I Am Here! Omnibus Vol. 01

Koko ni Iru Yo! #1-2

by Ema Tōyama

A SUNFLOWER IN THE SHADE
 
Invisible to her classmates, Hikage Sumino is an eighth grader with no self-esteem. Her only friends are the visitors to her Internet blog. One day, the most popular boy in the grade suddenly talks to her. Encouraged by this twist of fate, Hikage determines to transform her life and declare to the world, I Am Here!

Includes special extras after the story!

Genres: Manga, Romance, Graphic Novels, Comics, Shojo, Young Adult, Comics Manga

418 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 23, 2010

About the author

Japanese Name: 遠山 えま

She made her debut in September 2003 in the monthly manga magazine Nakayoshi with her story, Tenshi no Tamago ("Angel's Egg", no relation to the anime movie of the same name). Gokkun! Pūcho is considered her best representative work. Tokyopop has licenced it under the title Pixie Pop. All of her works are published by Kodansha, and they are enjoyed mainly by preteen and teen girls. None of her series have yet become anime.

Reviews

[#ReadAllTheBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at my local Borders yesterday (which is sadly closing). I'd flipped through it for a few pages before instantly falling in love with the characters & situations.

The idea of the book (shy cute girl meets popular boy, falls in love) isn't a new one by any stretch of the imagination. The beauty of this manga is that the author manages to make it seem new & incredibly endearing. It's so well done that you won't care that you've read or seen variations of this tale somewhere before. Hikage is a pretty easy character for many to relate to in some form or fashion. I think just about everyone has felt left out at some point in their lives, which makes it that much easier to see her as a somewhat believable character as far as manga goes.

The artwork here is also very well done & the varied emotions are displayed quite well here. I have to admit, I was very impressed by the amount of detail & work that went into this manga as it'd be so incredibly easy for the author to fall back on common tropes & cliches. There are some in this manga, but by large the author manages to avoid this for the most part.

Overall consensus is that this is a must buy, especially since it's such a short series. I believe the next volume should complete the series, making this a rather cheap buy as far as manga goes.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really expect anything going into this manga. The art on the cover was really cute, and that was enough for me to pick it up. Am I ever glad that I did. Sumino is so quiet and painfully shy that nobody around her seems to notice her. And being a very shy person myself (though not quite that shy!) I could really identify with that. She ends up attracting a popular boy by doing something very brave and kind-hearted, and I loved that start to their relationship. He's very sweet with her. There's also some bullying in this book, which seems to be pretty much taken care of by the end of this volume. Pretty realistically, too- the bullies don't see the light so much as they give up. I ended up really liking this book that I had no expectations for, which is always a lovely surprise.

[Lori-Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is the first manga i have ever read, and i really enjoyed it even though it took a while to get used to reading a book backwards.:)

[Nina Sakura · Rating 2 out of 5]

To me, I am Here! is about a snobby eighth grader who always feels sorry for herself, and somehow manages to make the others around her feel sorry for her as well. There isn't much creativity behind the plot; a shy, unpopular schoolgirl is liked by the shaggy-haired popular guy (in this case, two of them). After that, another girl tries to ruin her life, and of course, does not succeed. The entire class is on the main character's side and they all want to be her friends. There are lots of conflicts for the main character, Hikage, who is pretty much perfect. Yes, she is "plain" and "shy," but both of the popular boys like her and fight over her, she's kind to people and nature, and everyone is on her side.

Now, I'm not saying that there's nothing good to the series. The art is pretty good for the most part, and I like a lot of ideas in the books. For example, the whole sun and shadows metaphor thing adds a nice touch to the story. I think that if some changes were made (for instance, if the "perfect" main character was given more flaws), the series would be a lot better.

For the most part, I am not a huge fan of I am Here!. There are things that I like about it, but I would not recommend this book to everyone.

[⋆☆☽ Kriss ☾☆⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, yes. This manga is a quintessential "extreme social shyness + the power of friendship and love + wanting to grow and change = fluffy, cotton candy happy ending" sort of story. It has simple, cutesy art and the conflicts all boil down to rather benign, awkward, cutesy things.

Like always, this review covers the entire series (which I believe spans 5 total volumes) and may contain a variety of spoilers.

