I have been waiting to review this book for about a year. And finally, here it, is, Our Dreams at Dusk, Shimanamai Tasogare, Volume 1 by Yuhki Kamatani is out in English and I cannot express how happy I am for you to be able to read it!

Practically everything I want to say about the book, I said in 2017 when I reviewed the first Japanese volume. I hope you don’t mind if I quote myself.

Tasogare Shimanami begins with Tasuku, a stressed out high school student being bullied by his classmates who call him “Homo,” contemplating suicide. When he sees a woman apparently leap off an even higher ledge, he finds himself dragged into the lives surrounding the “consultation room,” a kind of cafe for outcasts. Compelled by “Dareka-san,” the woman no one really knows, Tasuku finds himself helping with a local non-profit group for the summer.

Tasuku isn’t gay, he insists at school, but when he meets Haruko who casually mentions she’s a lesbian and refers to her “wife,” Tasuku’s chest literally  bursts with pent-up emotions and the pressure of the closet he’s created for himself. And, as he helps Haruko break up a decrepit shack in order to build a shelter, he tears into his own fears and desires and finally admits to himself and others that, he is, after all, gay.

Dareka-san is here translated as “Someone-san” and the consultation room becomes a Drop-In Center, which seems the right choice. Translator Jocelyne Allen and adaptor Ysabet MacFarlane did a bang-up job on both the language and the tone of the story. No only are there some not-quite-the-same terminology when it comes to LGBTQ terms in Japanese, but there are inevitable cultural differences as well. Volume 1 is a good set up for this story which is unusual in Japanese manga merely for being a coming-out narrative. While that is very common in western LGBTQ literature, its still pretty rare to see it as a plot in manga.

There are a lot of elements to like in this volume. The art is brilliant; both evocative and expressive. When Tasuku encounters Haruko, who cheefully describes herself as a lesbian and speaks of her “wife”, Tasuku’s internal closet walls shatter in a magnificent page. The idea that Tasuku has older role models – something that is so critical to young queer folks – makes this manga an important resource for both younger and older gay folks who sometimes don’t really think through their own internal homophobia. It’s terrifying, as Tasuku discovers, to admit to yourself that you are gay, but it doesn’t have to be traumatic, if there is anywhere you can turn. And, let me remind you that no matter where you live, there are people you can turn to. The Internet is your friend. Here are some US-based LGBTQ youth resources, but a search engine can help you find resources near you. Hopefully the generation growing up now sees plenty of folks around them who are queer and happy, which will make great inroads into the feeling of being alone that so many of us dealt with.

Emotions are raw in this manga, and relationships are confusing, which, if my memory serves me, was pretty much exactly the way it was in high school. Tasuku’s journey through this landscape is compelling. It is also fantastic, in all the meanings of the word. There’s a lot to get through here and it is my – and I hope your – pleasure to be here for all of it.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters- 8
LGBTQ – 10
Service – 0

Overall – 9

Volume 2 will be available in July,  Volume 3 in September and Volume 4 in December this year, so you won’t have to wait too long for the whole story to play out. This terrific series is currently on the top of the LGBTQ Manga category and I expect it to be there for most of 2019. ^_^ Thanks to Seven Seas for licensing this series – you did good.