There was another notable josei one-shot that came out late this year. It's all about grief and loss. In that sense, it feels like the perfect compliment to a year like 2020.
MY BROKEN MARIKO (Mai Buroken Mariko), by Waka Hirako. First published in 2019 and first published in North America in 2020.
PLOT:
Tomoyo Shiina was enjoying a quick meal of ramen when she learned that Mariko died. Mariko had been Tomoyo's best friend since they were kids, and now she feels guilty for not being able to do enough to save Mariko from the abuse and mental torment she suffered in life. In her grief, Tomoyo makes a decision: she will put Mariko to proper rest, even if it means stealing her ashes and going on the run.
STORY:
My Broken Mariko is a hard book to talk about. Some of that is due to the content; this manga deals not just with suicide, but also depression, self-harm, and physical and sexual abuse. It's heavy stuff worthy of a content warning, so it's definitely not going to be a book for everyone. It's also just an emotionally raw sort of story. Tomoyo cycles wildly through grief, guilt, anger, love and frustration, punctuated only by flashes of the brief moments of joy she had with Mariko over the years, and Hirako portrays it all so vividly that it's hard not to get swept up in her own emotional whirlwind.
That's not to say that it's all grim. There are moments of manic energy and dark humor, such as when Tomoyo tricks her way into Mariko's father's apartment, gives her bastard father a piece of her mind (and a taste of her foot) before jumping out a window. These moments are more than a little ridiculous in a story that's otherwise fairly grounded in reality, but they serve as necessarily moments of levity to keep Tomoyo (and the reader) from drowning in sadness. After all, just because someone died doesn't mean that the world doesn't keep going and occasionally present you with something hilarious or dumb.
I'm fortunate enough to have never lost a loved one to suicide, but I have seen friends and online mutuals grasp with similar feelings in the face of unexpected deaths. I've seen that same level of heartbreaking sadness, the same sort of guilt over choices made and 'what if's left unexplored, the fear of being left alone, and the desire to preserve the memories of good times to keep them from fading into the aether, however small those moments might be. My Broken Mariko doesn't have any easy answers for Tomoyo or the reader about how to deal with such feelings. What it can offer, though, is a level of empathy that can only come from someone who has known that sort of loss.
ART:
The artwork here is in many ways the perfect mirror to Tomoyo's mental state. A lot of josei aims for a more polished and put-together look, but the art here is rough and messy. The present day scenes are full of thick line work, rough angles, dramatic perspectives, manic energy, and a lot of clutter. In comparison, Tomoyo's flashbacks are cleaner, softer, and more direct. They're shown from Tomoyo's perspective, so often Mariko seems to be spilling her feelings out towards the reader. In that way Hirako puts you in Tomoyo's place, wanting to save her but unable to take direct action. It may not always be pretty, but it's some visually powerful stuff.
PRESENTATION:
There's an additional side story, "Yiska," included here. It's about a Native American kid growing up on the fringes of society and his fateful meeting with a fugitive in the middle of the Southwestern desert. While it's much bloodier than the main story, its focus is more on forgiveness and moving on.
RATING:
My Broken Mariko is truly one of the stand-out manga of 2020. Its fierce and unwavering take on survivor's guilt, amplified by its unglamorous art, makes this a powerful book that should not be missed. With any luck, it will hopefully be remembered the next time the Eisners or Harvey Awards come around.
This book is published by Yen Press. It is currently in print.
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