Thanks NetGalley and Viz Media for this arc!

5/5 stars

I loved this volume! Seeing Hideki grow up that little bit with the birth of his daughter was really nice, and seeing more of Yomogi's past was really interesting. I love where this ended, with Yomogi and Hiroto synchronizing yet again! Where will it go from there?! So much love for this story 💜💜💜

As I mentioned in my review of the second volume of Hirayasumi, I love every volume of this series that I can get my hands on, and this second volume reinforced why the slice of life genre is king. There is a need for stories that flourish in this genre, and Keigo Shinzo’s pen does incredible work bringing up the mundane and extraordinary of everyday life. Reading along to see these, 29-year-old, carefree Hiroto Ikuta, his cousin Natsumi, Hiroto’s best friend, Hideki and Yomogi, the bustling real estate agent, in their quest for purpose and finding or maintaining that place of home, that place of comfort and belonging is happily one I vow to continue reading.

In the opening chapter, Natsumi stars as the main character who hurriedly runs off to meet the editor for the publishing company who wants to meet her and talk about her manga. Hilariously, she gets lost almost instantly and thankfully finds the building and the person she’s meant to find. Personally, I loved seeing Natsumi first when opening up this volume as her character development as a young adult putting effort into growing up, taking accountability, and doing her best to enjoy the college experience has been marvelous to read. We learn in the last volume, the manga that she had been secretly working on, won an award and the eyeballs of an revered editor in the manga space. Things are finally looking up for her and her artistic expression is finally growing wings and showing her that everything was not for naught.


With Hirayasumi, Keigo Shinzo creates these really well thought out parallels between Hiroto and Natsumi that blend in so well with the story. After Nat recounts the grand story of meeting the manga editor to her older cousin, she exclaims that she’s going all in and will try her best. With her words, Hiroto has a flashback to when he first came to the city and had started his acting career–he found that same youthful energy. He thinks back on feeling on top of the world even though he was struggling and first setting out as a young adult–the world and all its opportunities looked endless. The cousins, their paralleling experiences separated by time, bring the first chapter of this latest volume to a close with Hiroto with loneliness creeping for him while the nostalgic faze fades for him.

I know that in my review of the first volume, I came to the conclusion that Hirayasumi is a story about family and being able to come home to a home when life’s got you down. I love every volume that has cemented this and newer smaller lessons. For example, in my review of the second volume, I found that the manga was choosing to remind us why happier memories of the past can fuel us for the days to come and remind us why such relationships are important.

I’m sure that the core message in this third volume of Hirayasumi, includes why being courageous and putting ourselves out there is ideal for personal growth. From characters choosing to trust themselves to trying something different to being more honest and not running away from wanting to change themselves, their routines or how others perceive them, this volume was another wholesome banger to read and have in my library. I’ll reread to sate myself until the next volume comes out as rereading the volumes in this series is never a chore and always a treat from the realms of manga

https://blacknerdproblems.com/hirayasumi-vol-3-why-slice-of-life-is-worth-reading-in-manga/

Life is chaotic. It is full of disappointments and compromises. An adult life is forged out of failures and abandoned ideals. Taken alone, the journey can be too much to bear. Even the joy you feel for others can be tempered by the bitter sting of personal disappointment.

Keigo Shinzo’s Hirayasumi is a manga that examines the melancholy of these mundane changes in life. Even the joys come with loss. Loss of friends, of time, of passion. It is a series that continues its delightful, quiet pace even as it delves into the more somber realities. The series title roughly translates to “Quiet time in the bungalow,” a reference to the small home of our two leads, cousins Hiroto and Natsumi, and the tiny, personal scale of their world. The cast and focus extends a bit more in this third volume but it is still rooted in the dynamics between our leads, and the lives that intersect with theirs.

In this third volume we meet the novelist Ishikawa who lost his love of writing and drifts through his obsessively minimalist apartment. Natsumi, a first year college student, feels pressure that she cannot live up to her own high standards after her first manga wins a contest and is published in her favorite magazine. Her editor says she’s good enough to go pro but Natsumi has trouble with the weight of expectations and well-intentioned criticism.

Hiroto, the quiet and positive hero and our guide through the connected web of characters, drifts through life years after having given up on his own dreams to be an actor. As he watches Natsumi take a step toward her own artistic dream, he recalls his fearfulness and disappointment when faced with the practical realities of pursuing one’s passion. As he watches his childhood best friend step into the responsibilities of fatherhood he must deal with the changes that echo through his own life as he witnesses everyone in his life moving on. Despite his own fears and sadness Hiroto cannot help himself from encouraging others to seize their moments. His relationship with the deceased woman (who left him the house he resides in with Natsumi and who Hiroto affectionately refers to as “Granny”) represents his own old soul. Though he puts on an air of quiet wisdom for others, in flashbacks we see him miss the lessons Granny tried to impart on him to not end up alone and isolated like she had.

