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fumi yoshinaga

The Manga Review, 9/16/22

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In an essay for The Nation, author Viken Berberian explains how manga became one of the world’s favorite forms of entertainment. He notes that in 2021, “manga made up 76.1 percent of overall graphic novel sales in the adult fiction category in the United States,” and almost a quarter of the overall French book market. And while I might quibble with some of his historical points–Moto Hagio is clearly a pioneer, but not “the mother of shojo manga”–my bigger concern about the article is tone. There’s a strong undercurrent of condescension in his prose, as he bemoans the fact his tweenage sons would rather read Jujutsu Kaisen than The Metamorphosis, and reassures the reader that “the hegemony of manga” has not “come at the expense of highbrow comics that wrestle with thorny autobiographical and political issues.” Though he ultimately acknowledges the power of manga to tell compelling stories, his praise for Shigeru Mizuki’s Onwards Toward Our Noble Deaths feels tepid at best. Caveat lector!

NEWS

Conceptual artist Ilan Manouach just unveiled his latest project: a limited edition “book” that collects all 21,450 pages of One Piece. The press release for ONEPIECE suggests the work will encourage “artists to think [about] comics in different scales and temporalities,” though they’ll need a cool $2,000 to acquire their own copy. [The Beat]

In licensing news, Yen Press will be releasing Mokumokuren’s horror series The Summer Hikaru Died. No release date has been announced. [Anime News Network]

Also making licensing news is Seven Seas, which added My New Life as a Cat, Cinderella Closet, and Soloist in a Cage to its spring 2023 line-up. [Seven Seas]

If you’re planning to attend NYCC this year, bring a mask. [ICv2]

Brigid Alverson sifts through the August 2022 NPD Bookscan numbers, and observes that “the manga chart is very driven by new releases, much more so than the others, and you can see it here with the newest volume of Jujutsu Kaisen at the top. Altogether there are eight August 2022 releases on the chart, all new volumes in ongoing series, plus a handful of first and second volumes.” [ICv2]

FEATURES, PODCASTS, AND INTERVIEWS

Scholar Eike Exner, author of Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History, offers a thoughtful re-appraisal of the Euro-American influence on manga. “Comics historiography is plagued by two fundamental misunderstandings regarding the history and nature of the medium,” he argues. “The first is the notion that comics in different countries are best understood through the lens of the nation, as the offspring of individual national traditions. The second is the idea that comics are the result of a gradual ‘integration of text and image’ culminating in the combination of both in a single image space (the panel).” [The Comics Journal]

Cami traces the development of Italy’s small but dedicated BL fandom. [Anime Herald]

Here’s something with licensing potential: EVOL, “an anti-superhero book that is definitely reminiscent of The Boys,” with “fast and bold” pacing “like an action-packed capes comic, but coming from the other side of the equation.” [Brain vs. Book]

In the latest episode of Shojo & Tell, Ashley and Asher tackle one of CLAMP’s most controversial series: Chobits. [Shojo & Tell]

One of the most talked-about pieces of the week was Colleen’s “Misogyny in the Manga Community,” which delves into the long history of sexism in manga fandom:

Yui Kashima interviews Fumi Yoshinaga about how she got started in comics. “I think it was when I was in my third year of college,” Yoshinaga recalls. “A friend recommended me to read SLAM DUNK, and when I saw Kogure and Mitsui, I just came up with the idea of making their story (laugh). I couldn’t stay away from that idea and decided to publish a doujinshi.” And the rest, as they say, is history. [Tokion]

REVIEWS

In this week’s must-read reviews, Erica Friedman and Johanna Draper Carlson explain why you should be reading Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. “The dialogue is simple, the scenarios are wholly about experiencing and feeling,” Friedman notes. “There is no plot here. Just have a seat and a cup of coffee and watch the grass. At the end of the world, that’s all that’s left, anyway.” Draper Carlson expresses similar sentiments: “The appeal of this series is twofold: lovely art and an acceptance of the joy of existence… It’s very Japanese in tone, but it also evokes Walden: the idea that a return to nature is soul-cleansing, and that small, everyday events are worth capturing.”

You’ll also find brief reviews at Women Write About Comics, where Masha Zhdanova critiques three new releases from VIZ, and at Beneath the Tangles, where the gang reviews a mixture of new and ongoing titles.

New and Noteworthy

Ongoing and Complete Series

The Manga Review, 5/27/22

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Everybody’s talking about Tokyopop this week, as the publisher that brought us Mixx, Sailor Moon, and Rising Stars of Manga celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary. To mark the occasion, Brigid Alverson interviewed Tokyopop founder Stu Levy about the company’s history. “Not a single person believed it would work—and frankly many called us crazy,” Levy recalled. “Even internally, most of my team was against it—or at least wanted to test it. My view was we either had conviction and went all-in or we didn’t. Testing wouldn’t work because retailers would always favor the left-to-right reading books if they had a choice—so there would never be a true test of its potential. So, I bet the company on it.” Over at Drop-In to Manga, Tony reflects on how Tokyopop titles such as Chobits and GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka helped introduce him to the joy of reading manga. “I know there’s a lot of criticism towards its founder, Stu Levy, and a lot of it is warranted,” he observes. “But I still respect Tokyopop for showing Japanese manga publishers that America can be a hotspot for manga during a time when that wasn’t the case.”

NEWS

Moto Hagio has just published a new installment in her on-again, off-again vampire saga The Poe Clan. The newest storyline, Poe no Ichizoku: Ao no Pandora, takes place in present-day Munich. [Anime News Network]

Mari Yamazaki’s Olympia Kyklos will resume serialization in Grand Jump next month. The story follows the adventures of an ancient Greek potter who’s accidentally transported to the 1964 Tokyo games. C’mon, this needs to be licensed STAT! [Anime News Network]

Are new chapters of Hunter x Hunter on the horizon? [Variety]

Brace yourself for more H.P. Lovecraft: Dark Horse will be publishing Gou Tanabe’s adaptation of The Shadow Over Innsmouth in a single omnibus edition. No word yet on a release date. [Anime News Network]

Earlier this week, the employees of Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they’d formed their own union, United Workers of Seven Seas. In a statement on their website, union organizers explain the rationale for their decision: “The company has grown exponentially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But with rapid growth comes growing pains, and we, the workers of Seven Seas, have been shouldering much of that pain. We find ourselves overworked, underpaid, and we do not currently receive the benefits otherwise typical of the publishing industry.” [ICv2]

FEATURES AND INTERVIEWS

Are you interested in learning more about the roots of contemporary Japanese culture? Kathryn Hemmann offers a great list of “popular-audience books that are smart and specific yet still accessible to a casual reader,” from Matt Alt’s Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World to Tara Devlin’s Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends. [Contemporary Japanese Literature]

Jocelyne Allen swoons over the gorgeous artwork and soapy plot lines of Ashita Niji ga Denakutemo. [Brain vs. Book]

Over at Women Write About Comics, Carrie McClain highlights some of Seven Seas’ best new releases. [Women Write About Comics]

The folks at Anime Feminist want to know which unfinished or cancelled Tokyopop series you’d like to see rescued. [Anime Feminist]

Bill Curtis wins the award for best headline of the week with How to Ease Your Big Burly, Hairy, Glistening, Beer Swillin’, Iron Pumpin’ DUDE Self Into the Wonderful World of Shojo & Josei Manga. Amen! [Yatta-Tachi]

Speaking of josei, the Mangasplainers dedicate their latest episode to an in-depth exploration of Fumi Yoshinaga’s All My Darling Daughters. [Mangasplaining]

Congratulations to the Manga Mavericks crew: they just celebrated their 200th episode with a roundtable discussion about Tatsuki Fujimoto’s one-shot Goodbye, Eri. [Manga Mavericks]

