Hereditary Triangle Review
I was already familiar with Hereditary Triangle’s mangaka Fumiya Hayashi, despite their having had no English releases prior to this book, due to their wonderful artwork being shared on social media. So, of course, when Yen Press licensed Hereditary Triangle, I was eager to read it for myself.
The story follows childhood friends Koutarou Fujiki and Tooru Kajiwara and the woman they both fell in love with – Touko Fujiki. The three thought they’d always be together; even when Koutarou and Touko were dating, Tooru always came along on their dates and was an irreplaceable part of their relationship.
However, despite their best intentions Koutarou and Touko drifted away from Tooru who became a professional photographer and simply disappeared one day. He went on grand adventures to take photos of new places and sent Koutarou letters, which he replied to now and then before eventually not bothering, out of guilt because of his relationship with Touko whom he knew Tooru truly loved. Later, after remaining out of touch for so long, Koutarou learns from his mother that Tooru has died in an accident.
Koutarou can’t help but wonder if this could have been prevented if only the two had stayed in touch. Or perhaps if Touko had chosen Tooru instead, what would have become of the three then? Overwhelmed with guilt, he and Touko return to their hometown for the first time in many years and there they come face-to-face with someone entirely unexpected: Koutarou’s son, Kaoru who looks just like their dear friend.
This chance meeting with Kaoru offers the pair a chance to learn what became of Tooru after they fell out of contact, as well as reminisce and resolve some of their lingering feelings surrounding their old friend. Kaoru, too, wishes to know more about what his father was like when he was younger so is grateful to have met his old friends like this.
Hereditary Triangle frequently jumps between the past and the present, showing us the three friends together during university and then returning to the present day where Kaoru is spending time with them in Tooru’s place. And the way the story handles the passage of time is, in my opinion, one of its strengths. When we first meet Koutarou and Touko, they’re middle-aged and married, so with so much history between them and Tooru, it’s easy to understand how their unsaid feelings have built up. Particularly for Koutarou who feels guilty not only for being married to Touko (he took advantage of Tooru’s disappearance to propose) but also for having lost touch with Tooru before he passed away.
Despite the emotions that run high, mangaka Fumiya Hayashi is very delicate in the way they portray these scenes. Hereditary Triangle isn’t melodramatic, a lot of things are left unsaid and portrayed through the expressions of the cast or their everyday actions. Hayashi’s art is easy on the eyes with attractive character designs that are instantly recognisable even when we see their younger selves.
I was also impressed by how well-developed Tooru is. Given he’s already passed away before the beginning of Chapter 1, I didn’t expect to care for him as much as Touko and Koutarou, but by the end I realised I’d come to love all three of these characters – as well as Kaoru, of course. It’s not easy to tell a story that’s complete in what is effectively two volumes (the release is an omnibus) and that feels like all the loose ends have been tied up successfully. Especially when there are so many complex emotions at play.
Perhaps what I enjoyed the most was the fact this is initially set up as a love triangle, but it’s never meanspirited and while Koutarou had (and still has) his anxieties and guilt about the whole thing, everyone knew where they stood. Touko was always honest about her love for Koutarou and Tooru accepted that, even if he wasn’t prepared to give up on her all the same. At the end of the two volumes these three characters loved and respected one another and loved the relationship they had as a threesome. This is a refreshing message to see and speaks to the reality of life where sometimes a relationship doesn’t have to be romantic or fit into the preconceived notion of what’s ‘right’ or ‘proper’ by the standards of others so long as everyone’s happy. This kind of storytelling combined with the art leaves me eager to see more of Hayashi’s work make it to the West, ideally Kemutai Hanashi next as while it’s not exactly a spin-off, we do see Touko pop up as one of the side characters.
As mentioned earlier, Hereditary Triangle has been brought to the West thanks to Yen Press and has been translated by Athena and Alethea Nibley with lettering by Phil Christie. It comes in the form of an attractive hardback release that combines the two Japanese volumes into one and includes a fold-out colour page, which depicts the artwork used for Volume 2 in Japan. Personally, I think this suits a fold-out more, so it works out better for us here in the West. Honestly, this is one of the nicest releases from Yen Press I’ve had the pleasure of reading recently; we don’t see that many hardbacks from them for manga (more in the light novel space) so it makes this all the more special.
Overall, Hereditary Triangle is an impressive manga that manages to capture the changes in even the closest of relationships as we get older and our circumstances change. Fumiya Hayashi does a wonderful job of exploring the regrets, memories and feelings we’re left with when someone beloved passes on before us and how to approach these difficult emotions. It certainly proves itself a must-read!
Our review copy was supplied by the publisher Yen Press.
