Akiko Higashimura, the creator of Princess Jellyfish, is back at it again with Tokyo Tarareba Girls. Main character, Rinko, can’t believe it — she spent so much of her twenties asking ‘what if’ then one day she wakes up, and she’s 33. Tokyo Tarareba Girls, tarareba meaning ‘what if‘, follows Rinko’s day-to-day life of asking ‘what if‘ and having girls night out with her friends. Her main goal? Getting married by the time the Tokyo Olympics happens in six years. She’s not bad-looking, but Tokyo is full of younger women that the men seem to have their eyes on. Can a 33-year old find love with that competition?

Originally, it was the Tokyo Tarareba Girls cover that drew me to this manga. I absolutely love the color-scheme, and the fashion worn by the three Japanese girls. Plus, I’m a sucker for anything deemed cute, and follows the lives of girls. Girl power or something. The inside pages were also covered in beautiful art, and an aesthetic I just couldn’t get enough of.

For a lot of single women in their late twenties and beyond, I feel Rinko could be seen as very relatable. At this point, a majority of our friends have found their potential soulmate and already have a child or two. It’s really easy to feel left out, or even as if you’re behind in some weird race. I 100% feel this. I’ve also had some realizations, that wow, I’m twenty-seven, didn’t I just turn twenty-one? Time sure does fly. So, with all that being said, I truly did like Rinko. I could almost see myself in her.

My biggest issue with this manga is just the idea of a female character wanting a husband so bad, that she’s willing to just settle for anyone who is interested in her. It’s not something I would typically read, as I much prefer stories of strong women who needs no man. But, that’s part of the plot and I understand that.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls ends with a bonus story that features Akiko Highashimura, whom discusses her inspiration for the manga. It’s this bonus read that makes up for the aspect that I disliked. She found inspiration in her friends who, just like Rinko & the other what-if girls, wants to find husbands before what they consider too late! & after constantly hearing about it, Akiko was tired of appealing to their good senses, and told them how it is: stop your daydreaming, find a man & it’s definitely not gonna be easier now that you’re older. Of course, after that, the Tokyo Tarareba Girls were born. Tokyo Tarareba Girls is filled with Akiko Highashimura’s sharp opinions on girls, which makes it more of a comedic adventure than a sad outlook on life.

Even though, I spent most of my time wondering if Rinko would ever overcome her fascination with finding a husband, or even just finding someone that she’s not just settling on, it was a decently fun read. I laughed multiple times and enjoyed the banter between the girls and a man who, out of annoyance, nicknamed them the what-if girls. If you’re just looking for something light and fun, I would definitely recommend Tokyo Tarareba Girls.

You’ve probably read (or watched) Princess Jellyfish. But have you read Tokyo Taraeba Girls by Akiko Higashimura?

The story is about Rinko, a 33 year old woman who is without a husband. Her days are taken up by going to work, and her evenings with drinking with her friends. When they hear that the 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo the friends make a pact – to have a husband by the 2020 Olympics.

Rinko isn’t necessarily a likeable character. Things don’t always go her way, but this isn’t always due to the unfairness of the universe or the struggles of adult life. Many of the manga’s events are completely due to her actions or, conversely, inactions. Rinko’s a little selfish. A man’s looks are the most important factor when trying to find a date. She tends to moan and groan and drink with her friends instead of actually trying to remedy her problems.

I tend to love stories like this. A character who may or may not bring their troubles on themselves struggling against, seemingly, the universe. They’re fun slice of life stories with great appeal. However, the mark is missed slightly here. Scenes lingered just a hint too long. When there is a lesson to be learned Rinko normally misses it. She never comes to any sort of conclusions or thinks about the situation too hard, even if there is an obvious takeaway from the situation. On top of that are certain things that just leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Honestly, many character’s actions are questionable at best. Decisions made by Rinko’s bosses at work don’t seem to be made with any sort of common sense. The ladies constant drinking after work would be amusing if they did more than whine and black out every night. There are issues of very questionable consent late in the volume, which I really didn't like.

I really loved the talking food which appear in the manga. These two anthropomorphic creatures usually appear when Rinko drinks too much and begins to get inside her own head. They speak to her, repeating her fears, desires, and what-ifs. They’re a wonderful touch, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of the talking kitchen appliances from Welcome to the NHK. These function in much of the same fashion, and really drive home just what sort of mental headspace Rinko is in. Elements such as this really carried the volume.

