#Tchaiko (Shimanami Tasogare)

[who-do-i-know-this-man]

⚠️Vote for whomever YOU DO NOT KNOW⚠️‼️

[hakonohanayome]

Shimanami Tasogare - Yuhki Kamatani

[tanenigiri]

Review #29: Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare (Volume 4)

Japanese title: しまなみ誰そ彼 (Shimanami Tasogare)

Story and art: Yuhki Kamatani

English publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment

Number of volumes: 4 (complete)

A glimpse of several futures.

[CW: Mentions of homophobia]

(This review contains story spoilers.)

When I got my physical copies of Our Dreams at Dusk, one of the first things I noticed was how much thicker Volume 4 was compared to all the others. As I began reading the series though, I realized that this last volume was much longer because it had the very lofty task of wrapping up quite a number of plotlines brought up in the first three volumes. And when I realized that this volume was introducing new plot arcs on top of that, I almost wondered why it wasn’t even thicker than it already was.

That said, this does mean that there’s a lot I want to talk about in this volume, but since I don’t want this review to be too lengthy, I figured I’d just focus on the three couples that get the spotlight here. With two of them already in the front cover and the third in the back, I figured it’d feel right to give them the focus, as most of the smaller plot arcs revolve around one of them anyway.

And of course, I should start with the women of the hour - Daichi and Saki, who go through quite a lot before their wedding at Triangle House. With the volume starting out by reminding us that Saki has yet to come out to her parents, you can already sense that the story is building up to that moment. Saki’s been in the background for the past two volumes, so we don’t really get the sense that she’s more willing to face the situation now than she was in the first volume, but with a wedding on the horizon, she definitely finds it more urgent than ever before.

Unfortunately, the way Saki’s parents find out is less than ideal - someone outs her to them. While it’s definitely realistic, I can’t help but feel incredibly sorry for her, as she already had a lot of hesitation about coming out to her parents, so someone else ripping off that bandage from her must’ve stung a lot. Daichi is also at a loss with what to do, as we found out back in Volume 1 that when she came out to her own parents, it was less than ideal.

Thankfully, the couple’s confrontation with Saki’s parents turn out to go quite well. We get a really great speech from Saki’s father here, where he admits that he was very much against the idea when he first heard it. But immediately after, he said that he hated himself for even thinking that when his priority should be his daughter’s happiness. We get a funny interjection from Saki’s mother here, saying that she would’ve been furious with her husband if he didn’t take it the right way. She seems to have already made her peace with her daughter’s sexuality quite some time ago, as she said that she “had a feeling about it.” It might not be the sheer open-mindedness of Tomoko, but it’s pretty much the best possible outcome Saki could’ve gotten.

This ended up a lot more optimistic than I thought it was going to go, but both Daichi and Saki deserve it. Their wedding happens with both of their parents attending, and they finally get to be their true selves in front of their families. It’s the most definitively happy ending out of all the characters in this series, and while I wish we got a bit more build-up for it - especially from Saki’s perspective - I do think it’s a great note to end their plotline on.

Moving back a bit, the person who ends up outing Saki to her parents is Tsubaki’s father, who we know from previous volumes has a pretty warped view of the LGBT community as a whole. So when he visits the drop-in center to apologize to Saki (though he doesn’t find her there as this happens around the same time as Saki’s conversation with her parents), Tsubaki is understandably mad at his father’s insensitivity. The dad is taken aback by his son’s attitude, but he then connects the dots and asks Tsubaki who “dragged him into homosexuality.” We know from the previous volume that Tsubaki is still confused about his identity, so he understandably becomes very defensive at his dad’s assumptions.

Who ends up saving the day, though, is Tasuku, who not only makes the bold decision of coming out to Tsubaki’s father, but also tells him why such an action is important for any LGBT individual. It’s a really great scene for Tasuku, as not only does it show how much he’s learned about the LGBT community across the past volumes, but it also shows how much more comfortable he is about his sexuality. He’s spent the past volumes learning from everyone in the drop-in center while also dealing with his own issues, so to see Tasuku be a lot more confident in this volume is really nice.

This more confident Tasuku isn’t lost on Tsubaki either, who’s own feelings about his sexuality were already in a flux and were only made worse after that exchange with his father. It leads to this great scene between them where Tsubaki acknowledges Tasuku’s feelings for him but admits that he isn’t ready to face them just yet. This is probably my favorite ending out of all the characters in this series, as instead of treating Tsubaki’s uncertainty about his sexuality as an issue that needs to be solved, the story simply acknowledges it as something he’s continuously working on. I praised Utsumi’s character in Volume 3 for having a different approach to his sexuality, and I can say the same for Tsubaki here - even if we can make all the assumptions we can about it (especially after the epilogue), the fact that the story leaves Tsubaki’s identity open-ended is a great way to show that he himself isn’t ready to put a label on it just yet.

