes which serve no purpose other than lasciviousness.

Before you disagree, I get that there is a parallel between Revue Starlight (the show within the show - about the priestesses torn apart) and Karen and Hikari's story. But that doesn't mean that either story is very good or emotionally resonant.  And the talking giraffe leading the secret underground auditions is just unnecessarily random. Why couldn't it have been an ambiguous person, maybe even one of the characters from the future, or a former performer, or the spirit of theater, or something?

And yet...Revue Starlight had many many great moments as well. It was also fairly ambitious, if not quite ambitious enough. I would love to have seen what a tortured soul of a writer could have brought to the concept. Imagine if Hideaki Anno wrote and directed it?! More than anything, it was Banana's arc that has stuck with me. There was some profound sadness there and some heartbreak but also growth. She was a complex character even in the limited screen-time she had throughout the series.

So I certainly liked this show, despite my many criticism, but I just didn't love it. It was well worth watching and I almost wonder what a second watch might add to it. It tried some things, it was certainly different than most of the stuff out there this past year, and I'm glad for that. Visually it was well done and the voice acting was top notch. All considered, despite it's many flaws, it still gets a 7/10.

UPDATE: Here's a great alternative look at the series from Anime Feminist and an important message it sends counter to common narrative tropes in queer media: on Anime Feminist

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Shortcake Cake Volume 1 is just different enough (Manga Review)

Shortcake Cake volume 1 (by the duo suu Morishita and published by Shojo Beat/Viz) is the story of Ten Serizawa who lives a two hour bus ride away from the regional high-school. After taking the bus for a while, a friend who lives in a boarding house near the school invites her to spend the night. Ten meets the other residents and finds that she likes both the company and the extra time each day. With that, she asks her mom for permission and moves into the boarding house.

This is the story of Ten, a first-year high-schooler, and two young men: everyone's love interest Chiaki (who is oblivious to girls and LOVES books) and Riku (who loves all girls, but won't date any of them until he finds the girl that can make him forget all others).

Ten is presented as a fairly normal, capable, young woman. She is both kind and speaks her mind. She seems mildly interested in Chiaki, while Riku becomes interested in her. Chiaki, well, it's unclear for now, but there are hints he might be aware of Ten as well. Both male characters are also interesting in that they are subtly different than our typical male love interests in shoujo.

The plot itself consists of Ten's first sleep over, her early days in the boarding house, and a group trip on the weekend to explore the local town. What makes this story work is the balanced tone. Ten seems normal, her life before high-school seems normal, there is no obvious tragedy, she's just a kid like anyone else. That could be boring, but here, it's actually nice to not have baggage and crisis right from the beginning. But it's also combined with her being a generally capable person. Unlike many shoujo where the girl is presented as one of several stereotypes 1) the ditzy, below-average student or 2) the brilliant nerdy student who is secretly beautiful, here we get a very typical young woman.

Also for balance, while there is some hint that Riku has a complex backstory, it also doesn't appear that it will be overly dramatic. Yet, with all this normalcy, the story isn't boring because the characters are likable, it isn't dwelling only on romance, and we get to hear each character's inner thoughts. This isn't told from any one point of view, but is really a third-person story. It has a great overall feel, relaxed, but still forward moving with characters that are appealing.

The art is okay. It's somewhere between a strict realist shoujo style and the currently prevalent moe styles. It's realistic with just a bit more cuteness in the features. It's fairly simple art compared to some, with deep blacks, and lots of single-toned shading. It isn't a complex use of screentones, but there is some depth.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, if not earth-shattering first volume. Because the characters are likable and there were no warning signs of objectionable content, it's easy to see myself picking up the next volume. I am curious which boy she might end up with (if either) and that's more than I can say about other series which have left me bored right from the beginning. I'm giving this volume a 7/10 as a nice entry to what seems like a fairly calm and normal shoujo romance. That's not a bad thing at all.

