Member Review
Review by
Emily O, Reviewer
Kaoroku Miyama's debut manga shows budding potential, though ultimately falls into a number of the damaging conventional traps plaguing the BL genre...
The word that first comes to mind when thinking of Tomorrow, Make Me Yours is generic. And while labelling something as such is not particularly insightful, sadly, neither is Miyama's high-school romance.
Tomorrow, Make Me Yours sees teens Yuki and Hayato exploring their feelings for one-another from a fast-paced and fruitless friendship, climaxing in some standard final pages where the pair consummate their relationship; all-in-all, pretty standard BL material. If that summary seems bare-bones, than it is because the story itself is. Yuki and Hayato's entire characterization, both individually and as a pair, is so devoid of energy it almost feels as if the manga was desperately trying to end from the moment it began.
There is nothing memorable about Yuki nor Hayato, and they're both pretty one-note in terms of their personality traits. Yuki lacks confidence, something Hayato has in abundance. What this regrettably leads to is the problematic trope of sexual-assault and dubious consent that still very-much saturates the BL genre. Hayato forces himself on Yuki on multiple occasions without any sort of verbal acknowledgement of consent, leading to great miss-communication between both leads. It is this same pressure to have sex that is seemingly supposed to come across as endearing- given that Yuki ultimately and rather gleefully accepts Hayato's advances, despite repeatedly saying "no" and "stop"- which is again, nothing short of distasteful.
Whether it was due to a lack of resources, or demands to conform to the staple tropes of the genre; it is a shame, because as a first-time mangaka, Miyama shows some level of promise. If only they were to utilize the groundwork of their story more effectively, Tomorrow, Make Me Yours could have left a more lasting positive impression. Miyama's fast pacing is a welcome one, which choses to dive quickly into an early romantic relationship between Yuki and Hayato. Unlike Sasaki and Miyano's titular leads, who to-and-fro with their feelings repetitively, Tomorrow, Make Me Yours actually offers what could have been an interesting established relationship dynamic, if only it were done authentically (Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide comes to mind). In its final pages, there is a genuinely touching scene which sees Hayato apologise to Yuki for his (unnecessary) jealousy, affirming that Yuki is "not some object [for Hayato] to claim". If only such a statement were to have been explored more, or any effort made to turn the damaging themes that the manga explores on their head.
Tomorrow, Make Me Yours feels outdated compared to the slow but positive steps forward that the BL genre is making. It is not particularly worth reading unless you are a big BL fan looking for a quick and easy read, or an avid romance manga collector.
The word that first comes to mind when thinking of Tomorrow, Make Me Yours is generic. And while labelling something as such is not particularly insightful, sadly, neither is Miyama's high-school romance.
Tomorrow, Make Me Yours sees teens Yuki and Hayato exploring their feelings for one-another from a fast-paced and fruitless friendship, climaxing in some standard final pages where the pair consummate their relationship; all-in-all, pretty standard BL material. If that summary seems bare-bones, than it is because the story itself is. Yuki and Hayato's entire characterization, both individually and as a pair, is so devoid of energy it almost feels as if the manga was desperately trying to end from the moment it began.
There is nothing memorable about Yuki nor Hayato, and they're both pretty one-note in terms of their personality traits. Yuki lacks confidence, something Hayato has in abundance. What this regrettably leads to is the problematic trope of sexual-assault and dubious consent that still very-much saturates the BL genre. Hayato forces himself on Yuki on multiple occasions without any sort of verbal acknowledgement of consent, leading to great miss-communication between both leads. It is this same pressure to have sex that is seemingly supposed to come across as endearing- given that Yuki ultimately and rather gleefully accepts Hayato's advances, despite repeatedly saying "no" and "stop"- which is again, nothing short of distasteful.
Whether it was due to a lack of resources, or demands to conform to the staple tropes of the genre; it is a shame, because as a first-time mangaka, Miyama shows some level of promise. If only they were to utilize the groundwork of their story more effectively, Tomorrow, Make Me Yours could have left a more lasting positive impression. Miyama's fast pacing is a welcome one, which choses to dive quickly into an early romantic relationship between Yuki and Hayato. Unlike Sasaki and Miyano's titular leads, who to-and-fro with their feelings repetitively, Tomorrow, Make Me Yours actually offers what could have been an interesting established relationship dynamic, if only it were done authentically (Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide comes to mind). In its final pages, there is a genuinely touching scene which sees Hayato apologise to Yuki for his (unnecessary) jealousy, affirming that Yuki is "not some object [for Hayato] to claim". If only such a statement were to have been explored more, or any effort made to turn the damaging themes that the manga explores on their head.
Tomorrow, Make Me Yours feels outdated compared to the slow but positive steps forward that the BL genre is making. It is not particularly worth reading unless you are a big BL fan looking for a quick and easy read, or an avid romance manga collector.
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