Chichi no Koyomi
A Journal of My Father

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I have no experience writing, and I do not even know English (so I’ll have to use the Google translator), but in this case I feel compelled to review this title, who do not have English translation is quite unknown in the page (at least compared to other works of Taniguchi as "Haruka na Machi e"). With that clarified, let's start.
The story it’s about Yoichi, an ordinary man who lives in Tokyo with his wife, who one day receives the news that his father, who did not visit since ten years, has died. For him his father was always a virtual unknown, with which he ... was never intimate much because he felt resentment towards him due to divorce with his mother. In his funeral, through memories of his childhood and family and friends stories, is becoming an increasingly complex picture of his father and his relationship with his mother, things about which he knew next to nothing
Like works as Yasujiro Ozu’s Toko Story, even coming from a particular time and in a country like Japan, details completely unrelated to the reader, provokes an unexpected connection with the experiences of the characters. It is a must for fans of the author and manga in general.

A really solid work by Taniguchi, which should be no surprise.

JOURNAL OF MY FATHER uses a funeral as the setting for a man's exploration of his father's memory. It's a conventional premise, but Taniguchi uses it to good effect. Yoichi and his family are depicted with as much rawness as a Japanese funeral allows, and for the most part the stiffness of the proceedings contributes to the overall work. Yoichi is essentially estranged from his family, and a funeral can't mend those fences.

The most successful parts of the manga come near the end when Yoichi really comes to terms with what his estrangement ... has meant for his father. While it's built on the foundation of the first half, I think that this section needed more room to breathe specifically because it's the most emotionally affecting. It seems like the story moves a little too quickly from point A to point B here.

Guilt-ridden man rehabilitates his father's image after his death. I would be a lot more impressed if not every negative memory the main character had of his father was reversed, revealing that his father was always secretly a great guy, each time.

I'm certain this trope wasn't new when this manga was released. Asking the reader to believe parents are better people than their kids believe is reasonable. Expecting us to believe there exists such a magnanimous yet uncommunicative and misunderstood father is pushing it, even for Japanese standards. But making out the father to be this real superhero, a melancholic yet perfect samurai soul ... who never erred like a normal human, is asking for too much. It's too cheap, reductive, and predictable. Parents are people too. Instead of chasing after poetic tragedy, confirming some of the father's flaws would have made for a better tale.