Admirably, Tasuku isn’t heartbroken about this admission, and he even reassures Tsubaki that being confused about his feelings is fine and that he should take all the time he needs to sort them out. Not only is Tasuku using his personal experiences here, but he’s also putting what he learned from Misora and Utsumi in the previous volumes to good use. It only adds to his character development I mentioned earlier, as the Tasuku from three volumes ago wouldn’t have had the same reaction as the Tasuku here. He seems to be heading toward his own happy ending, though, as the epilogue shows Tsubaki telling Tasuku that he can call him by his first name.

(I also have to briefly mention that Tsubaki gets quite touchy with Tasuku throughout this volume, and I find it hilarious that Tasuku’s reaction to these gestures is very mixed. He calls Tsubaki out on it in the epilogue but they don’t really address it, and I think Tsubaki knows that Tasuku likes it anyway.)

Shifting the good mood a bit is Tchaiko, who I don’t think I’ve mentioned in my previous reviews but has been one of the constant presences in the drop-in center since Volume 1. He’s the eldest among the regulars in the center, but we don’t really get much from him in the first three volumes apart from his love of classical music. He gets a full on arc here, though, when we find out that he’s been in a 30-year relationship with his partner, Seichiro, and Tchaiko constantly visits him in the hospital as Seichiro is dealing with a grave illness.

I already had a bad feeling about where this was going from the start, but the conflict of this plot arc doesn’t actually come from Seichiro’s numbered days - it actually sounds like they’ve both quietly accepted it and are only waiting for the inevitable. Instead, it revolves around how Tchaiko hasn’t come clean about his relationship with Seichiro’s son, Akira, and we find out that Tchaiko times his hospital visits so that he’s there when Akira isn’t watching over his father. I was pleasantly surprised that the story went this route, and it even makes for a nice parallel with the two other main conflicts I talked about above - what with all three of them dealing with family complications.

These two largely stay in the background for the middle part of the volume, but on the day of Daichi and Saki’s wedding, Tchaiko gets a text from Akira saying that Seichiro is in a critical condition. This definitely catches Tchaiko off-guard, as not only does he have to deal with the imminent death of the love of his life, but he also has to contend with the fact that Seichiro had apparently told Akira about him. He then has a great scene with Someone-San, who we find out earlier in the volume have been friends for quite some time even before the drop-in center existed. Tchaiko relays all of his worries and indecision to Someone-San, but all she does in the face of those doubts is to push Tchaiko and tell him to go. True enough, when he gets to the hospital, Akira only smiles in acknowledgment and gives Tchaiko the opportunity to say goodbye to Seichiro.

Even if I initially found it odd that the story would introduce a brand new plotline when it still had to wrap up quite a number of them, I really appreciated its inclusion in the end, as it has a really unique vibe when compared to all the other plot arcs of the series. I’m not sure if it’s because this deals with a more seasoned couple, but the sense of satisfaction I got from seeing this plotline resolved is a lot different from the other two I talked about above.

And, really, that’s what makes Our Dreams at Dusk such a standout title for me - how it’s able to handle all of these stories and give them the depth they deserve. I was a bit worried that this volume was biting off more than it could chew, but in the end I found myself liking where all of the characters ended up. Sure, I may have wanted more out of some characters, but that’s really just another way of saying that I didn’t want this series to end at all.

Random thoughts that I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

Apart from Tchaiko, the other Cat Clutter member that finally gets the spotlight in this volume is Someone-San, who has really only spent the last three volumes being this mysterious presence that’s both critical to the plot and in the background. We find out here that she considers herself aromantic and asexual, but she doesn’t like putting a label on herself at all, with the name “Someone-San” even being given to her by Tchaiko and Seichiro. We also get a really great line from her about how her asexuality isn’t what defines her, and how it’s only one part of her entire identity. As much as I want to talk about her monologue about who she is, I honestly haven’t wrapped my head around it all that well and I feel like I’m still missing certain pieces about that chapter. I will say that it was a great set of panels though.

One of the other plotlines that gets wrapped up in this volume is Misora's, as Tasuku wants to invite him to Daichi and Saki’s wedding. It goes a lot better than I expected, as Tasuku simply goes through all of the things that he did wrong and asks for Misora’s forgiveness, which he gives almost nonchalantly, but you can tell that he appreciates the gesture. (Also his look in the wedding is his best one in the series.)

