My Girl

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My Girl looks like a simple tale of parenthood, but it turned out to be so much more. It’s about responsibility, about the will to let go and confront one's sorrows, about how one adjusts to change, and about what gives fulfillment and happiness in life. It's about how to deal with insecurity, how to believe in oneself, and how to consult others instead of bottling up ones' emotions. It's not only about how to help others, but also how to impose on others when one is in need. It's about the difference between being kind, and being considerate of others' feelings. It’s about being ... both a responsible father and a respectable son. The story begins when a distraught guy accepts his daughter, who he never knew he had, after being devastated by the passing of his wife. From that point onwards, complementing the theme of parenthood, My Girl enriches the reading experience with tons of poignant drama and meaningful lessons.

What's a brilliant story without an endearing cast? Thankfully, My Girl delivers, and delivers big time. The main character, Masamune, is an insecure, lovesick, but charming and responsible father. His little angel, Koharu, always looks out for Masamune in the sweetest of ways. Beyond that, there’s Masamune's wise father, Masamune's foul-tempered but earnestly compassionate mother, Masamune's kind landlord, Koharu's rowdy and tsundere playmate Shuu, friends, and more. All serve their roles very well and get their fair share of characterization, often used in a way that brings out the best of their character.

From the characters, it is obvious that My Girl has a powerful vision of humanity: that even in tough situations, in times of unrest and dissatisfaction, or when people are incapable of expressing their true feelings, they are truly beautiful inside.

My Girl hits again and again with the feels train, never relenting until the end. It’ll likely make you tear up multiple times, since My Girl is just so potent at dramatic execution, playing around with emotions like it’s nothing. There's no doubt that My Girl is a drama; one that is filled with moments of sadness and pain. However, it is also the ultimate feel-good. The sad moments are always, without fail, beautiful and heart-warming, and the general portrayal of humanity is one of hope and of earnest optimism. Unlike "Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan" (Our Happy Time), which Sumomo Yumeka simply adapted into manga form, My Girl is her magnum opus. Her original story. Her heart and soul, poured into this work. Thank you, and congratulations. You touched yet another heart from halfway across the world.

My Girl is about a man and his daughter. The man in question is 23 years old at the beginning of our story. He works at a novelties company, designing product. He specializes in lady bugs, which remind him of his ex-girlfriend, who went over seas to study and never came back. He still doesn't know why she left him and has never been able to really stop loving her.
One day he gets a call from the girls mother, telling him that she's been in an accident and has died. He rushes to the funeral and finds out the girl had a daughter ... who had to be his. He refuses to believe it until he meets the girl and finds that he wants to take care of her.

First I'd like to say the art is AMAZING! The watercolor is vivid and full of the mangaka's style and her art is gentle and soft, with no necessarily sharp edges on any of the characters' faces or hair (something I find quite annoying in other similar series). It also succeeds in being expressive of whats happening in the story. There are full pages with out text that work to continue the story and build on characters. Something difficult to accomplish unless the artist and/or editor is very skilled.

The young characters are deep, accurately portraying the complexities of understanding children, who have very strong emotions, but are not always skilled enough to express them comprehensibly. The older characters are constantly maturing and growing up just as much as the children. A refreshing cast that sometimes frustrates you, but is never all bad.

The only thing that can be wrong with this series is that some people complain it is to mopey and angsty. I personally think that, like all well written stories, there are certain parts that are sad and a little agnsty, but in the end those moments of depression are overcome and dealt with. Even if they weren't, the rest of this series is well worth the few passages of angst, just because it's that good.

Before, you guys start reading my review. I need to say 2 things!

1. My review contains minor spoilers, I tried my best to keep it low as possible to not to ruin the experience for you.

2. I have compared it Usagi drop (if you are not familiar with it) it's somewhat same story, settings and atmosphere.

Plot: Single 23-year-old Kazama Masamune realized, he has a kid. During the season of cherry blossoms, his beloved passes away. He happens to meet a little girl outside work and realizes she is his daughter who was raised in secrecy by his lover.

