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Torimania vol.1-4 by Kuze Gaku

Well, this was one I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did. I’ve known Kuze Gaku from Uramichi Oniisan (that I should really catch up with). So going into Torimania I expected something along similar lines, and at first it seemed I would get it - a goofy but biting satire. But as I read on it kind of morphed into a sort of quiet, understated (still goofy, though) slice of life dramedy that I tend to really enjoy.

The story in a nutshell (eggshell?):

1. According to Kuze herself (:DDD)

2. More seriously, though: suffering from a broken heart and a general need to get far away from everything, university student Beniya Akari decides to continue her studies in the far-away island country of Torimania - which is basically modern day Japan except with bird people. (As in, they have wings and can fly and hatch from eggs and stuff. The official language is Japanese. Don’t think too deeply about it.) As Akari settles into her new life she gets to know some of the colorful characters around her, makes friends and slowly starts getting herself back on track, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll also find out what “happiness” is.

There’s really a lot of colorful, fun and relatable characters, but the main storylines tend to center around five:

Akari - our heroine, university student

Grigio (pigeon) - university student who works part-time in tourism

Marrone (uzura) - Akari’s landlady, has a tendency to drown her sorrow in booze

Cerulean (seagull) - postal worker, ikemen trash

Corvo (crow) - daycare worker, gruff but with a heart of gold, speaks Kansaiben

Akari is often in the role of the observer/only sane person, but there’s a quiet romance developing between her and the somewhat awkward and tsundere-ish, but sensitive Grigio. More interesting to me though is the bittersweet relationship between Marrone, Cerulean and Corvo - they’re childhood friends who are stuck in an akward but strangely comfortable rut that they’re afraid to move on from. Corvo has been in love with Marrone for ages but he’s too afraid of her potential rejection to actually take that step ahead and go after her; Marrone (who is a bit of trash in her own way) is nursing an unrequited love for Cerulean and is a bit distraught at realizing that she’s relying on, and finding comfort in Corvo; and then there’s Cerulean who is, well, trash, but also he’s just sort of broken. He’s afraid of getting close to people and forming attachments (to the point where he doesn’t even name the stray cat he ends up keeping) and has a kind of thing for self-depreciation. And although he loves Marrone and cares a lot for her, he thinks she deserves someone better... but at the same time he finds he has trouble letting her go.

The Marrone/Cerulean/Corvo trio really pushes my buttons re: bittersweet nostalgia, those happy times way back that have been forever lost to the realities of adulthood, and the need to figure out yourself and find your own happiness. And it’s not the usual "will they-won’t they-who ends up with whom” kind of wavering you often see in love triangles: all three characters are more or less aware of their feelings, the problem they’re having is with facing them head on and finding the strength to take the next step ahead. And I really like Cerulean’s brand of characters who are broken in ways that nobody can really mend other than themselves.

(Also, he has some heartfelt stories featuring a cat. Those always tug on my heartstrings.)

But there are other fun characters as well, like Bianco (crane) and Aran (kingfisher) who go to the same university as Grigio and Akari, or Grigio’s little sister, or Cerulean’s badass boss lady whose name escapes me but she’s a swallow). And the art is unsurprisingly really good, with clean, fun-looking, easily distinguishable designs, and lovely color artwork.

Anyway, this manga was an unexpected, delicious treat, and I’ll be definitely keeping up with it. :D (Good thing it’s being serialized online.)