This is a bitter manga, for certain, but it also is aiming at the truth. Even someone as young as myself encounters lesser versions of this nonsense in daily-life for the simple fact of having a female body. Even in the US (which is less bad about this thanks to feminism and a diversity of cultures), I have encountered things to a similar effect, even in high school and in a fairly liberal college (the irony being, chivalry as courtesy is wrong, but husband hunting is fine). In an office in a country such as Japan, men, as well as women, can be forced to take the blame for their superior's mistakes without being allowed to object, and this is evidently exaggerated by sexism. The mother's casual remarks and the resulting pain are things that most women are familiar with and can somewhat relate to. Moreover, the number of stories (especially Japanese) about "unattractive tomboys" who just want to be feminine is absurd and unfortunately connected to "being a proper and attractive female" (the second OL's frustration is largely from that kind of thing). The bully character is also vivid: she just doesn't care what the effects of what she says are, she is purely focused on venting what she's angry about (as of yet, it is not malicious). All three protagonists have throughly realistic conflicts and portrayals. While it seems to be a bit of a comedy of manners (that is, mild satire), I have never lived in Japan. Regardless, it hits home all too well.

... Last updated on November 28th, 2016, 6:51am

I'm an adult, and an old one at that, but I came to like manga originally through occasional stories that I thought were full of feeling, like "Strawberry 100 Percent". Now I find those to be few and far between, and it all seems to be some kind of fantasy or other, straining to the utmost after effect and "specialness".

Then I found this manga. This is what a life of office work is really like, young-uns.

... Last updated on April 20th, 2015, 7:59pm