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ksd1441's review
3.0
This collection of short stories was hit-and-miss. I am certain different people will fall in love with different pieces represented in this book. Since the stores included spanned a decade, it was nice to see the variation on themes and art from the author. My personal picks are: Iguana Girl, and Hanshin: Half God (a story of conjoined twins). Rarely a happy ending in the bunch, so do not expect coming away with a smile - but I am more than okay with that. Moto Hagio is good with "the feels."
bemused_writer's review
5.0
Well, I'm going to have to read everything Moto Hagio ever wrote now, so next up will be The Poe Clan. I can see why she's considered a classic manga artist; every story was interesting and the art pulled me in. I really liked the way she handled serious themes in fantastical ways; that's my favorite kind of storytelling.
The translator, Matt Thorn, also has some great articles in the back, one laying out the history of shoujo manga and another interviewing Moto Hagio herself. I feel like I learned a lot this way. In particular, the one on the history of shoujo manga gave me a ton of authors and titles to check out, so I'm very excited. I've also realized that Matt Thorn is basically leading my dream life: anthropologist? translator? writer? Clearly I need to take a few notes out of her book.
The translator, Matt Thorn, also has some great articles in the back, one laying out the history of shoujo manga and another interviewing Moto Hagio herself. I feel like I learned a lot this way. In particular, the one on the history of shoujo manga gave me a ton of authors and titles to check out, so I'm very excited. I've also realized that Matt Thorn is basically leading my dream life: anthropologist? translator? writer? Clearly I need to take a few notes out of her book.
kllylndbrg's review
5.0
For a collection of short graphic stories, I was so impressed by Hagio's ability to leave the reader fulfilled at the end of each one. Each story was eerie and impressive. I am humbled that we get to read an English version of these stories thanks to Fantagraphics.
beththebookdragon's review
4.0
A marvelous introduction to one of the great "old school" 1970s shojo manga creators. Hagio's art is in the old style but has elements of uniqueness, and is beautiful even with odd characters such as Iguana Girl. Her stories are seriously unique, whether a quiet ghost story about a mother watching over her child or a science fiction tale that reaches back millenia in time. Themes of dysfunctional families, death, and romance (both heterosexual and same-sex) run throughout. The book starts with a brief description of the women manga-ka of Hagio's era and a quietly revealing interview with her--then a reader jumps to the "back" of the book to read the actual stories in proper right-to-left manga orientation.
For teen and adult manga fans who like or want to try some old manga tales and enjoy supernatural, mild horror, and/or fantasy stories.
For teen and adult manga fans who like or want to try some old manga tales and enjoy supernatural, mild horror, and/or fantasy stories.
theooo's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
a collection of short graphic narrative stories is really hard to pull off because you have such a small amount of panels to tell the story in, but some of these worked really well for me. "hanshin: half-god" and "iguana girl" were my favorites, "a drunken dream," "angel mimic," and "the willow tree" were also pretty enjoyable. most of the others didn't hit for me and i feel like they could have been developed into their own one-shot manga volume instead of 20 page chapters. even the ones i did enjoy could have benefitted from being expanded beyond a single chapter. as usual, moto hagio's art is stunning and dreamlike
autumn_plum's review
Loved it down to the last panel! If not for the story than for the sheer prettiness of Hagio's work. My favourites were "Hanshin: Half-God," "The Willow Tree," and "Iguana Girl." Every time I glimpse this book on my shelf I find myself reading each story again and again and believe me you, they don't ever seem to lose their emotional poignancy or dimension.
In fact, it's one of the few things I've ever read that actually manages to draw me back AND STILL manages to surprise me when I come away from each story with an understanding that has only continued to alter over the years. In short, I recommend it to anyone on the basis that there are stories in this anthology that are barely twenty pages with (at times) minimal dialogue, and yet they always manage to reduce indifferent little me (who barely blinked while watching AND reading about the Red Wedding in ASOIAF) into a blubbery fangirl with more sap than a maple forest in
February.
....Anyway, do your feels a favour and read it and weep, while knowing that somewhere out there in the world, i am probably doing the exact same thing looking like this.
In fact, it's one of the few things I've ever read that actually manages to draw me back AND STILL manages to surprise me when I come away from each story with an understanding that has only continued to alter over the years. In short, I recommend it to anyone on the basis that there are stories in this anthology that are barely twenty pages with (at times) minimal dialogue, and yet they always manage to reduce indifferent little me (who barely blinked while watching AND reading about the Red Wedding in ASOIAF) into a blubbery fangirl with more sap than a maple forest in
February.