Lucas DeRuyter revisits Death Note, a series he “took super seriously” as a teen viewer. “When I watched Death Note as a teenager I definitely hadn’t lived enough to recognize it as camp; nor did I have as firm of an understanding of my own sexuality as I do today,” he observes. “I thought I’d be returning to a problematic fave, but was delighted to realize that Death Note is camp. Accidental, ostentatious camp that, in its attempts to create a dark and edgy power fantasy, stumbles so spectacularly that it tears down some of the worst kinds of people and beliefs around today.” [Anime Feminist]

REVIEWS

Reviewing volume five of Kageki Shojo!!, Yuri Stargirl raises a good question about the state of shojo and josei licensing in North America. “Has the industry just become dominated by trite, superficial storytelling and bland art that can’t decide if it’s moe or realistic?” she asks. “Or is what gets translated to the US market so limited, that they pick lowest common denominator titles to publish even though there are a lot of higher quality ones in Japan going untranslated?” Meanwhile, Megan D. takes a look at one of the weirder titles DMP ever licensed, Bambi and Her Pink Gun, while Rebecca Silverman reviews Erica Friedman’s new book By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga. “If you are a fan of yuri or simply want to understand what the deal is with any of the genre’s elements or major texts, I’d highly recommend reading this book,” Silverman argues. “It’s both an analysis of and a love letter to the genre, both academic and accessibly readable, and worth your time.”

My Week in Manga: September 11-September 17, 2017

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My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga I posted August’s Bookshelf Overload which lists the manga, comics, and other media that found their way into my home last month. Otherwise, it was fairly quiet here at the blog, but I did come across some great interviews elsewhere online: Paul Semel interviewed author Kazuki Sakuraba whose novel A Small Charred Face will be released in translation this week. (I actually recently reviewed the book; it’s well-worth picking up.) Susannah Greenblatt interviewed Motoyuki Shibata, one of the cofounders of the Monkey Business literary magazine, discussing translation and Japanese literature among other things. (I’ve previously reviewed some of the early issues of Monkey Business.) And for something a little more manga-centric, Brigid Alverson interviewed manga editor Yumi Sukimune who works with Akiko Higashimura on Princess Jellyfish (which I greatly enjoy) in addition to other series.

And then there’s the licensing news from last week. Udon Entertainment, for example has plans to release Yuztan’s Dragon’s Crown manga adaptation. Most of last week’s manga and light novel licensing announcements came from another Seven Seas’ sprees, though: Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter manga by Reia and Suki Umemiya; two companion volumes to Kore Yamazaki’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride (which I’ll definitely be picking up); Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest manga by Ryou Hakumai and RoGa; the original Cutie Honey manga by Go Nagai; The Dungeon of Black Company manga by Youhei Yasumura; Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! light novels and manga by FUNA, Itsuki Akata, and Neko Mint; Go For It, Nakamura! manga by Syundei (probably the one I’m personally most excited about); Himouto! Umaru-chan manga by Sankaku Head; How Not to Summon a Demon Lord manga by Yukiya Murasaki and Naoto Fukuda; How to Treat Magical Beasts manga by Kajiya; Hungry For You: Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night manga by Flowerchild; If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord manga by CHIROLU and Hota; Little Devils manga by Uuumi; Mushroom Girls in Love, a one-volume manga by Kei Murayama; Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General by Jin; Satan’s Secretary manga by Kamotsu Kamonabe; The Voynich Hotel manga by Seiman Doumanv. It’s an interesting mix!

Quick Takes

Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 2Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 2 by Ryoko Kui. I absolutely loved the first volume of Delicious in Dungeon and after reading the second volume my opinion of the series hasn’t changed–I still find it tremendously entertaining. The conceit of Delicious in Dungeon is fairly simple and straightforward. Basically, Kui has taken a dungeon-crawling adventure and turned it into a food manga. It’s a brilliant combination of subgenres with endless possibilities when it comes to the sheer variety monsters that could end up as a meal for the manga’s protagonists. While this alone could carry the series a fair distance (especially considering the immense creativity Kui exhibits in how fantasy creatures might be used to either directly or indirectly support an adventurer’s diet), Delicious in Dungeon also benefits from having a main cast that largely consists of a bunch of endearing goofballs. Kui has also started to expand on the actual worldbuilding of the series, too. While the manga still relies fairly heavily on the well-established tropes of fantasy role-playing games, small details are being introduced that make the setting of Delicious in Dungeon a little less generic. Of course, part of the series’ humor and charm is firmly based on Kui taking familiar fantasy elements and twisting them just a bit. It’s all great fun.

Sweetness & Lightning, Volume 6Sweetness & Lightning, Volumes 6-7 by Gido Amagakure. Although I love food manga, I never generally read a particular title thinking that I’ll actually make any of the recipes that might be contained within it. If I ever did, though, Sweetness & Lightning is probably the series that I would turn to. Since the main characters are in the process of learning to cook (and one of them is a preschooler about to start kindergarten), the dishes that they tackle typically tend to be within the reach of a beginner and aren’t usually overly-complicated. The fact that Sweetness & Lightning is a food manga is what initially brought the series to my attention, but at this point it’s really the characters which keep me coming back for more. I’m particularly impressed by the portrayal of the father-daughter relationship between Inuzuka and Tsumugi. Amagakure is also incredibly successful in depicting little kids in a convincing way. Sweetness & Lightning is in turns adorable and bittersweet, and these two volumes have some especially poignant and heartbreaking moments. Since Tsumugi is so young she still doesn’t entirely understand the death of her mother and Inuzuka still grieves the loss of his wife. But the sixth and seventh volumes also introduce more members of their extended family which was lovely.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 12What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 12 by Fumi Yoshinaga. The English-language edition of What Did You Eat Yesterday? has essentially caught up with the original Japanese release so the individual aren’t published as frequently as they once were, but I’m always very happy to get my hands on the latest installment in the series. The food in What Did You Eat Yesterday? is beautifully illustrated from start to finish. The individual ingredients, the techniques used, and the resulting dishes are wonderfully and realistically rendered. Visually, the people in What Did You Eat Yesterday? aren’t nearly as detailed as the food they are eating, but the believably complex and nuanced characterizations in the series is exceptional. The characters certainly have their personal flaws and Yoshinaga isn’t afraid to reveal them; rather than portraying some sort of romanticized ideal, Yoshinaga captures the messiness of real-life relationships in the series. It’s an approach that I particularly appreciate. What Did You Eat Yesterday? follows the day-to-day lives of two adult men who are in a committed, long-term relationship with each other which of course is something that I also greatly value. At times the food aspects of What Did You Eat Yesterday? seem tangential to everything else going on, but it’s still a great series.

My Week in Manga: December 19-December 25, 2016

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My News and Reviews

Nothing other than the usual My Week in Manga feature was posted last week at Experiments in Manga. However, I still have a few things in store before the year is through. Later this week you’ll want to be on the lookout for the monthly manga giveaway for December. I’ve also been hard at work on my list of notable manga, comics, and other books that I’ve read that were released in 2016. That list should be ready to post in the very near future as well!

