Sakura-Gari, Tome 3

櫻狩り [Sakura Gari] #3

by Yuu Watase

Après les événements tragiques arrivés à Masataka, Soma est rongé par les remords. Il va tout faire pour venger son ami et tenter de lui faire oublier ce passé douloureux. Bien sûr, la multiplication des morts autour de la famille Saiki n’est pas sans éveiller des soupçons auprès de la police, mais cela lui importe peu.

Genres: Manga, Yaoi, Comics, Romance, Tragedy, Queer, Mystery

260 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 2010

About the author

Yuu Watase (渡瀬悠宇) is a Japanese shoujo manga-ka. She is known for her works Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, Ceres: The Celestial Legend, Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend. She likes all music, except heavy metal and old traditional music.

She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" ("An Intrusion in Pajamas"), Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series. Because of her frequent use of beautiful male characters in her works, she is widely regarded in circles[which?] as a bishōnen manga artist.[citation needed] In October 2008, Watase began her first shōnen serialization, Arata: The Legend in Weekly Shōnen Sunday.
Her name is romanized as "Yû Watase" in earlier printings of Viz Media's publications of Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, and Ceres, The Celestial Legend, while in Viz Media's Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend her name is romanized as "Yuu Watase". In Chuang Yi's English-language versions of Fushigi Yugi (spelled without a macron or circumflex), her name is romanized as "Yu Watase".

Reviews

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Taisho Era (1920) Japan, Masataka, who is studying to get into college, finds himself becoming a page at the house of the aristocratic Saiki family, serving at the behest of Souma, the beautiful but cold heir. Masataka looks up to Souma like an older brother, but the Saiki family is full of dark secrets that threaten to draw Masataka in...

What I would call Watase Yuu's magnum opus, she worked on this series for ten years. I've read and loved a lot of her work, including several full series, and this just blows them all out of the water. I would love to see this series in English, but given the subject matter, I think it's doubtful, which is such a shame...

I read a comment from her saying that someone had called it a very hard read, but also a very sweet story, and I think that says it all. A very very hard read, thematically, as it deals with multiple instances of rape and physical abuse, including some of children, and also extremely dense plot-wise. But also deeply moving.

Much has been said of the fact that both the main characters in the series are male, but this goes deeper than what you would call BL, and even a gay love story. In fact, it's debatable whether this is a love story at all.

Because in the end, it's a story of two people who save each other, who teach each other that they can love and are worthy of being loved, that they have a right to be born, and to discover a will to live.

So somehow, despite all the horror and pain that sometimes feels unrelenting in the course of the three volume series, as you close the last book, all you can think is, "What a beautiful story..."

[Clow Place · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ay no... medio mucho coraje este manga. Si hay momentos de tensión y misterio con cada vuelta de tuerca que ofrece la Watase. Pero no creo que para nada esté bien justificar agresores y violentadores.

Esperen próxima reseña

[momochiiii ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

(╥╯^╰╥)

[yengyeng · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending is perfect. The sakura will bloom again.

[Kayleesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO good! But... The ending! My God, the ending!!!! >.<

[M. RoAr · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 / 5

[leonichan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was contemplating between 4 and 5 stars for this series but in the end I went with 5. It was at times truly unpleasant to read but that wasn't because it was bad in any way. It's just that I think the story caught me so good that I felt all the horrible things happening to the characters almost a bit too much. This series does contain very horrific events, like rape and violence, depicted with detail. And the art does not try to spare the reader at all. Despite that I kept on reading and I'm glad I did. It's a story about cruel things happening to people and about the vicious cycle of violence perpetuated by the victims. It's a story about the morbid desire to completely possess someone and destruction of innocence in the process. But it's also a story about redemption.

In the end I'm not even sure it is in any way correct to market this series as yaoi. It is so different from the average yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi (no climax, no resolution, no meaning). I have read a couple of yaoi mangas with much deeper than average plot, but nothing like this. This is not even a tragic love story with a dark twist like some of Watase's previous shoujo works are. I do like her shoujo works and usually try to read all the ones that I find but this is something totally different. I would not recommend this for an average yaoi fan, not even to fans of non-con since I'm of the opinion that this series was not made to appeal to that kind of audience.

