I was cleaning up my Wish List here and decided to shelf this as it has been completed. My initial impression was that this would be some peculiar horror title (even though there's none in the tags) because of the cover and art style.
So imagine how surprised I was at this being a school life story with a touch of romance in it. A bit of family matters here, some loads of mystery there (honestly, I still kind of doubt which crimes were committed by whom), and definitely a thrilling narrative with a (at first seemingly) level-headed and strong female character. But as I get deeper into the stories and arcs, I realised I took things a little lightly. Because the feminism was strong with this one - this particular one that was produced in the 1980s, in Japan no less. I didn't think the support and open-mindedness of the male characters were there for the main lady. And how ruthless, yet still feminine she was throughout all the ordeals and horrors.
At the end, it is a tragic story. But because of how cool and anchored the main character had been throughout the 4 volumes, how she turned to the most positive outlook she could have, and the conclusions that came to the brother's mind, I thought it wasn't sad but hopeful for their lives and for that school of feminism that the author tried to deliver.
At the end, there were a few experimental short stories. The one I enjoyed the most was the story of when the author was young: her life in the countryside, how their snacks were never sweet and gave her clean teeth as an adult, how she transitioned from a kid to middle school, to high school, then to her new life in Tokyo. I thought to myself: this is refreshing! I would read some more about this because it's very real. It's not the dramatised version in shoujo or shone mangas I have read. Yet, it was reflected in her work - this one in particular - and feel similar to other works too.
This definitely leave a strong and soft impression on me. I found out that her other titles included Banana Fish and the likes. I mean, she is clearly on a league of her own. What a great artist and story-teller!
Now, I also remember reading Helter Skelter years ago. I realised: that's also feminism although in bleak fashion. I love discovering gems like these.