If you're familiar with Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 1, then consider this a sort of sugar-coated, simplified, shortened variation with a few tweaks so that it focuses exclusively on our heroine.

Hikage is an eight grade girl who is characterized by her extreme lack of presence and therefore lack of meaningful social connections--so in school she has no friends, but she looks fondly upon the two most popular boys in her grade, Hinata and Teru, and regards them as shining suns who exemplify qualities she wishes she had. At home, she keeps a blog and on this blog she is often met with comments by two people who constantly offer words of encouragement and advice, which keep her afloat through her daily encounters with loneliness and self-doubt. While taking care of a lone sunflower at school one day (which is used to metaphorically represent Hikage's own growth as a person), Hikage has an encounter with Hinata, who praises her for growing the flower and remarks that as her classmate, of course he knows her name, later revealing that he's always been watching her and that he's in love with her. This sudden attention from Hinata means the world to Hikage and from here on out, she slowly comes out of her shell and forms a relationship with Hinata and the rest of her class, which incurs the ire of a jealous girl in her grade who sets out to personally make Hikage as miserable as possible. All the while, Hikage finds support in Hinata and Teru, who both have feelings for her and have a sort of love triangle with her as a result, and finds the strength within herself to let go of her heavy reliance on her blog and its commenters, especially the one who goes by the username Black Rabbit, in order to find happiness with the friends she's made in the real world.

Overall, it is a cute and serviceable shoujo focusing on themes of overcoming shyness and self-doubt to embrace friendship, overcome adversity, find acceptance and love, and come into yourself like a flower in bloom, that is is, in the manga's own words "okay to be here."

It's targeted at younger girls and teens--I'd say 10 to 15 years--and doesn't feature anything especially extreme. The bullying is probably the most mature aspect, but it doesn't go beyond what you might expect one eight grader to do to another. The romance is sweet and tame.

For me, the art does leave something to be desired--the hair lines often obscure the faces and the necks are pencil thin most of the time, making the heads look huge. Stuff like that.

Hikage's behavior is a bit exaggerated, as is the nature of how extremely she's ignored, the bullying is very cliche, the romance is very basic, but it's difficult to be too harsh on the series, since it's intended to be a very fluffy, sweet story with cartoonish elements. As a young teen, I did quite like this and bought the fist omnibus of it, since I could relate to the heroine's feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and the solace she felt from her online life. It isn't, however, something that I'd say, has aged well for me. At 25, the story is just too surface level and features far too many shoujo cliches in regards to how character growth and social conflicts are handled. The heroine says the same "I'm unworthy, but I'll work hard to be worthy!" sort of stuff and is met with the same "girls abuse and hate me because they dislike how I can be quiet/gentle/meek and get a boy's attention" and the whole "I'm conflicted about boys because I don't want to hurt anyone" sort of conflict tossed in.

It's a nice manga for younger readers, but there isn't much nuance for older ones sadly.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good manga. I liked Hikage Sumino, the main character, and Hinata, the love interest. Teru was okay. I liked the story, which was pretty cute, and I will read the sequel. 4 stars.

[(• ֊ •)੭ amyfish ~ love2love · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I can kinda relate :D
Don't give up hope and always know that there is someone out there who notices and cares!

[Maegen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.

[Haley Severson · Rating 5 out of 5]

First manga I’ve read. Finished in about an hour. Super predictable but I don’t think you are reading these to do a lot of thinking. Super cute story and am searching for the next book in the series:))

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book, and most of this mixed-feeling-ness is entirely on me.

First problem was a case of mistaken identity with Sumino. When I first saw her, I went, "She looks just like Alice from Pandora Hearts!" and when she spoke, I went, "She has the personality of Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You!" And I was really excited. The problem was that any time something happened, my responses ranged from, "Why don't you fight back?" because I subconsciously mistook her for Alice, to "Why don't you use your adorably blatant honesty to defuse the situation without realizing you're doing it?" because subconsciously I wanted her to act like Sawako (I did get this eventually, so I'm happy ^^). Now, this is entirely on me. Sumino is her own distinct character with a distinct personality (even if it's an introverted one). I liked her character except for the moments I didn't understand her actions.


Sumino (left), Alice (right). Tell me they don't look alike!

