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A review by ruthsic
こいものがたり 1 Koimonogatari 1 by Tohru Tagura
3.0
Rep: gay main character; secondary gay character
Warnings: homophobia
This book is narrated by two protagonists - Yuji, and Yamato. Yamato has a crush on Yuji's straight friend, and Yuji notices. Now, I find Yuji's perspective more or less boring, since he starts from a place of protectiveness over his friend aka the homophobic notion that Yamato might attack him, but by the time he gets confirmation Yuji is already friends with Yamato (they form a study group via Yamato's friend) so he just feels bad for him, and instead promises him that he won't out him and in general, make things easier for him. Now, Yamato's perspective is more interesting, in that he is unsure of whether he is being his real self by being in the closet; the only being knowing being the above friend and Yuji, he feels he is doing his own best friend a disservice by not telling him. Later on, he meets another gay guy through cram school, and he has a more wider understanding of living as a gay person in a homophobic society.
The theme of unrequited love and relationships is a big part in the start of this book. Yuji noticing Yamato's hopeless crush on a guy who can't reciprocate his feelings, starts to question his own actions in his relationship; he feels he is not being a good boyfriend to his girlfriend, and tries to be better. He aims to be a support system for Yamato, to have him talk to him about his feelings which he can't talk to about with his other friend. I will admit I didn't like him at the start because of his knee-jerk reaction to Yamato's interest in his friend, but I think by the end he was a reasonable and good friend to Yamato, giving him his space, but also lending a shoulder. Meanwhile, Yamato's experiences as a closeted boy in high school, and his reasons for being so are depicted so realistically. His relationship with his best friend, the rendering of male friendships, the relief of having someone else like him to talk to - all are rendered so sincerely. Is it entirely new in stories about queer high school students? Not really. It has more of a slice of life approach to the storyline, than having a particular path, but it is also very invested in exploring the relationships between the characters.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from TokyoPop, via Netgalley.
Warnings: homophobia
This book is narrated by two protagonists - Yuji, and Yamato. Yamato has a crush on Yuji's straight friend, and Yuji notices. Now, I find Yuji's perspective more or less boring, since he starts from a place of protectiveness over his friend aka the homophobic notion that Yamato might attack him, but by the time he gets confirmation Yuji is already friends with Yamato (they form a study group via Yamato's friend) so he just feels bad for him, and instead promises him that he won't out him and in general, make things easier for him. Now, Yamato's perspective is more interesting, in that he is unsure of whether he is being his real self by being in the closet; the only being knowing being the above friend and Yuji, he feels he is doing his own best friend a disservice by not telling him. Later on, he meets another gay guy through cram school, and he has a more wider understanding of living as a gay person in a homophobic society.
The theme of unrequited love and relationships is a big part in the start of this book. Yuji noticing Yamato's hopeless crush on a guy who can't reciprocate his feelings, starts to question his own actions in his relationship; he feels he is not being a good boyfriend to his girlfriend, and tries to be better. He aims to be a support system for Yamato, to have him talk to him about his feelings which he can't talk to about with his other friend. I will admit I didn't like him at the start because of his knee-jerk reaction to Yamato's interest in his friend, but I think by the end he was a reasonable and good friend to Yamato, giving him his space, but also lending a shoulder. Meanwhile, Yamato's experiences as a closeted boy in high school, and his reasons for being so are depicted so realistically. His relationship with his best friend, the rendering of male friendships, the relief of having someone else like him to talk to - all are rendered so sincerely. Is it entirely new in stories about queer high school students? Not really. It has more of a slice of life approach to the storyline, than having a particular path, but it is also very invested in exploring the relationships between the characters.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from TokyoPop, via Netgalley.