Short Takes: Butterflies, Flowers and Natsume’s Book of Friends
Though I read my fair share of shojo, it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed some good, juicy titles here at The Manga Critic. So this week, I’m pulling out the stops: I already reviewed Itazura Na Kiss (DMP) on Sunday; today, I review two brand-new additions to the Shojo Beat imprint: Butterflies, Flowers, a rom-com about a young woman who goes to work for her former servant (in a word: awkward), and Natsume’s Book of Friends, a supernatural series about a teen who sees demons.
BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS, VOL. 1
BY YUKI YOSHIHARA • VIZ • 192 pp. • RATING: MATURE
First-time job seekers, here’s a tip from a salty old pro: if someone asks about your virginity during an interview, run, don’t walk, out the door. (Unless, of course, you’re interviewing for a position in what’s quaintly referred to as “the adult entertainment industry,” in which case that kind of experience might be an important qualification.) Choko Kuze, the cute but klutzy heroine of Butterflies, Flowers, has enough sense to bristle at the question posed by her prospective employer, but lacks the financial wherewithal to refuse the job. Lest it seem that Butterflies, Flowers will address a topic as heady as sexism in the workplace, manga-ka Yuki Yoshihara reveals the real reason for Domoto’s prurient interest in his new hire: Choko and Domoto used to play together as children.
We learn that Domoto’s father was a chauffeur for the Kuzes before their real estate empire collapsed. Now that the families’ financial situations are reversed — and Domoto himself is a real estate mogul — Domoto feels a sense of responsibility for his dad’s former employer. Domoto has a peculiar way of showing his feelings, however, one minute subjecting Choko to withering comments about her job performance, the next defending her from a lecherous client. Choko would dismiss him in a heartbeat, but his occasional displays of tender sincerity and his smokin’ hotness make him a hard habit to break.
There’s plenty to like about Butterflies, Flowers, from its elegant artwork to its colorful supporting cast and melodramatic plot twists. (For someone who’s an office lady at a real estate firm, Choko finds herself in almost as many dangerous situations as rookie firefighter Nanase Takamine.) Choko and Domoto’s banter has an adult edge that’s sorely lacking in most manga rom-coms, and the fact that Choko is twenty means that we won’t be subjected to the usual parade of amusement-park visits, cultural festivals, and school plays that are staples of the Shojo Beat line. But sweet Jesus, isn’t it time to retire the stalker-as-great-romantic-prospect trope once and for all? The underlying message of Butterflies, Flowers seems to be that it’s OK to behave like a possessive creep if you’re pure of heart and fair of face — surely female readers deserve a more sophisticated fantasy than this.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media, LLC.
NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS, VOL. 1
BY YUKI MIDORIKAWA • VIZ • 202 pp. • RATING: TEEN
Takahashi Natsume’s short life has been a hard one: orphaned at a young age, shuttled from family to family, cursed with a “gift” that allows him to see demons and ghosts. When distant relatives invite him to live in the town where his grandmother grew up, Takahashi agrees, only to discover that the local demons are keenly interested in him. Or, more accurately, in one of his possessions: a book that his grandmother Reiko used to enslave yokai by tricking them into revealing their names to her. With the aid of Madara, a cat-demon whose ceramic exterior belies his powerful true form, Takahashi sets out to liberate the yokai by purging their names from Reiko’s book.
I’d be the first to admit that the “I see demons!” premise seems played out, an impression reinforced by the exorcism-of-the-week feeling of certain chapters. As the story unfolds, however, Natsume’s Book of Friends offers some pleasant surprises. Reiko, for example, turns out to be a complicated character; her supernatural gift estranged her from humans, but gave her great power over yokai, a power that she abused by baiting and bullying them. Takahashi’s gift, too, has left him socially isolated, yet his strong sense of ethics (and healthy sense of self-preservation, I might add) dictates that he must undo his grandmother’s handiwork. Complicating the picture is Madara, the ultimate supernatural frenemy: though he volunteers his services as a bodyguard and spirit-guide, Madara seizes every opportunity to wrest The Book of Friends away from Takahashi.
Yuki Midorikawa’s artwork is serviceable, if a little heavy on the screentone. Her demons draw their inspiration from traditional sources; the spirit of Hokusai informs nearly every page of the story, as Midorikawa trots out familiar images of oni and rokurokubi in everyday settings. From time to time, however, she paints an exquisite scene: a parade of yokai silhouetted against an inky background, a young woman kneeling in prayer before a shrine. It’s these quiet, understated moments, coupled with the story’s unexpectedly thoughtful characterizations, that give Natsume’s Book of Friends a leg up on the supernaturally sighted competition. Recommended.
Review copy provided by VIZ Media, LLC. Volume one of Natsume’s Book of Friends will be released on January 5, 2010.
17 Comments
Leave a comment
Recent Posts
- Friday Procrastination Aides, 9/3/10
- Review Redux: Apollo’s Song, Vols. 1-2
- The Shipping News, 9/1/10
- Short Takes: Calling, Gorgeous Carat Galaxy, and Scarlet
- Please Pardon Our Appearance…
- Short Takes: Library Wars, Ooku: The Inner Chambers, and Your & My Secret
- Friday Procrastination Aides, 8/20/10
- Gente and House of Five Leaves
- The Shipping News, 8/18/10
- Reader Nominations for The Manga Hall of Shame
Recent Comments
- Jade on Friday Procrastination Aides, 9/3/10
- Oliver on Short Takes: Calling, Gorgeous Carat Galaxy, and Scarlet
- Kris on Short Takes: Calling, Gorgeous Carat Galaxy, and Scarlet
- Katherine Dacey on Short Takes: Calling, Gorgeous Carat Galaxy, and Scarlet
- Kris on Short Takes: Calling, Gorgeous Carat Galaxy, and Scarlet
It belatedly occurred to me that the virginity question might also be appropriate if one was applying to be a participant in some kind of medical trial, but I would hope the interviewer would phrase it in a more clinical fashion.