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Dreamin' Sun Volume 1 isn't as good as that "Orange" one (Manga Review)

Sorry (not sorry) for the silly, rhyming, headline, but I picked up Dreamin' Sun Volume 1 (by Ichigo Takano and published by Seven Seas) for two reasons: 1) I loved, LOVED "Orange" (also by Takano-sensei) and 2) the cover art is great (love the style, love the color pallet - which is actually slightly more subdued and a bit warmer in tone in real life). Sadly, I was only luke-warm on the story so far but the art does continue to be great at least. I missed this when it first started publication, so it's a 2017 release I'm just getting to now.

"Dreamin' Sun" is the story of Kameko Shimana who runs away from home and ends up living in a house with a few other high-school boys and the twenty-something-year-old landlord. I'm not going to do much more of a summary here, 1) because there isn't much more, and 2) because I'd rather pick apart some of the key story elements one by one.

First, this starts off looking like it will be another shoujo where the main female character comes from an abusive household with an absent father and a mean stepmother. I'm just getting a bit bored/over this trope (even though some of my favorite shoujo comes with that as the background - see "Twinkle Stars" - although no one does emotionally abusive family like Takaya-sensei!). Thankfully, this part of the storyline is actually wrapped up by the end of the first volume and it seems like the need to run away was mostly due to poor communication and teenage drama (mixed with grieving about her dead mother...dun dun dun...I smell some plot with this later as there is a link to her car accident with the landlord's dad who prosecuted the killer). But, she makes up with her family in the fourth chapter, so that's not going to drive the story.

Then we get the love-at-first-sight story with Asahi, a guy who wears a slightly nerdy persona at school but is a hottie at home. I don't know that I really care about this relationship, it feels more like a visual infatuation by Kameko than actual deep romantic interest. To look at the difference between how Takaya-sensei develops feelings between people slowly in series like "Twinkle Stars" and "Fruits Basket" and then compare it to the: "Oh he's hot and nice therefore I love him forever" type story, "Dreamin' Sun" seems to fall into the later trope.

HOWEVER, I'm hopeful that this pairing is only a small placeholder and that Kameko will actually come to realize that a guy named Zen, who also lives in the house, is actually a better match for her. He's silly and weird, and kind, and goofy and I just like his character so much more. Also, Asahi is crushing on a girl who already has a boyfriend, so there's the whole "I like a guy who likes someone else who likes someone else" trope that I'm pretty tired of too. I bet Takano-sensei knows this and I have a good feeling the Kameko x Asahi thing isn't the real meat of this story in the long run. We'll see.

Kameko is a more-or-less ordinary high-school girl. The time in the house with the two boys and the landlord is basically domestic comedy. It's fine, nothing special or unique, but that's okay. Overall, the only real plot is: Kameko runs away, decides to live with three guys, makes up with her family but stays living with the guys. Oh, a lunch is made, a kick-boxing class in the living room happens, Zen wears a panda outfit, etc... but nothing happens that we can call plot. All of that is okay too. I just can't get a handle yet on what type of series this is. Will it be a coming of age? Is it a romance? Is it a slice of life? Is it a deep introspective, torturous emotional journey? Dunno.

The art is great. Very much the style I like for shoujo with more or less realistic people with long thin limbs (not the moe stuff that seems to dominate a lot these days). Also, lots of screen toned sparkles in the air (that's my JAM!). If you liked the art in "Orange" you'll like this, but also, it reminds me quite a bit of Io Sakisaka's art in "Ao Haru Ride/Blue Spring Ride" which I love.

AND... there in lies the heart of what I'm feeling about "Dreamin' Sun" volume 1. Whereas "Ao Haru Ride" presents a strong emotional core right from the beginning, hooking you on its two main characters and their eventual journey, "Dreamin' Sun" volume 1 is just sort of...nice. I don't care one way or another. If I don't pick up the next volume, I'll probably forget about Kameko in a day or two. That's not a great start if it's meant to be a character piece. I get that for comedy series or slice of life series that we may not have that deep emotional attachment to the characters, but given the narrative excellence and character development in "Orange," I was expecting more here.