-This manga is a hidden gem, it really ... gave me that complete satisfy feeling which I couldn't get from Usagi drop manga's ending. It's a really beautiful mid short story about a single father. All, I have to say about the story "My Girl" is that, it hits again and again with the feels train, never relenting until the end.

Genres- Drama, Slice of Life, Seinen, Tragedy, Psychological

Story- 10/10 (If I compare it with Usagi drop, I felt like reading a superior version of it. I really didn't like Usagi drop's 2nd half. It was utterly disappointing and Story is done by Sumomo Sensei who did many other notable works too like Kokoro Kikai, Chou ni Naru Hi, Nanairo Sekai)

Art-10/10 ( It is done by the author herself, if you don't know about Sumomo. She did the artwork of Hoshi no Koe and Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan (Our happy hours) too, but unlike these "My girl" is her original story)

Characters-9.5/10 ( I felt like, Kazama's late lover needs more flashbacks and character development, not everything was explained properly. Hence, -0.5 for this, aside from that everything is perfect. All other characters fits into the story naturally)

Overall-9.5/10 ( I loved it, I will replace Usagi drop with "My girl" in my top 10 list. My apologies, I keep comparing it with Usagi drop again and again, but I can't just stop it. "My girl" is everything that Usagi drop failed to deliver in the 2nd half.)

I am writing this review wishing that more people would take interest in reading this manga. The story is very beautiful, realistic, and full of emotions.

The story is episodic and each arc has its story to tell which always conclude perfectly.

The art is very different to your typical manga (in a very likable way) and I think that its very suitable with the flow of the story. I would say the art and the story compliment each other perfectly that I wouldn't know how it would be made better.

The characters were perfect, although you wouldn't see that much growth on the other characters ... I am very impressed by the character development of Koharu and Masamune. Koharu's character is mature and compassionate to the feelings of other people. She always try to not give burden to Masamune, afraid that he would also loose him, that is why she isn't able to express her emotions more freely. While Masamune give's his best to to give the emotional support to Koharu while trying to move on with his love to Youko, Koharu's mother.

Enjoyment, I find this very enjoyable to the extent that I would write a review so that other people would also read this and be able to feel this unexplainable happiness and content from reading a My Girl.

At the very least I wish I have the right words to describe how gorgeously made this manga is (maybe i'll leave that to the expert). I definitely recommend this manga especially to those who love the Natsume Yuujinchou feeling. To Ms Sahara Mizu, thank you for creating My Girl and if a manga would be able to understand I hope you know it was " A pleasure to read you".

My Girl is a melancholy experience that leaves a lump in your throat while reading. It is about a quiet young man and his five year old daughter learning to navigate life after the death of the mother. The watercolor style of Yumeka Sumono lends well to this type of story, which is also nicely paced at only 44 chapters.

The author focuses mostly on the atmosphere and the emotional aftertaste each chapter leaves on its readers- at the cost of the mundane. The reader is like a rock skipping across a body of water, and we only see snippets of daily life, intrigues, conflicts, ... and relationships, as time goes by quickly.

This type of storytelling makes for a pleasant streamlined evening read, but does stretch suspension of disbelief. Characters surrounding the father-daughter duo are choreographed in and out of storylines, and each time they show up, manage to conjure up a hallmark moment for our protagonists before fading out again. There are some attempts of studying and developing these side characters, who are actually interesting, but unfortunately those attempts start and end in the same chapter. We never get to follow up and explore the aftereffects of their encounters beyond immediate dramatics, and thus, several characters wind up feeling "used" and forgotten.

The protagonists themselves are somewhat superhuman. While the father certainly struggles and is shown failing, he also never fails to overcome those challenges, sometimes off-screen, and is always shown well adjusted by the next chapter. The precocious daughter is even stronger, and beyond occasionally being allowed to act her age, is an endless source of wholesomeness. There were times when My Girl's cast felt alienating, because of either how pure they were or due to their abrupt exits.

