櫻花夢

by 安野夢洋子, 賴宜婉 (translator)

男の極楽、女の地獄。
ここは遊廓、江戸吉原。

Genres: Manga, Comics, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels, Historical, Fiction, Seinen

308 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2003

Reviews

[Seth T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Introducing Kiyoha: first-time smoker
(comment courtesy of Katie Jett Walls)]

I care about women. And not just because they're mine or I have some familial duty to the ones who are related to me. I care about women because somewhere over the last twenty years, I began to empathize with them. Not all at once probably, but gradually. It came along with being able to empathize with all sorts of people who were not me.

When I was twenty, I didn't get people. At all. I found everyone obnoxious and dull. I liked girls, sure, but only because I wanted to eventually carve myself into their lustrous flesh.1 I wasn't the greatest of people when it came to other people. I spent my childhood and teen years painfully shy, unable to make many friendships and so: unable to really get the knack of understanding how and why others might feel the things they might feel. I attribute this lack of empathy to something beyond the mere fact of my awkward introversions. I could have still learned to understand people had only I kept reading. But I didn't.

I had been a voracious devourer of books up until junior high when suddenly my book-nerdiness became a social liability. I stopped reading lit entirely and instead picked up comics, which were dumb enough not to seem Smart. Dorky but not nerdy.2 A relevant fallout of this decision was that I was no longer reading the books that would have taught me to relate to characters of complex motivations and differing cultural foundations. Instead, I wallowed in seven years of cardboard characters with unrealistic motivations and monolithic concerns. It wasn't comics that made me unsympathetic, but they sure didn't help.

(Comics in that era, of course, were nowhere near so varied or valuable as they are today. Three cheers for progress toward the visio-narrative utopia, eh?)

In any case, when I hit age twenty I realized my social survival no longer depended on pretending not to like books—so I jumped right back in. I gradually began, with the help of fictional figures voicing the concerns of real authors, to soften. It was a slow road. I began to better understand people who were not me—or at least to apprehend that it was okay that they were not me. Fellow Americans of different cultural backgrounds, then people of ethnicities that were not straight-up Caucasian, then those outside the heterosexual spectrum, then those of foreign soil, then believers in different gods and ideologies. And then women. The order might be off but then again it might not. Regardless, over the nearly two decades that passed after my twentieth birthday, I grew a lot as a human and am thankful for the books that lit my path.

And now all that is to say: when I approach a book like Sakuran, the experience is emotional for me. Moyocco Anno's book is about women in distressing circumstances, and throughout I felt the weight of the whole history that has arrayed itself against the female existence. I think of my wife, my daughter, my mother, my friends, women I know from the internet, and women I don't know at all and will never know. Societies over the long centuries and societies in this very moment have not made living the kindest of experiences for women—societies governed and purposed by my people, by men. I hate us for these inequities and a book like Sakuran fills me with tidal waves of regret and sadness, even if that is not its purpose.


[That right there kind of just
makes you want to throw up on everybody forever]

Moyocco Anno's Sakuran concerns Kiyoha, an 18th-century courtesan who is destined (by Anno's pen) to become the most celebrated of all the houses in Yoshiwara.3 Anno begins by introducing Kiyoha as she nears the height of her fame and then peels back for the rest of the book to chart the woman's course across what turns out to be a hard and bitter sea. Kiyoha is a "strong" female character in the sense that she survives to better herself through her experiences; but simultaneously, she is not immune to her circumstances and her life of prostitution under contract to her house takes evident toll on her. She realizes the world she's trapped by is terrible and makes the best of it, but she never shies away from acknowledging the reality that her role as courtesan is dominated by paternal influences.


