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メタモルフォーゼの縁側 #1
メタモルフォーゼの縁側 1
75歳のおばあちゃんが出会ったもの、それはBL
ふと立ち寄った書店で老婦人が手にしたのは1冊のBLコミックス。75歳にしてBLを知った老婦人と書店員の女子高生が織りなすのは穏やかで優しい、しかし心がさざめく日々でした。
ふと立ち寄った書店で老婦人が手にしたのは1冊のBLコミックス。75歳にしてBLを知った老婦人と書店員の女子高生が織りなすのは穏やかで優しい、しかし心がさざめく日々でした。
146 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2018
39 people are currently reading
2408 people want to read
About the author
Kaori Tsurutani
12 books47 followersKaori Tsurutani (鶴谷香央理) is a Japanese mangaka.
She is mostly known for her work Metamorphose no engawa (2018), nominee for Manga Taisho Award.
She is mostly known for her work Metamorphose no engawa (2018), nominee for Manga Taisho Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 546 reviews
March 7, 2021
So, this was one a friend of mine kept on telling me I needed to read. She described it as "the most wholesome slice-of-life series I've ever read" and after reading it... I can't actually disagree. This is one of those manga that honestly, based solely on description I would think could not work. It actually somehow manages to not only pull it off, but does so with a quiet grace.
Plot: Ichinoi is a 75 five year old widow who teaches calligraphy. One day on a trip to town, she goes inside a bookstore on a whim. She looks for the cooking section and discovers the manga section instead. She's rather charmed by some of the newer art styles and a bit nostalgic as she remembers reading some of it back in the 60s and 70s. She picks up one (along with the cookbook she was initially seeking) only to discover that it is a BL (or boy's love) manga. Despite her initial surprise, she finds she loves the story though, and is disappointed that it ends with a "to be continued..." (It is after all only volume one in the series). She seeks out the second and third volumes only to discover that the third is out of stock. A helpful employee, Urara, helps her order it and a friendship is formed.
Again, even typing up that description, I feel this shouldn't work, or that it should be a colossal joke. I mean the plot is essentially the friendship between a teenage girl and a 75 year old woman formed over a love of BL comics. That said, the artist/writer does not treat this like a joke. There's humor, but neither character is mocked for who they are. Instead we are lead to sympathize with both of them due to their loneliness. Urara is your classic awkward nerdy teen. She's lost in her comics, has trouble communicating with people outside of her work place (and only there is it okay because she's surround by things she understands). She's still figuring out who she is and how to interact. In contrast Ichinoi is full of life experiences. She's a widow, a mother and a teacher. She's lived a fairly involved life already, but having lost her spouse and her daughter having moved out of the country, she feels alone. Honestly that these two should connect feels far more natural than what I would have believed possible given the plot-line.
Those coming for actual BL material will probably be disappointed. It's used more as a way to give a niche for these two to connect with that is not majorly mainstream, thus having something that it's not as easy to just talk to anyone about. It's present throughout, but it is not really the focus if that makes sense. Instead what we get is a story of friendship and loneliness... one which is honestly executed very close perfection. It's quiet frequently very funny, but mostly its a quiet story; it can go pages with little in terms of dialogue, only for moments of warmth when these two connect again. I'm highly curious to see where this series goes. 4/5 stars and my highest recommendation for anyone looking for a manga with a more subtle touch.
Plot: Ichinoi is a 75 five year old widow who teaches calligraphy. One day on a trip to town, she goes inside a bookstore on a whim. She looks for the cooking section and discovers the manga section instead. She's rather charmed by some of the newer art styles and a bit nostalgic as she remembers reading some of it back in the 60s and 70s. She picks up one (along with the cookbook she was initially seeking) only to discover that it is a BL (or boy's love) manga. Despite her initial surprise, she finds she loves the story though, and is disappointed that it ends with a "to be continued..." (It is after all only volume one in the series). She seeks out the second and third volumes only to discover that the third is out of stock. A helpful employee, Urara, helps her order it and a friendship is formed.
