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A review by capyval
Himawari House by Harmony Becker
5.0
Packed with humour and emotional topics, I really enjoyed following the characters of Himawari House in their journey through living as expats in Japan. The story focusses mostly in Nao, a Japanese-American who goes back to Japan to reconnect with the culture and language of her early years. Nao deals not only with communication problems, but also with feeling she doesn't belong anywhere, she's not entirely Japanese nor American. The other main characters are Nao's housemates, one from South Korea and another from Singapore, which also tell different stories of leaving home and of loneliness. And, to complete the group, there are also two Japanese guys living in Himawari House, which add to the misunderstanding situations due to cultural and language differences. All these complex characters and their positive relationships made me enjoy, and care about, this comic a lot.
The tone of this graphic novel is dramatic sometimes, but also very funny. It really made me laugh out loud a lot, and that's the main reason why I'm rating it so high. I also thought the art was quite good - a bit manga like, but not really - and the story succeeded at making me tear up a few times (I'm looking at you, Chapter 11!).
The tone of this graphic novel is dramatic sometimes, but also very funny. It really made me laugh out loud a lot, and that's the main reason why I'm rating it so high. I also thought the art was quite good - a bit manga like, but not really - and the story succeeded at making me tear up a few times (I'm looking at you, Chapter 11!).