Quick Takes

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Volume 2The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Volumes 2-6 by Aya Shouoto. It was the beautiful artwork and yokai that first drew The Demon Prince of Momochi House to my attention and that continues to be a large part of the series’ appeal for me. I’m also enjoying the story’s melancholic atmosphere as the manga explores themes of loneliness and the desire to belong. Himari, who is an incredibly sweet and caring person, is steadily building her relationships and friendships with the locals, ayakashi and humans alike. However, more the romantic elements of the series are admittedly less convincing. Although there is an underlying story about the mysteries surrounding Aoi and Himari’s efforts to free him from his tragic fate, The Demon Prince of Momochi House frequently almost seems episodic in nature as Himari is introduced to a variety of supernatural wonders and dangers. The seemingly directionless and less-than-cohesive storytelling can be frustrating and sometimes even feels a little shallow, but overall I find the series to be alluring and provocative and look forward to reading more.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 9What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volumes 9-11 by Fumi Yoshinaga. I am incredibly happy that What Did You Eat Yesterday? is being released in English, so it makes me sad that the series doesn’t seem to be doing especially well in translation. It’s a shame, because it really is a wonderful manga. While I certainly appreciate the food aspects of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, I particularly love the realistic and nuanced characterizations found in the series. The food is all well and good, not to mention beautifully illustrated, but it’s the characters and their relationships that really make the series work. Shiro’s character development has probably been the most interesting and satisfying. I’m very glad to see his relationship with his parents improving even after some significant setbacks. While he’s still not out in his professional life, it is clear that he is becoming more comfortable publicly expressing his sexuality. Fortunately, Shiro and his long-term boyfriend Kenji have the love, support, and acceptance of others which makes that easier. More recently, rather than their homosexuality, what they’ve had to worry about are Shiro’s aging parents and the rising cost of living.

Yowamushi Pedal, Omnibus 3Yowamushi Pedal, Omnibuses 3-4 (equivalent to Volumes 5-8) by Wataru Watanabe. Out of the recent spate of new sports manga being released in North America, Yowamushi Pedal is currently one of my favorites. I have seen a fair amount of the anime adaptation so at this point I am very familiar with where the plot is heading, but even so I still find the original manga to be immensely engaging. Before Yowamushi Pedal, I actually didn’t realize how much of a team effort cycling could be; it’s interesting to learn about the various strategies that can be used to win a race. These couple of omnibuses largely focus on Sohoku’s intensive training camp and also introduce some of the major competition. The characters are fun, some of them are frankly pretty cool, too, and they all have distinctive personalities. The Sohoku team especially is made up of a group of quirky but likeable and talented young cyclists. Art-wise Yowamushi Pedal could almost be described as ugly, but I really like its highly dramatic and energetic style. Watanabe probably uses more speedlines than any other artist I’ve seen, but the effect is great.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Volume 2: AmbitionLegend of the Galactic Heroes, Volumes 2-3 by Yoshiki Tanaka. Despite the nearly constant war and political upheaval present in the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novels, the series isn’t really that action-oriented. I suspect some people will actually find it to be rather dry and perhaps even textbook-like. With only the occasional bout of melodrama, the series quickly moves from one event or venue to the next and the cast of characters only continues to grow. (Granted, as this is war, not all of them survive very long after being introduced.) Because the scope is so sprawling sometimes it feels as though Legend of the Galactic Heroes lacks depth of story and characters, instead opting for a wider view and summary of major events. However, Tanaka does show how the complexities of societal, political, economic, and militaristic influences can impact one another. The books frequently read like a popular history, and the series actually reminds me a bit of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, too. So far I’m really enjoying the series and find its story and characters interesting. I like the focus on tactics and strategy as well as the influence that real-life history has had on the series.

My Week in Manga: March 21-March 27, 2016

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My News and Reviews

I only posted one in-depth manga review at Experiments in Manga last week, taking a look at Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volume 1 by Nanao, which is an adaptation of a visual novel by the doujin group HaccaWorks*. I was actually a little surprised by how much I enjoyed the manga. Though I can imagine the series getting tiresome if at least some answers to story’s many mysteries aren’t given soon, at the moment I’m intensely intrigued. I think I’m finally starting to come to terms with the fact that much of the time I can only manage one review per week right now, though I’d honestly love to do more reading and writing. I also want to quickly follow-up on a statement that I made in the Bookshelf Overload for February—I mentioned that I wasn’t sure if Keigo Higashino’s novel Under the Midnight Sun would be released in the United States or not, but it turns out that it will be! The United Kingdom simply got it first, which is sometimes what happens with works in translation.

In other licensing news, several manga publishers made announcements over the course of last week and the weekend. Kodansha Comics will be releasing twelve new titles in print, some of which I find to be particularly exciting or intriguing (the Parasyte shoujo anthology, shounen ballroom dancing, single fathers learning to cook, and more!). Among other things Viz Media will be publishing a new deluxe edition of Junji Ito’s Tomie (which has gone out of print at least twice before from two other publishers) and will continue releasing more of the fancy JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure hardcovers. Yen Press announce seven print manga licenses, two of which were previously part of its digital manga catalog. (This gives me hope that one day, however unlikely, it could be possible to see Saki in print.) Finally, Sekai Project, is expanding its manga efforts by licensing Suzunone Rena’s Sakura Spirit manga adaptation. (Also, the first two volumes of the publisher’s debut manga, Gate, are now available for preorder.) I also came across a couple of interviews last week that were interesting: the Shojo Beat tumblr posted the second part of its interview with Arina Tanemura and Anime News Network has an interview with Inio Asano.

Quick Takes

Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz, Volume 5Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz, Volumes 5-7 by Mamenosuke Fujimaru. Overall, I must say that I rather enjoyed Cheshire Cat Waltz. It’s only the second followup to the original Alice in the Country of Hearts manga that I’ve read, but I liked how it expanded the story, characters, and world of the franchise. Cheshire Cat Waltz features two tangentially related storylines. The first is the romance between Alice and Boris which by now is well established even though she’s still working through some self-doubt. Their relationship actually ends up being rather sweet. One of the running themes in the various Alice in the Country of manga is that Alice’s very presence changes the others in Wonderland; Boris certainly has become a better person over time. The second major storyline in Cheshire Cat Waltz has to do with the mob war in which Alice unwittingly becomes embroiled in due to her association with the Hatter’s mafia family. These last few volumes of Cheshire Cat Waltz also include an Alice in the Country of Hearts story which features Boris as Alice’s romantic interest as well.

Ichigenme... The First Class is Civil Law, Volume 1Ichigenme… The First Class is Civil Law, Volumes 1-2 by Fumi Yoshinaga. Out of all of Yoshinaga’s boys’ love manga that have been released in English, I believe that Ichigenme may very well be one of the most explicit. Like many of her other two-volume series, it does take its time getting there, though. The first volume of Ichigenme is mostly focused on introducing the various characters and their evolving relationships. The leads of the manga are two law students who happen to join the same seminar—the particularly bright and honest Tamiya, who’s in the process of coming to terms with his homosexuality, and the openly gay Tohdou, a seemingly carefree son of a politician. The second volume, which is actually set seven years later after the first, more fully explores the developments in their physical relationship. What I particularly appreciate about all of the sex in Ichigenme is that it isn’t just sex for sex’s sake—Yoshinaga uses it to delve into the character’s themselves, revealing parts of their thoughts, feelings, and personalities through their intimacy with each other.

Tomodachi x Monster, Volume 1Tomodachi x Monster, Volume 1 by Yoshihiko Inui. I’ve heard Tomodachi x Monster described as a dark parody, but after reading the first volume, I’m not sure how accurate that really is. The humor that I would expect seems to be missing (granted, parody doesn’t necessarily mean comedy), but the darkness is certainly there—Tomodachi x Monster is what you get when you take a series like Pokémon and turn it into a bizarre horror manga accompanied by heavy doses of violence and gore. Confrontations between middle school students become much more dangerous and deadly when their little monster pals inflict extraordinary amounts of damage and pain. Characters start dying off surprisingly quickly in Tomodachi x Monster, generally in some sort of gruesome fashion. The series can be pretty ridiculous and over-the-top with its violence. While the art style tends towards creepy-cute designs, some of the most effective imagery in the manga is legitimately disturbing. The mental states of most of the characters are perhaps even more terrifying, though.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 8

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What Did You Eat Yesterday, Volume 8Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781941220238
Released: May 2015
Original release: 2013

I have been a fan of Fumi Yoshinaga’s manga for quite some time now, so I was very happy when her series What Did You Eat Yesterday? was licensed for release in English. Although I’ve enjoyed all of Yoshinaga’s translated work, I was particularly interested in What Did You Eat Yesterday? because it promised and has since proved to be a manga realistically portraying the lives of two gay men (and boyfriends) living together in Japan. As can be safely assumed from the title of the series, What Did You Eat Yesterday? also happens to be a food manga, which is another niche genre that I especially enjoy. Unsurprisingly, with its well-developed characters a touches of humor, I find the series immensely appealing. What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 8 was originally released in Japan in 2013 while Vertical published the English-language edition of the manga in 2015.