I'm a bit heartbroken to give "Dreamin Sun" volume 1 only a 6/10 for the first volume. There is nothing wrong with it. It's just made of a couple simple tropes, with great art, but characters that don't create immediate interest or empathy with the reader. I'm really torn about investing in future volumes. It certainly won't be a purchasing priority over other series I'm currently reading. It's perfectly pleasant though, and if the basic story I've described seems like what you're jonesing for, then by all means, go for it. I'll keep you posted if I decide to read more volumes.

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Tomo-chan is a Girl! volume 1 won me over (Manga Review)

I started reading "Tomo-chan is a Girl!" volume 1 (Seven Seas) on a whim. I had no idea it was a 4-koma series when I started. I have never really liked 4-koma, even though two of my favorite anime are based on ones in that format (Sakura Trick and One Week Friends). I kept thinking I was going to stop reading volume 1, and certainly not buy the next volumes, but something strange happened, and I actually found myself really liking the series and will probably buy at least the next one to see if I keep liking it. Pleasant surprise.

Tomo-chan is a Girl! is the story of Tomo, a rough and tumble girl who has been best friends with Jun since they were little. At first, before going to school, Jun assumed Tomo was another boy his age. Over the years, from elementary, though to high-school, they have stayed close. Throughout, Tomo continues to beat people up (her family runs a dojo) and otherwise not act the part of a traditional girl. But as Tomo got older, she realized she loves Jun. Upon confessing to him, he was utterly oblivious to what she meant by it, thinking it was a total brotherly love. That opens up the comedy of Tomo and Jun, destined to be together, if they can only get out of their own way.

I suppose there is some plot, but being a 4-koma, it's more like reading the sunday comics, each page has it's punch-line, and they mostly consist of Jun not getting that Tomo is a girl and how his interactions make her feel or how clueless Tomo is about all the "boyish" things she does that keep Jun from realizing his own feelings for her.

Both leads are likable, but the star is Tomo's friend Gundou. She's the straightman that every good comedy series needs. But she's also a jerk in the most likable of ways. She antagonizes Jun, teases Tomo lovingly, and sets them both up for great punchlines. It is also clear that she does want the two of them to end up together in the end.

The art is okay. Sometimes it's clean and clear, but other times the lines seem a bit heavy (almost as if it was drawn smaller and enlarged) - some of this may be the reproduction and not the original art. Overall the art is pretty basic, and that may be due to the constraints of a 4-koma layout. It's nothing special, but the character Tomo is drawn with such great expressions and body language that it ends up working. The characters are all discernible from each other which is helpful, some series I can't keep track of people or they aren't unique enough to tell apart, so that much is good. Overall the art is nothing special, but it's decent.

If you like broad comedy, and you like high-school romance, then you'll probably really like this volume. It ended up endearing itself to me enough that I'm going to try volume 2. I'm going to give this volume a 7/10 due to being surprisingly, and unexpectedly, good - somehow, Tomo (the character) endeared herself to me that I'm curious where it will go from here.

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After the Rain vol. 2 keeps the slow, delicate, pace going (Manga Review)

I loved, LOVED, After the Rain volume 1 (by Jun Mayazuki, published by Vertical Comics). That was somewhat surprising given what could/should be a really creepy premise. In fact, it might be the best seinen manga of the year (a genre I don't typically read, either). So I am extremely pleased to say that Volume 2 continues with the softness, sweetness, slow pace, and delicacy of volume 1.

Akira is a former high-school track star, former because of a severe ankle injury (ruptured Achilles tendon?). She is now working at a local family restaurant. There she finds herself falling in love with her middle-aged, balding, nothing-special manager. This is how volume 1 begins, and that should be a really creepy warning sign to stay away. But instead, it's an incredibly kind and sweet story, that almost (almost) makes it feel plausible that Akira could fall in love with him.

