Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord by Yodokawa, translated by Stephen Paul, is a slice-of-life manga about Asako Suga. The 26-year-old manga editor decides to move to a new home for a fresh start after breaking up with her girlfriend. Little does she know, her 19-year old landlord Miyako Kitano is a former idol. The naive and friendly Miyako resides in the attic of the home as a “live-in landlord”. It helps to know something about idol culture to understand what Miyako’s life has been like up until now. “Idols” are famous pop stars (J-Pop and K-Pop) who perform in groups and are trained by and represent their recording labels or companies. They craft carefully controlled images and hone their performance-related talents. Young musicians and dancers covet and compete for idol status. (I know this from listening to the audiobook XOXO by Axie Oh).
Presumably, the story will continue with some explanation of why Miyako abandoned her successful career and retreated into a mundane life as well as offering backstory about Asako’s failed relationship. With the first volume, the story unfolds as a slice-of-life about Asako and Miyako getting to know each other and becoming roommates, even friends. Miyako hails from the Kansai region and speaks in a style that reads as rural or country. She calls Asako “Onee-san” which means “big sister”, and Asako calls Miyako “Landlord-san”. There is the potential for a romance to develop, but Miyako is so child-like that I find the idea a little off-putting. For teen readers who are closer in age to the main characters, the romance might be more appealing.
The art in the story is familiar to any manga reader, even a novice like myself. In grayscale with the panels reading from right to left, top to bottom, it shows the characters doing everyday things, mostly at home with simple backgrounds. Sound effects punctuate the panels as Japanese characters with tiny anglicized and translated captions. The characters have large eyes and occasionally exaggerated facial expressions. They are attractive and wear stylish clothes. In keeping with the slice-of-life genre, the tone is gentle, calm and soothing. The cover art represents the feel of the interior artwork very well.
As of July 2024, there are three volumes in print of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord. This is a good title for teen readers who appreciate a gentle slice-of-life story with little action but the potential for some queer romance and drama. Some readers might prefer a more sophisticated story, but this should hit the spot for those who enjoy simple comfort reads with queer characters.
Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord Vol. 1
By Yodokawa
Yen Press, 2023
ISBN: 9781975362652
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16)
Creator Representation: Japanese,
Character Representation: Japanese, Lesbian, Queer,