Hah! I just finished reading your review and loved it–my shoulder angel was just a little more vocal than yours, I guess! It will be interesting to see how the rest of the mangablogging community reacts.
I think I found the relationship more palatable in Butterflies, Flowers with the characters both being grown adults than I generally do in shojo titles. I’m not entirely sure why I feel that way, but I do. I’ll have to mull on it more. Perhaps I think back to my own string of unhealthy adult relationship and can recognize both what was screwed up about them and what was genuinely romantic. It seems more nuanced to me than the way I view teen romance. Or I’m able to recognize the nuance. Or something. Hm. I possibly should have thought this through before commenting.
I understand where you’re coming from, Melinda, and I agree that authors don’t have a responsibility to only depict healthy relationships. (That sounds horribly dull, actually.) For me, the issue is power: there’s such an obvious imbalance between Choko and Domoto that it’s hard for me to silence my inner feminist when I’m reading Butterflies, Flowers, especially since the whole thing is supposed to be really frothy and romantic. Of course, if I were being 100% consistent in my feminist indignation, I’d also have to disavow many of my favorite old screwball comedies — Woman of the Year, It Happened One Night. I guess my “shoulder angel” is confused and overworked!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Manga Critic, The Manga Critic. The Manga Critic said: New blog post: Short Takes: Butterflies, Flowers and Natsume's Book of Friends http://mangacritic.com/?p=2503 [...]
I think my “shoulder angel” takes frequent vacations from me because I’m just too high-maintenance and I don’t pay enough attention. Heh. I certainly agree that there is a power imbalance between Choko and Domoto, but I’ll also assert that I think that imbalance constantly switches sides, almost creating a… balance. Domoto’s got all the power at work, which is a pretty big deal since that affects not only Choko’s self esteem and standing within the company, but also her livelihood and ability to help support her struggling family. On the other hand, Domoto’s still got “servant” ingrained in his soul and Choko uses her power over him as “master” just as often once she realizes she’s got it, and not necessarily in the most responsible ways. I mean, she basically orders him not to have a love life and he complies. The whole thing is pretty messed up, but I’m not sure balance is exactly the problem. He’s using sexism to wield power over her, and she’s using classism to wield power over him, both of which are deeply ingrained into the fabric of their culture. It’s kind of sick and pretty interesting.
I think Domoto’s position is a lot more powerful than Choko’s, even if she has the drop on him class-wise, as he has money and authority over her. (Well, and his smoldering good looks. Does that count?)
That said, I’m hardly consistent about these sorts of things; some titles provoke a much stronger feminist reaction in me than others. I would estimate my “Shoulder Angel Outrage” level at about a three (of ten): mildly irritated, but not enough to wield my cudgel.
Thanks for offering such a provocative counter-argument!
You know, I’m sure this giant chip on my shoulder (hmmm, maybe *that’s* why the angel never sticks around) has something to do with my strong reaction to the class issue. Unlike many women I can say I’ve been very lucky in my life in that I’ve had relatively little personal experience with sexism over the course of 40 years. Classism, on the other hand, is responsible for most of the darkest and most damaging moments of my youth, so it tends to provoke a strong reaction.
I look forward to being able to actually *read* the second review in this post! Still working on mine so I’ve steered clear!
[...] Random Shoujo Manga Page) Snow Wildsmith on Boys Love (Fujoshi Librarian) Kate Dacey on Butterflies, Flowers and Natsume’s Book of Friends (The Manga Critic) Jason Yadao on vol. 1 of A Distant Neighborhood (Otaku Ohana) Joy Kim on vols. [...]
[...] Dacey looks at a couple of new manga, including one that sounds like the Japanese Twilight. Damn you, Twilight must you invade my posts every single week? yahooBuzzArticleId = [...]
And I’m looking forward to reading *your* review of Natsume’s Book of Friends, Melinda! That series turned out to be a pleasant surprise — I thought it was going to be a generic teen-who-sees-spirits story, but it had some interesting twists.
I’ve finally written my review and I can say that I agree wholeheartedly!
Really, really don’t care for Butterflies, Flowers. Everything about it just rubbed me the wrong way. It’s all so absurd.
Natsume… is great though. Or well, I saw the anime, which I adored. Took a peek at the manga, and saw it was relatively similar to the anime. But with the anime, I get bright colors and fantastic voices, particularly Madara. I think it’s delightful.
Sounds like I’ll have to check out the anime for Nastume’s Book of Friends, as I really enjoyed the first volume of the manga. Thanks for the tip, Kris!
[...] be arriving at a bookstore near you. Only one new title debuts this week, but it’s a goodie: Natsume’s Book of Friends (VIZ), a lovely supernatural drama about a young man who sees demons. Before you say, “But [...]
[...] here’s the shipping list for Wednesday, April 7th. Highlights include the second volumes of Natsume’s Book of Friends (VIZ) and Ode to Kirihito (Vertical, Inc.); the ninth volume of Slam Dunk (VIZ); and the [...]
[...] I said about volume one: “The premise seems played out, an impression reinforced by the exorcism-of-the-week feeling [...]