Manga Review: Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Volume 14, by Fumi Yoshinaga

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2018

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 13. 15.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Eisner-nominated Fumi Yoshinaga’s alternative history of Edo-era Japan, the men of Japan are dying out, and the women have taken up the reigns of power—including the shogun’s seat!

In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the shogun's Inner Chamber...

With the death of her monstrous father, Iesada is finally assured that she can have a consort who will survive life in the Inner Chambers. And she is delighted that the new spouse chosen for her is intelligent, kind and considerate of her past trauma. But the consort Taneatsu comes to the court with a past of his own—and an assignment from his liege lord that could pit him against his beloved shogun.

Review:

Iesada takes a new husband in this volume, makes it official. She's become so used to not letting men close, though, that she tries to keep him at a distance. This works for a while, but he shows he's committed to her, and wants to do right by her. It's a process, but he grows closer.

At the same time, Abe Masahiro grows ill. She's made a lot of progress, and yet her time is coming much quicker than any of them expected. It's a sad couple of scenes with her, and for Iesada, who had grown very close to her.

I'm not much of a history person, or a historical reader, but I don't mind this series. There's a lot of nuances and politics, but it's still interesting. They're smart about what they do, and I like seeing the women taking charge when they're able. 

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Volume 13, by Fumi Yoshinaga

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2017

Volumes: 16+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 11. 14.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Eisner-nominated Fumi Yoshinaga’s alternative history of Edo-era Japan, the men of Japan are dying out, and the women have taken up the reigns of power—including the shogun’s seat!

In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the shogun's Inner Chamber...

After the discovery of the Redface Pox vaccine, the male population of Japan has nearly recovered, and men have again become used to being in public life and government. So as the first female shogun in over 60 years, Iesada has many challenges to face, such as an Inner Chamber unused to a woman’s needs. But the greatest threat comes from her own father’s unhealthy interest in her…

Review:

I'm not a history fan, but this really is an impressive, thoughtful historical series. It's in-depth with the inner workings of these positions, and how it all connects and moves around behind the scenes. Who is honest and who is using who, who has selfish reasons and who has devious ones.

We meet Iesada in this volume, and we get to see her grow into the proposed next Shogun, with an overbearing, unhealthily attached father. At the same time, we're following Masahiro's climb up the ladder. At a time when men are deciding to take back power, now that they're healthy enough and women had been doing it for so long, these two women are attempting to take positions equally. It's a gender struggle, at the same time that Japan is considering opening it's gates to other countries after years of isolation.

There are good and bad moments in this volume, as we see them take a step forward, and struggle to stay where they are. I mostly feel bad for Iesada, as she has attempted taking a husband a few times, but she has been forced by her father to harden herself to people. It's sad to see.

This was an interesting volume for me. It felt a bit like a new arc, which I'm happy for, since I haven't read the previous ones. I'm interested to see what happens next, too.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: All My Darling Daughters by Fumi Yoshinaga

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: 2010

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Yukiko, a salarywoman in her thirties, still lives with her mother Mari. But their relationship suffers a sudden change when Mari announces that she's getting married—to an ex-host and aspiring actor who's younger than Yukiko. Yukiko, convinced he'sout to fleece her mom, can't stand to stay in the house and decides to move in with her boyfriend.

Fumi Yoshinaga weaves together the lives of Yukiko, a thirty something salary woman, and her friends in five short stories, exploring the various relationships women have with all the skill and elegance she is known for.

Review:

I’ve been meaning to pick this up for a while, because I’ve heard a lot of good things. And now I’m glad I finally got it.

Each chapter features the same characters, but focuses on different ones, with different stories. It’s one-shot based. There’s the mother and daughter, the mother in a new relationship with a younger man, and the daughter finally deciding to move out and get serious with her boyfriend. Then there are their friends, some of whom have their own drama. Like a teacher friend of theirs, whom a student has started forcing herself on. That chapter had interesting maturity and themes, to me, and I liked how they were handled.

I did like the relationship between the mother and daughter, and the development between all of the characters. The humor was fun, as well, with all the teasing.

I quite enjoyed this volume, and am now more intrigued to pick up her other books.

Manga Review: Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Volume 11, by Fumi Yoshinaga

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Volumes: 12+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 10.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the shogun's Inner Chamber...