Second problem (and probably the biggest to me) was Hinata's "I've been watching you" first line. That was... creepy. I'm hoping this was a case of "lost in translation" where he said something less... creepy in Japanese.

Now, for things that I liked.

While much of Sumino's introverted-ness was lost on an extrovert like me, Diary 10 (the last chapter) made me cry. I understand your pain, Sumino! I really do! *shouts into the sunset* I don't want to spoil, but basically I related a lot with the last chapter's events and I'm going to guess that many of the people here on Goodreads would too.

So, overall I liked it. I would recommend it, especially to the introverted out there.

[Kuno · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was at Barnes & Noble when I was looking through the manga section, and I happened to stumble upon this manga series. The art on the cover was really good, so it caught my eye and prompted me to read it. I was not sure what to expect, honestly, and I frankly only bought it for the amazing cover art. My oh my, was this manga AMAZING! I knew this was going to be a shoujo manga, and me being a fan of shoujo, that interested me in reading this even more. However, there was more to this series than just amazing art and shoujo glamor. There was deep plot, much symbolism, and great characters, all combined into a wonderful and emotional high school themed story that made me fly through each and every page, wanting to know what happened next. I just finished reading the whole first volume, which was pretty big (I think it contains about half the series, for the whole series is 21 chapters long, and the volume I bought has 9 chapters). I can't wait to read more~!

[Linh Hoang · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a girl who is hiding in the shadows and is too afraid to come out into the light and grow. The protagonist is a lonely high school student who is unintentionally ignored by those around her. The only place where she feels she is seen is on her personal blog where she receives her first "push" out into the light.

This book was meant to speak out to any high school student. The message is to not stay quiet and express yourself. Don't be afraid of what others have to say because there will be those who will except you just the way you are.

I didn't really like this book too much. One of the reasons for my dislike is because I can't connect to the protagonist. Another reason would be I have read this kind of plot and theme before. It's a good book but it's not very original.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this volume! What a pleasant surprise. The plot, admittedly, is nothing new, but the characters are great, and the plot touches on several important points.

The plot is easy enough to find elsewhere, but I want to particularly comment on the characters. They. Are. Believeable. If you just glance at the book, you might be put off, thinking that the pretty, whispy characters won't give the story any depth. That's really not true, though. You really do see the depth to Sumino and her struggle. She's not really the wimpy, weak female you might think at first. I also like that the antagonist of this volume doesn't go through the typical bad-guy-turns-heart-of-gold at the end. Real people rarely do that, and this character doesn't either. That was fresh to me.

I'm looking forward to volume 2.

[Rita Mariani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
really cute

[Adri Bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot believe this book it is soo awesome!!

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually an omnibus collection of the first three volumes of the series. Hikage Sumino is an eighth grader who'd like nothing more than to have friends like other people do. Unfortunately for her, she's practically invisible. Even when people notice that she's in the room, they soon forget she's there. It isn't just people her own age who don't see her - adults constantly forget she exists too. She's been left behind on field trip days, ignored in restaurants, and even hit by someone on a moped when she tried to help a cat. The only times she seems to truly exist are when she's taking care of the sunflower she's been growing and when she's blogging. She has two regular commenters who encourage her: Black Rabbit and Mega Pig.

When two of the school's most popular boys, Hinata and Teru, talk to her, it starts to look like maybe Hikage can finally have her time in the sun. First, however, she must struggle against her own introversion and low self-esteem, as well as jealous classmates.

I might have liked this a lot more if I weren't a longtime manga reader. As it was, I could think of several series this reminded me of, and most of those were better. The one that came foremost to my mind, for example, was Kimi ni Todoke, which had a more believable setup and more enjoyable heroine. Toyama pushed Hikage's invisibility a bit too hard and ended up making it seem almost like some kind of unfortunate superpower. People literally didn't see her, or forgot she was there even if she was within view. Only Hinata and Teru were exempt from her powers, at least until Toyama decided that it was necessary for some of Hikage's female classmates to hate her.

