Cousin Manga Review (Volumes 1 & 2)

Thanks to peachgummie I was able to find a new series called Cousin. It's a josei series that flew under the radar, but deals with difficult topics such as self-esteem, weight issues, and building self-confidence. I think these are all problems women deal with as they mature and grow into adults, sometimes we never fully realize how to deal with these issues. Cousin by Ikuemi Ryou tackles these problems in an approachable and realistic manner. This really drew me in to continue reading until the end of the second volume (the manga had an official release but Jmanga who translated it shutdown, making the last volume hard to track down) but I'll give you my review so you can consider reading and supporting the official release. I will update this review when I get a chance to finish reading it in its entirety.

Summary

This manga is considered a Drama, Romance, Josei, Comedy and Slice-of-Life

The story follows Tsubomi, a recent high school graduate who begins working part-time out of school. She led a normal boring life thus far and feels unsatisfied with herself in many respects. To further this dissatisfaction she has a cousin she is always compared to. Her cousin is an upcoming idol, good-looking and thin. Tsubomi in contrast wears no make-up and is chubby. She does her best to break out of her past habits by making friends with a coworker Shiro, and finding new love. It's a story of overcoming your own demons and working towards being the person you want to be. It may be a typical plot for a josei manga, but what differentiates this title is how Tsubomi learns to stop being a self-pitying woman, and becomes someone who constantly tries to better herself.

Story

The story isn't finished after 2 volumes, it was completed at 3 volumes but the first 2 develop a lot that I can talk about. I have technically read the first 2 chapters of volume 3, but it's not enough to make a judgment on that volume as of yet. In my summary I highlighted the development of Tsubomi's character as that is obviously the big mover of the plot. At first I found her frustrating, but I quickly related to her when she began to think about positively changing herself. I of course went through a similar phase, however I don't think I was as conscious about it when it was happening. But much like Tsubomi what helped me to change were the people I surrounded myself with. I loved that this story felt real, and that it was relatable on many different levels (that I didn't expect). All this being said, I found the plot at times was slow moving, spending too much time on little points that weren't interesting. Certain points that were the cause of conflict were not very compelling, making them unimportant and not interesting to developing the plot. Although these are problems, they're not major issues to the overall effect of the story. The story gets an 8.0 out of 10 because of its ability to tackle issues in a convincing and relatable manner.

Characters

The cast of characters are all very different in the story. There are many foils that play off of Tsubomi's character which work with varying effect. The main highlight is on Tsubomi and Shiro's relationship as friends. Shiro's character is very likeable, as he easily becomes someone you can imagine being a real guy friend of your own. His character is natural and his characteristics follow naturally from the simple clues you are given about him. The mangaka does a good job of not over-complicating conversation and interactions between characters; we get subtle clues about their personalities and come to judgments about what type of person they are based on those moments. We don't need in-depth analyses, but rather we can use real-world examples to understand each character's role in a young woman's life such as Tsubomi's. A lot is left to the imagination which makes particular characters strong in that regard. Being left with a few questions behind intentions is compelling, and it leaves us thinking critically about the roles people have in our own lives. I enjoyed this style of narrative in that respect, which gives the characters an 8.5 out of 10. The only reason it isn't higher is because of the fact that not all the characters are particularly captivating, but for those that are they are very well written.

Presentation

Unfortunately Cousin isn't the most gorgeous manga out there. At times it looks a bit sloppy, there's a lot of white space and overused backgrounds. The art style however is unique as it doesn't over embellish physical features and displays things in a more realistic tone. Tsubomi's character is convincingly plain, contrasting her well against the made-up female counterparts she's often comparing herself to. Each character has a unique design that compliments their personality. There are positive and negative aspects of the presentation, so it gets a score of 7.0 out 10. It offers a refreshing simplistic art style, but it falls prey to messy drawings with generic backgrounds, both leading to an overall lack luster presentation.

Final Thoughts

There are many great aspects to this manga series that made it a stand out pick. Its relatable protagonist and well thought-out storytelling kept me interested while offering an interesting art-style that rejects over-romanticized art (one that often plagues many romantic manga series). It has few flaws, and from my overall experience of reading the manga I was willing to overlook them and go along with Tsubomi's journey. Cousin gets a final score of 7.8 out of 10.

If any of Tsubomi's issues I mentioned felt relatable to you then definitely check this title out. It might change the way you think about self-development and encourage you to get out of the slump that often weighs us down at the most difficult of times. Have you read Cousin and think I'm missing something here? Is there a josei manga you'd like reviewed? Please leave me comments and I'll do my best to fulfill your request! Many thanks again to peachgummie for your suggestion! :)