Again, even typing up that description, I feel this shouldn't work, or that it should be a colossal joke. I mean the plot is essentially the friendship between a teenage girl and a 75 year old woman formed over a love of BL comics. That said, the artist/writer does not treat this like a joke. There's humor, but neither character is mocked for who they are. Instead we are lead to sympathize with both of them due to their loneliness. Urara is your classic awkward nerdy teen. She's lost in her comics, has trouble communicating with people outside of her work place (and only there is it okay because she's surround by things she understands). She's still figuring out who she is and how to interact. In contrast Ichinoi is full of life experiences. She's a widow, a mother and a teacher. She's lived a fairly involved life already, but having lost her spouse and her daughter having moved out of the country, she feels alone. Honestly that these two should connect feels far more natural than what I would have believed possible given the plot-line.
Those coming for actual BL material will probably be disappointed. It's used more as a way to give a niche for these two to connect with that is not majorly mainstream, thus having something that it's not as easy to just talk to anyone about. It's present throughout, but it is not really the focus if that makes sense. Instead what we get is a story of friendship and loneliness... one which is honestly executed very close perfection. It's quiet frequently very funny, but mostly its a quiet story; it can go pages with little in terms of dialogue, only for moments of warmth when these two connect again. I'm highly curious to see where this series goes. 4/5 stars and my highest recommendation for anyone looking for a manga with a more subtle touch.
October 11, 2021
The plot revolves around a newfound fujoshi who is 75 years old and an adolescent fujoshi, and it is everything; it is refreshing and charming, and it is just what my heart desires right now.💕
Read
August 20, 202020/8/20
This was really good! I love how wholesome it is -- it's touch sad though with Ichinoi being so old, looking back at the past with her now deceased husband and contemplating how long she still has left. I'll either wait until next year so that I can binge the final three copies or I'll see if I'm able to read it in Japanese in a couple of months.
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This was really good! I love how wholesome it is -- it's touch sad though with Ichinoi being so old, looking back at the past with her now deceased husband and contemplating how long she still has left. I'll either wait until next year so that I can binge the final three copies or I'll see if I'm able to read it in Japanese in a couple of months.
You can find me on
Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Website | The Storygraph
March 12, 2021
Light reading and my first manga after a long time 😍
The story follows Ichinoi, a 75-year-old woman living alone after her husband died. She went to Cafe Mountain to reminisce her husband on the anniversary of her husband's death, but the place is closed, so she went to the bookstore for the first time in a year or so.
At the bookstore, she picked up one manga and amazed with the content. It's about LGBT, and she loves the story until she went to the bookstore again to buy the next book, and at that moment, she met Urara.
Urara offers to help Ichinoi explore the world of fiction, and be BL fandom together. Urara doesn't talk to others much, and she finds a lovely friendship with Ichinoi.
Overall, I loved this manga: lovely characters, nice artwork, and a simple yet awesome storyline. I love the friendship between Ichinoi, a 75-year-old woman, and Urara, the high school girl. They are so cute together 🥰
Surely, I will buy the next volume in future 💖
instagram.com/siriusiqa
The story follows Ichinoi, a 75-year-old woman living alone after her husband died. She went to Cafe Mountain to reminisce her husband on the anniversary of her husband's death, but the place is closed, so she went to the bookstore for the first time in a year or so.
At the bookstore, she picked up one manga and amazed with the content. It's about LGBT, and she loves the story until she went to the bookstore again to buy the next book, and at that moment, she met Urara.
Urara offers to help Ichinoi explore the world of fiction, and be BL fandom together. Urara doesn't talk to others much, and she finds a lovely friendship with Ichinoi.
Overall, I loved this manga: lovely characters, nice artwork, and a simple yet awesome storyline. I love the friendship between Ichinoi, a 75-year-old woman, and Urara, the high school girl. They are so cute together 🥰
Surely, I will buy the next volume in future 💖
instagram.com/siriusiqa
December 18, 2020
ESTE MANGA ES UN POZO SIN FONDO DE ADORABILIDAD.
¿Una abuelita que descubre los mangas BL y se hace fangirl total, y que gracias a eso encuentra una gran amiga en su joven librera? Es que no podía ser más gracioso y tierno. Muy sencillo, sí, pero engancha a lo loco.