As a lawyer, Shiro often finds himself involved in sorting out other people’s relationships, helping to resolve child custody disputes and providing divorce consultations and such. In many ways, this allows him to better appreciate his relationship with his boyfriend Kenji. Shiro isn’t always the most outwardly or physically demonstrative with his affection, especially when in public or when compared to Kenji’s exuberance, but the two men have built a comfortable life together. Their relationship has its ups and downs, just like any other couple might encounter, though being gay in contemporary Japan still has its own particular challenges. While Kenji’s family is largely supportive, Shiro’s parents are still adjusting to the fact that their son is in committed relationship with another man and has been for years. Thankfully, both Kenji and Shiro have close friends and acquaintances who have no problems whatsoever with the two of them being together.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 8, page 53While Shiro and Kenji are obviously a couple, What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 8 offers several scenarios in which they’re actually acting as a couple. I honestly enjoyed all of the stories collected in the volume, but two that particularly stood out to me explicitly showed them as boyfriends. The first story featured a trip where the two of them visit Kyoto together for Kenji’s birthday in which Shiro acts more stereotypically romantic and boyfriend-like than he has during the entire rest of the series, stunning Kenji in the process. Granted, the underlying reason for Shiro treating Kenji to such an extravagant vacation is a little heartbreaking when it is revealed. A story taking place a few months later sees Kenji and Shiro baking brownies together to celebrate Valentine’s Day, which is all sorts of sweet and wonderful. That chapter is also an excellent example of how the food and recipes included in What Did You Eat Yesterday? can be directly incorporated into the story itself. Some chapters are more successful at this than others–occasionally the food in the series comes across as being tangential–but I absolutely love when Yoshinaga pulls it off well.

The relationships between the characters of What Did You Eat yesterday?, often expressed through the sharing and enjoyment of food, are a crucial part of the series. There are many different types of relationships portrayed, but What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 8 in particular reminded me of the importance of family relations in the manga. Just like in real life, the opinions and actions of family members can have a tremendous impact on an individual. The eighth volume reveals more about Kenji’s family circumstances when he returns home on the occasion of the death of his father. The acceptance shown to him by his mother and his sisters and their children was comforting to see, giving hope that in time Shiro’s parents, too, will be able to more fully accept their son. Family isn’t necessarily limited by law or blood in the series, either–Shiro ends up becoming a godfather of sorts when the daughter of one of his friends has a baby. And, of course, there is the small family made up of Shiro and Kenji themselves. Though they have their disagreements, What Did You Eat Yesterday? makes it clear that they greatly care for each other.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 7

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What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 7Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781941220221
Released: March 2015
Original release: 2012

What Did You Eat Yesterday? incorporates so many things that I love—the work of Fumi Yoshinaga, food, queer life, and so on—that it’s really not too much of a surprise that I enjoy the manga series. Yoshinaga has had many of her manga released in English. I have always been particularly impressed by the subtle complexities of her characterizations. Her skill at writing people is especially important for a series like What Did You Eat Yesterday? in which a tremendous amount of focus is given to the characters themselves rather than to an intricate, overarching plot, at least when the manga’s not focusing on food. The characters in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, likeable or not, are all very realistically portrayed, which is one of the things that I appreciate most about the series. What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 7 was originally published in Japan in 2012. The English-language edition, released by Vertical, was published in 2015.

Shiro and Kenji have been living together for years, but it’s only recently that Shiro has managed to get up the courage to actually introduce his long-term boyfriend to his parents. It’s a momentous albeit awkward occasion, but Kenji at least is thrilled by the prospect. Shiro’s family has known he was gay for quite some time, however they are still coming to terms with exactly what that means. Happily, sharing a good meal can go a long way to help acceptance and understanding grow. Food has helped to improve and stabilize Kenji and Shiro’s relationship as well—Shiro enjoys cooking and Kenji is usually more than happy to accommodate his boyfriend, not to mention eat the fruits of his efforts—which is why when work interferes with their dinner dates at home it’s particularly vexing. The salon that Kenji works at is undergoing renovations and staffing changes while the law office where Shiro is employed is inundated with bankruptcy cases. Both men have been very busy of late, but they are still ready to support each other both inside the kitchen and outside of it.

What Did You Eat Yesterday, Volume 7, page 24Food, and the preparation and consumption of said food, is a major component of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. A majority of the seventh volume, if not the entire series, is spent either cooking in a kitchen or eating around a table. While other aspects of Yoshinaga’s artwork are rather simple, she puts a tremendous amount of detail into the various dishes that are featured in the manga—the food in What Did You Eat Yesterday? is beautifully illustrated. The recipes in the series tend to be fairly detailed as well. It is entirely possible for an experienced cook to successfully recreate many of the courses. I’ve even been tempted to try a few myself. (The tea sorbet from the seventh volume sounds especially appealing to me.) Occasionally, the focus on food in What Did You Eat Yesterday? can get in the way of the stories being told, but sometimes it’s expertly integrated.

As much as I enjoy all of the food and eating What Did You Eat Yesterday? (and I certainly do), what really makes the series work for me are its characters and the realistic portrayal of their lives. I have come to love and care for the characters in the series a great deal in spite of, or maybe because of, their very human flaws. They all come across as real people with both good traits and bad. I enjoy seeing their relationships evolve and change, and I enjoy seeing them continue to grow as people well into their adulthood. The individual chapters of What Did You Eat Yesterday? provide small snapshots of the characters’ everyday lives. Sometimes the events shown are fairly ordinary or mundane, such as grocery shopping followed by a quick stop at a cafe, while others are more momentous, like meeting the parents of an established partner for the first time. But even the seemingly small and quiet moments in What Did You Eat Yesterday? are important, carrying signficant meaning and impact, and showing just how skilled a writer Yoshinaga can be.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 6

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What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 6Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130815
Released: January 2015
Original release: 2012

Fumi Yoshinaga’s series What Did You Eat Yesterday? is a manga that I’m very glad is being released in English. Part slice-of-life manga focusing on contemporary gay relationships, work relationships, and friendships, and part food manga, the series holds a tremendous amount of appeal for me. Plus, it’s created by Yoshinaga whose manga as a whole I tend to enjoy. I particularly appreciate the subtle and nuanced depth that many of her characters exhibit, which is certainly true of the characters found in What Did You Eat Yesterday?. The sixth volume of the series was originally released in Japan in 2012 while the English-language edition was published in 2015 by Vertical. Although this particular volume does have some translation issues—some awkward phrasing as well as questionable word choices (such as “pepper balls” instead of “peppercorns”)—generally Vertical’s release of the series has been great.

