It is Wednesday and you know what that means! It is indeed a Guest Review Wednesday here on Okazu. Today we welcome back Mariko S. (whose compelling review I have sincerely missed!), with a look at Kaijuu-iro no Shima (かいじゅう色の島), Volume 1. Please give her a warm Okazu welcome back. The floor is yours, Mariko!

I can remember clearly a certain type of person from my tween years, as we all navigated that transition between child and not-child. Smaller than other kids, shy, awkward, left out. Maybe because of those things, still interested in (or, at least, still holding onto) “childish” things. A little scared or uncertain about the adulthood their peers were rushing toward (seemingly) eagerly. Chigawa Kon is a girl like this. Slight and tomboyish, she scuttles barefoot around her tiny island town in a one-piece swimsuit and ill-fitting shorts, passing another lazy summer alone.
 
I remember another type of person from those formative years, too. A little too hurried to put on the markers of adulthood, forced by a body that seemingly overnight changed unrecognizably into something else to pretend they’re ready for it. Even more than that, putting on a front of maturity to try to mask the deep insecurities and immaturity that roiled in them as well. Hitoto Furuka is this girl. Taller, more developed, with painted nails and stylish clothes, her sudden appearance on the island presents a curious interruption for Kon, who doesn’t exactly understand the crushes her peers are so excited about, but who now finds Furuka compelling for reasons she can’t quite articulate.

What I find most remarkable about this manga is how grounded it is. That sounds like an absurd thing to say about a manga in which a (maybe real) mystical sea monster features heavily, along with supernatural phenomena of various kinds. But this is a manga about school girls in Japan that features NONE of the tropes or fetishes of school girl Yuri. There are no uniforms, no zettai ryouiki, no absurd clubs or sharing of cakes. This story could take place for any kids anywhere whiling away a summer vacation. Men exist and aren’t toxic creepos – Furuka’s uncle is an easygoing laborer who is confused as to why he has to suddenly put up with a freeloading relative. Kon’s little brother is a fun-loving kid who is really into kaijuu. More than anything, the vibe this story gives off to me is like Blue Drop, another slow-burn sci-fi Yuri tale set in a sleepy seaside town with a richly developed cast.

The first volume isn’t very long, and moves at a languid pace, and yet somehow many momentous things have happened by the end, and many more mysteries have been set up for the future. Does the monster exist? If so, is it embodied in Furuka? What is the relationship between Kon and the women sacrificed to the monster generations ago? Does Furuka have a mysterious power, or was the intervention with the bullies related to the monster somehow? Kon and Furuka have already kissed by the middle of the book, and maybe more, so with that out of the way we can focus on the real development of their relationship, on whether they can overcome both the mundane and fantastic challenges set before them, and of course on delving deeper into the lore of the island.

This story comes closer to transcending the definition of Yuri as “lesbian content without lesbian identity” for a school setting than any other I have read recently. Despite Furuka’s efforts to look mature, she quickly reveals that she has basically run away to this island with little to no plan for her future. Chief among her reasons is her despair and loneliness at not fitting in because she is gay. She never uses the word “lesbian,” but she describes knowing since the fourth grade that she wasn’t like the other girls, and only had eyes for one of her female friends. Unfortunately, she describes herself as “sick.” Kon isn’t thrown by this at all, and decides she must have this same “sickness” since she feels this way about Furuka. I’m not going to say everything that happens between them feels realistic, but it certainly fits in just fine with plenty of other coming-of-age teen romances. Kon is believably depicted as a girl just starting to awaken to the idea that she might love another girl, and Furuka is a sympathetic example of a girl who already knows this about herself and unfortunately feels outcast because of it. Yes, we all love Yuri stories where the protagonists face no obstacles to their love, but it’s also nice to have a story that acknowledges and deals with still very real prejudices.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Extra points for the variety of character designs and the imaginative sea monster renderings
Story – 8 I’m enjoying it very much, it’s different from anything else out there.
Characters – 7 Kon and Furuka feel like real people. There isn’t much of a supporting cast at this point, though.
Yuri – 7 Kon and Furuka’s relationship is at the center of the story.
Service – 7 I wouldn’t say it is prurient, but there is a fair amount of (not explicit) nudity, and a scene of Furuka brooding that is set unnecessarily in the shower.

Overall – 8 Intangibles and personal taste make this a solid 8 for me, I’m eager to see where the story goes! Alas, as I understand it, new installments are released only quarterly, so we may be waiting awhile for the next volume.

Erica here: Thank you so much for another fantastic review! I want to run out and get this manga, right away, now.

Kaijuu-iro no Shima,Volume 1 is available in print from Amazon JP, or CD Japan and available in digital format on Amazon JP Kindle or Bookwalker JP. And, if you haven’t already seen it, take a moment to watch the animated trailer for this volume of manga!