Moto Hagio is one of the godmothers of shojo manga, and this collection of short comics shattered many of my preconceptions about the genre.

The stories in this collection are exquisitely drawn and psychologically complex. They share a tendency toward powerful, almost melodramatic emotion that reminds me of modern YA fiction, but heck, I like that aesthetic. I would have loved Moto Hagio unreservedly when I was a teenager myself. A few of the stories just knock it out of the park in terms of craft and psychological acuteness - "Hanshin Half-God" and "Iguana Girl" are two of the best short comics I've read.

Dear Fantagraphics, please publish more shojo manga from the 70s and 80s! ( )

Surreal, wistful short-stories, often with fantasy/sci-fi & romance elements.

This is a really fascinating selection of work by pioneering cartoonist Moto Hagio, from the mid-70s (only a few years after her career began) to the present day. Her work was always aimed at girls, and when she started it was unusual for women to be creating comics.

The stories are refreshingly creative, and often really funny. There are some recurring themes (isolation, lost love, conflicted siblings, absent (for some reason) family members...), although the plots and setting are incredibly diverse. I believe that Hagio is more famous in Japan for her longer serials; based on the shorter stories here, I'm going to look our for them.

There's a long interview with Hagio from The Comics Journal included in this volume. In TCJ I often find these interviews a little too long, but really enjoyed this one in this context. It really added a lot to the enjoyment of the book, and had some fascinating insights into Hagio's work. Read it before, or (as I did) after - but skip it at your peril!
( )

Rated by enjoyment. I didn’t care for this collection at first, but there were better stories toward the end in my opinion.

Bianca (2 stars)

Girl on the Porch with Puppy (2 stars)

An interesting take on how some people, even loved ones, may want you to conform, and when you don’t, they destroy you. Well, that’s what I got from this, anyway.

Autumn Journey (3 stars)

I liked the ending.

Marie, Ten Years Later (2 stars)

A story of shoulda, coulda, wouldas

A Drunken Dream (2 stars)

Ooh, this one had a burst of color. Reincarnated, star-crossed lovers always ending in death… But it’s meh and melancholy.

Hanshin: Half God (3.5/ 4ish stars)

Enjoyed.

Angel | Mimic (4 stars)

Eh, the professor literally calls this is a “wholesome student-teacher relationship” at a women’s college. Unfortunately, they have really good chemistry, and the male lead is classy. The ending’s almost a tearjerker. I like how many mangas don’t shy away from mature subject matter.

Iguana Girl (4.5 stars)

I liked this a lot, but y’all stay with the bs, talking about pink doesn’t suit (Riko’s) dark complexions. Anyway, Riko is so adorable! It’s hard to see her get treated like Cinderella the whole time.

The Child Who Came Home (3 stars)

The Willow Tree (3 stars)

I didn’t know where this was going, but I liked it. ( )

Absolutely, utterly stunning. A wonderful collection of classic shojo from one of the masters of the genre, Moro Hagio of the famously talented Year 24 group. Can we have more of Hagio's works in English (and in print) please? I can't wait to get my hands on Heart of Thomas in the fall! ( )

It's occasionally beautiful, often hallucinatory, and sometimes downright odd. My favorite story is "The Willow Tree": told almost entirely without words, it depicts an unchanging woman standing beneath a tree as seasons and eventually years pass. ( )