I wasn't planning on writing a review for this little story, but looking now, it definitely deserves some more love and well-due appreciation. When trying to find a good Yuri to read, I tend to look for stories in adult settings in hopes to get a good adult relationship exploration, and I've never been as pleasantly surprised and flooded with the feeling of "Yes! Finally!" since I read Ebisu-san to Hotei-san many, many years ago.
For such a short manga, this truly has everything. The characters (especially the protagonist Shiina Haruki) go through an entire emotional journey completely believable for a slice-of-life story that has so few chapters. It manages to go through the set up, attraction, the same-sex aspect, the actual issues of age gap that don't boil down to self-esteem jabs, the learning curve of being in a different kind of relationship, the different emotional baggages and backgrounds, it truly is all there!!
It has a very nice balance of storytelling drama/conflict while feeling real. It doesn't operate on one-note Shoujo/Josei logic of love and attraction at the forefront of everything, but the characters also don't talk like they've just come from a week-long immersive psych course and have all their shit impossibly together like it seems to be the trend in manga from a few years back to now. They make mistakes and fumble, and get too in their heads and don't know how to address it, just like normal human beings!! And the emotional catharsis of slowly getting confident and falling into place in their new love is very satisfying.
The author also does not forget the romance aspect of this manga. There is the attraction that, to our protagonist, starts unsure, but definitely takes root (when Haruki realizes she is attracted to Risa not in spite, but BECAUSE she is a woman... Whew!!!). I loved the way the physical aspect of it is taken into consideration for someone who'd never thought she would get into a same-sex relationship.
The protagonist both has never thought of the possibility and carries an emotional scar regarding a past relationship that puts her in a very vulnerable place of discovery and trying to make up for past difficulties and yet she is so brave!! And she is very good at navigating through life; compared to her younger partner, you can clearly see the contrast between being in your early 20s (but still a capable adult) and having 10 more years of experience. Usually, in manga and anime, subtlety is an untapped art, but the message was very well conveyed here of why a young woman like Risa who prizes competence at her workplace so much would fall for a woman like Haruki. They certainly complement each other with their strengths and weaknesses and that admiration is definitely earned. The age gap can also be felt in very interesting ways regarding the status of their sexualities, the kind of particular "culture" they grew up (Haruki never thought of the possibility until it presented itself and Risa has a place within the lesbian community) in and how that informs what they want out of the relationship (Haruki is concerned about all aspects and wants to build for the future, Risa is on that easy rhythm of dating of someone who is still figuring life out), the approach to sex and romance itself (Haruki is bolder and practical, Risa is more shy and idealistic), how, as Haruki realizes, time means different things or "passes differently" to the both of them.
One example I really loved was when Risa told Haruki how it makes her the happiest just by spending the afternoon with her and Haruki marked that as another difference between them since she was anxious about so many other aspects of what it means for them to be together, because, just as Haruki thought when Risa first told her she was interested in her, it IS true that Risa is young and just wants to be in love! But what Haruki didn't anticipate is that finding that middle ground of both their feelings is what allows her to be lighter and happier and working their differences out is worth it! Risa's arc towards it could be felt when Haruki was in an accident and had to go to the hospital and she didn't immediately went on her way to be by her side. At first I was mildly confused, but then I realized "I would or might do the same thing...". It takes a more mature outlook to know how to be there for your partner that someone in her early 20s still hasn't developed. When she explained her reasons, I understood how it boiled down to her still not knowing how to be committed to someone as a life partner, but realizing she still wanted to because, again, Haruki is worth it.
It was honestly kind of impressive, considering yuri manga's track record in general (severe lack of juicy conflict 😬 but my hope never falters), how so many things were able to be addressed while never dropping down the romantic tension and feel-good aspect of a story of finding love for life. It is a little disheartening to see people complaining about the wedding at the end not being theirs, when it was pretty clear this story was dealing with reality, and as it is today, same-sex marriage is still unlawful in Japan. Regardless of their ability to act out the ceremony itself, the message at the end was that they would not be able to have EVERYTHING like a hetero couple or as easily, but what they managed to get was good enough and they would still build their lives as partners moving forward and have their own kind of wedding. That is the best type of ending I could have hoped for in a story that did its absolute best with the length it had.
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