Volume 2 picks up as Akira has met her boss's son from a previous relationship. We are also introduced to Kiyan, Akira's former (still?) best friend and track mate. However, it's clear that Akira has distanced herself from everyone in track, including Kiyan, even though she remains friendly with other students in her class. Combining the tension of their interactions with her boss's statement that Akira doesn't know anything about him, and we get the central emotional point of the volume. We also meet a friend of her boss's and discover more about his past as a writer. A depth of character, that if continued to be explored, will serve this series well.

I don't want to give away any details, because there is minimal plot to begin with (a good thing for a story like this) and so reading it for yourself is the joy. It's the small nuances of facial expressions, pacing, the minimal use of text, the subtlety that makes this series so incredible, not the actual events. Therefore, giving you the details of the chapters is both useless and potentially ruinous to your enjoyment.

Suffice it to say that Mayazuki-sensei continues the quality of volume 1 in volume 2. My only thought was that volume 2 didn't seem as revelatory to me as when I read volume 1. I don't think it's because of any difference in quality, but perhaps volume 1 felt so amazing simply because it was unexpected, so volume 2 isn't as much of a surprise. That's not a criticism at all, because volume 2 is wonderful.

Let's talk about the art. The facial expressions on Akira are incredible. She is so quiet, and appears as though she would be the stock haughty character from any other series, but instead, due to the range of facial expressions she is given, she has the most incredible emotional range and we immediately gravitate to her and empathize with her because of those feelings. She's adorable, not in a fluffy moe way, but adorable in that she is so earnest and wears her heart on her sleeve (face), even though she isn't trying to let people in. It's wonderful to see a character that visually suggests one trope (she's tall, thin, athletic, long perfect dark hair, etc...) but actually embodies another (the cutesy, love struck, teen). She is vibrant and fetching and unique and the art perfectly accentuates and adds to how her character is written. Volume 2 simply continues this amazing artwork.

Further, the line work is delicate and refined throughout. The use of screentones is closer to that of a shoujo series than a seinen, but still a bit more understated than many shoujo. I love me some good screentone use, and it's used well here. Any more would ruin the delicacy, any less would leave the work too bland. Excellent balance. The characters are drawn long and lean (my favorite style), with not a hint of moe outside of some intentional comedic moments (I don't mind when it's sporadic, I just don't love when a whole series is that way - although I can get over it if the characters and story are awesome). Overall, it is graceful art for a graceful series.

Volume 2 is a strong 8/10. It isn't higher simply because it isn't shockingly amazing (it's just plain great!), nor are there any big moments that create huge emotional epiphanies or amazing singular moments (although there are lots of beautiful, subtle moments).

We're still early in the series and that understatedness is as it should be. My hunch will be that there won't be any big moments at all, but instead the slow steady development and growth of Akira into a young woman, whatever direction that takes. In the end, I anticipate this series being a landmark series, more than just the sum of its individual volumes. We'll see, but I'm super excited by the quality of the first two volumes.

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Edna O'Brien's The Lonely Girls - a study in subtle storytelling (Book Review)

"The Lonely Girls" is the second in Edna O'Brien's 1960's masterpiece and under-read (at least in this country) trilogy of books about two Irish girls moving from childhood to adulthood.

Where "The Country Girls" introduced us to our lead character, Caithleen (Kate) and her friend Baba and watched them through a series of transitions through high-school both in and out of their small home town, "The Lonely Girls" spends its time almost totally within a single moment. This moment is stretched over months (exploring a relationship), yet it is is much more a case study of the dynamics between two people and the evolution of Kate's understanding of herself as a women. It is strong, clear, and subtle writing at its best.

In "The Lonely Girls" we find Kate and Baba living in the boarding house in Dublin and Kate working in the grocery. They go out dancing at night, try on new makeup and the latest fashions, when they can afford them, and then promptly forget those heavenly new shoes on the bus when weather forces them to wear boots.

Just as in "The Country Girls," Kate and Baba are far from perfect, angelic women. What they are is REAL women. It is so refreshing and endearing and rewarding to read a book with an imperfect heroine. Kate has some good qualities, for sure, but she's also figuring a lot out, and doing so in the midst of early feminism, Irish Catholic/Protestant conflict, young adult-hood, and a rapidly changing world.