[Kiyoha, being paternally influenced]

This is my first experience of Anno's artwork and it took me rather off-guard. Sakuran's art is bizarre and kind of wonderful. Her figurework is hyper-limber and her poses extend into a vibrant sort of grotesque.4 Characters motivate through a series of light physical impossibilities that work to provoke a sense of awkwardness that mirror Sakuran's narrative force. For those who critique manga for the Japanese creators' penchant for focusing too much on the eyes as a conveyance for emotion,5 the eyes in Anno's work will be awestriking. Belle's eyes in Beauty & the Beast are much larger than the average manga character's, and Kiyoha's eyes in Sakuran are much larger than Belle's. We've heard the cliché of a person's eyes being pools and The Lovely Bones introduced the treacle nickname "Ocean Eyes." Kiyoha's eyes would make Ocean Eyes look like two raindrops by the comparison. These two globes are as soulful as all the blues that spawned in the first decades of the 20th century combined. I mean, look at this:



I have it on pretty good authority that "sakuran" refers to confusion or derangement or mental agitation. The book's subtitle Blossoms Wild, as well as an apt description of the madness of Kiyoha's blooming sexuality under such a terrifying commodification of the female self, seems pretty probably a play on the homophony between sakuran and sakura, the Japanese term for cherry blossoms (and one of the more well-known Japanese words in America, thanks to the influx of manga and anime imports). Kiyoha's maturing and sexual bloom within the walls of the pleasure house is agitating for the character as well as for the reader. It seems trite to compare our distress to hers, but it's Anno's implication of the reader into the intimacies of Kiyoha's decade of depetaling6 that provokes the reader to empathize with Kiyoha's state—even if to a lesser degree.



While the broad strokes of Kiyoha's tale will be readily accessible (and possibly familiar7) to American readers, there's a lot that will likewise confuse (or at the least remain unobserved). Anno relies on a lot of cues that are probably easily discerned by Japanese readers and those more intimately familiar with Japanese feudal history and culture. I have perhaps a better than usual grasp of Japanese history for an American of non-Asian roots but am by no means fluent in the nation's culture and history—and I was oftentimes stumped by the meaning of things occurring on Anno's stage. Some of my difficulty certainly lay in the staccato nature of Anno's panel choices (what she'd show and what she wouldn't) and some of it lay in my difficulty in discerning identities of characters, but the bulk of any interpretive wrangling may have been due to my ignorance of era and history.8

Despite the occasional struggles that slowed my reading, I found Sakuran an affecting work, harrowing and draining.9 I'm not sure if Anno plans any further exploration of Kiyoha (though the book wraps rather tidily), but Sakuran merits further exploration from readers if the ground is there to be tread.

Footnotes
1) Metaphorically speaking, of course.

2) The distinction was important to me back then.

3) Yoshiwara was the famous pleasure district in Edo (present-day Tokyo). Its houses of prostitution form the background for numerous literary works concerned with the era.

4) Tip of hat to Tom Spurgeon's review that made this description click for me.

5) An unhelpful and boring critique, even when phrased more obliquely as: I don't like manga because their eyes are so big. The complaint nearly always falls flat as a strange sort of hypocrisy because American cartoon styles (such as, say, Disney's used in Beauty & the Beast) use oversized eyes extensively as well, and generally not to so attentive effect as many examples of manga.

6) I recognize the preciousness of describing a woman's initiation into coupled sexual experiences as "deflowering," but Anno almost pushes the description by her title. As well, the coercive nature of Kiyoha's sexual engagements are rapacious and demanding and strip her of any of the tenderness we treasure in the potential warmth of the sexual act.

7) I often kept in mind Catherine McCormack's courtesan's life in 1998's Dangerous Beauty. The similarities are as vivid as the contrasts. While Dangerous Beauty pits the hypocrisies of the church against its protagonist, Kiyoha only struggles against her society's view of the woman (or at least the pleasure house woman) as disposable.

8) My wife here disagrees with my assessment of rating the book Good despite the difficulty I had with sometimes knowing what was going on. She felt that the issues of narrative interpretation were (perhaps even intentionally on the artist's part) principally the fault of Anno's design choices rather than brought on by our cultural discrepancies. Michelle appreciated the work that she thought was being attempted but evaluates the work as actually accomplished as only being Okay.

9) Emotional involvement is always very subjective, of course, so I will always suspect my own history and circumstance governing me rather than the work—but I would be irresponsible not to mention it.
________

[Review courtesy of Good Ok Bad.]

