A review by beorn_101
Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 1 by Akiko Higashimura
2.0
*Update I am finished the series, it was ok, but not great. Way to much emphasis on giving douche bag men a pass for being dicks.
I absolutely adored Princess Jellyfish, and I loved parts of this series, but it is no where near as good, or concise a story as Jellyfish. If you are debating between the two do yourself a favor and just read Princess Jellyfish. *
I started reading this series because I adored Princess Jellyfish. I quickly discovered this is a VERY different style story.
In many ways, Tokyo Tarareba Girls feels less hopeful, at least so far. It isn't about slowly finding place in the world, but rather feeling like the world and life is passing by you.
Core themes of this first volume include sadness over still being single in your 30s, and depression over spending every night with friends instead of with a significant other. This made me cringe a LOT, as I think the two things are not mutually exclusive. I also feel like it seems like the main characters wish they had settled on men they weren't in love with, as that is better then being alone, despite great female friends....
I appreciated that Higashimura ended the volume discussing how this didn't reflect her personal views, but rather was a depiction of experiences with convos she and her friends had, had, but didn't necessarily deeply believe.
The art style is great and feels like Princess Jellyfish, and I ma intrigued by some of the characters, but currently there is a real lack of people that I truly like in the story. I am hoping that as I read further this will change for the better.
I absolutely adored Princess Jellyfish, and I loved parts of this series, but it is no where near as good, or concise a story as Jellyfish. If you are debating between the two do yourself a favor and just read Princess Jellyfish. *
I started reading this series because I adored Princess Jellyfish. I quickly discovered this is a VERY different style story.
In many ways, Tokyo Tarareba Girls feels less hopeful, at least so far. It isn't about slowly finding place in the world, but rather feeling like the world and life is passing by you.
Core themes of this first volume include sadness over still being single in your 30s, and depression over spending every night with friends instead of with a significant other. This made me cringe a LOT, as I think the two things are not mutually exclusive. I also feel like it seems like the main characters wish they had settled on men they weren't in love with, as that is better then being alone, despite great female friends....
I appreciated that Higashimura ended the volume discussing how this didn't reflect her personal views, but rather was a depiction of experiences with convos she and her friends had, had, but didn't necessarily deeply believe.
The art style is great and feels like Princess Jellyfish, and I ma intrigued by some of the characters, but currently there is a real lack of people that I truly like in the story. I am hoping that as I read further this will change for the better.