One of the most endearing parts of the series is Hiroto’s genuinely cheerfull and bubbly outlook on life. That wholesome charm permeates the entire series but there are moments here for the first time that the vastness of the world and possibilities overcome him. While Hirayasumi is largely a feel good slice of life comic there is a palpable tension as we wait for the final straw that will break Hiroto’s indefatigable spirit and force him to recognize and face his emotions. Like Ted Lasso, a favorite series of mine, some with only passing familiarity might be tempted to write this book off as overly saccharine, there is a deeper emotional complexity that belies the grinning and folksy exterior.

We mostly view Hiroto’s internal life at a distance despite experiencing Japan through his eyes. His internal monologue is much more muted than the neuroticism and erratic bursts of emotion from other characters. Hiroto’s friends and family generally view him as oblivious in his positivity. But Shinzo makes evident the depth of Hiroto’s feelings in the silences. Hiroto is slow to action, and often we see him pause, typing and pondering over a text message, peering into the horizon, or admiring his surroundings. He is not begrudged for this slow and thoughtful approach to life. As an inherently quiet individual myself, basking in these moments is affirming and rejuvenating.


The structure of Hirayasumi is both episodic and serialized. Each chapter is a single day (though sometimes those days are used as a framing sequence for a flashback which is the case for one of this volume’s strongest stories), which allows Shinzo to shift focus with each chapter without feeling like we are being shortchanged. The characters’ individual journeys continue from day-to-day but each new chapter offers fresh beginnings. It makes for infinitely digestible stories. That structure is uniquely suited to comics, which allows for short chapters that can be absorbed at the individual’s pace. Shinzo directs us how much time to spend on certain images by pulling back or centering certain characters and moments but we determine the length. In animation the pace might be amped up to compensate for the lack of drama or you could lose the intimacy of the quiet moments. In comics, the mundane never drifts into the boring because we are walked through with precise layouts.

While it is tempting to reduce Hirayasumi to words like “comforting,” or “wholesome,” there is undeniable skill at play. Keigo Shinzo is an incredibly talented artist and storyteller. By slowing down and allowing us to experience every day with this cast of characters, we learn not just about them but about the life and customs of their local community and the larger traditions of Japan. The meticulous level of detail in representing so many facets of ordinary life expresses a deep love and admiration Shinzo clearly has for his own culture and his fellow human beings. By fixating on the mundane, he raises up the ordinary into something profound. As this is a manga, the translation and localization efforts by Viz are also commendable, providing important context for certain phrases or local customs that inform and enhance Shinzo’s storytelling for us less familiar with Japan. And there are, of course, incredibly well executed fart jokes.

Though this might be the weakest of the three volumes so far released, it is a result of its expanding scope. Instead of experiencing the majority of life through Hiroto’s perspective, we are being spread thinner among more supporting characters. That makes the story feel a little less intimate as a result. But this volume also contains a few of the manga’s strongest moments and most touching stories, especially the chapter that delves more into Hiroto’s failed dreams. We begin to see the seeds being laid for him to finally recognize the pains and disappointments he is determined to clamp down for others’ sake. The results here are mostly humorous but the moments of silence, of hesitation and anticipation, assure us there is more waiting beneath the surface, and I am willing to sit and wait with these characters, admiring the beauty in that silence, for as long as it lasts.

Volume 3 of Hirayasumi may just be my favorite one yet. The continuation of the sweetest slice of life brings a lot of new developments for Natsumi and Yomogi, while Hiroto seems to be at a standstill. I was excited to dive into this volume and see what it had in store for everyone.

Processing Highs and Lows

In volume 3 of Hirayasumi, we witness Natsumi on the path of her dreams. Her manga won an award, and now she gets to work with an acclaimed editor to get it published. Working with this editor turns out to be a wake-up call for Natsumi, as she isn't used to receiving the type of feedback he gives, especially feedback surrounding how to make improvements to her manga that will turn it into commercial success.

I loved seeing how this feedback challenged Natsumi. She didn't think about "commercial success" with her manga; she wanted to make art and share it. Instead of letting that deter her, she lets it motivate her to continue moving forward and work hard to make herself a success.

Another challenge we see Natsumi face is her trying to figure out if she is romantically interested in a classmate. Having romance on her mind, after seeing Hideki and his wife, Natsu was looking at a fellow student in a "well, maybe" kind of way. When Akira asks her if she likes him, Natsu says no, which ends up being the right thing to say because Akira likes him.

I mentioned previously that I wasn't sure if Natsu romantically liked Akira or just admired her, but this development didn't make me more certain of either thought! I did have a feeling that Natsu really was not interested in the classmate like that, especially because it seemed so random and she was more focused on what it would look like to be in a relationship versus be with him. But I was surprised that Akira liked him! I'm wishing them the best even though I still am lowkey shipping Akira and Natsumi.