[Sean O'Hara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up without knowing anything about it except it's from Vertical, and Vertical's manga selections are by far the most interesting of all American publishers. When I pulled it out of the box from Amazon, I was struck by two things -- first, it came shrink-wrapped, a sign that it contains content not suitable for children should they find it while browsing the comic section at a bookstore; and second that the cover is really fantastic, with vivid colors and a nice metallic sheen that makes it stand out. The downside is this makes the cover stiff so it's hard to read the book without creasing the spine.

So what's inside that warrants shrink-wrapping the book? Not much. The story concerns Kiyoha, a young made in the pleasure district of Yoshiwara as she rises from a maid to oiran (the Edo Period equivalent of a geisha). For a story about prostitution, there's surprisingly little nudity -- bare breasts here and there, some pubic hair and a few suggestive lines of other things -- and most of it in non-sexual situations. Actual sex scenes are usually done in a single frame that shows less than your average HBO series. This isn't something you'd give a child, but it's never pornographic.

Nor is the story titillating. Kiyoha is bought by a pleasure house at a young age and trained in the arts of an oiran, which are as much about being a proper lady as good in bed. From the moment she arrives in the district she wants to escape, but her attempts are all thwarted and punished with violence. She eventually learns the most important skill for a courtesan -- how to smile no matter what. Once she starts her career as a full-fledged oiran, she quickly rises in popularity and status, eventually becoming the queen of a world she hates.

Yeah, this ain't Memoirs of a Geisha written for stupid Westerners with a romantic notion of the Exotic Orient™ and the strange customs they have over there. This is a feminist historical manga about the stuff you don't see in those old samurai movies.

[May · Rating 2 out of 5]

Watching a rerun of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit was more intriguing than this manga. I get it. Reading about the sexual exploitation of women is a serious subject, no matter what historical period you set it in or what format you choose to tell the story. My biggest problem with this manga lies in its main character, Kiyoha. Yes, she's a survivor. She is also strong-willed, wily to a certain degree and extremely rebellious, especially as a young girl. I should feel more sorry for her because she was sold to a brothel as a young girl but you get the sense that author does not want you to pity her. In fact, I am not sure how the author seems to want to treat her heroine. Kiyoha is definitely not an early feminist here. In fact, Kiyoha is a blank slate devoid of dreams, hopes and aspirations. There is a couple scenes when Kiyoha tries to escape but I was left wondering if she even knew why she wanted to leave. There is no back story for Kiyoha although I think I got the impression that both her parents were dead so if that was the case, who is she trying to go back to and why. The only clear message I got from this manga was that all "johns" are scum. This is evident in the way they treat the courtesans from haggling over the price, who gets to deflower the newest courtesan, etc. It's a tough manga to read because there is not a single redeeming or likeable character in the story, including the heroine.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anno really has a thing for female-centered stories... full of extremely bitter terrible humans & set in hella rotten world!!

Which is what makes her works so amazing. Also the color spreads in this book are magic

[Karine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je suis toujours avide de mangas à propos de l'époque Edo - visuellement fascinante - et surtout, le quartier Yoshiwara. La courtisane d'Edo demeure ma série préférée, mais Sakuran va droit au cœur. C'est le récit bouleversant de la résilience d'une jeune fille née à une époque où les femmes servent de génitrices ou, pire, d'objets de désir. C'est à qui saura le mieux utiliser l'amour pour survivre sous peine d'y succomber et d'y laisser la vie. Avec son caractère bien trempé, Kiyoha lutte sans cesse contre la fatalité.

Les thèmes sont donc poignants, et les personnages, fascinants. J'ai été plus d'une fois victime des jeux de miroir et de triche qu'affronte Kiyoha. Car à Yoshiwara, les maisons closes sont des arènes de lutte où chacune tente de survivre pour le plus grand plaisir des samouraïs et marchands qui leur lancent leur fortune, en quête d'un plaisir escapiste.