She is no moral center, she is not an idol, she is not an angel on a pedestal, nor is she a morality tale. O'Brien is chronicling the very real life of a very real person, through very real, but mostly mundane things, including what it means to find one's-self romantically and sexually (not in a forced way, but simply because developmentally, that is where a 21 year old's head often is).

As the plot, such as it minimally (and thankfully - I'm not much of a plot lover) is, moves forward, Kate meets an older man, Eugene, around 35ish, separated from his wife but not yet divorced, and living alone. As they get to know each other, his worldly charms (he's a documentary film maker) and grumpy quirks (he's a mix of a hermit, a farmer, and an artiste) work their spell on Kate and in some odd way, her external simplicity fills a spot in him.

The entire book is devoted to the small amount of time they spend together, with Kate ultimately (and temporarily) moving into his house, the havoc that wreaks on her family and the community, but also on what it means for two very different people, who need very different things, and are at very different developmental stages, to try and make a relationship work.

Two things are fascinating about these characters and the dynamic of their interaction. The first, is that while Kate presents outwardly simple: she's a country bumpkin, trying to be fashionable, trying to fit in, but honestly doesn't; she's actually (at least as the narrator) acutely aware and attuned to the world. It is through this mix of knowing her as an astute narrator combined with seeing how she presents herself to others (the 21-year-old vs. the wise narrator) that we get a true feel that the "real" Kate lies somewhere in between - a person who may quite literally (the scene's with her dad, yikes!) have been held back by her circumstances all these years.

The other fascinating thing is Eugene and trying to understand what he "wants" from Kate in a partner. Eugene was/is married to an American woman who is spoken endearingly of by his friends. Why isn't he with her, it seems she might even still have feelings for him. They have a young daughter together whom he seems devoted to even though he rarely sees her now that they are in America. He is a man of words and books and travel. He is also 15 years older than Kate and in a very different part of his development.

What then, does he see in Kate? Is it that she has the ruddy good-looks of a healthy Irish girl? Is it her striking red hair? Could it be the way she seems naive and simple and gives him an opportunity to teach her about the world and thus feel important? It is never quite clear what he is getting out of it. It seems however, that she cannot "keep up" with him intellectually and over time, their relationship proves quite fraught as she wants earnest doting traditionality and he is uncomfortable with any perception of being "tied down" or hindered by her own idiosyncrasies, fears, and anxieties.

At first that last sentence reads as though O'Brien were somehow reinforcing traditional gender and social roles and presenting stereotypical archetypes simply through having her characters exemplify them so typically. But O'Brien presents these as factors of their experiences and age, not only their gender, although for sure these are undeniably mid-century roles.

What makes the writing brilliant, is that O'Brien isn't judging either person or role or their expectations for each other. She is not railing for or against anything, yet we certainly feel the feminist and liberating undertones in the writing, but thankfully her writing is too subtle to beat us over the head. O'Brien is exploring two people, people who very likely would have felt and thought the things they did at the time this story is set, and what happens as those lives collide in the midst of overall changes in society (which play a strong undercurrent in the work). This isn't writing in judgment, it is writing about people, flawed, beholden to social constructs, explored because it is needed to be explored, but never for the point of making a point.

You can guess that Kate and Eugene's relationship does not end well, but it is the journey from flirting to romance to realization that makes "The Lonely Girls" so well done. Nothing really "happens" in the strictest of plot senses, although certainly events take place. It is more the subtle shifts of how they look at each other, themselves, and their relationship that are the substance of this work.

As with the prior book, the writing is clear, simple (without being simplistic), beautiful, with brisk pacing, detail when needed, and speed when warranted. Whether you are able to relate to Kate's story directly or not, it is a story that feels very intimately real. Please consider reading the whole trilogy. I'll be back with a discussion of the third book "Girls in their Married Bliss" when I've finished it. But if the first two are any indication, it'll be amazing as well. Happy reading!

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