The bit with the jealous girl was cliched but not necessarily bad, although, again, I preferred the similar storyline in Kimi ni Todoke because of the way it tied in with the main character's first female friendships. In this series, Hikage just went from no real-life friends to actually talking to someone for the first time and almost immediately getting dumped on by jealous girls. The scene where everyone suddenly stood by her when she finally defended herself was nice, but felt a bit forced.

The way the volume ended indicated that the second and final omnibus will deal with the identity of Hikage's "anonymous" online friends. Since they're almost certainly Hinata and Teru, I'm more interested in finding out how Hikage reacts and how they learned that "Sunflower" was Hikage. I somehow doubt that Toyama will ever explain how, out of all the blogs in existence, they became commenters on a supposedly anonymous blog written by one of their classmates.

I got the feeling that Toyama didn't have much of a concept of just how big the Internet is. The first volume of the series was originally published in 2007, so it isn't like this was written in the early days of blogging and the Internet. Toyama also didn't always think through how certain scenes were supposed to work. For example, if Hinata was Black Rabbit, how did he comment on Hikage's blog minutes/seconds before knocking on her door? The characters in this series only had flip phones. Was it possible to use flip phones to comment on blogs? (I only ever used mine as a phone and an alarm clock, so maybe that was a function I didn't know about.)

Although this was pretty mediocre, it did remind me of my first blog, which I started back when I was in the midst of my post-grad school job hunt. It wasn't a good time in my life, and my blog was meant to serve as both a way to keep track of what I was doing to make myself a better job candidate and as an emotional outlet. In real life, I talked to maybe a handful of people a week, my parents and my supervisor and coworkers at my part-time job, and the longer I went without being able to give them good news about my job hunt the worse I felt. Unfortunately, I also felt like I couldn't talk about most of what I was feeling. My blog gave me a place where I could vent a little without worrying that I was upsetting anyone around me.

Amazingly, I got several frequent commenters and, as far as I can remember, every single one of them was kind and supportive. If you were one of the commenters on my first blog, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you. You all helped me so much.

Extras:

There are various author sidebars, plus two pages of extra comics that take a humorous look at Hikage's invisibility. The sidebars reveal that Toyama had similar issues with going so unnoticed at her school that her own classmates didn't know who she was, although she admits that it wasn't on the same level as Hikage's invisibility.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet if a bit "helpless maiden" shojo manga.

Hikage Sumino, an 8th grader, feels constantly overlooked. She's depressed and lonely. When a popular boy notices her she can't believe it. It was fine. I think many teenagers can relate to this. I like that she doesn't solely depend on a boy for her emotional state. She has 2 friends online that bolster her spirits and encourage her to put herself out there and make friends IRL. Of course, there are hints that maybe she knows her two online friends in real life and just doesn't know it... Mean girls abound in this.

Sex? Nope! YAY! This book is a very clean romance.

Swearing/Profanity? A few mild curse words or insults (like "idiot")

Violence? There is verbal/emotional bullying from a group of girls towards Hikage Sumino.

Magic? No

LGBTQ + characters? Not specified

Could a conservative Christian school library include it?

Yep! I think this is a great add for middle school/high school Christian schools. I like that it addresses loneliness and identity. Sadly, I think many teenagers struggle with these feelings. I like that it encourages building a community and trying to make friends even if it hasn't gone well in the past.

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is rated Teen and involves bullying as well as some violence but nothing graphic. If these things bother you then use your best judgement before reading this story.

Hikage Sumino is a girl with no self esteem and tends to be missed by the average person due to her extreme shyness and inability to make herself shown. Regardless of her hard lot in life she has an extremely kind heart and a simple blog which like her seems to be a sunflower in the shade. Luckily she has two friends that visit her blog and although she does not know them personally they help as she tries to turn her life around thanks to the attention of a popular guy at school.

This is a really cute story but it also has some serious elements to it such as jealousy, bullying, what defines friends, and improving your life to be worthy of another. Only time will tell if Hikage will be able to leave her shadows behind and who will be her shining light.

My favorite part would have to be when the manipulator (You'll see her pulling the strings against Hikage in the story suddenly realizes her dirty tricks have lost their power and she is not going to win. Don't be a bully folks. :)

[GlutenFreePixels · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Just a little bravery could change your world."

"People are weak on their own, but when they have friends who are important to them, they can be much stronger."