¿Una abuelita que descubre los mangas BL y se hace fangirl total, y que gracias a eso encuentra una gran amiga en su joven librera? Es que no podía ser más gracioso y tierno. Muy sencillo, sí, pero engancha a lo loco.
July 11, 2020
4.5 stars
This story was SO precious and heartwarming, and it’s a story that doesn’t often feature in manga which was refreshing to see.
RTC
This story was SO precious and heartwarming, and it’s a story that doesn’t often feature in manga which was refreshing to see.
RTC
March 29, 2022
A sweet little slice-of-life manga about a woman in her 70s and a teenage bookstore clerk slowly forming an uncommon friendship over a shared love of manga about gay teen boys. The girl's general anxieties and shame about her reading interest contrasts nicely with the older woman's casual ease and openness to where life may take her.
I can increasingly identify with the scene where the woman reads the first couple volumes of a manga that only comes out every other year and then starts to calculate out how much longer she'll need to live in order to reach the projected final volume.
I can increasingly identify with the scene where the woman reads the first couple volumes of a manga that only comes out every other year and then starts to calculate out how much longer she'll need to live in order to reach the projected final volume.
January 9, 2021
Está lleno de ternura, y también resulta de lo más gracioso, un manga que te transmite paz y felicidad desde el mismo momento en que lo comienzas. Estoy deseando que continúe la publicación de estos mangas, ¡qué maravilla!
Reseña completa: http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/202...
Reseña completa: http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/202...
August 23, 2024
An older woman picks up a BL manga by chance at a bookstore and discovers a new fandom late in life. She ends up befriending a shy high school girl who works at the bookstore and also loves BL, but has no one to talk to about it. This is such a freaking cute premise and I love the loose sketchy art style!
August 12, 2021
Einfach nur schön!! ❤🧡❤
June 30, 2020
What a slice-of-life treat this is! When a seventy-five year old woman picks up a BL manga in the bookstore out of curiosity, she finds something new to love and forms a friendship with a shy high school girl into the bargain. It's not so much about reading BL as it is about never being too old to love what you love (or to find something new) and how sometimes, age really is just a number.
Full review eventually appearing on ANN.
Full review eventually appearing on ANN.
November 17, 2020
Maravilloso manga costumbrista sobre segundas oportunidades. Una anciana compra por casualidad un manga yaoi y esa historia de amor entre dos chicos la hace sentirse joven de nuevo, atreviéndose a hacer cosas que nunca había hecho.
May 12, 2022
I want to be like this “75 - year - old woman“ in the future :)
March 26, 2023
so cute but also melancholy in a way i really love, review to come
May 12, 2025
volumes 1-5
cute and especially realistic slice-of-life, great for tea afternoons
cute and especially realistic slice-of-life, great for tea afternoons
August 14, 2024
3.5 love-to-share-reading stars
Cute manga. Va a tener un live-action en junio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OEo...
Metamorphose no Enanga apareció en mi friend-feed, y me llamó la atención la premisa. Es acerca de una anciana de 75 años, una viuda que enseña caligrafía a niños pequeños, que un día entra a una librería y compra un manga recordando la época en que le gustaba leerlos, sin darse cuenta que es un manga yaoi. La verdad es que queda atrapada por la historia, y vuelve más tarde a la librería por el tercer tomo. Allí una joven dependienta de 17 años trabaja part-time y la recuerda perfectamente , es una estudiante de secundaria y es una fujoshi (fan del yaoi o boys love que le han puesto ahora) en el closet jaja. Le apena que sepan que lee y que le gusta leer.
¿Recuerdas como se siente cuando te mueres por comentar el último desarrollo o plot de un libro o comic y no tienes con quién hacerlo? ¿Y lo genial que es comentarlo o fangirlear con alguien que entiende?
Bueno es eso lo que pasa acá.
Vaya si recuerda la cara de una mangaka cuando les escuché comentando un día con otra chica, y les dije "o sea el uke y el seme". Menudos ojos de anime me pusieron, como si alguien pasados los 18 no entendiera de que estaban hablando... :sigh:
También es una historia acerca de una chica introvertida con problemas para relacionarse con sus pares, y una anciana que vive una existencia cuasi solitaria, y como esta amistad se desarrolla. La anciana es adorable, casi con una inocencia que desea ser parte de este mundo de mangas y convenciones y dojinshis, y la chica es tan torpe a veces y se guarda todo para sí que llega a ser doloroso, es muy relatable y fácil de simpatizar, con su poco de crush al parecer en un antiguo amigo de infancia que tiene una novia.