Nevertheless, the repeating refrain of My Girl hammers home its message deftly: don't forget to stop and smell the roses, and definitely don't trample them on the way to the flower garden! Yumeka Sumono's storyboards are unbelievably good at leaving readers sentimental and teary-eyed. And with such an inspiring theme packed into a short and emotional read, it's a manga that I see myself coming back to in the future.

bawling, writhing around on the floor , never the same . i dont care about anyone who says this manga isnt sad i am a cold ass bitch but i was crying all the way through it restored my faith in humanity and then snatched it away just as fast the relationships are very realistic and you'll probably be able to relate to atleast something happening the main character doesnt suddenly become the best father we seem him struggle trying to raise her + this manga trys to make us understand why people do things it might strike you later on that the person was ... only doing something out of love and theres alot of scenes that make you question if a "bad" character is truly unredeemable he.. anyway very good read it if you have unresolved daddy issues :)

Dude...
Ever read a story that just touched your heart? It had every emotion you could think of. Everything that the best story out there has... and more. it was just too good. You ended the story, just sat and closed your eyes. And just thought about what you just finished. The more you think about what you just read, The more you respect the author. You feel grateful for the author to write such a piece. You feel proud of yourself that you even thought about reading that story.....
Such a story coupled with excellent artwork which perfectly suits the story, what else do you want!?


That ... was my girl. I can't explain it in words. I have invested a few hours of hardcore thinking about it but I feel that I will keep thinking about this manga for the next few years. Reading this manga will probably be one of the best decisions of your entire life. So why not give it a go?

Masamune reminisces over his late girlfriend. He feels a lot of emotions. Regret. Resent. Hopelessness. These feelings flood his mind, causing him to reconsider everything he’s wanted in his life. He lives on, but he can’t move forward. That is until he meets his daughter, Koharu. Masamune decides to roll the dice with this encounter and together, he and Koharu form a precious bond as they navigate through the world of families. My Girl tells the heartwarming tale of a man trying to become a father and a daughter trying to understand the world of parenthood.

The biggest strength of this manga lies in its benevolent ... view of parenting. Masamune struggles to give the best for his daughter as a single parent while simultaneously wrestling with his own inner conflicts. He’s not a perfect parent. He’s also not a perfect person. He makes mistakes, and he learns from them. That’s what makes him human and very relatable. Even if you have no experience being a parent, it’s still easy to relate to a lot of Masamune’s struggles. We’ve had our own fair share of regrets in life, and it’s something that will stay with us for a long time. We’ve all juggled with loneliness, aimlessness, and the fear of uncertainty. These things are what make Masamune such an endearing character and it also makes his development all the more fulfilling.

Little by little, with the help of the people around him, Masamune learns to become a true father for Koharu. Koharu, on the other hand, attempts to understand her own complicated emotions. She holds a surprising amount of maturity for a girl her age, and she strives to help Masamune in any way she can. Both Masamune and Koharu have lost someone precious to them. In a way, they’re not just family but also kindred spirits. It’s through this similarity that they’re able to support each other on an equal level.

Masamune, while being the grown-up of the two, still has a lot to learn about the complexity of a child’s mind, and he finds himself relying a lot on Koharu in order to find meaning in his own life. Koharu, while striving to move forward, realizes throughout the course of the manga her own desires and ambitions and what she wants for both herself and her father. These conflicts play out naturally, and the way they maneuver through other sides of the parenting spectrum highlights the grounded nature of the manga. The father-and-daughter duo go through loss, regret, and finding the courage to move on. They do so in the most tender way possible, which makes their journey incredibly endearing to read through.

My Girl explores different forms of parenting, through various perspectives and circumstances. The manga addresses divorce, the anxiety of pregnancy, the fear of not being a good enough parent, and it explores these ideas in a responsible way. The manga never strays away from the cold hard truths, creating a sense of melancholy and desolation. But while the manga does have its depressing moments, it also adopts a positive and optimistic outlook on the themes of parenthood. While the bleak reality is there, there is also a sense of hope and happiness that sprout alongside it. The author perfectly conveys the fact that, while challenging, parenting can also be deeply rewarding and satisfying for all parties involved. Having an overtly depressing manga may appeal to the realism, but having a complimentary amount of joy and wonder is also just as realistic.

