CW: Abuse, bullying, violence.

In 2020, when I reviewed Mizuno to Chayama (水野と茶山), I called it “a modern Romeo and Juliet,” without the usual ending. I also said, “The art was pretty good – it fit the tone of the story, but I didn’t honestly enjoy reading it all that much. I wanted Chayama out of there, but really out of there, far away, safe, taken care of and never going back to that shitty town.”

So when Yen Press announced that they had licensed this manga, I felt ambivalent about it. The art and story aren’t bad, the ending isn’t terrible, but there was just something that did not sit right with me about this whole thing. Once again, looking backwards, I had noted “This series was a little heavy on lowest denominator service and was not at all respectful of the characters’ bodies,” and that the plot revolves around bullying and abuse. Those do bother me a great deal as plot drivers…and maybe this month is not the best time to read a book about girls being treated shittily.

I did my best to put my memories of the book aside and read this as if I had never read it before. It was still not a fun read, I wouldn’t call it entertaining, but it holds up as a modern Romeo and Juliet, with a better ending, for the right reason.

Mizuno and Chayama, by Yuhta Nishio, creator of After Hours, is a one-volume omnibus of the two volume manga that had been released simultaneously in Japan. It tells the story of two girls caught up in a pointless feud between their families. Chayama’s family makes tea and employs mostly everyone in town…and she is despised because of this. Bullied or ignored, her one goal is to get through high school. She is not entirely alone, however. Her only friend and secret lover is Mizuno, the daughter of the town’s mayor.

Separately, it initially seems that Mizuno is the stronger of the two, but in reality, she merely wields more social power. Chayama is clearly stronger, putting up with abuse from adults and peers. When Mizuno realizes that, it allows her to save her princess in a definitive way. In the end, we and they are rewarded for their perseverance.

Re-reading this book, I was able to put my finger on the specifics of what irritated me about this story the first time. I’m sorry to say that it was the reality of it. Every fictional narrative that shows adults treating children poorly enrages me. Fictional narratives that treat girls bodies like peep shows enrage me. I know these are things that the men who draw and publish and read manga think are okay and that enrages me, too. And, as I said, this is not the right season for this to be presented to me as entertainment. There is no right season, now. We are past that event horizon. 

And then, there’s the bully. She is extremely realistic, that is to say, she’s got a lot of problems and is choosing to take it out on someone else who can’t and won’t fight back.  Maybe 30 years later, she’ll have a kid and write an apologetic letter to Chayama asking for forgiveness. It won’t fix what she did…but I don’t think Chayama needs that. Because we see that she and Mizuno are happy. Romeo and Juliet are doing okay this time. Maybe that’s enough?

It is enough, because it is the protagonists who shape their destiny for themselves with each other’s help. The rest of the town may be shitty, but these two are strong enough to support one another.

Ratings:

Art – 6 (Good, but…)
Story – 5
Characters – 7 Well-realized and mostly awful
Service – 8
Yuri – 8

Overall – 6

Everything is well executed,  and while I did not enjoy reading it, I think I was not bothered by it as much this time.

With a story as emotionally charged and full of violence as this one, opinions about this manga are very much going to hinge on whether this feels real…or all too real…to you.