Although Shiro will soon be turning forty-seven, he still has room to grow and has only recently started to really become comfortable with his sexuality. He and his boyfriend Kenji have been living together for years but its a relationship that he has largely kept private. Shiro’s parents know he’s gay, as do a select handful of close friends, but he hasn’t mentioned it to his colleagues and he’s terrified of being found out by straight strangers. Kenji, on the other hand, is able to be much more relaxed and open about who he is. Happily, Shiro and Kenji have developed a good friendship with another gay couple, Kohinata and Wataru, which has allowed Shiro to become a little less anxiety-ridden in public. He continues to worry about appearances, and he’s still fairly reserved when it comes to outwardly demonstrating his affection, but it has become easier for Shiro to enjoy time spent with Kenji outside of the house, whether it be a major grocery shopping trip or a bento lunch picnic in the park.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 6, page 48Although I am a huge fan of food manga in general, and meals and their preparation are certainly a major component of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, what I find most appealing about the series is its characters and their lives. But the manga works best for me when the food and recipes tie directly into the plot and character development instead of being a more tangential element. Some volumes of What Did You Eat Yesterday? bring the characters and food together better than others, but overall the sixth is fairly successful in doing that. High-quality ingredients are given as gifts of thanks, meals are prepared as a way to offer comfort and support, recipes are modified when finances are tight, the qualities of a proper bento are debated, and more. Food is obviously important to the characters in the volume.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? tends to be fairly episodic, each chapter exploring a small part of Shiro and Kenji’s lives and featuring a recipe detailed enough that an adventurous reader or experienced cook could actually attempt to make the dish. However, recurring characters and continuing story threads do help to tie the series together as a cohesive whole. There may not be a grand, overarching plot to What Did You Eat Yesterday?, but there is still character and story development to be found. Each reappearance of an established character adds more depth to them as a person and reveals more about the complexities of their relationships with other people. Each volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? explores more about Shiro and Kenji as well as about their families, friends, and coworkers. And with the sixth volume specifically, I’m especially happy to see Shiro becoming gradually more confident and accepting of himself.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 5

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What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 5Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130808
Released: November 2014
Original release: 2011

I have thoroughly been enjoying the English-language release of Fumi Yoshinaga’s manga series What Did You Eat Yesterday?. This probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since the series brings together so many of my loves and interests: manga, Fumi Yoshinaga, food, and queer life, just to name a few. What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 5 was originally published in Japan in 2011 while the English translation of the volume was released by Vertical in 2014. Vertical made many fans of Yoshinaga, myself included, very happy when it licensed What Did You Eat Yesterday?, a somewhat niche title, but a series with the potential to appeal to a variety of audiences. Food and handsome gay men are common themes in many of Yoshinaga’s manga and are frequently even found within the same work, which is certainly the case with What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Though not my favorite Yoshinaga manga, it’s still a great series and one that I enjoy.

Food brings people together, sometimes in unanticipated ways. Shiro’s friendship with Kayoko, which started when they decided to split a watermelon that was on sale at the supermarket, has continued to deepen. Though they were once complete strangers, they have now become regular cooking buddies, sharing recipes and food. Her family likes Shiro as well, though at times he’s treated as something of a novelty simply because he’s gay. Kayoko’s husband even makes a point to introduce Shiro to a member of his tennis club, assuming they’ll get along well since Kohinata happens to be gay, too. They actually do, in an odd sort of fashion, and eventually Shiro, Kohinata, and Kenji and Wataru–their respective boyfriends–all end up sharing a meal together. In a roundabout sort of way, it’s thanks to that watermelon that they ever met. Food can help turn acquaintances into friends and can strengthen the existing bonds between family members as traditions are passed along from one person to the next.

One of my favorite chapters in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 5 was actually when Shiro visited his parents for the New Year holiday. For the most part, What Did You Eat Yesterday? is fairly episodic, although there is ongoing character development. However, Shiro returning home for the New Year celebration is a recurring event in the series which has already happened several times in the manga’s earlier volumes. Generally, there’s also some family drama involved with these visits. Shiro’s parents initially struggled when he came out to them, but it’s marvelously touching to see how much more accepting and even supportive they have become of their son’s homosexuality. There is a really wonderful scene with Shiro and his mother cooking together in the fifth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Sometimes the series’ focus on food feels completely separated from its story, but here it was a perfect combination, the cooking furthering the characters’ personal growth and connections.

While the food and recipes are prominent parts of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, not to mention some of the reasons that I enjoy the series, the characters and their relationships are just as important to the manga and are what really make it successful as a work. It makes perfect sense to me since I associate family with food, but family relations are a frequent focus in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, especially those between Shiro and his parents as well as those between Shiro and Kenji as they continue to make a life and home together. The fifth volume also reveals more about Kenji’s past and his own unfortunate family situation. What Did You Eat Yesterday? largely tends to follow Shiro and therefore not as much is known about Kenji, so I particularly appreciate when the story turns towards him for a time. Yoshinaga’s characters in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, are believable flawed and complex individuals with histories and subtle depth, making the series particularly gratifying.

Bookmarked! 11/12/14

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Welcome to another edition of Bookmarked! This week, Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading joins Kate and I as we talk about what’s on the top of our reading stacks this week. I’ll start:

Legal DrugBrigid: I have been reading CLAMP’s Legal Drug a few pages at a time, which is really not the way to read it. I know this manga was a big deal back in the 2000s, but I have to confess I don’t always get CLAMP, and I’m finding this story somewhat tiresome because the characters all seem like types. The lead character, Kazahaya Kudo, was dying in the snow (for reasons that aren’t at all clear) when he was rescued by Rikuo, a young man who is as sullen as he is handsome. Now they live together and work for a pharmacy, but they spend a lot of time doing side jobs for the overly winsome owner of the business. The tasks they are assigned seem impossible—catch an invisible firefly—and they are given no direction, although they do have special psychic powers to fall back on. The puzzle part of it is interesting, and the art is lovely, but I just can’t warm up to any of these characters. It is nice, though, that Dark Horse has collected it into a single, thick omnibus, and that makes it easy for me to keep on plowing through it.

AnomalAnomal, by contrast, is a slim volume filled with lots of interesting characters. It’s a collection of short stories about the interactions between humans and yokai, and although they are all by the same creator, they vary quite a bit in tone. The character on the cover is a hyaku-me, or “hundred-eyes,” and he only figures in the first story, which is a shame as he’s a striking character. Some of the tales touch on deep emotions such as love, loss, and indebtedness, but there are a couple of semi-humorous ones, too. Unfortunately, the longest story is also the most annoying, about a schoolgirl who wants to become a yokai master because she loves to hug yokai. Nukuharu has an interesting way of drawing yokai, but like the stories, the art is uneven. I would love to see a more polished work from this creator, but Anomal is an interesting work and very different from the usual run of yokai tales.

Kate: I read Legal Drug about eight years ago. Though I loved it then, I’m not sure I’d be as enthusiastic about Legal Drug now. I still find CLAMP’s artwork elegant, but I agree with your assessment of the characters: they’re paper-thin collections of tics and mannerisms that grow tiresome quickly.

book_witchcraftworks01My nightstand is overflowing with new Vertical Comics. First up for me is volume one of Witchcraft Works, a series that falls squarely under the heading of Manga for Teenage Boys. The story focuses on Honoka Takamiya, a nebbishy high school student who has inexplicably attracted the attention of the class queen, Ayaka Kagari. After Ayaka rescues Honoka from an army of vicious stuffed rabbits — yes, it’s that kind of manga — we learn that Ayaka has been tasked with protecting Honoka from her fellow witches.

