Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare by Kamatani Yuhki is a very renowned series, it caught many peoples' attention when it had first released. It had caught my attention too. I read the first volume in a Barnes & Nobles when it first came out and then I could never find the rest of the series so I could finish reading it. My library just recently got the full series so now was my chance!
Kaname Tasuku is the new kid in school and is a closet gay. A friend of his scrolled through his phone and found gay porn on it and he is almost outed. He says some hurtful things that are offensive to other gays and himself so that he won't be outed. That same day, Tasuku contemplates committing suicide but then sees someone else jump out a window! Running over to the building he finds the Drop-In Center, full of all different kinds of people that help Tasuku.
And that's the run down of it all. This series is four volumes long, not that long of a read, and very quick to get through. Now without further ado, let's get on with the story!
(SPOILER WARNING! START)
Tasuku starts going to Someone-san's Drop-In Center. Someone-san is the one who jumped out of the window, just going on her evening walk. He follows her and she said that he can tell her things, but she won't listen. Tasuku talks, being vague but Someone-san gets it and invites him to come back to the Drop-In Center.
There he meets many different people, you discover who they are as Tasuku does, going on this journey with him. First he meets Daichi-san and Utsumi-kun. We first are focused on Daichi-san and her girlfriend, who she introduces to Tasuku as her wife, Saki-san. Daichi-san tells Tasuku her story, how she met Saki-san and how she came to be in Onomichi, the town this is set in.
Daichi-san is out to her family and everyone else she meets. She is proud of who she is and back when she was closeted and everyone kept pushing her to marriage and have children, it was suffocating. Her family didn't like that she was a lesbian and they stopped talking, but now they at least email, trying to establish a relationship again. Unfortunately, Saki-san isn't out to her family yet, she wants to be, but she also doesn't want anything to change and she knows when she does come out, everything will.
Throughout the rest of the series, it touches on the rest of the members of the Drop-In Center who come and go, who they are and how they came to be. There are even some new members, and Tasuku starts to come to accept who he is, so thankful that he didn't die that warm summer day. I am going to leave this here, because there are so many emotions swirling around with this series that I cannot type. Should you want to know what else happens, pick up the series yourself.
(SPOILER WARNING! END)
Final thoughts: I love this series! It slightly reminds me of 5 Centimeters per Second by Shinkai Makoto. Uncertainty in the future, but that's what makes it exciting. You don't have to decide now, decide when you want to.
This series introduces to us many kinds of people and the insecurities they have along with their uncertainties and struggles. We get to see them grow and bloom as time goes on in the manga. I would've touched more on the others, but I am truly at a loss for words. This manga makes me feel so many emotions, and I don't know how to describe it all. This is definitely a series that everyone should read, you don't have to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community to enjoy the story. It will also give you some insight into the inner turmoil and struggles that others in the community go through. It is a very informative piece of literature and I am so glad that it is out there for the world to read.
The ending of the series was slightly satisfying. I just wish there was more to the series, more to explore in this little town of Onomichi, more to see of these characters I've come to care for. Four volumes is just too short for my liking.
I highly recommend this to everyone. Absolutely everyone! I very much appreciate this title for what it is and the information that it puts out there. Normally I'm not so thoughtful with my reviews, but this one really strikes me. I am a non-binary pansexual person. I am out and proud. But that doesn't mean that I don't sometimes have my own struggles and insecurities and I like that this series reminded me of it. Even though there are people who are out and proud, there are still things that can happen to try and knock them down.
Thank you for reading! I am sorry I didn't go more into depth with the story, but I think I am going to try and limit myself, so I don't go blabbing the whole story. There's no point in reading or watching the stuff I review if I just lay it all out there. But thank you all for your continued support! I hope you all will come back and read next week's review! Please comment down below your thoughts on this! Anything you want.
Everyone stay healthy, stay safe, and stay six feet away!
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