Hana Monogatari, Volume 1 (はなものがたり) by shwinn, is one of my new favorite series ever.

Hanayo’s husband has been dead for 49 days, so her mourning period is over…but she has no idea where to begin, really. She’s elderly and her husband was clingy when he was well, and then needed so much of her time and energy when he became sick…. She starts by taking a walk through town, where she discovers a small cosmetics store with a saleslady who is of an age with her and extremely stylish and attractive. When she gets home, she find that her own makeup collection is old, so she steels herself to go to this store and talk to the sales lady, Yoshiko.

Yoshiko brings with her a renewed interest in life not just for Hanayo, but to all the women who come in to her store. She *wants* people to feel and look good and be happy and do creative things. She breathes life into the older women of town, and gleefully centers herself in a circle of creative, independent women.

Yoshiko encourages Hanayo to build a new life… and she’s not at all shy about pointing out that Hanayo has a lot more to mourn for than just the passing of a husband: shes been largely robbed of her own life. Hanayo starts thinking about herself in a way that could not have happened when the resources of her family went to her younger brother and then her time and energy were spent on her husband and children. With the help of her granddaughter – who is the first one to say out loud that Hanayo seems to be crushing on Yoshiko – she takes tentative steps to a whole new life.

When Yoshiko and Hanayo go out on a date, Hanayo is introduced to a lesbian couple and suddenly, she’s rethinking everything she ever knew about …everything.

I cannot express how wonderful this book is.

Schwinn’s art is stylish and cute in turn, with the occasional missed proportions that lets you know this person is still growing as an artist.  The story is outstanding. As we learn about Hanayo’s husband, it was pretty hard for me to not be kind of annoyed at him, and when Yoshiko was like oh fuck this guy, it felt pretty cathartic. ^_^ We, the reader, can see that Yoshiko is gay, and has had a long-term relationship, but Hanayo has not quite gotten it…and let me tell you Yoshiko isn’t hiding all that hard, either.

Also perfect is Riko-chan, Hanayo’s daughter who begins the story by saying it’s been 49 days, time to do something…maybe look for a new love.  When Hanayo and she meet while Hanayo is shopping for a new dress, Riko volunteers to help and nails it. She also is wonderfully encouraging when Hanayo tells her the whole story.

I should also mention that the name of this series isn’t just meant as a nod to Yoshiya Nobuko’s influential series…the book itself appears in the story, beginning with the story ‘Sweet Pea,’ which was a pretty Yuri-ish triangle story about three girls. Yoshiko lends Hanayo the book and says that that one is her favorite. I have some thoughts about this, but I want to see if other stories have a place in this series, as well.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Nice, with some great moments.
Story – 10 I cannot wait for each chapter to come out on Comic Walker
Characters – 10 Fully formed, decent, and likeable
Service – 0 salaciousness, 10 empowerment
LGBTQ+- 9
Yuri – 6  Hanayo is seriously crushing on Yoshiko and it looks like the feeling is mutual

Overall – 10

A lovely Yuri romance about senior women that focuses on them finding their realest selves, surrounding themselves with people of creative skill and drive. Lesbians with a social circle of other lesbians that isn’t just “a bar scene.” This is everything. What a great manga.  I would love to see it licensed. I’ll start writing to Yen Press now. ^_^