Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Price: $24.95
Creator: Fumio Obata
Format: 160 pgs., Full-Color, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1595-2
Age Ratings: 16+
ICv2 Ratings: 4 Stars out of 5
Born in Japan but now living in London, Yumiko is a woman caught between two worlds. In one world she is a strong and independent woman who is in love with her work and her fiance. In the other world she is nagged about moving back home, leaving her career and raising a family. When she gets a phone call from her brother one day informing her that her father has died in an accident, she must leave the world she calls home and return to the world that she left behind.
Just So Happens is a very stark look at the world of Japan and the pressures that women in their society face as they grow older. Yumiko left that world behind because she wanted more from her life, she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her intelligent mother and strike out on her own path which her family disapproves of.
What I found fascinating about this book is that there's no flash to it. This is a very stark and real look at this part of the world and its culture. There's no wild plot twists or strange, fantastical turns within it (unless you count Yumiko's dream sequences). It's just a very straight forward look at life within Japan with seemingly no bias.
At no point does author Fumio Obata try to insert his opinion on if he feels this particular way of life or the pressures that women face in Japan are right or wrong. He just presents it as it is and lets readers make their own judgments.
Beyond the writing, Obata creates a beautiful world with which to tell his story. Using what looks like watercolors, he is able to create beautiful backgrounds and real looking people within these pages which will suck the reader in. The only real downside to this book is that it moves far too quickly with many panels having no dialogue at all which allows the art to tell the story instead.
This is a solid read for anyone who is interested in learning a bit more about Japanese life and culture that seems much more real and grounded than anything you're ever going to find within an anime or manga title. A solid pick-up, this is an enriching book that is worthy of your attention.
--L.B. Bryant
