Hi all! In our ongoing journey to share manga of all kinds, we've been blessed with a review copy of Umi Takase's I Wanna Be Your Girl from Ink Pop, a new publisher. I Wanna Be Your Girl is their inaugural release, so it feels like we're a part of history in the making. When doing some research I found that Takase-sensei started her career with Shogakukan's shojo imprint Flowers so it felt even more appropriate for this blog to take on reviewing this work. Let's dig in!
The Author
Umi Takase
Hailing from Tomiyama prefecture, Umi Takase-sensei received an honorable mention in the 78th annual Shougakukan newcomers award in 2016 for her one-shot Ethnic Mirror, which ran in the aforementioned shojo magazine Flowers. Since then, she's had her works serialized in the Japanese manga app GANMA! By Comicsmart. Said works include the one we're reviewing I Wanna be Your Girl or “Kanojo ni naritai kimi to Boku.” which ran from 2018 to 2020, for four volumes, Toko-san wa ii otona ja irarenai which ran from 2021 to 2022 for three volumes, and finally Kounaide Kounotori which is currently ongoing with six volumes.
From Ethnic Mirror ©Umi Takase/SHOGAKUKAN
From Toko-san wa ii otona jairarenai Umi Takase © GANMA
From Konai de Kounotori Umi Takase © GANMA
Takase-sensei has noted on her site that she writes manga for the female demographic. Two of her series I Wanna Be Your Girl and Konai de Kounotori (Lit: “Don't come near me Stork”) have a shojo aesthetic, but tackle very real issues. Meanwhile, the other one of her series Toko-san wa ii otona jairarenai (Lit, Toko-san cannot become a good adult) is closer to more well tread Shojo tropes, being about a pair who wear masks in society to hide who they really are. So when they fall for each other, are they in love with the genuine article? Or just what they present to society? (Actually, that one may have some connections to the manga we're here to review today.) I'm interested in Kounotori as it's the very real struggle of women who either do not want to, or cannot have children and how that affects their marriages, self-esteem, and of course their lives. As it's Takase-sensei's longest series so far, she has a lot to say about this subject too. --It might be out of scope for an Ink pop release, but who knows? Maybe if this series does well, eyes might be on Takase's other works at some point. Which if this review can help with that effort, then we're more than happy to do so.
The Series
I Wanna Be Your Girl
As mentioned before, this series was originally serialized on GANMA! From 2018 to 2020. It is Umi Takase-sensei's first serialized work. The tags provided on the site include “youth” “heartful” “for women.”
The Premise
Hime is a girl who's got a boyish streak --she throws fists first to solve her issues, and is loud and outspoken. Meanwhile, Akira is a boy with feminine traits. As children the two are best friends, and Hime becomes Akira's protector as she identifies as a girl in secret until high school where she decides to publically embrace her true self. Hime's happy for her friend --genuinely so, but things are complex, as she's been harboring a crush on Akira throughout their childhood. Now she grapples with whether her feelings are “right” knowing what she does, and whether she should choose to pursue them or instead cherish her friendship with Akira.
To begin with, Akira and Hime's relationship is pure and heartwarming without seeming saccharine. It's due to this that Hime's inner struggle can feel that much more devastating. She's self sacrificial to a fault, because of how much she cares for Akira as she embraces who she really is. In ensuring that Akira doesn't have to lie to herself or others, Hime in return takes on the burden of burying her feelings and lying to herself --literally. The boy's uniform she's wearing in the panel above? It works as a metaphor --she took on the burden of Akira's gender expectations herself and wears them on her back. Takase-sensei's writing is also deft, being careful to not render Akira a damsel in distress, or reveal too much of Hime's own desires outside of her jumbled up emotions regarding another girl showing interest in dating Akira (she noticeably says as a boyfriend denying what Akira sees herself as.) Yup, she even still has to deal with jealousy too. I think it's intriguing, she treats her own identity as a girl as something she can sort of turn off for Akira's sake. Sure, she's doing it for the greater good, but the greater good is often for the sake of a group (or at the very least someone else) and not so much for the individual. That being said, we don't get too many of her thoughts on how she feels about her gender identity --rather just that she harbors feelings for Akira. Maybe this will be something addressed in the second volume, but I think that dichotomy whether it's intentional or not on Takase-sensei's part is poignant.
For the release itself, I read a little of the Japanese version before going into the English, and I think the localization is spot on, and the lettering well done. The liner notes help explain Japanese language things such as personal pronouns, and are done so on the page vs. a glossary, which makes sense for this manga as there aren't too many notes. This release opts to subtitle sound effects, and Takase-sensei utilizes text without bubbles frequently which are also subtitled. I have a physical release provided to me by Ink Pop as well as a digital release and both read wonderfully. (I even read the PDF on my phone!) So readers should have no issues enjoying this book.
The Verdict
What is it to be an ally? Is there space to be an ally and be yourself? To love a person for who they are while not being sure of your own identity? Despite being a fluffy, very cutely illustrated tale of first love and growing up, I Wanna Be Your Girl asks some very pertinent questions about what makes up a person's identity. In that it's an analysis between how others perceive someone, how one perceives themselves, and what the heart desires. At one point a teacher says to Hime that being young, making mistakes, and learning from them is a part of developing an identity, and I think that sums up this first volume well. This manga offers something to those who love, those who want to be loved, and those who have not yet loved, allowing it to defy genre and demographic. As long as we live, we'll be on a journey to discover our best selves. It's through exchanging and understanding the feelings that come from earnestness that we get a little closer to that ideal, and this manga is a wonderful companion.
Translation: Erin Procter
Editor: Jordan Blanco
Originally released on Mangamo.
Comments
Post a Comment