Our Lives Suck, Let’s Live Together
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Good-Bye, Heron. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to obsession, sex workers, sex work, alcoholism, strained familial relationship, death, mentions of cheating (not between the main couple), assault, violence, child abuse, and invasion of privacy,
Synopsis:
Soji lives with Mika, the man he loves, but they’re not together. They do have a physical relationship, one where Mika and Soji have sex, Mika asks for money, and then he leaves to go party and enjoy the company of other men and women. Soji hates it, but they’ve lived this way for so long that he fears that bringing up his feelings will end their superficial relationship. So, he remains silent, trying to stay content with what they have together.
However, time erodes most things, including Soji’s patience. Thankfully, as Mika gets older, his partying ways steadily fall behind him, but their relationship is no closer to anything resembling a romantic one. Soji knows any decision he makes could risk losing Mika forever. But at this point, losing him would be just as painful as continuing to live in this tenuous relationship.
Review:
The art is terrible. I just have to be real. It’s probably the sketchiest style I’ve seen and very inconsistent. The weird skeleton hands, the eyes that come off the sides of their faces, and the like all culminate in an art style I don’t like. Soji, unfortunately, looks the weirdest. The shape of his head is sometimes reminiscent of an upside-down pear. I think it’s his short hair, which seems to be a common issue with the rougher art styles. Mika, though, is pretty cute. He is still very sketchy and inconsistent, but if I had to pick between the two, Mika would definitely be the best.
However, thankfully, the story is better than the art, but only minutely so. As explained in the author’s note, this is a story about two men who don’t understand love. Due to Mika and Soji’s respective childhoods, love and most other emotions were meaningless. Mika’s experience of love and marriage was full of lies, neglect, and violence. Soji’s was pretty identical, seeing his parents fight constantly. I think it’s totally reasonable that these two would be adverse to traditional romance. To them, it would be a farce. Yet, they still long for companionship, which prompts them to move in together and form this superficial situationship.
While the core of the story is interesting and understandable, the dialogue is a bit awkward and stilted. As with most translations, it’s hard to say if this is how it came off in the original language or if it is just a poor translation, but either way, it really hurts the quality of this story. It can be hard to understand what they’re talking about, and it creates an awkward tone throughout. I never felt the attraction between these two, which makes it hard for me to root for them. Granted, even if the dialogue had been better, I still might not have felt the connection, but this certainly didn’t help.
But what I enjoyed more than the art and the story was the title. Herons have deep meaning in Japanese culture, in turn packing the story with a ton of meaning. Herons represent many things, including transition and luck. When these two found each other, it felt like a stroke of luck. They finally found someone who could understand them. However, herons also symbolize transition, and there comes a point when Soji can’t stay in their stagnant relationship. So, he wants to say goodbye to his heron, Mika. I adore all of the layered meaning in this, and it really works with the growth of their relationship.
Plus, if the heron here also represents the cold of winter, we would be saying goodbye to winter, which is perfectly represented in the final scene of the volume, where Mika and Soji are enjoying the cherry blossoms. Like the transition of seasons, Mika and Soji have moved on from the cold and frigid winter (similar to their cold and distant relationship) into the spring of their new relationship. The title of this last story also switches from heron to lark, which, at a cursory Google, represents renewal and beginnings. In other words, I think we can assume that there are only good things ahead for these two, which makes my heart soar.
Results:
As much as I love the title and the meaning packed into the story, I ultimately didn’t like this. It had a lot of potential, but it just missed on too many fronts for me to enjoy. Also, if you’re hoping for a clear-cut romance, you’ll be disappointed with this one. This is a story about transition and growth, and it ends that way. I wish we had more finality with them, but we don’t. This is just overall disappointing. It’s a miss for me.
Have you read Good-Bye, Heron? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!