Et que dire de l'aspect visuel! Les dessins sont vifs, forts, énergiques. Le grand format qu'offre la nouvelle publication de Pika rend justice à l'esthétique soignée du manga. Et les pages colorées en début de chapitre ajoutent une belle lumière qui voudrait masquer les thèmes plus sombres du récit. Car le quartier des plaisirs n'est que vive lumière, aveuglant (et masquant à peine) la dure réalité de la vie de courtisane... et de vivre en tant que femme, de manière plus générale.

S'il y a une suite, je la dévorerai.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened to watch the film adaptation of this at the cinema back in 2006? 2007? without knowing it was based on a manga. I remember the film as very stylised, colourful and beautiful with a streak of dark humour, but not much about the story - which meant I had to read the manga when I discovered it! The book is also very beautiful - I love the art style with Kiyoha's huge exaggerated eyes and all the details of the clothing. I found the story a bit hard to follow at times (a combination of a possibly too-small screen, and often not being sure which character speech bubbles belonged to), but Kiyoha's fierce spirit shines through and I found myself moved and wishing there was even more of her story.

[Met · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tavole pazzesche! Moyoco Anno è maestra nel raccontare la femminilità, per quanto sicuramente tante cose mi sfuggono, riesce a trasmettere un'emotività come poche altre artiste. Ho amato molto la collocazione storica, e in questo le tavole (come dicevo prima, stupende!) restituiscono una perfetta cornice dell'epoca.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more but it was just too hard to tell what was going on most of the time. All the courtesans pretty much looked the same, so you could only tell them apart based on behaviour, and even then it was only the protagonist who really stood out (I still sometimes had to go back to remind myself what she was wearing, in order to make sure the character I was reading about a few pages later was still her).

I've found with a lot of one-shot manga that they often jump from scene to scene with very little transition, and this is definitely the case here.

I might get more upon re-read but I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon.

[Julianne Rathbone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first thing I read in my manga masterworks class, and I really appreciate Anno’s work! It’s a very subversive shōjo work; it combines classic elements like style pictures with more subdued 90’s conventions, like minimal panel gutters. The Edo period is a setting, but Sakuran isn’t a period piece, it’s definitely a modern story. It’s exciting and frustrating and heartbreaking, all while being a short read!

[Ksenia]

I must admit, I had a hard time figuring out what was going on mostly because the speech bubbles were scattered about and I had no idea which bubble belonged to whom. On the the other hand, I did like the art, especially when it came to facial expressions amongst the courtesans.

[Elizabeth A · Rating 2 out of 5]

2022 Women in Translation readathon book #2.

Translated from the Japanese.

It's rare to fine a one and done Manga. This is historical fiction set during the Edo Period in Japan, and follows the lives and loves of a handful of courtesans. I was intrigued by the premise, but somehow the characters all looked the same, and I was often confused as to what was going on.

In some ways, the setting reminded me of Miss Don't Touch Me, Vol. 1, but this one isn't as crisp in the story telling. These stories are often from the male POV, and I appreciated that this was not. It's been adapted, and I'll see if I can find a copy at my library.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 2 out of 5]

¿Por qué en español? Porque esta versión era más barata que la italiana. Pero ahora no pienso que fue una buena idea leerla en español. Y no sé si es por culpa del idioma o de la historia misma. De hecho hay partes de la historia que no comprendí totalmente. Algunos detalles no me quedaron claros y, como de costumbre tuvo muchísimo problemas a distinguir los personajes. Todas las oiran se parecían mucho y también los hombres con su raro peinado.

Al mismo tiempo este manga nos ofrece un cuadro de la vida de una cortesana japonesa que es muy interesante para conocer este mundo muy lejos de nosotros.

Mí e Moyoco Anno... es siempre una cuestión de suerte. Algunos tomos suyos me gustaron mucho, otros no demasiado. Y este partenece a la segunda categoria.