Tokugawa Harusada connived for years to place her son in the shogun’s seat, and now she’s enjoying holding all the reins of power while Ienari is relegated to breeding duties. But while his mother sees him as nothing but a mindless stud horse, Ienari has been reading The Chronicle of a Dying Day and dreaming of a better future for his country—one free of his mother’s increasingly cruel control.

Review:

I have not read any of the previous volumes in this series, and this is typically not something I would pick up.

I’ve read a few other books by Yoshinaga, and I do like her artwork and storytelling. It’s pretty and realistic, very expressive and subtle, with some nice humor mixed in when needed.

I’m not a historical fan, so I will say that I didn’t fully enjoy the story line. Not having read the previous books, I was also a little lost in the story line, and had a hard time following a few times. There wasn’t any catch-up at the beginning, though.

I did like some of the humor, and the way that women are seen as the powerful, strong ones in society. That’s such a different vision than most have. I also liked how the fathers doted on their children, even if some of the sexual relations I didn’t like, what with some of the guys sleeping with a lot of women. I was also intrigued, and rather horrified, with Harusada’s character and underhanded scheming.

This was an interesting volume. I can see why a lot of people like it, especially fans of historic fiction, even if it’s not really for me.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 1, by Fumi Yoshinaga

Rating (Out of 5): 3.5

Publisher: Vertical

Release Date: March 25^th, 2014

Volumes: 8+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kakei Shirou, a straitlaced lawyer, cooks gourmet dinners for himself and his longtime gay lover, Yabuki Kenji, a carefree, hippie-ish hairdresser. The story is told through the lens of dinner preparation.

Nominated for the first annual Manga Taishou (2008).

Review:

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. I’ve never read anything else by Yoshinaga, but I was definitely intrigued. I think I wanted something slightly different from what I got, though, sadly.

This series is about Shiro Kakei, a frugal lawyer, and chef at home. He lives with his boyfriend, Kenji, a hairstylist. Shiro is rather obsessed with food, and very meticulous about his cooking.

The humor is subtle in this series, and I do like that. The way that Shiro meets a female friend of his, for example, as they’re both eying a watermelon on sale. There were also some very funny scenes, like a guy retelling how he left his friend alone with a gay man and felt terrible about it (as the guy was very much hitting on them, and he was under the impression his friend was straight), or how Shiro’s mother keeps pushing her friends who need legal help on him. There were quite a few funny moments like that, especially when I got the hang of the story, about halfway through.

The art isn’t too bad. It’s very pretty in some parts, but in a lot of panels, the characters are drawn with very long, rectangular faces. That’s not necessarily bad, but it took me a while to get used to—especially when some scenes had the characters drawn really nicely, and there didn’t seem to be a big reason for the back and forth in the drawing.

My only real problem with the series was that I didn’t feel a lot of connection with Shiro and Kenji, particularly as a couple. I wasn’t expecting smut or anything, as I knew this was slice-of-life, but the only real time I saw them being close was when Kenji acted jealous, as they talked while eating dinner. There wasn’t even any hand holding or them even sharing a loving look. I had a hard time really seeing them as a couple, or feeling connected to them as one, because of that.

There were a lot of funny, cute scenes, but there didn’t seem to be a huge amount of character development in general, either, with several random characters being introduced. I had a hard time growing fond of anyone because of this.

A problem for me might also have been that I don’t really care about food, or cooking, or all of the ingredients used as Shiro was cooking, and that took up quite a lot of time. 

I was disappointed because of the lack of character development, especially because that’s usually what makes a series for me. I still found it a bit charming, though, and funny. I’m not sure if I’m going to stick around for another volume, but I might, and I will probably pick up another of her series.

Wishlist Thursday[48]: What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 1, by Fumi Yoshinaga

What Did You Eat Yesterday? 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga

Publisher: Vertical

Release Date: March 25^th, 2014

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kakei Shirou, a straitlaced lawyer, cooks gourmet dinners for himself and his longtime gay lover, Yabuki Kenji, a carefree, hippie-ish hairdresser. The story is told through the lens of dinner preparation.

Nominated for the first annual Manga Taishou (2008).

Why?:

I’m intrigued by this, and am looking forward to reading it. It looks pretty, and the excerpt I’ve seen of the authors work looks really good. I’ve heard some very good things about the author, although I haven’t read any of her other works. I’m looking forward to reading it, going into it with no idea of what to expect.