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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.
jamberg's review
5.0
I had high hopes for this book and it exceeded them. I was already a shoujo fan, but was amazed with what the stories could do free of genre convention. Highly recommended.
sucreslibrary's review
4.0
4.5 stars - gorgeous art with emotional stories that have the common theme of grief and particularly the grief young women deal with. Iguana Girl will always be a favorite and reading it in a physical copy was a pleasure.
velocitygirl14's review
5.0
i had heard other before, but I've left my manga reading days behind me for a very long time. I picked this up on a whim and it was surprisingly great. Although some of the stories cut deep or were twists I would have not expected from shojo manga, they were a refreshing change of pace. Some were brutal and some were plain awesome. It is a good collection for people who would like to explore more of the genre,
meepelous's review
5.0
I really shouldn't be surprised, Fantagraphics raises the bar once again. Not only is this a collection of excellent stories, but it is also presented in a way to really illustrate the kind of work that Moto Hagio does and the ways in which she relates to Manga and female creators of comics overall. A lot of intelligence and passion went into creating this collected edition and it really shows.
Talking about the stories themselves, the closest comparison I could think of (in my alibi yet limited experience) was actually to Miyazaki. Hagio's stories were similar in that, while they all take place in a contemporary setting, that doesn't stop Hagio from intertwining them with elements of magic, sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small, always in just the sort of speculative (telling the truth through fiction) that I really really love. Her stories are touching and whimsical, and they all center around female characters that feel extremely real.
All coming from the same artist, the visuals of the stories actually varied quite a bit. Overall I would say that her styles all feel a bit more classic, but her style did vary to a certain extent to best serve the tone of the story. And none of it felt particularly dated or super cheesy like some of the older manga I have read.
Talking about the stories themselves, the closest comparison I could think of (in my alibi yet limited experience) was actually to Miyazaki. Hagio's stories were similar in that, while they all take place in a contemporary setting, that doesn't stop Hagio from intertwining them with elements of magic, sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small, always in just the sort of speculative (telling the truth through fiction) that I really really love. Her stories are touching and whimsical, and they all center around female characters that feel extremely real.
All coming from the same artist, the visuals of the stories actually varied quite a bit. Overall I would say that her styles all feel a bit more classic, but her style did vary to a certain extent to best serve the tone of the story. And none of it felt particularly dated or super cheesy like some of the older manga I have read.
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