I'm going to re-read this when some time has passed and maybe drop the rating to 4 stars if I feel that the violence is more excessive than what is needed since that is right now my only doubt. But 5 for now.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series



Yikes, talk about a dark plot. I should like to start by saying that my rating mostly reflects my personal feelings toward this manga - subjectively, I think this is a quality manga and I can understand where all the high ratings are coming from. But this series is not for the faint of heart, just to name a few, it contains murder, torture, rape, pedophilia and incest.

It's 1920 Japan, Masataka has come to Tokyo and found work with a noble family to finance his studies. Although he befriends the family's eldest son Souma, he finds that not everything is as it should be within this household. Accidents and suicide seem to happen in the family's wake and always at the centre of it all stands Souma. Masataka is warned off from staying at the estate, yet loyalty to Souma makes him stay.

I really like Yuu Watase's works - I appreciate her art and her stories are very much shoujo. Sakuragari may have some echoes of her other works but it is otherwise just about as different a story she could have come up with. It's utterly dark and morbid - I would not normally read this kind of story but Watase somehow manages to pull it off in a way that makes it seem near poetic. The characters are thoughtful and scarred, there's hardly one among them that doesn't have a dark past of sorts. It is sad and beautiful at the same time; what the characters go through is disturbing but there's also an underlying feeling of hope and interesting reflections on human nature.

The art is slightly different from her other works, probably with the intention of matching the more adult themes, but it is still distinctly her style and very beautiful for it. It is mostly black and white with very little grey scaling which gives it a classic touch that fits in well with the setting. The art and plot allowed for an immersive reading experience which I really appreciated for this historic setting.

At times, all the incidents felt a little over the top - you'd think there were more people who would notice all the abuse and actually do something about it. Despite that, it was a believable plot with real characters and there is very little I can fault this manga with. It's not a series I would drop into just anybody's hands but it's qualitatively and artistically a really well-crafted manga.

[Tasnim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tristísimo este manga, a la par que explosivo.

[Hoppipolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dios, me ha destrozado por completo... Y encima el final tan abierto e interpretativo que tiene, es que me deja rota, dios mío.

En definitiva: una obra maestra.

[Anna C · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you can't even bear to look at me...at least...please keep hating me." -- Souma

Kalimat di atas bikin nyesek, sampe bercucuran air mata dibuatnya. Vol 3 ini membuatku terus meneteskan air mata. T___T Sebenarnya ya, kalo ditilik tuh akar masalahnya itu berawal dari papanya Souma. Dan yg paling kubenci dari semuanya adalah si dokter Katsuragi. Untunglah dia akhirnya mati juga. Karma.
Sedangkan Souma? rada mixed feeling sama org ini. Kasihan tapi sekaligus tidak suka padanya. Aku tau dia menganggap dirinya sudah kotor dan ternoda, tapi apakah perlu terus 'menjajakan dirimu dengan murah' hanya karena sudah 'kepalang basah' dan 'terlanjur kotor'? I was like, "OMG...please love yourself, dear!" *sigh* Ya, aku tau kalo dia sebenarnya sudah putus harapan sama dirinya sendiri, sudah 'mati' di dalam, dia tak peduli lagi apa yg terjadi pada dirinya. Ya, ibarat boneka hidup, dia menjalani hidup ini tanpa gairah. Sampai akhirnya dia bertemu 'penyelamat'nya : Masataka. Itulah kenapa ending-nya kembali ditutup dengan pohon Sakura, seperti di awal cerita. Pada awal cerita, ia begitu ingin mati, tapi tidak berani mati. Namun, kali ini ketika ia kembali berada di bawah pohon Sakura, ia tidak lagi ingin mati. Ia sudah menemukan semangat utk hidup. Dan seperti apa yg Watase-sensei katakan di kata pengantar di akhir buku, asalkan masih ada semangat untuk hidup, ia pasti akan terus hidup. I took it as a good ending. Aku berasumsi bahwa, asalkan masih hidup, dan ada keinginan untuk itu, jalan mereka berdua akan kembali terhubung. :)

