A review by spiravirgo
Haru's Curse by Asuka Konishi

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

5/5

I received this book in exchange of an honest review, from the lovely people at Vertical Comics and Netgalley.

"If I'm really thinking about Haru, then I need to put him out of mind" 

Contemporaries are not my niche but on rare occasions I need a bit of taste of real world drama to fill my attachment to reality. Sadly my favorites are complicated family dynamics and problematic relationships and Haru's Curse was exactly what I called for. I AM ONLY GOING TO SAY THIS ONCE: this is not a sweet story. It ends in a rather bittersweet ending but I wouldn't have it any other way. If you looking for a fluffy manga this is not the one for you. Haru's Curse offers a spectacular look into the shoes of a sister losing her sister to a disease and unexpectedly develops feelings for her sister's betrothed. Natsumi never intended to fall to Togo, in fact she hated him for taking away Haru from her. Their relationship is so heart breaking, two individuals who are loss with their identity, one alienated in a big luxurious family and the other missing her other half that completes her. But pursuing the affections of Togo to feel closer to Haru's is not good for Natsumi or for Togo. They clearly grown to like one another but this taboo, the expectations, and the suspicions of society are suffocating them. Is there really a future for such a relationship? Is it morally okay? Is Natsumi a bad sister?

"I don't want to enjoy our time together, but it's scary how much I do! I don't want to be with you but then it's all I can think about... Is this what it is to love somebody?"

Asuka Konishi drawings magnified everything in this story and you can tell how much she wanted the readers to feel it. The deep expressions, those sharp edges on every page, and not to mentioned the different detail to every character making them each recognizable and different in both body type and portraying their feelings. I adore a good story told by a crafted artist who knows what type of story they want to tell and Konishi knew this would end in a bittersweet ending. She didn't want to depict Natsumi or Togo at the wrong or the right nor everyone else in this story. She presented a realistic gray approach to such a theme and gave us a glimpse of what it's like to be raise with a sibling like Haru, how devastating a loss can be to an individual and that we can't control who we love even if we hate it. If you enjoy a good angst love story with profound characters and phenomenal drawing pick Haru's Curse and let your heart throb in pain like I do.