I’ll give creator Ryu Mizunagi credit: he wastes no time on exposition, diving into the action in the very first pages. Later chapters are denser in explanation, but generally read like conversations, rather than convenient exchanges of information for the reader’s benefit. I’m a little “meh” on the art, as it’s been calculated to appeal to the male gaze; most of the female characters are comically well endowed. (Several would topple over in real life, given their otherwise slender proportions.) There’s a fair amount of mammary-oriented fanservice and silly outfits, as well as an element of male wish fulfillment that just doesn’t resonate with an older female reader like me.

book_ajin-demihuman01More promising is Ajin: Demi-Human, a supernatural thriller that starts slowly but builds momentum quickly. The first ten or so pages are a chore to read, as author Tsuina Miura provides a detailed explanation of what demi-humans are–they’re immortal–and how many walk the earth. (Hint: not many.) After this clumsy intro, however, the author delivers a nasty jolt: seemingly ordinary teen Kei Nagai learns the hard way that he’s immortal when he survives a hit-and-run accident with a truck. The intense media interest in this discovery forces Kei to go on the lam to avoid bounty hunters, government agents, and evil scientists.

A story likes Ajin lives or dies by its artwork, and manga-ka Gamon Sakurai proves he’s up to the task of bring Miura’s script to life. Kei’s accident, for example, is suitably icky and unsettling, leaving the reader as dumbfounded as the characters who witnessed it. Sakurai’s action scenes are crisply rendered, too–a big plus, considering how many pages of volume one are devoted to high-speed chases and hand-to-hand combat. My only nit-picky criticism is the character designs: although the adults look good, some of the teenagers have serious Manga Hair. That’s a minor complaint, however, considering how much I enjoyed volume one.

9781939130402Also on my nightstand are volumes three and four of Fumi Yoshinaga’s What Did You Eat Yesterday? I admit that I began this series fully expecting to love it, but have been mildly disappointed thus far. The issue, for me, is the ratio of drama to shop talk. The vignettes exploring the relationship between Shiro, an uptight lawyer, and his partner Kenji, a cheerful hairdresser, are lovely, capturing the normal rhythms of a middle-aged couple’s life. We also get glimpses of each man’s work situation, and how they interact with peers and clients—another winning touch. The food talk, however, is less compelling. Though some of the dishes sound appetizing, I found these passages as tedious as listening to someone give a blow-by-blow account of an expensive meal. Your mileage may vary; if you live to eat, you may find these stove-side rhapsodies more engaging than I have.

Johanna: It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to read any manga—too much life stuff getting in the way—but the bright side of that is lots of volumes to catch up on over the holidays from series I expect to enjoy. I did manage to dive into a few books recently, plus try a new one-shot.

What Did You Eat Yesterday 5

Let’s start with one of my current favorites, What Did You Eat Yesterday? Volume 5 is just out, and every new book for me is a reminder that I’m thrilled that we’re getting this series in English. I adore Fumi Yoshinaga’s art, and her combination of recipe how-tos and small moments of daily life for a gay couple works well. I keep thinking I’m going to try one of the dishes Shiro prepares, but they’re too domestic. They use short-cut bottled sauces and whatever he gets at the local grocery, which is realistic (someone who has to get dinner on the table every day doesn’t spend a lot of time making fancy dishes) and a great insight into his personality, but that makes them difficult to replicate in the U.S. Yet that cultural authenticity adds another level of enjoyment. I need to learn to mimic how he thinks about meals, with easy but balanced side dishes included, instead of getting caught up in the details. I’m not sure I could filet my own whole fish in my kitchen, the way Shiro does, either.

Ha! I originally typoed “meals” as “males” above, which leads into the other piece of the work, the comfortable relationship between the two men. It’s not about what Shiro and Kenji say, specifically, to each other in an evening, it’s that they’re sharing the details of their experiences. Some of them are dramatic, as when Kenji explains how his father abandoned his family. There’s a good deal of humor, too. Early on, a friendly housewife’s husband tries to make Shiro friends with the other gay guy he knows just because they’re both gay. Anyone who’s been matched up on a superficiality can ruefully relate to that. Overall, I never know what a new chapter will bring, which I like a lot.

Genshiken Second Season 5

Reaching further back, I also read Volume 5 of Genshiken: Second Season. I don’t always know exactly what’s going on with the characters, since they’re so fannish and detailed about media I’m unfamiliar with, but I can appreciate their dedication to their hobbies, even if this go-round for the series is a lot about cosplay and yaoi.

The one character I remember best from the previous series, the terminally nerdy Madarame, is still hanging around the college club, although he’s graduated. The younger club members have decided to do him a favor by orchestrating him being in the club room with the girl he’s had a crush on for four years. The encounter plays out in a way I found totally unexpected, but quietly charming and good-hearted. That’s why I’m still “hanging around” with these wackos—it’s like being part of your own group of fans, virtually. The details may vary, but the underlying love and dedication, even when taken to extremes, is similar. I also like the way each chapter is followed up by four 4-koma strips that comment on the events we’ve just seen.

In my own burst of fannish trivia, it’s part of the cosplay girl’s (I don’t know any character names beyond “Sue”) character that she’s very large-breasted, in contrast to her sweet, unassuming personality (when she’s not dressing up). In some of the outfits she wears here (and the chapter where she’s topless), I was reminded of what they used to say about Wally Wood drawing Power Girl, that he told his assistants that he was going to keep drawing her bigger and bigger until they made him stop … and they never did.

Judge5

From sex to violence. I also read Judge, volume 5, although I am embarrassed to admit it. I only keep up with it because I’m lucky enough to get review copies. (If not, I’d be getting it out of the library, because I only want to buy series I expect to reread, and once the final villain is revealed, I suspect my interest will disappear entirely.) Next volume is supposedly the last, and I’m glad, the same way I’m glad when they cancel a TV show I should have stopped watching several episodes before but couldn’t quite break the habit on.

It’s one of those “a bunch of random people are told to kill each other one by one” stories—and why did Japan develop that genre?—that’s gone on too long. There are a couple of revelations in this book that I think are supposed to be interesting and provide twists, but I just want it to be over. Especially since it’s turned into a mini-harem, with our nice-ish guy protagonist mostly dealing with three girls. I expected more from it, with the original theme of the seven deadly sins, but I can’t keep up with who had which animal head which was what sin. Really bad pacing, this series has.

Garden of Words

My one new read was The Garden of Words, which I failed. Remember when I said things had been really busy lately? As a result, I’ve been in a super-charged mood of “let’s get more stuff done,” and I want what I’m reading to keep up. This book is the exact opposite. It’s about an older woman and school-age boy who meet at a gazebo when it rains. It requires leisurely reflection and an awareness of connections in life and pondering how someone can affect our lives temporarily but then we move on.

I was in totally the wrong mood for it. I’m going to try reading it again when I can better calm myself and approach it on its terms before I decide whether it’s too much like other things I’ve read or has its own special qualities.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 4

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What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 4Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130792
Released: September 2014
Original release: 2010

With each new volume of Fumi Yoshinaga’s series What Did You Eat Yesterday? that is released in English, I seem to fall in love with the manga just a little more. What Did You Eat Yesterday? probably isn’t my favorite series by Yoshinaga, but I still enjoy the series immensely. Granted, What Did You Eat Yesterday? has a few things going for it that particularly appeal to me. First of all, I’m already a well-established fan of Yoshinaga’s work in general. I also happen to be a fan of food and food manga which What Did You Eat Yesterday? most definitely is. But perhaps most importantly, I appreciate the series’ realistic portrayal of a devoted gay couple and some of the issues that queer people face in contemporary Japan. Food and gay men are frequently found in Yoshinaga’s manga–often together for that matter–so it’s not a terribly surprising combination to see in What Did You Eat Yesterday?. I’m certainly not going to complain about it, though. The fourth volume of the What Did You Eat Yesterday? was published in Japan in 2010 before being released by Vertical in English in 2014.

