As you may remember, I’m a huge fan of Usui Shio’s series Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts. So when a collection of Usui-sensei’s work came out from Ichijinsha, I scooped it right up!

Today I’m looking at Kimi no tame ni Sekai ha Aru (きみのために世界はある). This single-volume collection contains six short stories that range in character age and setting. None of these are unique and, at first read, I felt like I had read all of them somewhere else, but…I probably had. A few of the setups are pretty well-used even now, like an ex-lover getting married in “Jewel of You,” or a boyish girl who actually likes girly things, in “Secret Closet.”

Scenario staleness notwithstanding, I genuinely enjoyed this collection. I like Usui-sensei’s art, the gentleness with which the characters are treated, even when they are processing hurt or anger. This is not emotional torture porn, it’s situations we are supposed to know, and have felt inside ourselves. And forgiven ourselves for.

The women in this collection learn to accept the parts of themselves they have been denying and I do not mean just their sexuality when I say this. In some cases, that’s not the issue at all.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Variable
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 1 mostly on principle, there’s nothing really

Overall – 8

Just learning to love one’s self is still a powerful story and Usui-sensei understands that.