....Anyway, do your feels a favour and read it and weep, while knowing that somewhere out there in the world, i am probably doing the exact same thing looking like this.
bluerose's review
5.0
Loved it. Want to own a copy (helloooo Amazon Christmas wishist). A heart wrenching collection of short stories to be read again and again--not to mention shared with others. <3
abetterbradley's review
3.0
I'm a big fan of graphic novels and Moto Hagio is one of the founding mothers of the Japanese manga movement. This is a collection of ten tales, sort of like a sampler of her work.
capernex's review
medium-paced
4.5
This was a masterpiece. Not all the stories pulled me in the same way, but some of them were so good that I have to give this 5 stars. I know Hagio is famous as a shojo writer, but it's not the modern, romance heavy shojo that I am used to. It's so complicated and tragic and honestly kind of creepy. Everything I've read by her so far has been so unique and beautifully written. They are all like poetry, but also filled with elements of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, tragedy and less romance than I thought.
I'll write a little bit about each story. **slight spoilers*
Bianca was a weird first one. I was foolishly expecting fluffy romances in this book, and the first story being about a little girl dying was a jolt. Well written, but not one of my favs.
Girl on porch with puppy was so weird. I still liked it! I liked the art style differentiating between the girl and everyone else.
Autumn Journey, and Marie were a little more predictable and boring, but still so beautifully drawn and well written that I can't hate them.
I loved A Drunken Dream! Here's where I started to really love the stories. A nice little sci-fi story in the middle.
Hanshin was so fucking unsettling. Deeply disturbing. I loved it a lot but I need to stop thinking about it. Hagio is too good at drawing creepy as hell imagery.
Angel Mimic was good, and the sort of story I was more expecting from shojo.
Iguana Girl is a masterpiece!!! Honestly this story and Hanshin were what bumped the rating to 5 stars. Such an incredible story about self hate and mothers.
The boy who comes home was pretty regular, and I was disappointed by The Willow Tree, mostly because the blurb in the beginning said I would need tissues but I found it pretty boring and the ending didn't really get to me.
I'll write a little bit about each story. **slight spoilers*
Bianca was a weird first one. I was foolishly expecting fluffy romances in this book, and the first story being about a little girl dying was a jolt. Well written, but not one of my favs.
Girl on porch with puppy was so weird. I still liked it! I liked the art style differentiating between the girl and everyone else.
Autumn Journey, and Marie were a little more predictable and boring, but still so beautifully drawn and well written that I can't hate them.
I loved A Drunken Dream! Here's where I started to really love the stories. A nice little sci-fi story in the middle.
Hanshin was so fucking unsettling. Deeply disturbing. I loved it a lot but I need to stop thinking about it. Hagio is too good at drawing creepy as hell imagery.
Angel Mimic was good, and the sort of story I was more expecting from shojo.
Iguana Girl is a masterpiece!!! Honestly this story and Hanshin were what bumped the rating to 5 stars. Such an incredible story about self hate and mothers.
The boy who comes home was pretty regular, and I was disappointed by The Willow Tree, mostly because the blurb in the beginning said I would need tissues but I found it pretty boring and the ending didn't really get to me.
destdest's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Rated by enjoyment. I didn’t care for this collection at first, but there were better stories toward the end in my opinion.
Bianca (2 stars)
Girl on the Porch with Puppy (2 stars)
An interesting take on how some people, even loved ones, may want you to conform, and when you don’t, they destroy you. Well, that’s what I got from this, anyway.
Autumn Journey (3 stars)
I liked the ending.
Marie, Ten Years Later (2 stars)
A story of shoulda, coulda, wouldas
A Drunken Dream (2 stars)
Ooh, this one had a burst of color. Reincarnated, star-crossed lovers always ending in death… But it’s meh and melancholy.
Hanshin: Half God (3.5/ 4ish stars)
Angel | Mimic (4 stars)
Eh, the professor literally calls this is a “wholesome student-teacher relationship” at a women’s college. Unfortunately, they have really good chemistry, and the male lead is classy. The ending’s almost a tearjerker. I like how many mangas don’t shy away from mature subject matter.
Iguana Girl (4.5 stars)
I liked this a lot, but y’all stay with the bs, talking about pink doesn’t go suit (Riko’s) dark complexions. Anyway, Riko is so adorable! It’s hard to see her get treated like Cinderella the whole time.
The Child Who Came Home (3 stars)
The Willow Tree (3 stars)
I didn’t know where this was going, but I liked it.