Flip Flip Slowly Review

Kouta Hagiwara (23) is a librarian at a public library in a quiet country town. Nothing much happens but when a new borrower applies to join, he can’t help but be a little curious. Then the newcomer, Jinichi Yabumi (34), begins to show up on the same day each week and methodically reads his way through a series, one volume at a time. Until the day Yabumi turns up at the checkout desk and finds he’s forgotten his wallet and library card, retreating with embarrassed apologies. It’s not until Hagiwara is driving home after work that he spots Yabumi waiting at the bus stop. He stops and offers him a lift to the station and finds himself chatting easily about this and that. Now that the ice has been broken, Hagiwara invites Yabumi to join him on a drive down to the seaside one day – and, to his surprise, Yabumi agrees. It turns out that he’s (not so surprisingly) an academic, an adjunct professor/researcher teaching cultural anthropology at a nearby college. But he’s a little more reticent when it comes to his links with the area; he says vaguely that his family home is nearby. “I’ve been going back and forth on family business.”

When they reach a place to stop with a view of the sea, Hagiwara settles back to read in companionable silence. Then Yabumi asks if it’s okay to smoke and begins to talk about his father who, it turns out, died a year ago; it turns out that they’d been estranged for years and the reason? Because he’d learned that Yabumi was gay. “Rumours spread fast in the countryside.” Yabumi’s father had been unable to accept his son’s sexuality so Yabumi left to go to college in Tokyo. Hagiwara apologises for prying and Yabumi turns to him to say, “You are too, aren’t you? My story had to be painful to hear.” The atmosphere in the car has subtly changed as the sun begins to set and Hagiwara admits he hasn’t exactly told his family yet. But then Yabumi tells the younger man, “I wouldn’t pick me if I were you… It’s more likely what you’re feeling is companionship. Not romantic love.” And even though Hagiwara realizes he’s been turned down, he can’t help feeling, I thought he was rather cool. Will he give up on Yabumi? Even though he knows he’s been gently rejected, he’s not the kind of man to give up so easily. And he senses that Yabumi is still trying to process some difficult feelings about his late father. If only he could help…

Flip Flip Slowly is the second manga by Mame Ohtako and the first to be published in English, thanks to Kodansha. It’s beautifully drawn (the mangaka has a unique and subtle style when it comes to faces and conveying feelings) and it’s written with subtlety and convincing characterization. Particularly affecting are the contrasting scenes (some in flashback) of the two men’s families’ reactions to their coming out. The damage caused to Yabumi by the rigid attitude of his father is contrasted with the more relaxed atmosphere in Hagiwara’s family. The question lingers for a long time over the narrative as to whether Yabumi has ever really come to terms with his father’s disapproval, especially after his (relatively) early death at fifty-nine. But Hagiwara still feels reluctant to come out to his father too… maybe it’s too soon?

The circumstances in which Hagiwara and Yabumi meet don’t really match up with the present-day automated public library (in the UK, anyway) in which customers return and check out their own library books themselves – so it’s kind-of nostalgic for this librarian, for one!

Translation for Kodansha is by Adrienne Beck with lettering by Dietrich Premier and both work well to convey the nuances of this growing relationship; there are two pages of translation notes at the end, as well as two bonus stories (one for the digital edition), two character sketches and the mangaka’s ‘special thanks’. As it’s a Boys’ Love with a Mature rating, there are some scenes involving lovemaking but they’re not that explicit and, as with the rest of the narrative, are depicted with subtlety (yes, it can be done!) and feel genuinely earned.

Flip, Flip Slowly is that relatively rare phenomenon, a BL that manages to be insightful, tender, and ultimately optimistic; Mame Ohtako is a mangaka to watch and I hope we’ll get to see her first (ongoing) series Play After Call in English before too long!

Flip Flip Slowly © Mame Ohtako/KODANSHA LTD

Read a free extract on the publisher’s website here.

Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.