Although he is a successful and respected lawyer, Shiro much prefers his time spent in the kitchen over his time spent at the office. Cooking has its challenges too though, like when Shiro’s boyfriend Kenji decides that they should have friends over for a dinner party rather than eating out. This solves the problem of Shiro’s constant worrying over being outed as gay while in public, but now he is left to fret over what to serve two men with very discerning palates. (Fortunately, Kenji is more than happy to eat whatever it is Shiro cooks up.) Every once in a while it’s actually Kenji who is set loose in the kitchen. Shiro is more particular when it comes to cooking and preparing meals so he’d much rather be the one in charge, but occasionally that’s just not possible. Kenji might not have the same confidence or natural flair that Shiro has for food, but he can still make a pretty good dish when he needs or wants to. From time to time even Shiro is faced with a technique that he hasn’t quite mastered yet. And so while cooking is often a way for Shiro to unwind, it can sometimes cause a bit of stress, too.

As always, food, it’s preparation, and the resulting recipes are all a major part of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Some readers will find the minute details tedious, especially if they have no inclination or ability to actually try making any of the dishes, but those sections can easily be skimmed over or simply appreciated for Yoshinaga’s artwork. Her illustrations of food and cooking techniques are beautifully drawn and nearly photorealistic in many instances. Yoshinaga is able to convey a wide variety of textures which is especially important, and impressive, as she is working in black and white without the aid of color. But what particularly struck me about the cooking scenes in the fourth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? is how Yoshinaga skillfully captures the different moods pervading the kitchen through Shiro and Kenji’s body language and facial expressions: Shiro’s intense preoccupation when trying to put together the perfect meal, his gloom and frustration when something doesn’t turn out quite right, Kenji’s frenetic happiness when he gets a chance to take care of Shiro for a change, and so on.

Even though a fair amount of What Did You Eat Yesterday? is spent in the kitchen, Yoshinaga’s focus on the characters is a particularly important component of the manga. The series tends to be episodic from chapter to chapter, but growth and change can still be seen as Kenji and especially Shiro are further developed. The fourth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? shows Shiro struggling with his anxieties about still being partially in the closet, admiring and perhaps even envying how open, easygoing, and carefree Kenji is able to be about his sexuality. Kenji and their friends are exceptionally considerate and accommodating of Shiro’s fears, but those fears still understandably cause some tension in his relationships. Another interesting developement in this volume of the series is that both Shiro and Kenji at least temporarily become the confidants of their respective bosses who have a few family issues of their own to work out. While the food in What Did You Eat Yesterday? is appealing, it’s really these sorts of connections and moments between characters that make the series so engaging.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 3

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What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 3Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130402
Released: July 2014
Original release: 2009

As a fan of Fumi Yoshinaga’s manga, food, and stories with a queer bent to them, I was extraordinarily happy when her series What Did You Eat Yesterday? was licensed for release in English. The third volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? was originally published in Japan in 2009 while the English-language edition was released by Vertical in 2014. I have been thoroughly enjoying the series so far and its mix of gay slice-of-life and recipes, so I was very much looking forward to reading the third volume. Personally, I like the series best when Yoshinaga focuses on the characters, but I would be lying if I tried to say that I didn’t also like all of the food found in the manga, too. What Did You Eat Yesterday? is most effective when Yoshinaga is able to combine and balance those two major aspects of the series. The ideal balance isn’t always achieved, but even when it isn’t What Did You Eat Yesterday? always has intriguing characters, delicious food, and just the right touch of humor to accompany it all.

With his father recovering from an illness, Shiro finds himself spending more time with his family than he has in a long while. Though it’s better than when he first came out to them, his parents are still coming to terms with their son’s homosexuality and their relationship can sometimes be a little strained. Granted, some of that uncomfortableness has very little to do with the fact that Shiro is gay and more to do with the fact that the entire family is made up of people with strong personalities. While Shiro is out to his family and close friends, he’s still closeted at work which, along with his incredible self-consciousness, occasionally gets him into trouble. Things are a little easier for him at home in the kitchen where he can relax and focus on what he really loves: cooking gourmet meals on a tightly kept budget. His boyfriend Kenji, who is much more open about his own sexuality, is always an appreciative audience for Shiro’s meals. It’s a good thing, too. The two of them have been living together for a few years now and food usually helps to smooth over some of the bumps in their relationship.

Generally in What Did You Eat Yesterday? the kitchen is Shiro’s domain. Kenji will gladly help out when asked and given direction, acting as a sort of sous-chef, but for the most part it’s all Shiro. However, in the third volume Kenji gets to take the lead for a chapter while Shiro is off visiting his folks for the New Year. He makes instant ramen. (Granted, with a bunch of extra trimmings.) In a delightful twist, it’s treated in the manga as though he’s having an affair. Instant ramen actually happens to be one of my comfort foods, but I’ve only recently begun trying to dress it up a bit. In addition to the food and its preparation being sumptuously drawn, one of the great things about What Did You Eat Yesterday? (at least I think it’s a great thing) is that the recipes included in the stories are detailed enough that they can be followed and produce results. After only three volumes there are already plenty of recipes that I’m interested in attempting from the series. A variation on Kenji’s ramen has been added to that growing list.

Food is certainly an important part of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, but so are the characters and their relationships. Family is a particularly prominent theme in the third volume. Shiro is on fairly good terms with his parents, but very little is actually known about Kenji’s family at this point. It’s unlikely that the two of them will have their own kids which will have implications for them later in life, something that is made all the more clear as Shiro deals with his parents as they age. What Did You Eat Yesterday? has one of the most realistic portrayals of a devoted, long-term gay couple that I’ve encountered in a manga (or comics in general). Honestly, when it comes right down to it, Kenji and Shiro’s relationship isn’t all that dissimilar from the heterosexual couples in the series, though they do face some particular challenges unique to their situation. Like any pair, they have their disagreements and small spats, but they also care about each other a great deal. Shiro in particular isn’t always the most overtly demonstrative with his affection, but often it’s the little things that really make a relationship work.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 2

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What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 2Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130396
Released: May 2014
Original release: 2008

Fumi Yoshinaga’s series What Did You Eat Yesterday? is a manga which I have been hoping would be released in English for years. Happily, Vertical stepped up and recently began publishing the series. In addition to featuring a fairly realistic portrayal of a gay couple in contemporary Japan (two forty-something men who are living together), What Did You Eat Yesterday? also includes plenty of delicious food. I read and enjoyed the first volume a great deal and so was looking forward to reading the second as soon as I could get it into my hands. What Did You Eat Yesterday, Volume 2 was originally released in Japan in 2008 while Vertical’s English-language edition was published in 2014. The series is currently eight volumes long and is still being serialized, so I’m hoping and expecting to be able to enjoy the manga for some time yet. It makes me extraordinarily pleased to know that Vertical is releasing What Did You Eat Yesterday?. So far, the publisher has done a fine job with it.

Shiro Kakei and Kenji Yabuki have been living together for the last three years or so and have known each other for a little while longer than that. It’s an arrangement that works well for them. Shiro happily cooks the meals for the household while Kenji, unlike some of Shiro’s past flames, is more than willing to help out with the chores. Kenji also happens to be an appreciative audience for Shiro’s culinary creations. Shiro has a passion for food and derives great pleasure in preparing delicious meals as frugally as possible. Entire menus can be inspired by a single ingredient that just happens to be on sale at the time and he is very careful not to let anything go to waste. Granted, there seems to be only so many different ways for a person to use celery. But with a little help from his coworkers and friends, not to mention his natural creative talent in the kitchen, Shiro is usually able to figure something out. And generally Kenji doesn’t take too much convincing to happily eat whatever it is Shiro comes up with.

