Manga Review
Hello and welcome to the first of the monthly reviews we're going to be doing in A&M this year. For January, I'm going to be reviewing the manga series Kubo Won't Let me Be Invisible by Nene Yukimori.
The premise of Kubo is intriguing, but a bit odd. Essentially, Yukimori asks what life in your typical high school slice of life series is like for a background "mob" character. More specifically, the series follows Junta Shiraishi who is practically invisible to almost everyone around him. And when I say practically invisible, I mean he has been quite literally standing directly in front of people who have not realised he's there. The one person, at least at first, who this strange trait doesn't apply to is the girl at the next desk over from him, Nagisa Kubo. Nagisa learns of this unusual predicament and starts experimenting with it, trying to see exactly how much attention she has to draw to him to get him noticed.
Obviously, this isn't a very realistic situation. It's quite hyperbolic. But, it does communicate a feeling that a lot of people have experienced very well - the feeling that you are a background character in a bunch of more interesting people's stories. Despite the unrealistic premise, this isn't the only way Kubo touches on familiar feelings. In fact, Yukimori uses her setting and characters perfectly to illustrate the nostalgic awkwardness of those high school years. This results in a surprisingly genuine relationship between two characters who are still trying to figure things out and serves as a reminder to young readers that even the more put-together people they know don't really know what they're doing. Whether it's a story that feels relatable in the present, or via nostalgia, it hits the right notes. It feels good… even if it does cause some secondhand embarrassment sometimes.
That's not to say the characters are particularly complex. Junta and Nagisa aren't particularly deep or complicated characters. But they don't really need to be either. They have an ordinary mix of traits (outside of Junta's borderline invisibility) that makes them easy for just about any reader to relate to. That being said, we see very little of them away from each other and it would be nice to learn more about them as individuals outside of their own dynamics. We see little glimpses every now and then when they interact with their families, developing those bonds just a little bit more would be a great way to showcase the characters as individuals. Unfortunately, the same can't really be said for most of the supporting cast - outside maybe Nagisa's older sister and cousin. I couldn't even tell you any of their names. They really just seem to be there to fill space outside of a few rare chapters.
Mirroring the simplicity of the characters, the art style is also quite simplistic. Not basic, necessarily, but it doesn't do anything particularly new or different. Again though, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The character designs are distinguishable from each other and are aesthetically pleasing. The quality of the art is actually quite high. This is especially true of the expressiveness of characters, which is where the art really shines. The expressions are hyperbolic in places and subdued in others, always creating the right feeling for the scene they are in. This makes them feel very vibrant and alive, aiding their simple characterisation greatly.
In closing, I'd call Kubo comfy. While it isn't revolutionary, it is very well written. The characters don't feel static and, despite the SoL format, have believable (albeit subtle) growth over time. The art isn't mindblowing, but it's very good at capturing a mood and making characters expressive. The author excels in making their characters feel believable and relatable and in capturing a very genuine feel despite an inherently zany premise.
Feel free to share your own thoughts if you've read this manga and keep an eye out for next month's review. We also encourage you to write reviews of your own!