El arte, la verdad no me mata, pero la historia es sencilla y ligera y el tema me gusta , como a cualquier lector, como cuando ella saca cuentas y se dice que espera vivir hasta los cien para saber como termina la historia y ver como espera que la autora no se demore más de un año para sacar cada nuevo volumen jajaja.
Y le dice a la autora, anda vale no te podrías apurar un poquito XD
----
Creo que son cuatro volúmenes cortos así que los veré.
(fotos de promoción de la peli)
Cute manga. Va a tener un live-action en junio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OEo...
Metamorphose no Enanga apareció en mi friend-feed, y me llamó la atención la premisa. Es acerca de una anciana de 75 años, una viuda que enseña caligrafía a niños pequeños, que un día entra a una librería y compra un manga recordando la época en que le gustaba leerlos, sin darse cuenta que es un manga yaoi. La verdad es que queda atrapada por la historia, y vuelve más tarde a la librería por el tercer tomo. Allí una joven dependienta de 17 años trabaja part-time y la recuerda perfectamente , es una estudiante de secundaria y es una fujoshi (fan del yaoi o boys love que le han puesto ahora) en el closet jaja. Le apena que sepan que lee y que le gusta leer.
¿Recuerdas como se siente cuando te mueres por comentar el último desarrollo o plot de un libro o comic y no tienes con quién hacerlo? ¿Y lo genial que es comentarlo o fangirlear con alguien que entiende?
Bueno es eso lo que pasa acá.
Vaya si recuerda la cara de una mangaka cuando les escuché comentando un día con otra chica, y les dije "o sea el uke y el seme". Menudos ojos de anime me pusieron, como si alguien pasados los 18 no entendiera de que estaban hablando... :sigh:
También es una historia acerca de una chica introvertida con problemas para relacionarse con sus pares, y una anciana que vive una existencia cuasi solitaria, y como esta amistad se desarrolla. La anciana es adorable, casi con una inocencia que desea ser parte de este mundo de mangas y convenciones y dojinshis, y la chica es tan torpe a veces y se guarda todo para sí que llega a ser doloroso, es muy relatable y fácil de simpatizar, con su poco de crush al parecer en un antiguo amigo de infancia que tiene una novia.
El arte, la verdad no me mata, pero la historia es sencilla y ligera y el tema me gusta , como a cualquier lector, como cuando ella saca cuentas y se dice que espera vivir hasta los cien para saber como termina la historia y ver como espera que la autora no se demore más de un año para sacar cada nuevo volumen jajaja.
Y le dice a la autora, anda vale no te podrías apurar un poquito XD
----
Creo que son cuatro volúmenes cortos así que los veré.
(fotos de promoción de la peli)
November 3, 2020
Ahora que ya no se puede viajar, quiero quedarme a vivir dentro de las páginas de este manga. Hay una calidez tan sincera entre Yuki Ichinoi (una septuagenaria que se aficiona al BL*) y Urara Sayama (una adolescente sin muchas habilidades sociales que trabaja en una librería) que sólo quieres abrazarlas desde el primer momento en el que aparecen.
Ambas se necesitan la una a la otra, aunque no lo saben. Ambas navegan en un tipo muy concreto de soledad y encuentran en la otra un tipo de alivio que no quieren dejar ir. Hay un costumbrismo en las interacciones y en el día a día de estos personajes que me encanta. La historia se sitúa en un tono tranquilo que le sienta genial. No hay grandes giros ni grandes pretensiones por contar una historia rompedora. No, nada que ver. Aquí estamos ante la cotidianidad de dos personajes que encuentran en una afición en común la oportunidad de llegar a otra persona, sin molestar, sin hacer mucho ruido. Dejando espacio para que la relación crezca a su ritmo, sin mayor objetivo que el de sentirse presentes y escuchadas.