All in all, ini adalah kisah yg sedih tapi indah, biarpun sarat dengan kekerasan. Jika diibaratkan dengan melodi, tidaklah syahdu dan menghanyutkan, tapi penuh dengan nada-nada tinggi sarat emosi. Ini bukanlah buku favoritku yg bakal kubaca berulang-ulang, soalnya ceritanya tragis sih...penuh dengan adegan rape and violence juga, I don't like to refresh my memory of such things.

Lalu, apakah ini sebenarnya adalah kisah cinta? Menurutku sih bukan. Ini adalah kisah hidup Souma, jatuh dalam kenistaan dan akhirnya berhasil 'diselamatkan'.

Anyway, di tengah jalan vol ini aku sempat menyangka Youya itu anak gelapnya Souma dengan Sakurako loh, hahaha. Coba kalo kek gitu kan bakal lebih mind blowing, hahaha. Cuma ya rada kaget juga waktu tau kalo Youya itu cowok, ga nyangka aja. Dan kaget juga waktu tau siapa ayah kandungnya Youya. Masa lalu Masataka juga ibarat 'icing on the cake'. Nicely done, sensei! :) Itu memang membuat Masataka terasa lebih real.

So, is it recommended? Yes, you should read it. Not only fujoshi, but all people that love to read something different, try this series, the masterpiece of Watase-sensei. :)

[Arianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially, I thought that this was nothing extraordinary, but maybe because I didn't like the harsh parts of the story as well as I thought it was a bit too much to digest.
If in a way I didn't want to read this, on the other hand I couldn't let the manga in peace until I could find how the story would end.
There are so many relevant themes that are highlighted that one could drown into them considering also their weight and how bluntly they are exposed to the reader. However, the drawings - the classical Watase style, fresh and delicate, despite the story - and the characters constitute the key point in parallel with discovering all the truth behind the events.
The setting is also impressive, although one could claim it is not perfectly accurate, however it is clear that there is an historical effort and it is very interesting to see how the background is actually impacting characters and events.

I didn't expect this to bring up though yaoi elements, however, I would possibly consider this manga an exception if labelled so. I could think it is in some sense close to how some shojo manga are instead developing.

If it wouldn't be for the too much violence, I would have rated this higher, however, sometimes I think it was just exaggerated.

[Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

whew...it's over.

....maybe I can sleep now.

...maybe not...these characters won't leave my head...maybe never will.

Thank you for the closure. I appreciated and was appalled by the background stories. I loved the ending, it gives meaning to the saying, "if you love something, then set it free". It was nice to see such a depraved character be brave enough to do it. It was relieving to understand how he came to be the way he was and to understand. Overall, this series is SO SO sad. It seems many people who reviewed this series saw it as a love story. This is NOT a love story. There is NO love in this book...at all! This is about abuse, codependency, desperation, perversion and insanity. Lets just hope that Souma's big sacrifice pays off and Tagami can go on with his life!

...whew...

[Amanda Allman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously that ending was TOO MUCH. I should not be crying or feeling sorry for Souma in the slightest but I can't help but feel sorry for him.

This series was very dark and at times I thought about putting it down and continuing later just to recover my thoughts.

Well done Yuu Watase, another gripping story even if it's different than the others.

[Ainhoa Irigoyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de esos finales que te deja mirando a la pared un buen rato.
No supero.

[Cavak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well... I'll not be forgetting this story anytime soon.

I enjoyed reading Watase's commentary on why certain decisions were made, and how she decided to approach certain topics from particular angles. Why this time period, what did she think about so-and-so character. It's effective, no doubt about that. Was it tasteful? Well...

So much abuse. So much abuse.

