THE SINGLE LIFE vol.1: The single lives of 60-year-old lesbians

by Akiko

This is story of a 60-year-old lesbian who is single and living alone.

Miyuki is single, female and a lesbian.
No girlfriend, no life partner... and today is her 60th birthday.
This is the first in a series of short stories that portray the single life of those who are of a sexual minority and are middle to senior aged.（It is a 30-page short story manga)

Genres: Manga, LGBT, Adult, Lesbian, Comics, Graphic Novels, Contemporary

30 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 15, 2023

Reviews

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed how this short slice of life manga just lets main character Miyuki contemplate her present, reflect on her past choices, and weigh whether she’s satisfied. (It’s not meant to be plot-heavy, so don’t go into it looking for that.) I’m hoping Morishima is able to continue the series as planned, because she has a great way of establishing a character’s personality through small details.

[J Kuria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope the series keeps going. Need to see more old, queer people just living life... coz it often feels like I'm supposed to just quietly melt away by 40 and cease existing.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s no point in doing a huge summary of a 32 page story, but there is all the point in reading one.

This beautiful little gem describes the quiet life of Miyuki, a 60-year-old lesbian. It’s right there in the title. She reflects on her life and how the world has changed and how she hasn’t.

She considers her romantic history. What it’s been, what it could be. How her life has been lived. What her remaining years may look like. Topics that are weighty, but Miyuki is just the right side of not letting it get to her too much.

Akiko mentions she wrote this because she is also an aging lesbian and you can feel that this is a passion piece for her. It’s charming and wistful and suffused with both joy and loneliness and all sorts of emotion. Most of the 150+ page manga don’t do as much as this one does in 32 pages.

What’s the downside? The obvious one - it should be longer. Well, no, I want it to be longer. I want to spend so much more time with this incredibly likeable woman and see her takes on things.

5 stars - more please.

[Lynda B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

yeah i don't mind being alone i just want one or two more girlfriends in my life before that point thank you!

[kory. · Rating 3 out of 5]

a short story about a 60-year-old japanese lesbian who is single, has been for a long time, and loves her life. i appreciate the sentiment of this and really wanted to love it because i’m all for any queer stories that aren’t centered around romance, but i do feel like there’s an undercurrent of regret, like the main character is happy with her single life, even though she would prefer to not be single. idk.

content/trigger warnings; misogyny, sexism, smoking, heteronormativity, amatonormativity, discussions of being closeted and coming out,

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a one shot than a full fledged volume that you might expect.

I really like this subject matter and I hope to see more manga about older lesbians, single or not.

At any rate, this was a great read.

[Christina Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute, I just didn’t realize beforehand how short it was. I need mooore!

[Loz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I demand more. So much more. *grabbiest of hands*

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short peek at the life of a relatable 60 year old lesbian.
I love when someone chooses to portray middle to senior age lesbians as their main characters, sometimes it feels like we come with an expiration date, after we turn 40 we suddenly have no more stories to tell or we become uninteresting protagonists.
As the author states at the beginning "we are here, we exist", so it makes me really happy to see us depicted in media, please give us more, we deserve it!

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. I really hope the second volume is going to come out soon because this was refreshing and delightful. It’s Miyuki’s 60th birthday and she’s a single lesbian and she does a bit of reflecting on her life. I really liked the art style and the story is really good for this to be so short. I’m excited for volume two because I want more Miyuki and I’m kinda hoping she ends up finding love.

[Aurakinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories really aren't my thing, huh?

It was fine. I like the premise - older queer lady reminiscing about her life. And the art was good. It just... Wasn't very interesting. Too short to get much depth, and the main character probably won't stay with me (I've already forgotten her name).

So in summary, I appreciated the idea way more than the execution.

[Iggy Ignacious · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, quiet story of an older woman on her life, but especially her romantic relationships. I wish it was a little longer, so we could get to know our lead more, but as a one off it was excellent.

[elene · Rating 3 out of 5]

me as a 60 year old

[Alexana · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cool person :)

[Camila A. ❲ ☘ ❳ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bonita y realista premisa pero la historia fue demasiado corta para que se quedara conmigo :(

[Mark Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic "novel," but really a short slice-of-life story about a 60-year-old single lesbian looking back on her life. The vibe is wistful. I liked spending time in her world.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sublime slice of life manga. And exactly what it says in the title.

The only drawback is that it’s a slim 32 pages.