Manga Review: Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Volume 1, by Yuhki Kamatani

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: May 2019

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A beautiful tale of coming-out and coming-of-age.

Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he has been outed as gay. Just as he’s contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.

Review:

I am so glad that we're at the point where we can get diverse series like this now. It's taken such a long time, but now more publishers are picking up yaoi and yuri series, yes, but also series like this—where there's a mix of identities and sexual orientation. The story doesn't have to be about one gay couple. There can be coming of age stories that include this stuff, in manga as well.

Kaname is at a new school, and he's starting to learn things about himself, but he doesn't quite have friends or fit in yet, and he can't react organically to things. He discovers a house that anyone can go in and hang out, and there's an odd group of friends there, with a mix of identities. Kaname was considering suicide, and then discovers that maybe he's not all alone. He's still not sure how to identify, if he can let himself even think of himself as gay, when he discovers these people. One of which is mysterious and gives him no information or advice, and another who's a lesbian in a serious relationship. And there appears to be acceptance and other people with potentially similar stories.

There's clear to be more struggles in the future for him, but I think there'll be more accepting characters to meet.

The start of this volume very much felt like middle/high school in the early 00's. People spouting the word “gay” and “homo” insensitively, and it unknowingly causing a bad affect on others. Kaname starts off in a spiral, but I think this group of people are going to help him, and be there for him. He's also got an interesting imagination, and I'm confused but intrigued by how it's portrayed.

I'm just so happy series like this is being released now, and definitely want to support it. I want more stuff like this, more representation and diversity of characters and people. I'm excited for it.

Comic Review: Spinning by Tillie Walden

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Themes: YA, Comic, LGBTQ+, Ice Skating

Publisher: First Second

Release Date: 2017

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

It was the same every morning. Wake up, grab the ice skates, and head to the rink while the world was still dark.

Weekends were spent in glitter and tights at competitions. Perform. Smile. And do it again.
She was good. She won. And she hated it.
For ten years, figure skating was Tillie Walden’s life. She woke before dawn for morning lessons, went straight to group practice after school, and spent weekends competing at ice rinks across the state. Skating was a central piece of her identity, her safe haven from the stress of school, bullies, and family. But as she switched schools, got into art, and fell in love with her first girlfriend, she began to question how the close-minded world of figure skating fit in with the rest of her life, and whether all the work was worth it given the reality: that she, and her friends on the team, were nowhere close to Olympic hopefuls. The more Tillie thought about it, the more Tillie realized she’d outgrown her passion—and she finally needed to find her own voice.

Review:

This is an autobiographical comic, about Tillie as she was growing up, as an ice skater, and a lesbian.

It's about ice skating, and discovering herself, and coming out, all as a growing teenager.

This has a pretty good mix of all of these things. We see Tillie practicing, as she gets up very early every morning to ice skate, whether she enjoys it or not. We see her with good and bad coaches, with good and bad friends, as she enjoys it and works hard, and as she starts to question whether it's just habit and discovers that she doesn't actually like ice skating. Friendships form, and she falls in love for the first time, and decides to tell her family.

I understood parts of this book, and I really enjoyed following her as she discovers herself and decides what she wants for herself. It was also very frustrating to see her coming out, and how some people react to it, like her family. Seeing people react as if it's wrong (and parents, as if they've done something wrong) bothers me, so much, and I know it happens, still.

I really enjoyed reading this. I don't read a lot of American comics, but some of them are definitely worth reading. And I liked following this journey.