Given Vol. 1by Wolfen MoondaughterReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 9 Cranky guitarist Uenoyama finds a strange boy with a broken guitar, Mafuyu, sitting in Uenoyama's favourite napping place at school. After Uenoyama reluctantly fixes the strings, Mafuyu begs Uenoyama to teach him to play, eventually wearing Uenoyama down (with a little help from Uenoyama's bandmates, drummer Akihiko and bassist Haruki). But when he hears Mafuyu sing one day, Uenoyama goes from being a reluctant teacher, to wanting Mafuyu in his band more than anything. But Mafuyu has a secret trauma; how will Uenoyama react when he leans more? Can -- and will -- he help quiet Mafuyu express himself through music?I love the art pretty well -- my only real complaint, visually speaking, is that it's sometimes hard to tell who's speaking. I love the between-chapter design sketches / info pages -- especially for ponytail-wearing Haruki! And there are bonus short comics in the back that offer fun insights. Story-wise, I actually kind of appreciate that this volume doesn't even involve sex (it doesn't get into the physical sides of things at all yet) -- there's no real sexual aggression (the closest is a humorous moment where one character drunkenly falls-pushes another onto a bed and falls asleep on top of them), and it's not plot-what-plot. It's a slow-burn story of loveable curmudgeon Uenoyama trying to come to terms with his feelings for this strange kid who desperately wants to learn guitar even without knowing anything about music. (Mafuyu doesn't even have a favourite band!) In fact, if I didn't know this was just a straight-up drama, I'd think it was science fiction: Mafuyu is so much the fish-out-of-water kind of character, that at times, he reads like he's not even human! But he's sweet, his lack of knowledge provides organic opportunity for the narrative to explain stuff to us about music, and the mystery of his backstory is intriguing. It reminds me, ever so slightly, of Ai Yazawa's Nana (a fave of mine), at least in that it involves a clueless character and a cranky one falling in love, quirky supporting characters that are well developed, and music. But really, while I do really quite enjoy the lead pair, I actually love Haruki, who secretly pines for playboy Akihiko, and their amusing antics of Haruki and Akihiko when they're together, best about this series! This volume got me so excited, I read up on this series, to find out how many volumes there were to look forward to, etc. ... and then learned something that significantly soured my enthusiasm, making me hesitant to actually recommend this series after all (although, ultimately, I am not unwilling to read the rest). I'm offering spoilers now, so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not to spend time and money on this 5-volume series. Still with me? Okay. One of the big things I had loved about the story so far was that it didn't involve dubious consent / rape, a popular yaoi trope that I'm desperately sick of. And to be fair, it doesn't quite go there. But I was all excited to find out that the second half of the series actually switches focus to Haruki and Akihiko ... and then I read that Akihiko, having been beaten by his ex, sexually assaults Haruki, who thankfully manages to get him to stop before things go too far. I found the pages in question online, to see for myself whether I can stomach the story ... and I suppose I can (as I appreciate stories of emotional complexity and redemption, and there are some mitigating factors), but barely. I really wish the story hadn't taken the couple I liked best and then gone there with them, especially as it didn't seem like that kind of series, so I thought I was getting a break from that trope. That was a huge part of why I enjoyed this volume so much and gave it such a high score! What a let-down! Written: March 24, 2020
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