Hitorijime, My Hero Volume 15 Review
Kousuke Ohshiba and his boyfriend Masahiro Setagawa have moved in to the Ohshiba family home and being under the same roof as his parents has all but killed their love life. The wholesome domestic atmosphere has affected Setagawa – as has the arrival of little Miko-chan, the Ohshibas’ third child. Meanwhile, at school it’s time for Setagawa’s last school festival and inevitably his class votes to cross-dress by swapping uniforms, which sounds like a good idea until the practicalities begin to sink in (the boys mostly being a larger build than the girls therefore don’t fit in the girls’ uniforms etc. etc.). Back at the Ohshiba house, life with baby Miko is… well, chaotic as life with babies tends to be. But why does corgi Shigeo start barking from time to time for no good reason? Who’s that outside the house? Now they’re there again, even though it’s raining. Is it… a stalker?
When I last reviewed this series, it was 2019 and the number of Boys’ Love manga in English translation was beginning to expand (and it’s continued to do so ever since). The anime TV series of Hitorijime had recently made its debut and been a success, heralding the appearance of more BL manga and anime series that were slice-of-life and not all angst, non-con and high melodrama. So, how’s this likable title going now that it’s reached fifteen volumes and is still ongoing? Not many BL series in translation get that far as US publishers are notoriously allergic to long-running BL series, it seems, these days, with only The World’s Greatest First Love and His Favorite, both from SuBLime, reaching the teens in volume-count this decade. (Although Sasaki and Miyano has just got to #10, so maybe we have another long-runner there from Yen Press?)
Kodansha has gradually upped the age-rating for Hitorijime, My Hero from Older Teen (Volumes 1-5) to Mature 18+ from Volume 6 onward although there’s very little explicit material; the few intimate scenes have been consensual and feel ‘right’ for the characters involved. The main couple, teacher Kousuke Ohshiba (the ‘hero’ and one-time delinquent) and high-school student Masahiro Setagawa (also one-time delinquent) have been an item over many volumes. Yes, there’s the whole teacher x student issue with Kousuke and Setagawa but even though in real life it would be an issue, this story stubbornly and effectively insists on showing that Kousuke, Setagawa’s hero who saves him from being the gopher for a gang of louts and ne’er-do-wells, is the best thing that’s happened to him. If anything, the relationship between Kensuke Ohshiba and Asakaya Hasekura (Setagawa’s friends and schoolmates) is the more dubious when it comes to issues of consent as naive ace gamer Ken never seems to be on the same page as over-possessive boyfriend Hasekura.
At its best, Hitorijime My Hero is amusing and endearing because one-time delinquent Setagawa is such a sweet-natured young man who still loves to cook for his friends and dotes on all the pets at the Ohshiba household. Memeco Arii’s art style has become slightly less haphazard over the years (although that’s also a rather charming feature of the earlier volumes) – but the coherent story-telling (or lack of it) has not improved. This manga is still a frustrating read as you’re never sure where things are going. That said, it’s also very realistic, especially some of the off-the-wall conversations between the high-schoolers. It certainly has its own distinctive charm – but if you’re a reader who likes a plot that unfolds neatly from chapter to chapter, you’ll be baffled by Arii’s complete disregard for the niceties of telling a story from A to B.
The worst example of this random story-telling is the big event that the past volumes have been building up to: the birth of a third (unexpected and unplanned) child to Kousuke and Kensuke’s parents. Ohshiba senior has been mostly absent from the household (working abroad) so you could be forgiven for thinking he’d run off with another woman or died throughout the earlier volumes. So, the big build-up in the last volumes has been to the birth of a third brother. Here we see Mrs Ohshiba reclining on a couch in a very pregnant condition on one page – then we’re at the hospital – then it’s a new chapter and little Miko-chan is sitting up unaided (at least six months old!) playing with his toys and even saying the odd word. (This baby must be a genius!) Either Memeco Arii is not too familiar with child development or she just wasn’t too bothered – but I was! Where did all that time go? It’s also the end of high school for the main protagonists – but that also seems to happen off-stage. Sure, there’s a bonus story at the end of the volume showing them talking about what comes next after the graduation ceremony and Setagawa has dyed his hair black but where’s the big moment? We’ve been following these boys through fifteen volumes, for heaven’s sake, so seeing them graduate would have been nice (compare with many other slice-of-life manga like Sasake and Miyano or Horimiya).
Nevertheless, Hitorijime My Hero has retained much of its off-the-wall charm if you don’t mind going along with a story that’s anything but linear. Memeco Arii in her illustrated Afterword (always a treat) proclaims that a new saga is beginning now the boys have graduated but also tells us about injuring her writing shoulder, buying a new microwave/toaster and a host of other things. Oh – and in an offhand way – she mentions that she’s doing all the artwork herself (i.e. she doesn’t have any assistants anymore which must be difficult).
The translation is by the ever-dependable Kevin Gifford with lettering is by Michael Martin and includes a page of helpful translation notes. No date yet for Volume 16 so we have to hope that sensei has recovered from injuring her shoulder and that she’s managing without assistants…
Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
