Hibari no Asa

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I just started this manga expecting nothing but to have an entertaining moment and a break from long series, but what I got is something I cannot put into words; and here I am writing my first review because I couldn't hold this feeling to myself.

This story is about a girl and all the suffer she has to deal with during her days as a high school girl because of the fast grown on her body.
A story that doesn´t try to show the way to overcome her problems or bring the reader a pleasant and rewarding development; this is a story that just tries to ... put you in her shoes and let you understand that not everything that you see and think is the way things are being truly lived by the others.
I really want to talk about the ending that this manga has, but ruining this experience to someone new to Hibari no Asa is not worth it at all.

This is not a manga for everyone, but I think is a story that everyone should read in order to understand a little fragment of how breathtaking and heart-rending can be the suffering of someone just for their looking and gender.

Perceptions and assumptions are damned things.

So I just read the manga 'Vitamin', and that's another story you guys must read. And while it had an outlet, it kept bringing to mind this manga and Hibari's situation. It just makes it that much more complex. Real world is fucked up. Stories that manage to depict that are a testament to what human psyche is capable of.

We're defined by looks and the body so much, it really is treated as an object. Object of emotions - love, affection, jealousy, disgust: object of advertisement, promotion, or even of traditions.

Hibari is subject to these perceptions. And what makes ... this narrative stand out is how it reveals those perceptions. Perceptions that sometimes translates to action, and at others, inaction. The right kind? Ah, if only. If only we, the reader, could share a few words of solace, comfort and offer some support, even a listening ear.

It's surprising when everyone faces difficulties, struggles, hardships and want moments of praise, comfort and motivation, why on earth mental health is still stigmatized. True there appears to be more happening now in the 21st century, notwithstanding the home quarantine situation due to COVID-19 which is really testing everyone's mental capacities. But it seems like it's more of a burden to everyone to take some semblance of responsibility. We'd rather wash our hands off than get involved. Easier to close your eyes than to keep them open.

And where does that leave Hibari?










Yeah.
An eerie silent place she can't seem to fill in.
And a painting so filled with devils that makes you restless in your sleep.
If only Hokusai were there.

Hibari no Asa is was a touching manga, and I thought the way it approached Hibari's situation was unique. The story is very somber and demoralizing because of how realistic it is in the way it unfolds. I guess you could call it anticlimactic, but in real life, problems often don't conclude satisfyingly. As I read this, my chest was constantly somewhat tight while I held my breath, and it felt like my conscience was being pricked. You essentially get to see the perspectives and inner thoughts of the people around Hibari (and eventually Hibari herself). Each person has their own opinion of her, and ... their reasons for thinking that way. It shows how people on an individual level mistreat young girls, as well as the unjustified stigmas imposed onto them by society as a whole. This manga also sheds light onto how most people are apathetic/turn a blind eye to the suffering of young girls in a situation like Hibari (especially when it comes to exploitation and perverted intent). All these emotions and judgements directed onto her by others, such as envy, resentment, lust, ego, condescension, contempt, idolization, pity - they all compound into nothing. Because of one shared desire: the desire to maintain that imperfect peace. (The same state of peace that keeps her quiet and unable to seek nor receive help). "It'll sort itself out", "It doesn't affect me directly", "She doesn't seem to be affected", or even "She brought it upon herself". These sentiments enable the willful ignorance of her suffering. Whenever I found myself empathizing with a character, I felt sort of disgusted with myself like a mirror had been put in my hands. I'm rambling.. but it was just depressing. I honestly felt like straight ass after this cause of how accurately it reflected the real world and how real girls are misjudged for their appearances.

Plus the art was pretty!
8/10 just cause I feel like the end was slightly lacking. Still liked it a lot though!

14 chapters of hope and heartbreak. The way that this manga deconstructs the sexualization of the schoolgirl trope through the lens of a multitude of characters in relation to Hibari and her abusive father is fantastic in many ways. In many ways, Kan's friend hits the nail on the head when he questions why no one is there to help her.

The naivety displayed by Kan and optimistic view of everyone around him, the uncaring nature of her classmates, the disregard of the teacher and borderline jealousy from both the mother and girlfriend show how deadly sexualization can be both for children and for the adults ... who have to live in a world where sex appeal is valued above many other characteristics.

It's not crazy to see the ending as it is being led up to but it is still just as devastating.