Hynavian

Octave is a slice of life yuri manga on Miyashita Yukino, a member of SHE’SN and it was a popular teen band. Joining the showbiz at the age of 15 and exiting showbiz at 18, she rose to fame with her band mates with the hit single, “Metronome Love”. Though SHE’SN rose to fame in an instant, it also fell out of popularity and soon disbanded.

Thus the series revolve around the aftermath of teen stardom and the dreams that Yukino aspires to achieve. Returning to school, Yukino faces discrimination and was alienated by fellow schoolmates. Not only is the school unwelcoming, the public also scrutinizes and points fingers at her whenever they see her. The issues, like discrimination by the school and public, are some of the underside to teen stardom and are often negatively portrayed.

What makes this series unique is that it is unconventional and touches on the problems a fallen teen idol would face. Series with characters rising and aspiring to be idols are common but how many touches on those who fall out of stardom, and out of those, how many focuses on fallen teen idols? Still young and filled with dreams and aspirations, Yukino’s struggles in Tokyo where the issue of bread and butter persists.

Another underlining theme would be the ability to aspire and reach out to dreams. Yukino has her dreams and some are rather mediocre but yet difficult to achieve. Take love for example. People dream of finding that special someone to spend their life with but though  such a dream is common, it is difficult to achieve in reality.

But Hyn, you mentioned that Octave is a yuri slice of life. Where’s the yuri?

In the midst of Yukino’s hectic schedule, she chances upon Iwai Setsuko, a 22 year old ex pop-star cum composer who currently runs a laundry mat with her brother. Yukino befriends Setsuko as she felt that she might be able to sympathize with her current situation.

The art, though not one of the best, is soothing to the eyes for this series. Characters and scenes are drawn with clean slashes that outline their figures but important *sex* scenes *cough* are not compromised. Expect no glamor, fairytale-like setting or unexpected windfall. Instead, be prepared for a mundane ride of daily issues relating to woman. For readers seeking a series with maturity, some sensibility and realistically, this is the Josei manga for you.

Currently I’m still at volume 1 of Octave but it is captivating enough to keep me reading. The plot definitely is its strength and I wonder how events will play out next. Will Yukino stand strong or crumble further? That I hope to find the answers through reading. By Akirama Haru, two volumes of Octave [ｵｸﾀｰｳﾞ] are already out and I can’t wait to get to volume 2.