Yomogi's Love Triangle

Yomogi continues to be my favorite character to follow in Hirayasumi. A lot of it is because we're probably close in age, and although her life is very different than mine, women get women. In this volume, her adventures continue to provide joy for me. She is so relatable, especially in her thoughts about her life, her image, and her potential love life.

By Yomogi's thoughts, we find her in a possible love triangle. She ends up meeting an author due to work and the two have some cute encounters following Yomogi assisting him in finding an apartment. We can see that the author is crushing on Yomogi, but it's hard to read how Yomogi feels about the author. We also see her thinking about Hiroto, especially when her friend mentions meeting unexpectedly and does not think it's "fate."

I would love to see Yomogi with Hiroto because I think it would be so cute. But I also love the idea of her dating this author and seeing where that goes! I like the idea of going with the flow, having fun getting to know someone, and seeing if something more can develop.

Hiroto's Reflections

This volume didn't focus on Hiroto in the driver's seat as much as the volumes before. But when it did, it provided more key insight into his personal struggles, especially surrounding his acting career.

In discussing Natsumi’s manga meeting, Hiro reflects on his acting meeting from a few years ago. While he didn’t go through with acting due to how competitive it is, he sees Natsu decide to let this industry fuel her. Part of me feels like, or maybe more so hopes, that he will make a return to acting. It’s clear he has the looks and potential. He just didn’t want to deal with the competitive nature of the industry. I wonder if seeing how Natsu is facing the same part of the manga industry head-on, will inspire him to do the same.

Where to Next

Every chapter of Hirayasumi puts me in such a good mood, that I end up reading the volume multiple times! Each character has such a unique storyline, that I find myself wanting more of everyone. I do hope we get more exposition on Hiroto in the next volume. I love him so much and find him so quirky and charming. Hiroto deserves some more action in the present and something to challenge his "easygoing" attitude.

Overall, as per usual, I will be counting down the days until volume 4 is available. Hirayasumi has been one of my favorite series this year and each volumes continues to add to its charm. I want to keep experiencing life with these three for as long as possible.

This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase using the link. All earnings go contribute to keeping The Wonder of Anime running.

Thank you to Netgalley and Viz for an advanced reviewer copy.

Published by Viz Media and available November 19, this is the thirst volume of the iyashikei series Hirayasumi that I've read and reviewed. And I continue to be charmed by the art and story of this unique series. Hiro is a great laid-back character who brings a chill, kind presence to everyone in his life, and Nat is a relatable nervous wreck trying to become a mangaka. I find it hard to review subsequent volumes in a series because to fully enjoy them the reader has to have read the previous books, so I'll just say this series as a whole will appeal to fans of slice-of-life stories-- ones that deal with day-to-day experiences and people looking for a relaxing, heartfelt read.

I did not think I'd be excited to read a slice of life manga featuring an ex-actor, art students, a real estate agent, new parents, and an author, but here we are. I finished volume 3 of Hirayasumi much faster than I thought I would and am already looking forward to the fourth volume. We learn a bit more about the author, who seems to be a weird addition to the cast, and I appreciate how there's a perfectly good depiction of what would drive one to live a minimalist lifestyle. Once again it's a perfectly good example of storytelling in manga that's wholesome enough to be read by multiple demographics.

In this third volume, Keigo Shizo continues to show many of the strengths of the series, such as his deft touch with both art (especially messy, crowded environments) and emotional subtlety in story structure, but this volume has introduced some new directions, including elements that I feel are weakening the series.

Two new subplots are introduced involving secondary characters and moving the plot away from the core of Hiroto and Natsumi. To avoid spoilers, I will only say that I thought both new subplots seemed more conventional and less in keeping with the spirit of the series so far. Relatedly, this volume seems to be concentrating on introducing new characters rather than deepening the established ones, with the possible exception of Yomogi, who we get to see an all new side of in her working environment.

Nothing has unmade this story yet, and it’s still quite good, but it is yet to be seen if it remains true to itself.

I can say with a lot of confidence that this series is definitely a comfort series for me.

In this current volume, colder months are creeping in as Natsumi navigates being a first time manga artist in a small publication, Hideki adjusts to being a new father, Yomogi helps a shy writer find a new apartment.

I absolutely love the slower pace of this manga and the fact that I'm reading this volume as my own season begrudgingly heads into fall. I cannot wait for the next volume!

I enjoyed this third volume, but it does feel like the story has slowed down a bit, which it wasn't particularly quick paced to begin with. I'm interested by the introduction of a possible love rival for one of our main characters, and in seeing our other main character trying to figure out what exacting liking someone is for her. I'm hoping for a possible queer storyline, whether it be sapphic or ace. I do love every time we get a flashback of Granny and hope to keep seeing memories of her in future volumes.