The manga’s art style greatly compliments the themes and tones of the story. The illustrations give a sense of comfort that emphasizes the story’s fleeting sense of time, creating a unique sense of atmosphere that elicits the feeling of solace. Characters are drawn beautifully, and their facial expressions perfectly convey their own emotions in a delicate manner. The shading and linework are meticulously outlined and illustrated. Things such as a gentle smile or a straight face may seem like simple things, but they elicit deep emotions; pictures are worth a thousand words after all. The author knows exactly how to evoke certain feelings at just the right time with their understanding of these subtle gestures. There are also specific panels and scenes that are just stunning to look at, the scenery evoking a warmth that matches the manga’s tonal direction. The author’s illustrations breathe life into the manga, strengthening its emotional weight and depth.

My Girl presents a profound portrayal of parenting and what it truly means to develop a relationship with your children. It doesn’t shy away from the bleak and fleeting moments of life, but it also accompanies it with positive and optimistic messages that are sincere and genuine. With its endearing cast of characters, its heartfelt style of art, and its mature story, My Girl provides an experience that will leave a touching and long-lasting impression on your soul.

I never would have thought that a story between a father and his daughter will be this so good and emotional.
I completed this manga like a month ago and still can feel the heartwarming vibe this manga gave me.

First the art style, it is so finely done, I highly appreciate those watercolor arts, it's so calming.
The story begins after the main character looses his beloved. His own child, out of nowhere came to see him, Koharu- a sweet and cute girl and Masamune- a fellow nerd i could say. The emotional feeling between them is so well presented.

The ending chapters made ... me emotional. I would highly recommend this to everyone. Give it a go, you would merrily love it.

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REVIEW WITHOUT SPOILER



I am a recent manga reader, I will summarize my opinion about this manga and hope it will convince you to read it. :)

I like the theme of this manga, I've watched several movies with the same theme, what I have to say about it is that this is the best work on the theme I've ever seen. The story unfolds calmly; the characters' emotions are well explored; other characters and their views of the story also matter; the main characters are very cute and endearing; the ending was really well written; and finally, this manga has lots of exciting parts and great ... life lessons, it's definitely worth a read! I wish this manga were for sale in my region.

A serious RELIEF from the other mangas.

What you'll love about this manga is the amazing character development and its not all about romantic love or proving yourself. The main characters had normal problems that were not EXAGERATED at all. There's a definite flow to the story that will make your heart clench. You'll be clinging to the plot because it's beyond beautiful.

My Girl is all about family and making mistakes. There's so much to learn from this manga. The characters were lovable in all angles. They felt real. They just float off the pages without trying. And the art was soft and gentle. There were ... no harsh lines. I absolutely admit that I'm a sucker for handsome main characters but this manga makes you think that the author purposely drew these characters to make us focus on the plot.

IT'S A TEN OUT OF TEN!

All I can say is how much I adore each character. I often feel that the most important part of a manga is how believable their characters are, if the author has tried to imbue them parts of their soul; and in My Girl, I felt that every character was in some way a depiction of the authors own life, the people they hold dear, the people they struggle with. There lies a great effort to love and understand others and to love themselves. I don't think you could get such a vivid cast otherwise. Masamune's mother often annoyed me very much, I wanted him ... to shout out at her many times. But ultimately, she reminded me a lot of my own mother

I began reading this series because I was looking something similar to Yotsuba, but it turned into to be the opposite. Yet, it was not a bad series, and I would have rated the series higher if it was not for the male lead. The mc met his lover as a freshman in high school, while his lover was a senior. Later, his lover leaves him to study abroad and does not hear from her for five years. Next time he hears her name, she passed away and was secretly raising their child. No DNA test, and takes ... the child as it was his. Also, the mc does not have any romantic relationships with other women because he is unable to forget his lover during all those years. A year or more passes with him and his daughter, and he is unable to move on from a lover that left him in high school. The best character, Koharu, his daughter also suffers and misunderstand situations blaming herself because the mc is unable to move on.
The rest of the characters are not bad, from the mc's parents, to his mother-in-law, and Koharu's friend's and their families, including his deceased lover. The less likable character I found was the mc.