Welcome back to Book Club! This time, I'm taking a look at a one-volume drama manga; My Broken Mariko, by Waka Hirako.
Normally, I'm not a huge fan of pure drama stories. Good drama in genre fiction is always a great treat, and good drama in general is a pretty unanimous equivalent to "good writing," and even I can agree. But I often find that contemporary dramas -- be it about marriage, abuse, depression, drugs, work life, whatever -- are either flat and uninteresting at best, or trying way too hard at worst. That's why I dislike most of the works by Inio Asano, who is a renowned mangaka that typically makes conventional drama (some of his titles include The Girl on the Shore, Goodnight Pun Pun, and Solanin). I find them pretentious, bleak for the sake of being bleak, and without much actual depth. Movies like Trainspotting, Gone Girl, Dear Evan Hansen, The Fault in Our Stars, etc, are really not my cup of tea.
I bought My Broken Mariko from Kinokuniya on my San Fransisco trip this year (a blog post of which I'm still working on! Writing novels and DM'ing a campaign is very very time consuming!) specifically so I could read and review it for Book Club. It's one volume, it's not that long, and I thought, "eh, sure."
I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. My Broken Mariko may not be profound or life changing, exactly, but it isn't hollow either. All it really is, is an exploration of one girl's grief at the suicide of her best friend, and her journey to take her ashes down to a cove the two of them had never gotten to explore together.
There's depth to be found in this story's running theme of mutual burden, and mutual friendship. I say that because it tackles a very painful truth about depression; someone who's hurt, depressed, or sick in some way can be very difficult to help, and support, without putting strain on oneself. (I say this as someone who has not only felt very strong grief and depression, but lives day to day with loved ones whose entire lives are dictated by it). Stephen King's brilliant novel Pet Sematary covers this theme to some degree -- when it comes to physical illness -- but My Broken Mariko has a dash of what it's like to be the only friend of someone whose life of abuse and misfortune has pushed them into self-loathing and self-harm, and what that does to those of us who keep them standing. Or if we, ultimately, fail to.
But in being a victim of such a harsh reality, even the hardest loved one to deal with is more than just their burdens; there is a scene in this manga where the protagonist, Shiino, shouts and screams after getting drunk in a bar. She cries about just how much she misses Mariko, and how nothing was Mariko's fault. That everything was, instead, the fault of those around her, and the weaknesses they used to place blame on her poor friend. This little scene is part of why I liked this story so much; because even with what is said above, there is much more truth in the idea that the pain and worry caused by victims is more often than not a fault in their surroundings, their people, and the world itself. It's a cycle of cause and effect, where effect causes cause and cause is an effect. I think a lot of harder things in life can be boiled down to this, honestly.
Depression and suicide is a really tough issue to cover perfectly. Both in art, and in an analysis talking about it. I don't mean what I say to be all-encompassing, as I'm speaking from my experiences and how that affects my perception of life, and what I've read. There's nuances and conditions in every situation that aren't entirely reflected in all places that depict them.
Despite that, the manga makes full use of its medium, and captures little tonal shifts (and, thus, personality) that only comics can truly get away with. Things like a silly expression, cartoonish jumping and shouting, all of those little anime-isms that would break up the flow of a serious story if it were in a film or television episode, but can be comfortably portrayed in panels on a page without being too jarring. I liked this added bit of color a lot. It reminded me that I was reading a story someone wrote and drew. Maybe some of you would think this takes you out of the story... I think it's different for a writer, or at least for me. I value the humanness in art. I value its quirks and its faults.
My Broken Mariko is far from perfect. More chapters, better linework, more time with the concept all could have made it close to such, but as of yet we have this one volume, and we certainly aren't getting any more. But I liked my time with it. If you want to read a short pathos-manga, I recommend it.
Also there was a pretty cool neo-Western one-shot in the back.
Until next time. Cheers! And remember; if you're depressed, feeling hurt, or struggling with mental illness, please remember that life is worth living. That you are more than how you feel, and that there are people out there who can help you. I have resources down below, if you need that extra push. Take care.
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BetterHelp - A mental health resource
SAMHSA - A national health hotline
If you're feeling suicidal, please call the US National Suicide Prevention Hotline; 800-273-8255. Help is available 24/7.
