Something about Tokuwotsumu’s art really appeals to me. I have no idea what it is. Something about the way Tokuwotsumu creates characters also appeals to me, but this time I know exactly what it is.
Ise-san and Shima-san, Volume 1 (伊勢さんと志摩さん) is not a Yuri manga. It is, however a delightful manga about two close friends and roommates who are very comfortable together and who challenge each other to live their best lives. It’s honestly a delightful manga about absolutely nothing.
We meet Ise-san and Shima-san, coworkers and roommates as they are contemplating their “Challenge” sheet, on which they decide upon things with which to challenge themselves. These include things like giving each other a surprise, or staying up all night. It’s a fun life and one without too much emotional strain. Ise-san and Shima-san actually quite like each other, and have a lot of fun together.
We learn how they didn’t quite have a chance to become friends in school, because they ran in completely different circles but, when Ise-san was assigned to break in the newbie at work and it turned out to be Shima-san, they’d been friends ever since.
What appeals to me about the characters is the lack of drama and the open friendship they have for one another. They support one another, confide in each other and just generally are very good friends without complication. It’s really nice and very rare to see friendships between women portrayed without drama in manga. As a result, this manga about two best friends is a perfect palate cleanser after yesterday’s review. ^_^;
“What appeals to me about the characters is the lack of drama and the open friendship they have for one another. They support one another, confide in each other and just generally are very good friends without complication. It’s really nice and very rare to see friendships between women portrayed without drama in manga”.
Seeing how the concept of friendship is depreciating in the modern anime community, I am glad that I can still read such wonderful reviews from you. Thanks for the review!
It’s always useful to remember than “fandom” is not refrlective of society as a whole. Anime and manga fandom often tends to be surprisingly conservative and sometimes are even shockingly regressive. We see that all the time these days in the various *gate communities whose only sole enjoyment appears to be harassing women, PoC and queer folks in an effort to seem relevant.
If you encounter someone who is not interested in women aside from how sexually attractive they are, that person can be ignored. You have my permission to simply pretend that person does not exist at all.
Well, you’re right as always :). Sometimes I even think about taking time out and not to participate in debates, since it only upsets me. Thanks again for the review!
Thank you for reading!