Manga Review: Himeyuka & Rozione's Story by Sumomo Yumeka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: 2010

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Powells. RightStuf.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Won't you share a scribble-covered dream with me?

Intent on being an independent young woman, high schooler Himeyuka lives on her own in an unremarkable apartment complex in a corner of the city. But one day, she discovers her ordinary building has turned into something extraordinary! Her beloved "castle" is covered in childish scribbles-both inside and out! And waiting for her at the end of this rainbow-colored mess...is the perpetrator of the crime-a little boy named Rozione, who seems to know quite a bit about Himeyuka, though she has no idea who he is. Is he really just someone's lost child, or is there a greater mystery behind his appearance?

In this collection, Sumomo Yumeka presents four charming, melancholy vignettes that explore the trickling of time and the machinations of the heart.

Review:

I picked up this little one-shot volume by chance, thinking it looked cute. And it was; cute, a little thoughtful.

The first story is about a girl wanting to move on from her past childhood, wanting to grow up, only for a childhood toy of hers to haunt her, trying to show her love. I thought this story was very cute and warmhearted. Her toy was a sweetheart, and the ending left me very happy.

The second story is about an arranged marriage between yakuza families, with the girl already in love. This story was predictable, but I still thought it was pretty cute. There was some time taken to show the girl’s feelings for the guy, and I liked that.

The third story was about a witch needing a human’s tears to increase her power. This story, I think, was a little underdeveloped, as I had hard time really growing close to the characters, and the ending could have been more. But it was still a cute story.

The last story was about a robot world and the people who own them, and people who reincarnate as themselves over and over again. It was kind of an odd story, and I don’t think the world or the ideas presented were very clear, or maybe there just wasn’t enough time to fully develop them. The whole idea left me a little confused, unsure how it really worked. It had potential, and it wasn’t a bad story, but it just wasn’t very clear.

This was a pretty good collection of stories; I enjoyed most of them. The art was very pretty. I’m glad I picked it up.