This is a good manga overall, and one which I might continue with. Even so, it frustrated me immensely in certain places. Other manga and light novels with similar unreliable narrators who are self-defeating usually have one thing that makes me root for them – they’re overall nice people, or at least people who mean well. Certain things Rinko says and does makes her come across as mean and self-centered, making her less likeable than she could have been.

As for the art, it is gorgeous. I have always love Akiko Higashimura’s art, and Tokyo Tarareba Girls is certainly no exception. The characters are pretty, the backgrounds are detailed, and really enjoyed the artistic aspect of the manga. Her art is iconic. It isn’t mistakable for any other art. And I would buy this manga simply for this.

In all, Tokyo Tarareba Girls by Akiko Higashimura wasn’t for me. I’m unsure if I’ll be continuing with this series. It does have themes I really enjoy, and I might read the second volume at some point. If you like contemporary stories and characters with unreliable narration this is something you’ll want to pick up.

This was such a cute and interesting read. I loved the art style and the story by Higashimuri. I loved how the characters came alive and it made me want to continue the story further.

This book, while very good, was also very depressing. I want to read the rest, if only with the hope that the ending is a positive one for the three friends who are no longer in their 20s. I was under the impression that women in Japan were more career than marriage oriented, however this manga is based off of the author's experiences with her own friends, so I guess I was mistaken in my beliefs.

I really enjoy taking a peek at the lives of others in cultures and locals different from my own. I may not be able to travel to exotic-to-me places, but books can bring some of the experience to me. And, even better, this is from the lenses of an inhabitant of that area, not my lenses interpreting what I see. So, in reality, the book really is better, lol!

The artwork was fun, the plot line, grim but with hope and the ending, cliffhanger territory. I definitely want to read more. 4 solid stars. YA on up I would say, considering that ending...

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

The idea for this series is rather relatable. Women over 30 having a last-ditch attempt at love, marriage, and work. Though some might find parts of story boorish with the late night ranting and drinking going on. The English translation makes all the emotions rather full blown out on the page.

This is a story about women confronting ideals [of what a good life is supposed to be like] against a harsh reality. Aren’t they supposed to have it all by now? Turns out the odds are stacked up. Rinko was the writer of a web series project till a potential lead turns down the cheesy plot and she got the sack.

Would they all find the path to happiness? That’s something worth exploring. Well I can say that the characters themselves don’t really pull punches about their own insecurities and all. Be prepared for the ups and downs in this slice of life tale.

I would love to see how the story unfolds. Does it get better in the next volume?

Interesting story if you've seen the movie 13 going on 30 then I guess some parts of it would remind you of this graphic novel.

My thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of this one.

This was my very first manga read. I have watched some of the animated versions of course, Fushigi Yuugi (Curious Play), Nodame Cantabile, Emma, and Yatitake Japan, among them but had never really read any. So when I saw this on NetGalley, and the cover looked like fun, and the theme/plot something that could be interesting, I decided to give it a shot.

This is the first volume of the Manga, and the author is known for her other series, Princess Jellyfish (which makes an ‘appearance’ in the book as well). The title roughly translates to the Tokyo ‘What-if’ Girls’. This one features three girls/women—Rinko (who is our ‘heroine’) and her friends Kaori and Koyuki who she has known from high school. Rinko is a reasonably successful screen writer for web series and has set up her own office, but remains single at 33 as do her two friends, and the three often spend their evenings getting very drunk, gorging on snacks (their favourites being milt with ponzu sauce and liver), and discussing ‘What-if’ we had done this or that scenarios. A young man who observes them at the bar quite often, tries to talk some sense into them but to no avail. Then Rinko’s career begins to take a downward turn as well. The book also has two interesting ‘food’ characters, the Codfish milt (tara) and Liver (reba) who appear to speak to Rinko, when she is under the influence, always raising the what-if, what-if, what-if…

So as I said, this was my first time actually reading manga, and when I started reading, for about 16–17 pages I read the… er… normal way, and wondered why things were not quite sitting right, why Rinko would graduate after she had become a successful writer, and only then remember that Manga was supposed to be read the other way (right–left), and then went straight back to the start and things began to finally make some sense 

But anyway, as for the book itself, I liked the idea of the story, of characters who realise that a large part of their life seems to have passed them by, without quite realising where it all went, and the things you had thought you would do by now, haven’t really happened at all, and there seems no likelihood of them happening either. One can understand Rinko’s frustration, her need to vent (but then you also realise that only doing this will get you nowhere), but what I couldn’t connect with was her need to get herself so drunk every day that she ends up literally walking into things and hurting herself—and doesn’t seem to even stop to question this. Perhaps partly because of this, and also because of her near obsessive focus of needing to ‘find a husband’, I didn’t really take to Rinko or her friends very much. But I did enjoy the two ‘food’ characters and thought they were good fun. The explanations of local and cultural references at the end I also found really helpful. While this wasn’t a book I can say I loved or even liked very much, it was still an ok read, and I wouldn’t mind reading the next instalment to see how things pan out for them.

