Despite the fact that I'm an adult male, I really, REALLY enjoyed Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon. This was my first Yuri manga, so I wasn't sure what to expect either. But for something so short, it really packed a wallop. There's just so much to unpack and frankly I'm not even sure where to start. I like to try to avoid any spoilers with reviews I write, but not sure if that's possible for this one. I think what I'll do is have my non-spoiler review in the first half, then do my opinions/analysis in the second. Don't worry, anything that I feel is remotely a spoiler I'll black out and I'll also put a warning before that section.
Although this is a romance (and a Yuri one at that), this is mainly a story about two adult women (Hinako Uno and Asahi Sato) trying to figure themselves out. Lots of internal struggle and questioning. Although I am a guy, I related to a lot of what they were going through. Some of it struck too close to home I'd even say. I'll go into more detail in the spoiler section.
The big question our two girls try to answer is: What is love? What does it mean to love someone?
After reading this, I realized this is one of those things that seems simple enough, but when you sit down and think about it, it's really not. I have a lot to say about this question and how the story tries to answer it. Unfortunately, I don't think it's possible to do so without spoiling anything, so I'll also leave that for the spoiler section. All I will say is the execution of addressing this question is done really well and I was satisfied with it.
I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the obvious draw of this manga: the heavy LGBTQ+ themes. I could be wrong, but from I can see, there isn't a whole lot of manga that put LGBTQ+ front and center like it is here. While I myself am not a part of that community, I know people who are and support them and anyone else in it. I hope we see more of this in manga (and even anime and other forms of media too). I think it's difficult to explain how this all fits into LGBTQ+ without spoilers, so again, I'll expand on this in the second section.
I think the last major component I wanted to address was the art and symbolism used throughout the story. Shio Usui really kills it with the illustrations. Seriously, it's all just beautifully drawn. Depending on the mood/emotion they're trying to convey, their use of shading and empty space is sublime.
I really liked the symbolism behind the moon and doughnuts. There's a reason they're included in the name of the manga and the way they're tied in is done extremely well. I also just thought their meaning was interesting and clever. I'll discuss this more in the spoiler-filled section of course.
To close this off, I think there's a lot to get out of this manga. And I don't think you need to necessarily be a fan of Yuri (or even romance as a genre) either. As I said, I didn't read any Yuri stuff prior to this and I still enjoyed it a lot. It's also pretty short, so it's not that huge of a time commitment.
For me, a perfect score such as this means I highly recommend it to others, regardless of their individual tastes. It's just that good.
As I indicated above, there will be spoilers in this section. You've been warned.
The big question this story tries to answer is love. What is it? What does it mean?
Asahi's journey was quite different from Hinako's, but was equally satisfying.
It was great seeing Asahi break out of her shell more and more. And doing stuff she wouldn't typically do, like paint her nails. Another aspect of Asahi's struggle was her younger sister, Subaru. With her parents gone and having her grandmother (who raised them after) also no longer around, she had to step up to take care of Subaru. Which is totally understandable and honestly expected. However, all Asahi has ever thought of was what was best for her sister. Never for herself. And the not understanding or caring for romance thing was totally a result of that. But after some chapters of back and forth fighting and all that, Asahi finally gets it. She can still care for her sister while also starting to do stuff for herself. Subaru is finally at the age where she can start to think for herself and be less dependent on Asahi and Asahi has finally let that reality sink in. Which lead to her realization of wanting to be with Hinako, despite still not understanding/feeling romance.
Last, but certainly not least, we have Fuuka.
Okay, so that's all the love aspect, but now the doughnuts and the moon. How do those fit into all of this? Doughnuts make an appearance in the story pretty early on with Asahi giving Hinako a doughnut.
But it's what she says to her that really stands out:
Doughnuts are good because they have a hole, you know.
Just a simple sentence, and admittedly a bizarre one at that. What? Just like how Hinako was puzzled by what Asahi meant, I remember being a bit confused too. What could she mean by that?
But then a few chapters later, Hinako starts to put together her own meaning and says to herself:
I'm starting to think I might not be so bad after all.
Even though I'm full of holes
pathetic and imperfect
I have someone who knows that.
I wouldn't be confident in this interpretation until several chapters later, when Hinako says to Asahi:
The shape of me, or maybe, the shape of my heart?
It's just like a doughnut.
There may be a hole right in the middle, but,
I end up thinking "Hey, that's okay!"
Because without it, I wouldn't be me.
Oh, and this last quote here was particularly important, because it shows when Hinako finally starts to come to terms with her own flaws. Ah, character growth. You love to see it.
Now the moon is probably the more interesting of the two, just because it's more show than tell. But there is one quote I really liked where Hinako uses the moon:
Just like the moon waxes and wanes.
The good and the bad
Will surely come in turn.
And that's just fine.
Fuck I love this quote. I think it's really clever how the different phases of the moon are used to represent how everyone has good and bad days. At least that's how I interpreted this. So good.
But what I really liked is how at the end at almost every chapter we get a glimpse of the moon. And each time, it's at a different phase. Maybe it was coincidence and I was just reading to much into it, but if it was deliberate I thought it was well done.
Hopefully I highlighted all that's good about this manga. I think more people should give it a shot. If you read all of this, then thank you. I really appreciate it.
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