If you know anything about Watase's previous works, then you'll likely know her for her fluffy romances, "no sex between the leads" on screen, and wholesome moments between flawed characters who form genuine bonds through any sort of conflict. Felt like Sakura-Gari's entire mission was to do the exact opposite of the vast majority of her shojo works. The first volume lures the reader in, pretends to be like what she's known for before Watase says, "Okay, time to cut loose."

Yet one of the reasons why I tend to like Watase's comics is that, although she does follow trends of the genre, she also tends to approach topics that are often "not questioned" in the mainstream narrative of Japanese society. Imadoki!: Nowadays, Vol. 1 addresses teen pregnancy, and how it's expected for a girl to drop everything in her personal life for the child alone. But no, the character decides to become a mother, a single mom, and continue her personal ambitions for a career, which still isn't popular or casually accepted for the confirmative norms of Japanese society.

Sakura-Gari was made during a time when there was an increase in political prejudices towards anyone who isn't cisgender heterosexual (for lack of a better umbrella term). While creating this narrative, it's like Watase is addressing the validity of those statements while also questioning the accepted norms for most gay media in Japan. It's a rather uncomfortable truth that a majority of the narratives for the genres she's writing for (josei and LGBTQIA) include dubious sexual consent, some form of domination and manipulation, horrific violence, or outright rape. But they also (tend to) insist that the character doing them is a true romantic. Watase goes deeper into the persona of that character archetype, as if to say, "What would cause someone to think or act that way to begin with?" Or why is that even popular?

It's through a guise of a historical drama, but she got somewhere with that line of thought. Like it or not, I admit I felt that question's scope throughout the entire work. The story got me to feel and think a bit deeper, and I appreciate it for that. Her messages are not exactly wholesome as her other works. Certainly a bold chance to take at that point of her creative career.

The biggest sore spots for me are that neither Sakurako got a chance at redemption, and the ending pulled a Banana Fish, Vol. 1 on us. With almost the same bittersweet vibes. I can't say that I'm surprised, but I'm more sadden to see that with gay literature. At least when this work was first published. Maybe it's not as bad nowadays.

Now, I don't know whether to recommend Sakura-Gari. It's definitely not for the kids or anyone squeamish. If you're going in expecting to enjoy the company of rational, respectful, and sane characters, this isn't that story. However, if you want to read a challenging work about how sex scenes can be used to advance a narrative without being fetishized, why not try this one? I felt like the story ended a bit early, but I can accept it.

[Blake Herondale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estoy en conflicto con este tomo, no se si darle 3 estrellas o menos. Me ha dejado 👁️👄👁️

Con este tomo llego a entender muchas de las cosas del porqué se hicieron. Sobre todo, el final, hasta parece que el padre sabía lo de su esposa 👁️👄👁️

Este tomo ha sido bastante turbio, hasta creo que más que los otros por las revelaciones, una tras otra, de algunas cosas. Eso si: que se conozca la historia de una persona, no creo igual que sus actos estén justificados :/ y mucho menos perdonarlos (una aquí que es bien rencorosa)

[Ester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otra maravilla de Yuu Watase. Un manga que, de principio a fin, es duro, cruel en donde muestra el lado más horrible y destructivo de la humanidad. Pero, también, es una historia donde podemos ver que, aunque la vida puede ser muy dura e injusta, podemos sanar nuestras heridas y seguir adelante. Aunque el final es ciertamente abierto y ambiguo, no podía no darle 5 estrellas.

[Meduss142 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se trata de una trilogía yaoi la mar de interesante. Historia cruda, hermosa, realista... Me he leído ya los tres tomos y voy a decir que hay un gran secreto detrás de un personaje odioso y la historia romántica de nuestros protagonistas es muy tóxica a pesar de que acaba floreciendo un amor inocente vamos a decir.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I forgive you.” Who knew those words could be so powerful???

This story was beautifully depressing but oh so accurate. Trauma that happens to you as a child will f*ck you up for life. And you’re more likely to inflict the same kind of pain on others, keeping the cycle going.. Protect your kids. They don’t deserve this kind of shit!