[Pluviostar ~ (Adriano) · Rating 4 out of 5]

306 pagine di una vita spesa tra sacrificio, sopravvivenza e pseudo piacere carnale.
Una delle tante storie che si conosce bene, specie nel Giappone del periodo Edo.
Una cortigiana, un amore impossibile, uno stile di vita incompreso eppure allo stesso tempo ben visto dalla società maschile.
Un'opera profonda, come del resto tutte quelle ideate da Moyoco Anno 🍵
Sinceramente mi aspettavo forse qualcosa in più, ma tutto sommato mi ha soddisfatto.

[Tar Buendía · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aunque no me he aburrido tampoco me ha enganchado. Le faltaba algo a la trama. Eso sí, el apartado gráfico increíble. Merece la pena.

[BeckyisBookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally up my alley, I really enjoyed this and the art was fantastic

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great artwork, but the stories and characters could not bring me to care. I struggled through this one.

[Mely]

Anno was Okazaki's assistant and protegee before she began her own career; they both have a certain sharp strong line and a focus on girl-on-girl violence and cultural policing. Like Helter Skelter, Sakuran is a single-volume story focused on the career of a strong-minded, vicious-tempered woman who is abusive to the people around her and who yet has some appeal, or at least fascination, because of her ferocious determination to survive. Kiyoha is a prostitute in the Yoshiwara in the Edo era, which means that she was brought into the quarter by a man who sold her to a brothel and she will not leave unless and until she marries; gates lock the prostitutes into the district. This doesn't stop Kiyoha from attempting to escape.

Difficult to follow because you don't most of the usual hair and costume cues to differentiate characters, and because the narrative is not chronological; it's more rewarding on rereading, but like all of Anno's work that I've read, it's loosely structured. This surprised me in a single volume more than it does in an open-ended series, and I was also comparing it to the tight focus of Helter Skelter. I still want way more Moyoco Anno in English.

[scarlettraces · Rating 5 out of 5]

(There is an 18+ warning on the back of the book. It possibly should have been on the front for those unwarily browsing in bookstores. This one is definitely NSFW.)

I wish, wish, wish Anno-sensei had written more of this story - I wonder if it had run in a josei magazine rather than a seinen one whether it might have been longer. Would also be interesting to see what slant it might have taken - I would have liked to see more of Seiji.

Anyway, what we have rather than what we might have had - Anno's gorgeous style, always bordering on the grotesque, where every line expresses action and feeling, perfectly suits the subject matter. Kiyoha's take no prisoners character comes through with every stroke, but Anno is equally good at showing her tenderness and despair. And this kind of psychologically complex account of youth and sex for sale is a great corrective to moe, that abomination of the manga shelves.

[Andrea Peterson]

The art is cool and stylish and gorgeous to look at, but... I had a really hard time telling the characters apart. This, combined with a sometimes non-linear storytelling style, made for a difficult reading experience. At least, I think it was non-linear? It started out with the protagonist as an adult and then flashed back to her as a kid to show how she got there, but every now and then there seemed to be scenes with her as an adult again?? Or maybe it was actually a different character??? I don't know!!!! I told you, it was very confusing. What little I could make out of the story seemed like kind of a downer.

In summary: If you want to be confused and depressed while admiring everyone's clothing patterns and hairstyles, read Ooku: The Inner Chambers. But there haven't been any new volumes of Ooku in a while, so read this instead. Just adjust your expectations.

