薔薇のために 1 [Bara no Tame ni 1]

薔薇のために [Bara no Tame ni] #1

by Akemi Yoshimura, 吉村明美

祖母に死なれ天涯孤独となった、枕野(まくらの)ゆり。ところが祖母の遺書で実は母親は生きていた、その上、兄弟が3人もいることを知り…。

Genres: Manga

188 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 1992

About the author

Akemi Yoshimura (吉村明美) was born in Nagasaki and grew up in Yokohama. She lives in Sapporo, Hokkaido.

Reviews

[Kitty Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressions of the first volume- it probably deserves 3 stars at best and I think most wouldn't like it. The way the main character is treated is hard to watch, and she's very passive. The characters are aggressively unlikeable though there is a sense that they're meant to be that way and will evolve. The art is lovely in an 80s-90s way, but the character designs are not to my subjective liking. So why continue? There was something about the overall quality that had me very curious about where things would go. Super fast-paced and clean panels make this one easy to zoom through and take in. I could tell this is something special but in a strange sort of way. Nearly everything about it from the fat main character to the constant faux pas and taboos that the dysfunctional family here engages in is unorthodox for a lengthy, story-driven shoujo manga.

Thoughts on the whole series- This predates some of the tropes one might come to expect from the genre. The characters behave, act, and change in ways I was not expecting.

This series has what might be my favorite love triangle in a series ever- it's just bonkers, and I've never seen anything else like it and probably never will. Aoi will go down as one my all time favorite characters and I started off loathing him with a passion. Making an easy to hate character grow and become likable or somewhat likable is one of my favorite things in fiction and it's rarely done, much less done well. That is accomplished at least three times over in this series.

The fact that I was willing to bear with artwork that wasn't to my preference and fight through some really bad (at times) fan-translated English translations was kind of a testament to how special this ended up being. Definitely not for everyone, aggressively so, but it's unique and unparalleled in many ways. Some of the sub-stories and dialogue are surprisingly poignant, and some of the humor is quite funny. But the series has low and hard to swallow points as well. It's a rollercoaster, but I got sucked in after really giving it a chance.

[Be · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was way too young when I first read this, I believe if I find it for the first time now, it possibly would’ve had tw of incest in it & I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole lol

It probably was borderline, but this was the first literary work that introduced me to a very abnormal family dynamic & Yoshimura-shi indeed delivered. Mommy issues are very rampant in this book

It was way too funny before Sumire fell in love again. You can also feel the old nostalgic vibes from him, and Yuri was good natured, albeit a bit weak-willed at times.
It was amazing in a way because the author really explored many bad parents (mostly mothers) trope but also did a wonderful job presenting found family trope?
Some things are definitely questionable, like what is with Aoi and him not grasping the concept of consent, but good stories nonetheless. 5⭐️

[Ingrid Hernández · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 🌟