[Alba Clopés · Rating 2 out of 5]

Està molt ben fet i enganxa moltíssim, però no li puc posar bona nota perquè es fa molt dur de llegir i el final em va deixar amb el mal cos propi de les històries d'horror. No és una lectura agradable, però sí de qualitat.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desperately tragic, but also a story about redemption, endurance and forgiveness despite all odds and human cruelty.

[Mellii · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Nana · Rating 5 out of 5]

“nunca había visto una escena tan terrible,triste y hermosa“
Es lo que describe perfectamente este manga, esta historia quedo permanentemente grabada en mi.

[Lapis Lazuli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qualsiasi cosa dirò di questa serie sarà riduttivo rispetto alla sua bellezza e complessità.
L'ho acquistata perché amo Yuu Watase e mi sono piaciuti tutti i suoi manga, quindi quando ho letto che aveva pubblicato uno yaoi, ho iniziato a fremere dalla voglia di leggerlo, perché mi aspettavo una delle sue storie avvincenti alla Ayashi no Ceres o Fushigi Yugi, ma con due magnifici protagonisti maschili invece della solita eroina banale. Ma anche se alcuni dei suoi manga sono più complessi e drammatici di altri, si tratta pur sempre di storie leggere, frivole, che ti avvincono ma senza sconvolgerti.
Non è stato così per Sakuragari. Questa serie è pura poesia, dramma allo stato puro, una storia tormentata, morbosa e sconvolgente, narrata con la delicatezza dei petali di ciliegio. Disegni particolareggiati, evocativi, che ti fanno entrare a pieno dentro la vicenda, ti fanno quasi sentire il dolore dei protagonisti. I dettagli storici dell'epoca Taisho sono, per quel poco che li conosco, veramente ben ricostruiti e le note dell'autrice a fine volume danno un quadro ancora più completo del periodo in cui si svolge la storia e permettono di comprendere meglio alcuni punti veramente controversi per noi lettori occidentali.
E il finale... Dio mio, il finale... è stupendo, semplicemente perfetto. Ancora mi si stringe in cuore a pensarci. L'ultima parte dell'ultimo volume è così toccante che, davvero, definire questo manga uno yaoi o inserirlo in qualsiasi altra categoria è riduttivo.
Ovviamente lo consiglio solo a stomaci forti, a chi è di larghe vedute e non si lasca sconvolgere dalle scene di violenza. Perché per accettare e comprendere quello che accade tra le pagine, ci vuole un notevole distacco. E nonostante il distacco, non si può non soffrire con i tormentati protagonisti.
Cinque stelle sono poche. Ci vorrebbe anche la lode. E un plauso anche alla curatissima edizione italiana, con un'ottima traduzione, la citazione di tutte le poesie giapponesi che ricorrono nel testo, le tavole a colori, la sovraccoperta con i petali di ciliegio in rilevo.
Un manga che ti entra dentro e che non se ne andrà tanto facilmente.

[Magan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite series, ever. I went into it without expectations and I came out a sobbing mass of me. It is not pretty and what is considered love, isn't love at all, but need and desire. From the first encounter of Masataka-kun and Souma-sama, you know it's going to get intense, but I confess that I wasn't prepared for the emotional trauma they would inflict on one another. It was painful. And how they played against their backdrop and the puppet masters who created them emotionally and mentally.

What did strike me was how Souma-sama owned up to what he had done, and how Masataka-kun, when he finally understood Souma-sama, forgave him everything, even admitting that the abuse and trauma wasn't going to go away overnight. There are always dues to be paid for sins committed whether you are aware or a passive bystander. Guilt doesn't just fade away overnight. You pay for your mistakes and you move on. I am glad that Watase-san didn't take the easy route with these boys. And on that note, getting back to the beginning: Their entire relationship was hinted from the first chapters.

[Lyri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me quedare con la duda de por vida ni se si el va a morir o no :/

[Lottie Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

Well... This series was disturbing.