Story: 3.5
Art: 4
Characters: 3

The overall story isn't anything we haven't read before, a lonely girl who gets bullied and the handsome boy who comes to her rescue. Even with this critique there is a certain charm or relatability to this story that warms my heart.

Many people go through lonely and dark times, and during these hard times we yearn for someone to notice- to essentially help pull us through. This rarely happens in real life and sadly, we're left to struggle on our own. I think that this manga shows the dream many lonely people have of being found. Even the art style feels rather dreamlike. I believe that Ema Touyama put a piece of her heart into this work.

Overall Total: 3.5

[Joe Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Get out the Kleenex, though! (TRIGGER: SEVERE BULLYING)

Wow, what an emotional roller-coaster. Tumultuous. So so sad at times. Your heart just goes out to this adorable girl, as you share the heartache she goes through. You just want to reach into the story, put your arms around her, hug her tightly, and tell her "Everything is going to be OK. Don't give up." As the story progressed, it was apparent to me fairly early on who rabbit actually is. I think I also know who pig is, but, well, we will just have to wait to find out, won't we? Such a good story. It doesn't just tug at your heart strings, it grabs them, yanks on them, & shouts, "Get ready for one heck of a wild ride!" I eagerly look forward to the next volume. Such a wonderful story. Don't let the severe bullying turn you off. It gets resolved, positively. VERY positively!

[Christine Bowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stumbled upon this one by accident but really enjoyed the story line! Hikage is an eighth-grader with low self-esteem, and she has a very good reason to think lowly of herself, no one ever notices her! Outside of the two people that comment on her blog, she has never had a conversation with anyone. Until one of the most popular boys in school takes notice and begins trying to get close to her.
I loved the take on this story, since Hikage didn't just rely on Hinata's help, but tried to be better by herself!
Can't wait to grab up the next volume.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried multiple times

I really enjoyed this manga. It's was very touching and made me cry multiple times through out the story. I like how she wanted to leave the darkness and come into the sunshine to be more brave to talk to people, and try not to be invisible anymore. The artwork was amazing, very well drawn. I will definitely continue reading! Recommended to read 😊

Quote I like....

“When people are alone they let their sadness overwhelm them, but instead when they have someone to lean on then they can be much stronger. “

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish that I had read manga like this when I was younger and struggling with being shy and a loner in school. It's a cute light manga that deals with some bullying. The main character is a socially awkward girl who is tired of being on the outside looking in, but when she tries to change, things get hard for her and she wants to disappear completely. She gradually learns to stand up for herself more.

[The Artist Writer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Manga is amazing!

I love how it showed a young 8th grader being invisible for all her life until one particular person change her well being. How someone uninvolved can show a way to gain confidence. Anyways one of the greatest first Manga that I have read all time. I'm new at Reading Manga and started loving anime after Pokémon and Bakugan. ;D

[Lucinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a sweet story (I've only read the first one so far but hope that the second one will be just as good).

Poor Sumino-chan, I just want to give the poor girl a hug, and also tell her I understand entirely, her struggles are well written and Hinata was a really sweet love interest.

[Jaylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of cute and overly sappy... Moments that were supposed to be very dramatic were just really cheesy, and certain "twists" were really obvious. The art was kinda cute, though, and it wasn't a terrible way to spend an hour? lol Just kinda meh/shrug.

[scarlettraces · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confirmed, I would need to be at least 30 years younger to appreciate this mangaka's work. [Even then the sweetness and light might have been too much, I was more into graveyards and sitting in them than admiring sunflowers.]

[Sydney Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reread and just as good as I remembered! I loved these books in middle school and they're just as wholesome and nostalgic as I remembered. They're definitely rather predictable and unrealistic at times, but that's what makes it so enjoyable in my opinion--just so light and pleasant!!

[Muriah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Girl with social anxiety gets bullied. Boys on blog and popular boy at school gives her confidence. Popular boy is actually bog on blog. Oh, the drama and the predictability.
Cute art with emotion.
If I was 11 it would probably be 4 stars...

[Eve Guevara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adorable tale of a girl trying to gain self-confidence with the help of some online and new friends at school. Making friends can be hard at any age, so it was really relatable and heart-warming. Highly recommend as a feel-good read.