I decided to take a look at this manga after seeing the Japanese drama adaptation of it so I was glad to see the first volume available through NetGalley. Tokyo Tarareba Girls is a humorous comic that follows 3 unmarried women who live and work in Japan. It's a lighthearted read and definitely worth picking up.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls was awesome! Finally an interesting josei manga! Tokyo Tarareba Girls is about these three thirty-something women, who don't have husbands and they keep whining about their lives in the pub one of them works in. Their lives and problems may seem slightly odd to Westerners, but the women live Japanese lives. The manga is very realistic and still full of humor and it's witty alright. All the women are personas and with real problems and the way they handle things is hilarious and pathetic at the same time. I've never understood the need to get married that's really prominent in Japan. Higashimura is awesome at portraying the women's dilemma and everything around their lives. I especially liked the model guy Key, who speaks the truth harshly and at the same time everyone is bonkers - even those who seem sane.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls is such an entertaining manga with heart and twist. It doesn't go anywhere, but that's the beauty of it. The art is very mature and cute at the same time, which makes this an amazing series. The manga is mostly about talking heads, but it's the heart and soul of it. This is so different to those josei series without any content and dumb women. These three women are ass-kickers and I love them! More manga like this in English please!

First of all, thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free for an honest review, and thanks to Miss Akiko Higashimura, author of one of my all-time top favorite manga series, Princess Jellyfish! What an exciting honor!

Being a lover of Princess Jellyfish and its unique story line that avoid most of the tropes and cliches seen in many manga, I was excited to learn about this never series being serialized in English. After seeing some of the reviews about it, as well as getting a chance to sample it, I was a bit unsure at first if it would be quite on par with Princess Jellyfish. While the stories are both very different (and rather unique), after finishing this volume, I am definitely invested! I will be adding this one to my Higashimura collection and already have the second volume in my shopping cart!

This book is about a girl named Rinko, 33 years old, who works as a scriptwriter for various web series. Oh and she's getting to that age where she worries about not ever getting married, and her friends are in a similar boat. When a young man begins to point out that they are "ladies" and not "girls," and that they are just a group of "What if's," Rinko falls even further into her slump of aging. "Tarareba," as defined in the novel, means "what if," and that's where Rinko's problems lay. She wonders "what if I dated this guy" "What if I didn't go out with the girls," "What if" this, and "what if" that. She soon finds that questioning things is a lack of taking action, and not taking action is what puts her in the situation she finds herself in as a 33-year-old woman!

While the beginning was a bit off-putting (I wasn't really sure what to expect from this manga), I was quickly immersed and some of the twists I was hoping for went in the right direction. I love the humor Higashimura uses (I find myself chuckling aloud often). One word of caution: This is for a bit of an older demographic, so it may just not be your thing. I am married but close to the age of the main character and can empathize with her situation to some extent. Despite this, the sexual tension, visual and verbal humor, and the story itself have really blown me away! The end of this manga has me itching for more, and also wondering if Rinko will ever find happiness in life without marriage...or perhaps one day she will find the right man!

It's nice to see a josei manga available on Netgalley. If you are tired of reading about kids in manga, this is for you! No one, including the protagonist single lady with a career, is perfect, but she has friends and they get by with friendship... as well as drinking and shopping. They are all tools if not weapons in life as you sort out what you want and figure out how to get it. The only character I'm not sure about is Key, but I suppose I should read the next volume for that.

A Tokyo version of Sex in the City is perhaps the best indicator of what you will find in this manga. Three women, all in their early 30s, realize they are getting old and may miss their chance to find love and happiness with a partner. These are their adventures as they reconsider their lives and life choices. The manga was a hit in Japan and even turned into a live action J-drama.

Story: Rinko, Kaori, and Koyuki - three best friends who drink copious amounts of alcohol while commiserating over life, are forced to one day realize that they are in their 30s and yet none have found a lasting partnership. Rinko is attempting to create a career as a scriptwriter, Kaori has her own manicure salon, and Koyuki works in her father's small restaurant - the hangout of the girls when they want to get drunk and complain about men. When a young man gets tired of their antics in the restaurant, he calls them 'white if' girls - women who have grown up but spend all their time thinking 'what if' rather than actually doing anything. Shocked and dismayed, the girls set out to change their lives.