Muchas veces me pregunto por qué soy tan reacio a dar las cinco estrellas en mis valoraciones en Goodreads. Y luego encuentro mangas como Metamórfosis BL y entiendo que estaba esperando algo como esto. Algo que sin hacer ruido moviera los cimientos. Algo inesperado, tan sencillo y tan bien narrado que me sorprende que no haya más mangas como éste.
BL: Manga en la que se prioriza la relación sentimental entre personajes masculinos.
Ambas se necesitan la una a la otra, aunque no lo saben. Ambas navegan en un tipo muy concreto de soledad y encuentran en la otra un tipo de alivio que no quieren dejar ir. Hay un costumbrismo en las interacciones y en el día a día de estos personajes que me encanta. La historia se sitúa en un tono tranquilo que le sienta genial. No hay grandes giros ni grandes pretensiones por contar una historia rompedora. No, nada que ver. Aquí estamos ante la cotidianidad de dos personajes que encuentran en una afición en común la oportunidad de llegar a otra persona, sin molestar, sin hacer mucho ruido. Dejando espacio para que la relación crezca a su ritmo, sin mayor objetivo que el de sentirse presentes y escuchadas.
Muchas veces me pregunto por qué soy tan reacio a dar las cinco estrellas en mis valoraciones en Goodreads. Y luego encuentro mangas como Metamórfosis BL y entiendo que estaba esperando algo como esto. Algo que sin hacer ruido moviera los cimientos. Algo inesperado, tan sencillo y tan bien narrado que me sorprende que no haya más mangas como éste.
BL: Manga en la que se prioriza la relación sentimental entre personajes masculinos.
May 9, 2020
2020 Read #399
I cannot express how delightful and precious this manga was! I absolutely loved how these women with a generation gap bond over BL manga. It is just so heartwarming. I cannot wait to read more!!
I cannot express how delightful and precious this manga was! I absolutely loved how these women with a generation gap bond over BL manga. It is just so heartwarming. I cannot wait to read more!!
December 12, 2021
Vi este manga en la biblio y me lancé. Es bonita la historia y la relación que forma entre una mujer mayor y una joven muy tímida pero se me ha queda muy corto…
November 16, 2023
Jakie to słodkie jest. Aż chce mi się przeczytać jakąś BL-kę
May 31, 2025
Very wholesome ❤️
May 17, 2020
Note: I've seen a few places online tag this as "boys' love." While it includes characters that read that genre, as well as a few panels and pages of the works they read, this is absolutely not a "boys' love" series, in case the cover doesn't make that clear.
Ichinoi is in her 70s and lives a quiet life. Her husband died a while ago and her daughter lives in another country, so most of the people she sees on a regular basis are the children and elderly people who come to her for calligraphy lessons. This changes when she goes to a bookstore for the first time in a while and buys a manga volume because it has beautiful artwork. She figures it will be like the manga she read when she was younger, but it turns out to be a romantic "boys' love" (BL, m/m) series. She ends up hooked and goes back to the bookstore for more volumes, attracting the attention of one of the store's employees, Urara, a high school student and huge BL fan.
Right Stuf has started including more reviews on their blog, and it was one of those reviews that prompted me to buy this. The artwork wasn't the style I'm normally attracted to, but the premise, a budding cross-generational friendship prompted by a shared love of BL manga, made me want to read it immediately.
This was a wonderful first volume. Urara desperately wanted friends with whom she could talk to about the things she loved, but she was too shy, and possibly too worried about how others would react to the things she wanted to gush about. Ichinoi was less shy, and she was the one to take the first steps in her and Urara's friendship, inviting Urara out for tea.
I loved how friendly, positive, and open-minded Ichinoi was. I also loved watching Urara try to navigate the potential hazards in this new friendship. When Ichinoi asked for manga recommendations, it was like the floodgates had opened up for Urara. She could think of lots of titles to recommend but was afraid of making a misstep and ruining things. Ichinoi had already defied Urara's expectations by enjoying a manga featuring a sweet gay romance, but would manga with on-page sex scandalize her?
This volume also touches a bit on Urara's school life - the one person her own age that she talks to is her childhood friend, a guy who's dating someone else and who I think she might have a bit of a crush on.