I’m kinda surprised that we didn’t get more from Tasuku and Tsubaki’s school life here, as I would’ve expected more people to point out the changed dynamic between the two of them considering that Tsubaki’s fairly popular and Tasuku isn’t. The only one who does point it out is Tachibana, Tasuku’s closest friend in school and teammate in the table tennis club, and all he really says is how he wants to join in on the fun too. I wonder if he’ll notice that there’s more going on between them?

Thanks for reading! You can read my review of the first two volumes here, and my review of the third volume here. Our Dreams at Dusk has really gone up my personal rankings the more I reread it, as there’s really nothing quite like it among the manga I’ve read so far. It’s a really emotional and fulfilling series, and I highly recommend it.

[all-kamatani-tournament]

finally, a tournament bracket where a Kamatani character will advance past the first round

announcing the All-Kamatani Tournament Bracket! this tournament will start with one bye (pre-round match) tomorrow, June 7 (all times are in Pacific time). each poll will run for one week, typically starting on Thursdays. I’ve separated the initial round (following the bye) into four groups of four polls each so as to not overwhelm with polls. 

image descriptions below cut (for length)

[image description: 

image 1: “All-Kamatani Tournament Bracket” “finally, a tournament where a Kamatani character will make it past the first round.” The background shows the covers of the first volumes of Yuhki Kamatan’s major serialized works, in chronological order: Nabari no Ou, Shounen Note, Busshi no Busshin, Shimanami Tasogare, and Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate.

image 2: tournament bracket. On the left side: Seed 1, Raikou Shimizu (Nabari no Ou), faces the winner of bye 1 (Seed 32, Sou’un, Busshi no Busshin, versus seed 33, Myoujou, Busshi no Busshin). Seed 16, Mariko Ise (Shounen Note), faces seed 17, Tasuku Kaname (Shimanami Tasogare). Seed 9, Kouichi Aizawa (Nabari no Ou), faces seed 24, Mito (Shounen Note). Seed 8, Yutaka Aoi (Shounen Note), faces seed 25, Touko Takamine (Shounen Note). Seed 4, Kazuhiko Yukimi (Nabari no Ou), faces seed 29, Koutarou Fuuma (Nabari no Ou). Seed 13, Misora (Shimanami Tasogare) faces seed 20, Minoru Aoi (Shounen Note). Seed 12, Natsuyoshi Utsumi (Shimanami Tasogare) faces seed 21, Gau Meguro (Nabari no Ou). Seed 5, Raimei Shimizu (Nabari no Ou) faces seed 28, Tobari Durandal Kumohira (Nabari no Ou). On the right side: Seed 2, Yoite (Nabari no Ou) faces seed 31, Tomoya Tomo (Shounen Note). Seed 15, Shijima Kurookano (Nabari no Ou) faces seed 18, Mika Kashima (Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate). Seed 10, Vladimir Ilyich Popov (Shounen Note), faces seed 23, Yamato Hibino (Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate). Seed 7, Haruko Daichi (Shimanami Tasogare), faces seed 26, Touma Tsubaki (Shimanami Tasogare). Seed 3, Miharu Rokujou (Nabari no Ou), faces seed 30, Akitoshi Betsuyaku (Shounen Note). Seed 14, Midori Machiya (Shounen Note), faces seed 19, Hanabusa Seki (Nabari no Ou). Seed 11, Hani (Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate), faces seed 22, Iliya “Tchaiko”-san (Shimanami Tasogare). Finally, seed 6, Someone-san (Shimanami Tasogare) faces seed 27, Saki (Shimanami Tasogare).

image 3: The same tournament bracket, but with lines separating it into four groups by quadrant. The upper left is group 1, the upper right is group 2, the lower left is group 3, and the lower right is group 4. Included in group 1 is Bye 1, which separates the match between Sou’un and Myoujou from the rest of the group.

/end image description.]

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you know what we need to talk about the v1-v5 shimanami tasogare tchaiko glow up

[representativecharacters]

Shimanami Tasogare (Our Dreams at Dusk) Masterpost

This manga is an unusually realistic depiction of queer experiences in modern Japan without the narrative devices common in more typical yaoi/yuri stories, all conveyed with some truly beautiful visual metaphors. The depictions of homophobia and transphobia the protagonists deal with on societal and individual levels from the well-meaning to the malicious is particularly realistic. 

Despite the struggles the protagonists deal with there are plenty of moments of lightness and celebration. It focuses on a gay teenager, Kaname Tasuku, who stumbles across a non-profit lounge which is used as a meeting place by a range of LGBT+ members.

