Drawing From Your Memory Volume 1 Review

Shiki Kawabata’s Drawing From Your Memory was originally serialised between 2018 and 2021, but the series was lucky enough to receive a live-action drama adaptation mid last year. And now the original manga makes its way to the West thanks to Kodansha, but does it prove worth the wait? Let’s find out!

The story follows Mahoro Haruta, a popular mangaka whose debut series became a bestseller. But now it’s over, and Mahoro’s editor is pressuring her to write a new series, but Mahoro has been harbouring a secret all these years. Her popular work was actually stolen from her high school classmate Shu Yukishima, who passed away while they were still students.

Struggling with the weight of her guilt and the inability to come up with something new, Mahoro desperately wishes for a chance to redeem herself and let Yukishima experience the fame and popularity instead. It’s then that something strange happens; Mahoro finds herself tripping while holding Yukishima’s idea notebook and being transported ten years into the past, to the point where it all began!

Mahoro finds herself back not long after her first meeting with Yukishima. She’d gathered up the courage to join the manga club, and after spending her break drawing a 30-page story, she asked for his impressions. Seeing the boy whose story she stole right in front of her, Mahoro breaks down in tears and secretly resolves to ensure that this time their lives go differently.

When Mahoro returns to the past, it’s already September, and in the original timeline, Yukishima dies in January. That doesn’t give her a whole lot of time to work with, and since he has a heart condition, she’s unsure if there’s anything she can do anyway. But regardless, she will try. And we will join her for this heartfelt journey back to the past.

Drawing From Your Memory has actually crossed my path a few times now. A friend recommended it to me a few years ago, and I read Volume 1 in Japanese then, but I didn’t continue largely due to a lack of language skills at the time. Then the drama started, and I recognised the title and watched the whole series, engrossed by the story. And now I’ve come full circle, back to where it all began. But having watched the drama in its entirety first leaves me with a few quibbles when it comes to the original work.

The story is still highly emotional and enjoyable. There’s plenty happening as we’re shown the relationship Mahoro and Yukishima shared before, as well as how Mahoro’s knowledge from the future is helping her make different choices this time around, as well as the impact this has on changing the future. However, it’s Kawabata’s art that leaves me a little puzzled at times. I find the character designs lean a bit too comedic at times.

In the first chapter especially, Mahoro is sometimes drawn with an almost bobble-headed appearance, and for me, this goes against the tone of the story. This does improve later, but then there are three other members of the manga club introduced, and they’re drawn with circular, square and oval-shaped heads (with names that represent their strangely shaped appearances). And then there’s Kagemasa Arashi; he’s Mahoro’s editor in the future and was on the student council during their time in high school. And his younger character design doesn’t particularly match up with his adult version, which is surprising when Mahoro doesn’t really change at all! The drama, of course, had funny moments, but it shaved off a lot of the comedic beats that seem to be present in the original.

By the end of the first volume, I’d gotten used to some of the odder elements of the art, and while I’m still not a huge fan, it’s by no means a deal-breaker. Particularly as Kawabata’s art always comes through when it counts. The emotional moments between Mahoro and Yukishima in particular are well depicted and draw you into their world and make you hope for a happy ending.

As mentioned, Drawing From Your Memory Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to Kodansha and has been translated by the excellent Sawa Matsueda Savage with lettering by the ever-capable Madeleine Jose. As you’d expect from this team, the release reads well with no issues to note. There are some translation notes at the end and colour pages to open, which make for a nice addition.

This one is complete in Japan with 5 volumes, which seems like a reasonable length for the story it’s telling. The drama adaptation has yet to be licensed for an English release, but given the manga is available now, hopefully that will change in the near future so more people can enjoy it. Volume 2 is scheduled for an English release in July, with #3 following in October.

Overall, Drawing From Your Memory is an interesting series about a woman who just wants to pay back her supposed sins and ensures a happy future for everyone. There are some quirks to Kawabata’s art that are distracting at times, but this is a series that’s still well worth picking up – especially knowing it won’t be an incredibly long one.

A free preview can be read on the publisher’s website.
Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
© Shiki Kawabata / Kodansha