Rounding out at 9 volumes, the heart of the story is each woman finding a guy who seems perfect for them but always has a fatal flaw. It is in this way that the appeal of Tarareba girls can be found: the author is unsparing in her portrayals of all three, showcasing their flaws and shortsightedness as easily as she does their charms. Indeed, most of the time they are being told just how silly, immature, clueless, and naive they can be. This isn't the series you want to read if you want overidealized heroines; I love that josei manga (manga geared for women and not girls) can often eschew happily ever after endings in favor of more nuanced storylines with bittersweet denouements.

Those looking for a clean romance won't find it through to the end. Instead, we have our flawed heroines and their flawed love interests flailing around trying to find their way in a complex world. But it is an entertaining read and grounded enough to keep readers invested to the end. The J-Drama made from this series doesn't have the charm of the manga and so I encourage reading the manga first before seeing the live action adaptation.

The title of the story comes from a play on words: Rinko often has drunken episodes where a pair of talking food pieces (codfish milt and liver) scold her and torment her with reality. If you take the words in Japanese, the two food items sound like "tara reba" - what if. Hence, the theme of the story of the girls spending too much time getting drunk and giving what if stories.

Our heroines aren't the brightest but they feel like real people; the author based the characters off her friends and it is an unflinching view of a society obsessed with youth. At heart is the idea that past the age of 27, a woman becomes a 'fruitcake' - something useless and tasteless that sits on a shelf forever because no one wants it. It's an unflinchingly harsh view and perhaps Western readers won't quite understand the seriousness with which these characters take the social norm of needing a man to be happy and fulfilled - to prove their worth as a woman.

In all, I enjoyed the series and the J Drama for it's somewhat quirky but often harsh view of Tokyo women who have reached their 30s single. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Wow, this was just so shitty that I wish I hadn't laid my eyes on it. I adore Akiko Higashimura's other manga: Princess Jellyfish (I should really get the rest of the volumes as I am super behind). I was kind of hoping that this one would be just as fun, just as wow. I was delighted when I spotted it on Netgalley as I have been hoping to read it for some time now.

Sorry if this review is a bit chaotic, I am really raging and fuming about all the crap. :|

However this was just the worst. Rinko? Terrible terrible character. All she and her friends do is drink through the night, complain about all the things (mostly men and sometimes work), make fun of things, whine, whine and whine. Oh and drink. Drink until fucking oblivion when Rinko sees talking food. Then again, maybe she doesn't necessarily need to be drunk for that, instead just be herself. That talking stuff was really not helping the terribleness of the manga.
And whine she does. Oh boohoo, I need to find a husband, because it is totally not normal to be 30 and single/not married. /sarcasm *rolls her eyes* But instead of actually doing an effort to find a cute guy she constantly drinks (funnily, apparently her friends have various forms of alarms, it is that the author added that the manga as clarification, otherwise I would have thought that there was only the fourth alarm until about 113 pages in when we finally get another alarm kind, but which also means drink drink drink until death). And no, I am not against drinking, but every night? Just because you had a shitty day? Which is apparently all of the days given that I don't really get a clear image on how the days go by. Alcoholism ahoy?

I am sure if she actually did a bit of an effort, maybe went to other places than karaoke or the pub, and maybe act a little less over the top dumb (and drunk), she could easily find a good guy. She is strong-willed, looks cute/nice, is smart. I know that there is a Rinko there, under all the stupidity and idiocy, who is a good girl, and who could easily get a ton of cute guys. And maybe she should gain some confidence because she bases her No one wants me on two guys and oh yes, that one party she went to. Girl, please, do you really think that you will find your dream guy that fast? There are tons of fish in the ocean, and unless you have actually tried more of them I don't want to hear you whine about it. Plus she keeps going on and on about how she can't find a guy. Gee, did you even try?

There is one time that they actually make an effort, but I will give you one guess on what happened. *snorts*

Then there is Key. An asshole. Truly. He instantly judges the ladies when he comes across them in the bar, calls them names, and also makes some very judgemental opinions known. Not to mention that when Rinko has to add him to the tv show she wrote, he acts like a total jackass. Telling her that her writing is boring. Sure, he does show he cares... somewhere... but sorry, I just wouldn't want him and Rinko getting together.