[fonz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha resultado un tebeo un poco complicado de leer, primero porque la autora te arroja inmisericorde enmedio de la historia y la ambientación sin contextualizar (evidentemente, da por sentado que sus lectores son japoneses y estan familiarizados con las oiran y el mundo de la prostitución de ultralujo durante el periodo Edo) y por la técnica narrativa de Anno, sobre todo en el empleo de las conversaciones y bocadillos "fuera de cámara" que de manera muy oblicua engarzan las escenas. Solucionado el primer problema con un par de artículos de la Wikipedia y media docena de videos de Youtube (aunque lo visto y leído discrepa en algunos detalles con lo narrado en el manga), y superando el segundo a base de esfuerzo y atención, me he encontrado con un manga bastante interesante en el que la autora desmonta el aura glamourosa de los barrios del placer y los burdeles del período Edo, revelando un sistema extremadamente jerárquico, competitivo, individualista y violento donde no hay cabida a la compasión o el afecto (curiosamente, o no tanto, el funcionamiento del burdel me ha traído a la memoria los recuerdos del ejército de Shigeru Mizuki durante su paso por la IIGM). Un sistema que arrebata a las mujeres-esclavas de la propia capacidad de llevar una vida normal fuera del barrio/prisión/claustro del barrio del placer de Yoshiwara. Para esto, Anno emplea con mucha eficacia a la protagonista principal, Kiyoha. Kiyoha fue vendida de niña al burdel y su máxima ambición es escapar de allí. Pero Kiyoha no es un personaje victimizado de manera simplista con el que empatizar fácilmente, como las otras oiran con las que compite, es violenta, irritable, egoísta, cabezota, no quiere tu compasión ni es capaz de sentirla por los demás. Es una superviviente, un producto perfecto del despiadado sistema que rige el burdel. Pero al final de la obra no puedes evitar sentir pena por ella, aunque Anno recurra al tópico romántico para resolver con fatalismo el conflicto de Kiyoha.

El dibujo de Anno también me ha gustado bastante, capaz de pasar de lo grotesco en las expresiones de los personajes a lo exquisito y detallado de los escenarios y el atrezzo sin despeinarse, con fuerza y soltura, un poco al estilo de Taiyo Matsumoto o Shinkichi Kato. Sin embargo narrativamente me ha resultado pelín confusa, hay momentos en los que da la sensación de que la autora hubiera reducido en exceso la caracterización y el desarrollo narrativo, perjudicando un poco la lectura, pero como ya digo, es posible que también exista cierta barrera cultural.

[eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

J’ai découvert le travail de Moyoco Anno alors que j’étais encore adolescente grâce à sa série « Chocola & Vanilla ». Presque 10 ans après, c’est avec excitation et hâte que je me plonge dans cette nouvelle histoire. Et cette fois-ci, changement complet de registre ! Moyoco Anno nous livre un récit mature et brutal en pleine période d’Edo. On suit la vie de Tomeki, qui se retrouve dès son plus jeune âge à devoir travailler dans une maison close. Déjà dotée d’un caractère bien trempé, elle s’affirme et se rebelle contre cette vie qu’elle n’a pas choisie. Mais malgré ses tentatives, s’échapper semble impossible. Tomeki (qui se renommera Kiyoha) va rapidement attirer l’attention des hommes… mais aussi attiser la jalousie des courtisanes.

Alors que dire de cette lecture ?

Je dois avouer que les dessins ne m’ont, cette fois-ci, pas autant emballés. Le trait est souvent grossier, mais délivre tout de même cette histoire de manière crue et brutale. Cette même violence se retrouve au coeur de l’histoire. Les conditions de vie, la maltraitance, la prostitution, tous ces thèmes sont abordés avec beaucoup de réalisme et de maturité.

Kiyoha tente tant bien que mal de reprendre le contrôle de sa vie mais dans cet univers où elle se doit de satisfaire les besoins et les souhaits de ses clients, peu de choix s’offrent à elle. J’ai beaucoup aimé le fait qu’elle ne se départisse pas de son caractère malgré les épreuves. Mais aussi que l’histoire conserve son réalisme. Elle reste tout de même une prostituée et son fiel ne change rien à sa condition ou sa situation.

Dans cet univers teinté de violence, l’amour de Kiyoha pour l’un de ses clients souligne l’horreur de sa situation : châtiée, jalousée, trahie, forcée… elle n’a d’autre choix que de se plier à ceux à qui elle appartient. Malgré sa beauté et ses atours, elle partage le même sort que n’importe quelle courtisane. Pour ma part, c’est son courage, sa détermination et sa force qui m’ont charmée. Je l’ai trouvé touchante dans son combat contre sa condition.

C’est donc un récit violent, brutal et parfois même abject que nous propose cette fois Moyoca Anno. Porté par une héroïne têtue mais attachante, ce fut une découverte intéressante qui m’a plongée en plein coeur du quartier des plaisirs durant l’ère Edo.