Character: Kaname Tasuku

Representtion: Gay

Their Importance: He struggles with internalised homophobia in a far more realistic way than the often melodramatic portrayal in fiction. Being part of a group full of other queer people increases his confidence in his identity and he comes out to his peers after initially thinking he would be closeted all his life. Notably, being gay doesn’t mean he’s automatically clued into every LGBT+ issue. He sometimes asks intrusive questions and unwittingly temporarily ends his friendship with Misora when he attempts to comfort them after they’re sexually harassed by downplaying the incident. While still a sympathetic character, he’s clearly shown to be 100% wrong.

Character: Misora Shuuji

Representation: Questioning (possibly gnc boy/trans woman), SA survivor

Their Importance: Misora is a sixth-grader currently questioning their gender and experimenting with a feminine presentation. The lounge is a safe space for them to explore their identity without outside pressure. As Haruko states, Misora doesn’t have to choose a label right away. This shows how many people don’t instantly know what their identity is and the lines between various identities aren’t rigid. At one point Misora is groped by a peer while presenting as female while out at a festival and furiously shouts down Tasuku for trying to downplay it and their friendship temporarily ends over it. Misora is never treated as oversensitive for this which is a complete 180 for how this is usually treated in manga.

Character: Utsumi Natsuyoshi

Representation: Transgender

Their Importance: Utsumi is an uncommon example of a trans male manga character. He is initially withdrawn from the other members of the lounge but finds connections there. In his volume 3, he is subjected to transphobia when he attends a school reunion. His ex-classmates ask him intrusive questions about his identity and one pressures him to take part in an lgbt advocacy project despite his obvious lack of interest. When he blows up at them it’s presented as a normal reaction to harassment rather than as some kind of moral failing.

Character: Saki

Representation: Lesbian

Their Importance: She’s the wife of Haruko and is a deeply caring woman who is completely comfortable in her own skin and helps the younger members of the lounge achieve this as well.

Character: Ilya Tchaiko

Representation: Gay 

Their Importance: Older gay characters are still uncommon so having a significant character who is an elderly gay man who’s been in a loving relationship for several decades and has a social circle full of other lgbt people is a pleasant twist. Unusually he isn’t regulated into a mentor role though he’s still a supportive friend. Instead, the considerably younger Anonymous gives him some vital advice in the climax. Also, he has a great taste in music! 

Character: Anonymous

Representation: Aromantic Asexual

Their Importance: Anonymous is the mysterious and stoic leader of the lounge and provides funding. She presents herself as cold and uncaring, sayingg: “You can tell me anything. I won’t listen, though,” but it quickly becomes obvious this is not the case. In the final volume she explicitly describes herself as asexual and notes how isolating this can be when living in a traditionalist culture that expects her to be married when she has zero interest in this kind of relationship.  She succeeds in finding a way to live a happy and fulfilling life in isolation while still finding a way to keep a connection with people like her. There aren’t many aspec characters who get to live life on their own terms like this or get character depth. (Note: in Japanese, asexual is often used to refer to asexual and aromantic people interchangeably). 

Thanks to anon for the write-up!

[no-road-home]

tag yourself shimanami tasogare edition

[rkoradiopictures]

[3starjammies]

Just realized Tchaiko from Shimanami Tasogare is modeled after Tchaikovsky, specifically this portrait it seems.

Obviously the name is an abbreviation of Tchaikovsky that he uses as a nickname but I didn’t know what Tchaikovsky looked like so I didn’t realize his appearance was modeled after him too.

[sugar-charlie]

Summer in Shimanami

[shimanamii]

THE SECRETS

[hakonohanayome]

Shimanami Tasogare - Yuhki Kamatani 

[kingjinxii]

Cat’s Clowder Pride Icons

How could I not make Pride icons for the best LGBT+ manga on the market?

For those of you who haven’t read it, Shimanami Tasogare is a fantastic manga about a gay boy named Tasaku coming to terms with himself, with the help of the residents of Cat’s Clowder. It’s a wonderful and relatively quick read that I highly recommend.

I’m doing Pride Icon Requests!

[all-kamatani-tournament]

Round 1, Match 15: Hani (Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate) vs. Iliya "Tchaiko"-san (Shimanami Tasogare)

[image description:

image 1: Hani on the cover of volume 2 of Hiraeth wa Tabiji no Hate.

image 2: Iliya "Tchaiko"-san in Shimanami Tasogare.

/end image description].

The winner of this match will go on to face the winner of Match 16, Someone-san (Shimanami Tasogare) versus Saki (Shimanami Tasogare), during Round 2.

[incorrectshimanamitasogarequotes]

Tsubaki: woah, check out this big ass CD Tchaiko: that's a record Tsubaki: yea, a record for the biggest CD ever

[fykamatani]

Tchaiko by Yuhki Kamatani posted on HMV & Books Shibuya’s twitter.