~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This story is about a teenage girl who masks her true self in order to people please for fear of not being wanted/disliked. At a glance, this story is kind of pathetic and ordinary. Others have stated that it's just another female lead with low self esteem which is undeniably true. This story is also about this girl finding herself and becoming honest with herself and to others with the help of a "stranger" (turned boyfriend). Essentially she learns to get over her "low self esteem." Been there, done that right? However, delve into the story and regarding the fact that she has low self esteem and why, it is of quite utmost importance in this oneshot how she became the people pleaser she came to be. In a brief number of page(s?), we learn that she grew up in a semi-unstable and mentally abusive/neglectful home. The fact that this manga kind of sidesteps that after revealing this piece of information is why I believe it didn't turn out as well as it could have in regards to the one dimensional reading of this (what I mean is that for those who read the story on a surface level, simply reading the story without actually reading it didn't particularly enjoy it because of that method of reading). Based on the limited interactions that take place in the scene we are revealed, the mangaka tells us that her mother and herself are hated by the father. This scene though is just a small window into the girl's childhood and the home environment. The tension in the room is like that of an abusive father. Now it is uncertain how much abuse they experience and whether or not it was physical or mental abuse. I am pretty sure it was mental though due to the words spoken in spite by the father when the girl as a child complained about a present she was receiving from her father. In that scene, she is quite taken back and in some ways (as a child should), fearful. It was a representative scene to show why she became the people pleaser she is today which is why I don't see this one shot as simply just another "been there, done that--low self esteem" manga. The home environment of a child can, of course, have damaging effects on one's social life and interactions if it isn't the safe place a home should be.
There are three ways of reading this oneshot: love it for the encouraging "pursuit of happiness"; hate it/spit on it for the pitiful female lead; or like me, understand the circumstances and therefore come to a conclusion of whether or not it was written well enough to enjoy in regards to those circumstances. The first two are kind of "at a glance" kind of reading I think. I'm not certain how other read this oneshot but I predict that the majority read it as I've stated so, "at a glance." After reading this oneshot though, considering all that happened in this story, I think it was interesting how she was able to finally kind of break through that in a "phase 1" kind of manner. Following that, I'm not too sure where it'll go. The likelihood of a regression is highly possible especially if the relationship doesn't work out. But what I was kind of most intrigued by was what her current family/home environment is like. It lacked that, completely sidestepping that piece of information, therefore it felt incomplete to me and too optimistic but quite encouraging in a way.
Anyways, that's all I wanted to address. This post is very specific to this manga but I guess generally, there are different ways to read a manga and to interpret it. Of course it also depends on one's mood--whether or not to actually invest your interest in it as well as how much interest to invest (I just happened to invest my interest instead of making it a light read). And not many people have that time nor want to do so since they're reading for enjoyment. But anyways, keep an open mind!
No comments:
Post a Comment