There are two major aspects to What Did You Eat Yesterday?: the characters and their lives, and the food itself. I feel the series does best when these two things are working in tangent to tell the stories, but quite frequently the meals and their preparation seem to be separate elements entirely. Shiro has the habit of narrating every step as he is cooking. This means that each chapter includes at least one recipe detailed enough that it could be replicated, but people who more interested in the manga’ stories will likely find it to be tedious. However, those sections can easily be skimmed by readers who don’t care for the cooking minutia without too much being lost from the narrative or plot of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. In general, Yoshinaga’s beautiful illustrations of the food and Shiro’s techniques are more than enough to follow along with what is happening in the kitchen. In some cases, the time spent and the complexities of the recipes are actually used make a point: the extra effort put into a meal imbues it with additional value and meaning for those preparing and eating it.

I do love the food in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, but I love the characters and the stories that Yoshinaga is telling even more. In this volume I was particularly delighted to learn how Shiro and Kenji first met and started living together. (One of my favorite moments is Shiro recognizing that Kenji’s not even his “type,” but that he is still incredibly lucky to have him.) I also appreciate how the two of them have important relationships outside of each other. Their friends, families, and coworkers all have their roles to play in the series. A major theme that becomes apparent in the second volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? is communication. Usually it’s Kenji that needs to be verbally heard; Shiro tends to be more reserved, expressing himself more through his cooking than through words, but he knows when he needs it Kenji will be there to listen to him, too. I’m looking forward to learning more about the series’ characters and their relationships in the next volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? immensely.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 1

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What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 1Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130389
Released: March 2014
Original release: 2007

I have been a fan of Fumi Yoshinaga and her work for quite some time now. English-language readers have been fortunate in that so many of her manga have been translated. I and many others were very excited when Vertical announced the license of her series What Did You Eat Yesterday?, a series that I have been hoping would be picked up for years. The first volume was one of the manga releases that I was most looking forward to seeing in 2014. What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 1 was originally published in Japan in 2007; I am thrilled that it is now available in English. There were several reasons why I was particularly interested in reading What Did You Eat Yesterday?. It’s by Yoshinaga, from whom I’ve come to expect great stories and complex characters. The series is also a food manga, a niche that I am known to enjoy. (Actually, food often plays an important role in Yoshinaga’s manga.) And I was especially interested in the incorporation of contemporary Japanese gay life in What Did You Eat Yesterday?–the two main characters are boyfriends in their forties who live together.

Shiro Kakei is a successful lawyer at a small firm, but his real passion is food. He’s a great cook, and an extremely frugal one, too. Kakei simply enjoys a good meal. The palate of his boyfriend Kenji Yabuki, a flamboyant hairstylist, isn’t nearly as refined as Shiro’s but he certainly appreciates his partner’s creativity in the kitchen. The two of them have been dating for three years, so their relationship is well established, but they still face some challenges. Although both of their families know that they are gay, Shiro prefers to be much more discreet about his homosexuality when dealing with his coworkers and strangers. Kenji, on the other hand, is happy to have a chance to brag about his boyfriend. And just because they’ve been together for so long doesn’t mean that they don’t have to deal with old flames and jealousy. But at least they can always depend on delicious cuisine to help smooth over the bumps in their relationship.

The food in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, both the description of the meals and the care that Yoshinaga has put into drawing them, can be mouth-watering. Even the most simple dishes are beautifully portrayed, in part because food is so important to Shiro and he puts time and effort into its preparation, but also because Yoshinaga shares that same passion. There is enough instruction in What Did You Eat Yesterday? that adventurous readers could easily duplicate the featured recipes. However, the food in What Did You Eat Yesterday? works best when it is directly tied into the manga’s plot and story. Occasionally that ideal balance is missing in the first volume. The meals, while lovely, can from time to time feel tangential, almost as if there are two different manga sharing the same series–one focusing on food and one focusing on people.

I do enjoy the food and the important role that it plays in What Did You Eat Yesterday?, but in the end I’m even more interested in the characters, their relationships, and their lives. Shiro and Kenji make an intriguing couple. Out of the two of them, Shiro is the least secure with who he is and is very concerned with keeping up appearances. He comes across as very brusque and some find him unlikeable as a result, but it’s a defense mechanism. Kenji seems to be much more comfortable with himself. The two of them aren’t frequently affectionate, at least not overtly so, but they do care about each other. It can be seen in the little things that they do–such as simply offering to carry a heavy bag–and in their more subtle interactions. Shiro often tries to smooth over arguments and hurt feelings the best way he can: through cooking. And that’s one of the things What Did You Eat Yesterday? does best–showing how people connect and communicate through food.

License This! Kinou Nani Tabeta? by Yoshinaga Fumi

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Hello again and welcome to another installment of This Is Why I Can’t Be Trusted To Write a Weekly Column…I mean License This! Because, yeah, wow, a month passed! That snuck up on me quickly.

So although I really want to be writing about some older series (and will eventually, I promise!), this time I will once again go with something current that doesn’t require me to do a lot of rereading to remember why I liked it so much. ^_^;;

Kinou Nani Tabeta? 5 Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?) by Yoshinaga Fumi is the story of Kakei Shiro, a forty-something gay lawyer who loves to cook, especially for Kenji, his live-in boyfriend. It’s a slice-of-life manga, with about half of each chapter given to preparing and eating a meal. And as you might expect from a known foodie like Yoshinaga, the cooking segments are really detailed. I mean really, really detailed. She is essentially writing a recipe book here in manga form, as Kakei thinks about each step of the meal during preparation (and actual recipes are generally included at the end of each chapter as well). But it’s not just about cooking. The meals are always well-integrated into the story, and with each chapter we learn more about Shiro and Kenji, as well as their friends, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers.

This is one I’m actually surprised is not licensed yet. Not only is Yoshinaga very popular with English-speaking audiences, but even her random book about eating food in Tokyo was published in English, so publishers are clearly willing to publish anything she writes. And yet this series is already at seven volumes in Japan (at a rate of about one per year, like most seinen manga) and no one’s picked it up? That kind of makes it seem hopeless, and yet I do hope that eventually it will be picked up, because it’s awesome.

With such a long gap between volumes, I often forget just how much I like it, but then a new one comes out and I’m utterly charmed once again. Maybe it’s the lack of clear genres that is stopping this from getting published. It’s a foodie manga (complete with the above-mentioned lovingly-rendered step-by-step instructions for everything Shiro cooks), but the protagonist is a gay man living with his boyfriend. And it runs in a seinen magazine, so while the protagonist and many supporting characters are gay, it’s not a romance and doesn’t feature the sort of BL tropes that so many love.

That’s a feature for me, though, not a bug! When I was younger and desperate for any stories about queer people, I read a whole lot of BL. Much of it I even enjoyed, simply because there was nothing else out there. But those tropes do bother me, and I am always thrilled to find manga with queer characters that isn’t BL (or the rare BL story that isn’t quite so tropey). And omg this really delivers. I enjoyed Antique Bakery quite a lot for similar reasons, but this is far and away the better manga, IMO, at least in that regard.

One of my favorite plotlines so far, which I think is a good example of just how dedicated Yoshinaga is to giving us a realistic view of what it’s like to be gay in Japan, is when a gay couple who are friends with Shiro and Kenji come to Shiro for legal advice.

I’ve taken the liberty of translating the page where Tetsu brings up why they’ve come to dinner:

Kinou Nani Tabeta? vol. 4 pg. 36

Not only do I love the way Yoshinaga tackles the topic (something I doubt would ever come up in a typical BL manga), but I love the expression on the guy’s face in the second-to-last panel. He doesn’t say why he wouldn’t want any money going to his parents, but he doesn’t have to. It’s clear to everyone present (as well as the readers) that they must have rejected him.

There’s just so much stuff like that. It’s not heavy-handed and it’s not like all the plots are About Being Gay. It’s just that these things are part of their lives and are incorporated as such. And I love it so much, but at the same time it makes me sad and angry that one reason I love it so much is because there is literally nothing else like it, and that sucks. I really hope that some publisher gives it a chance in English.