Haru Tsuzuru, Sakura Saku Kono Heya de (春綴る、桜咲くこの部屋で) is a deeply poignant and touching manga by Tokuwotsumu, an author who does low-key Yuri that I absolutely love.

Haruki is despondent. It’s been 5 years since her lover Sakura died and she has not been able to move on. Looking at the sakura blooming outside their room, she catches a petal and wishes – no, begs –  the universe to give Sakura back.

And…the universe does. There in their apartment stands Sakura. Once again Haruki and Sakura are together, sharing meals and holding one another and being happy together.

What follows is a moving tale of grief and loss and processing that frequently had me near tears. That said, this book is full of love and acceptance and joy, family and friendship and, I feel, hope.

Haruki, with Sakura by her side once again, is at last able to start moving forward. Sakura tells Haruki right away that other people can’t see her. They agree she must be a ghost. When Haruki meets with people who knew Sakura, Sakura’s face is obscured by word balloons and partial views.  But even knowing that her lover is not really there, Haruki begins to finally process the loss she’s been living with. 

A visit to a teacher who cared about Sakura ends with the teacher getting a momentary glimpse of her her former student. Trying to test a theory, leads to the most moving scene. Haruki visits Sakura’s family, who welcome her back as family, despite the years they’ve not been in touch.

Haruki finally begins to clean up Sakura’s things, and ends up learning things about her lover she didn’t know while meeting a coworker of Sakura’s. As the volume comes to a close, Haruki has to face a second fact …this Sakura doesn’t know anything about herself that Haruki herself didn’t know.

The art is not particularly pretty, but the expressions here are outstanding. Tokuwotsumu’s strength is in telling stories of two women sharing their lives. I’ve liked pretty much every version of their work that I’ve read. But this story is so emotionally powerful that it really stands out.  Excellent work all around.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 10
LGBTQ+ – Yes, kind of.

The story is ongoing as I type this, you can read sample chapters at Gangan Online in Japanese….and now I am torn whether to stay current, or just wait for another collected volume. (Although, based on chapters, Volume 2 ought to be announced soon. Maybe I’ll just wait, but…argh!)

I would love to see this licensed. It’s beautiful.