Then there is that time the girls called all Japanese men pedo, especially hinting at Hayasaka-san falling for someone who is a fucking adult, but 12/13 years younger than him. What the actual hell? And they keep going on and on about it. Such hypocrisy, because I know for sure that if they had a chance? They would take it with a 19 year old guy. <spoiler>And lo and behold, Rinko went for it with Key... but I am sure she won't be calling herself a pedo, oh no. </spoiler>

Oh, and who the hell buys a 500 euro dress. o.0 I am sure guys are also happy with cheaper clothes, they probably won't even notice. :P

But the art was pretty fabulous, so at least this wasn't a total loss. Too bad about the rest though.
I am not going to read this series further. Bah. I need some werewolf romance to get rid of the bad taste this one left.

Warnings: dubious consent

Tokyo Tarareba Girls gives you the Hollywood rom-com feel, and is about a trio of 30-something women lamenting the lack of romantic prospects in their age. It was also a difficult one for me to review, and even after a day of thinking over it, I don't know how I really feel about it. So, I give it 3 stars, not because I don't think it is good, but solely because it is holding that middle-ground in my head, where I am not sure whether I like it or not, and this review will also perhaps reflect that ambiguity. Take from it what you will.

When it comes to realism, Tokyo Tarareba Girls hits that perfect note on what the headspace of a career woman in her 30s, who finds suddenly finds herself unappealing to the heterosexual male population, would feel like. She vacillates between 'I am an independent successful woman and I can wait as long as I want' (she can't) and 'Oh god if only I had settled for that guy, years ago'. It is a cultural thing, as well as a personal thing - as much as we say women can be anything they want and rejoice in whatever feminism has afforded us so far, the fact remains that a woman's worth is still being tied to her youth and beauty. Rinko knows that this is wrong, but she can't help beating up herself over her perceived lack of both. She and her friends scramble, get spa treatments, spend lavishly on clothes and stuff, but it keeps feeling hollow because they can't push against the societal idea that as 30-somethings, they are no longer appealing like the younger women. There is the constant repetition of this - Rinko hallucinates these mascot-like characters who keep feeding the negativity. In the author's note, she mentions that she does not endorse the belief that women should have to hunt for husbands and build an married life, but this doesn't come across in the story and instead plays it off for laughs.

The one thing I want to point out here is that this is set in Tokyo - and as such, very much reflects Japanese culture and society on this matter. It occasionally calls out the fact (heck, it even calls them pedos!) that men are going after VERY young girls (keep in mind that 20 is the age of adulthood in Japan, even if the age of consent is much lower), and it is considered fairly okay for them to pursue fresh-faced girls instead of women closer to their ages. Not that it comes across as preachy - the author mixes in a lot of exaggerated humor, like lightning strikes, floor falling and such to depict the utter loss Rinko feels at these moments. Rinko and her girls are also called out by men in the bar they usually drink at - as if women speaking out in public is intruding on their 'male' spaces, but they shout back at them.

Speaking of the annoying men, there is a certain guy at the bar who scolds them for their regular rant/drinking parties, and while they get offended and drive him off, they sort of take it to heart too. He is younger and a model and thinks, as an attractive man, he has the right to tell off women *eyeroll* But what really got me pissed at him, is when Rinko laments over the sexism in their industry (they are in show productions), he admits there is a casting couch and then proceeds to proposition a drunk Rinko to have sex with him to get ahead (not in the freaking #MeToo era!). I am not extrapolating, by the way - he literally does say that. And I don't know about you, but coercing sex from a drunk, down-in-the-dumps woman is not consensual and I am really hoping it is not being played as an entry point into a romantic relationship for them.

So, overall, while this manga was a bundle of laughs, and reflects very well the personalities of 30-something women, I do not like some of the opinions that it presents, even if it is meant to be for the plot. I might pick up future installations to see where the story progresses, but as of now, I am very much on the fence about it.

This series isn't as immediately endearing as Princess Jellyfish, but Higashimura-sensei's art is beautiful as always. The premise (three thirty-something women realize that they don't have much time left to find husbands and panic) is a little grating but I'm curious to see where the story is going.

I read through this manga SO FAST. I absolutely love this manga-ka and adore her other stories; this one adds to the great selection! As a not-a-young-adult-anymore-with-friends-dealing-with-this-exact-issue this honestly speaks to me more than Princess Jellyfish. It's hard to date when you're in your 30's and beyond, and she does a fantastic job capturing this. I would definitely recommend picking this up.

Absolutely love this mamga-ka! Read her previous work and the art is so good and cute while not having stereotypical storylines. This manga involves an early 30s woman that feels pressure to find a man to marry and whatever hijinks she gets into. Already excited to read the next book!