The fourth and final volume of Kamatani Yuhki’s Shimanami Tasogare (しまなみ誰そ彼 ) covers an enormous amount of ground.

What began as a story of a young man being bullied for appearing to others to be gay, (a sexuality he hadn’t come to terms with for himself) quickly becomes a tale of the community and family people who are sexual, romantic and gender minorities create for ourselves. 

Here in Volume 4, we get to experience stories about some of the individuals in Tasuku’s new community. Some of these bring us resolution of one kind or another. 

Haruko comes home to find Saki in hysterics. Her family has learned about her relationship with Haruko and she’s devastated. 

We learn that Chaico’s lover is dying in the hospital and he has only limited access because he is not family.

Tsubaki’s father is outing the folks at the salon all over town and it’ll take an act of bravery Tsubaki isn’t ready for to shut him up. Luckily for Tsubaki, Tasuku is ready to act now and he is at last able to stand up and say “I’m gay.”

Haruko and Saki visit Saki’s family, and facing them together, say that they want to be married. Saki’s mother rejoices, and her father comes to accept the thing he’s never wanted to admit.

Chaico’s lover’s son calls Chaico to his lover’s bedside so he is there when he dies.

And before the wedding Tasuku has a chance to invite Misora, so she can be there with her friends.

But the thing I really want to talk about is Dareka-san. I wondered out loud this morning how Dareka-san’s name will be translated. The character whose fearless leap off a roof begins this story remains a mystery at the end. It’s most likely that Seven Seas will go with a direct use of Dareka-san, and I hope that they will include a note that “dareka” means “Who is it?” or “Who?” This a no-name word, Mrs. Whatsit-like in it’s ambiguity. And while “Who” has entered the lexicon of fictitious name-construction with The Doctor and a Wrinkle in Time‘s Ms. Who, I would hope that rather than use a gendered English honorific, Dareka-san might get something more appropriate to their ambiguity, like Mx. Who. Probably all my thought on the topic is moot, and Jocelyne will just go with Dareka-san, but it’s still worth the mental effort of imagining how it might be rendered in a way that works in English and keeps both meaning and sense.

This volume front and centers issues of homophobia, harassment of and access, equality and representation for sexual and gender minorities in Japan and, while it’s not pointed, it doesn’t let society off the hook. But it probably can’t help itself when it ends with  a smile. This is the second LGBTQ media in a row that ends with a same-sex wedding in two days and this series is doing some groundbreaking of its own in Hibana magazine, side-by-side with Nishio Yuhta’s  After Hours. 

While 4 volumes seems too few, Shimanami Tasogare is a tightly wound, beautifully told story of the LGBTQ community in Japan, with both obstacles and triumphs laid out neatly for anyone to understand. 

Ratings: 

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
LGBTQ – 10
Service – 1 on principle, there’s nothing salacious

Overall – 9

I look forward immensely to this series coming out next year in English and getting to hear your opinions!