My biggest issue with this first volume was that it was very short. Also, it's setting off various alarm bells that make me wonder whether I should wait until a few more volumes have come out and I can hunt for spoilers before continuing on. Unlike A Man and His Cat, another series I recently started reading featuring an older protagonist, this one screams "will end with the death of the older character, after the younger character has learned to be more assertive." I like Ichinoi so far, and that would wreck me. I'm also not sure how I feel about the hints that Urara might have an unrequited crush on her childhood friend. It depends on how it gets handled, I suppose.
Extras:
A full-color illustration and a 2-page afterword manga featuring Ichinoi making and eating milk jelly.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Ichinoi is in her 70s and lives a quiet life. Her husband died a while ago and her daughter lives in another country, so most of the people she sees on a regular basis are the children and elderly people who come to her for calligraphy lessons. This changes when she goes to a bookstore for the first time in a while and buys a manga volume because it has beautiful artwork. She figures it will be like the manga she read when she was younger, but it turns out to be a romantic "boys' love" (BL, m/m) series. She ends up hooked and goes back to the bookstore for more volumes, attracting the attention of one of the store's employees, Urara, a high school student and huge BL fan.
Right Stuf has started including more reviews on their blog, and it was one of those reviews that prompted me to buy this. The artwork wasn't the style I'm normally attracted to, but the premise, a budding cross-generational friendship prompted by a shared love of BL manga, made me want to read it immediately.
This was a wonderful first volume. Urara desperately wanted friends with whom she could talk to about the things she loved, but she was too shy, and possibly too worried about how others would react to the things she wanted to gush about. Ichinoi was less shy, and she was the one to take the first steps in her and Urara's friendship, inviting Urara out for tea.
I loved how friendly, positive, and open-minded Ichinoi was. I also loved watching Urara try to navigate the potential hazards in this new friendship. When Ichinoi asked for manga recommendations, it was like the floodgates had opened up for Urara. She could think of lots of titles to recommend but was afraid of making a misstep and ruining things. Ichinoi had already defied Urara's expectations by enjoying a manga featuring a sweet gay romance, but would manga with on-page sex scandalize her?
This volume also touches a bit on Urara's school life - the one person her own age that she talks to is her childhood friend, a guy who's dating someone else and who I think she might have a bit of a crush on.
My biggest issue with this first volume was that it was very short. Also, it's setting off various alarm bells that make me wonder whether I should wait until a few more volumes have come out and I can hunt for spoilers before continuing on. Unlike A Man and His Cat, another series I recently started reading featuring an older protagonist, this one screams "will end with the death of the older character, after the younger character has learned to be more assertive." I like Ichinoi so far, and that would wreck me. I'm also not sure how I feel about the hints that Urara might have an unrequited crush on her childhood friend. It depends on how it gets handled, I suppose.
Extras:
A full-color illustration and a 2-page afterword manga featuring Ichinoi making and eating milk jelly.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
January 19, 2021
Una historia atípica y entrañable que transmite mensajes muy importantes. Por ejemplo, el valor de la amistad sin importar la edad o el de no ser nunca demasiado tarde para descubrir algo que te apasione.
Habitualmente no leo manga pero esta historia me ha gustado mucho. Ya estoy deseando leer el siguiente tomo para ver cómo continúa la historia de las dos protagonistas.
Habitualmente no leo manga pero esta historia me ha gustado mucho. Ya estoy deseando leer el siguiente tomo para ver cómo continúa la historia de las dos protagonistas.
July 31, 2021
Todo lo bonito.
August 7, 2021
esta historia me ha dejado el corazón calentito 🥺🤍
March 13, 2024
Ha sido un buen comienzo, me gusta mucho la relación que entablan la señora mayor y la chica, quiero ver como avanza todo. Como persona que lee BL y que lo descubrió hace relativamente poco me siento representada por ambas protagonistas.
January 31, 2024
Cute story, not sure I wanna read another four books of this though...
April 1, 2022
This was so wholesome and sweet!! I enjoy the pacing, too; it's slow enough to let the characters develop but quick enough that we're already seeing Ichinoi and Urara bond and do stuff together - adorable.😚
August 18, 2022
me ha hecho levantarme de la cama y apreciar la vida un poco
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