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want something like MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA that doesn't give Western orientalist vibes, this is like a grittier, more realistic look at the pleasure quarter of Japan. One of the biggest criticisms of that book, apart from turning sex work into a Cinderella fairytale, was that Golden conflated geisha with oiran. This book is about oiran. The heroine, Kiyoha, was sold into servitude as a child and nowworks as a brothel filled with oiran (courtesans, basically). She chafes under the oppressive tyranny of her beautiful but cruel boss and the other jealous child servants. When she is a teenager, they begin training her to work as an actual courtesan and she begins a slow rise to success that is tainted with resentment and regret.

This is difficult to read-- not because it was done in poor taste, but because it is a very sad and emotionally draining book. Sex work isn't demonized in this book or portrayed as something the heroine needs saving from; instead it's portrayed as a job like any other, and sometimes the heroine feels like it's sucking her soul and forcing her to put on a good face when all she wants to do is sleep.

The art style is unusual and not necessarily what you might expect from the cover. There are full-color inserts that are stunning but the actual panels themselves look rough-- maybe to give the story a more casual, slice of life vibe. It took me a while to get used to it but I ended up appreciating what the manga artist was trying to do. SAKURAN is not for everyone but it's an interesting story and I'm glad I read it.

3.5 stars

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want your historical manga fix in one volume it might be up your alley, Anno's Sakuran follows the story on women in the Edo Period of Japanese history. Detailing the lives and customs and loves of courtesans and those who keep them, love them and pay for them, it's a good fit for manga-ka Moyoco Anno whose body of work ranges from cutesy Sugar Sugar Rune to more darker and psychological bodies of work that include In Clothes Called Fat (a fave of mine) and Happy Mania which for mature readers. A manga on sex workers in a time period in Japan written and illustarted by a Japanese woman. For older readers and those looking for more mature offerings in manga format.

[Hilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I didn't give this manga a 5 is that I was a bit confused between who was doing what who was sleeping with who type of situation. They facial features were so different when they were so alike. I had to keep looking at their lips and compare them with one and another to get what was going on. Usually in Myoco Annos' work you see different styles for each character or different heights, making it easier to tell the apart.
The story itself was great. The ending was powerful and was sorta expected? LOVED IT.
I would definitely recommend this beautiful manga to all the folks that enjoy this type on genre.

[Estrella Inglés · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

La historia me ha gustado mucho, aunque siento que le ha faltado algo. Más páginas o una mejor organización. Había veces en las que no sabía qué personaje hablaba, o no se distinguían muy bien a la protagonista de otros personajes de relleno. Eso o que yo soy tonta.
Pero por lo demás ha sido una pasada. La edición es genial, las páginas a color me han flipado. El dibujo es magnífico y la historia... La historia me encantó. Es cruda y enseña un tema que aún es un poco tabú, sin secretos ni censuras.

Me da pena ponerle un 3.5, pero es que con los mangas soy más selecta. Además, tantas notas del traductor sólo empeoraban la lectura. Por lo demás, es muy recomendable.

[Sarah Gamal · Rating 1 out of 5]

A waste of time. Kept waiting for it to get better, but it didn't deliver.
The art is passable at best and all the characters look pretty much the same.
The story's supposed climax -the protagonist's heartbreak- was absolute rubbish.
I didn't care about anyone in this thing.

[Natalie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this much more than I would have thought, as I have already read a lot on with this subject. However, this story is a little different with what it shares and the focus on her rebellions. I really enjoyed the art as well.

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful work to learn about the customs of a certain era in Japan. The hairstyles and clothing are exemplary. I got the gist of the story, but there are some gaps in the order of the plates; probably due to the one-volume format.

[♛rose♛ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't understand the whole story

Idk if it's how the author portrays the story or if it's the translation that's bad, but I don't understand the plot. I don't know who's who. Also, most of the characters look exactly the same.

[Valentina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ne parlo su Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhlm4...