春とみどり

HARU TO MIDORI

Drama

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
3
RELEASE
June 3, 2020
CHAPTERS
17

DESCRIPTION

Midori isn't good with people, and at 31 years old, she feels like she has no place in life.

One day, she attends the funeral of a close friend of hers from junior high school, Tsugumi. Unable to forget about her, she has a vision of the young friend she knew standing above her — only it isn't the girl she once knew, but her daughter, Haruko.

This is the story of the relationship between a woman without a place and a child without a mother.

Note: Chapter count includes the bonus chapters "Haru and Midori Special 1" and "Haru and Midori Special 2."

CAST

Haruko Tachibana
Midori Yukihira

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

ShibuyaConfidential
70/100
I can only praise Haru to Midori for the simple but effective emotional structure.
The only spoiler I can honestly give to the reader who wants to approach "Haru to Midori" is: Put yourself at ease, this is not the usual "How to Raise Your Wife" story.

This is the only spoiler. Recommended to me by an Anilist user, "Haru to Midori" shows a different side to the orphan-raising trope, involving a more intimate mental approach and an undefined label which gives freshness.

Haruko lost her mother at 14 years of age. Her mother, Tsumugu, was a wild dog who escaped from the family at the end of middle school and became pregnant at 17 while raising a child alone. At the funeral, a lady, Midori, a childhood friend of Haruko's mother, appears despite not having seen Tsugumu for at least 15 years.

What follows is a beautiful, pastel-painted emotional story of the two of them living together while trying to cope with their internal burden.

What I liked was the lack of overdramatization. In general, authors often rely on high drama or long, emotional speeches to keep the reader interested. Here, everything is subtle, mostly internal to the characters who little by little start to open up to each other, implementing their life and complementing their voids.

Haruko, on one hand, seems to be a stronghold, almost cynical at points, denying the existence of her mother for the sake of pragmatism. But she realizes that she is just a child and her mother lives in her still.

Midori, trapped in a cage of childhood memories, helps Haruko in the beginning as she is the image of her beloved one, but slowly realizes how unfair and cruel would be to help a good child just because there is a sense of guilt or a sense of void for someone she had lost.

As the two grow acquainted and caring they try to figure out what they are to each other. Friends? Parent and Daughter? Or simply, as it should be in many things in the world - there is no necessity to label as they simply care about each other.

The downside of the manga is sometimes there is a bit of confusion in "who is who" meaning that the characters and panels entangle from the present to the memories oft and sometimes the reader is a bit confused if Midori is remembering or seeing the present. This may have been indeed a narrative choice to paint the inner feelings but the character design did not help it successfully as Midori looks the same even 15 years prior (this is a minus to the art style personally).

Sadly the final part of the manga looks hyper-rushed as the authors were trying to open some interesting new narrative exploration (there is a subplot with a frenemy of Haruko that goes nowhere), and I assume was due to a sudden decision to axe the manga from the magazine it was published.

Considering this is a debut I can only praise Haru to Midori for the simple but effective emotional structure, and if you - like me - have lost a dear friend whom you cared about, definitely it hits home on some pages.
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bloominlotus
100/100
haru to midori: what a light, simple, and emotional beautiful piece that i love so much.
the story breaks my heart and at the same time it eased it in a way i could not describe.

it's started with midori, a woman who didn't like spring. especially when it brings a news of a best friend she treasured the most. midori is a character i can relate the most in real lifeㅡshe's a bit realistic. her personality it's just that and i somehow found comfort in her character. but i do proud of her taking steps to change herself. it might be not to not having those thoughts in our head but we surely will reach it. to the place where we belong.

midori met a girl who just looks like her best friend, stugumi. who is actually the daughter of her best friend. she looks so much like her mother that she reminded midori of her. she then remembered the memories from middle school and the love she has for tsugumi that she always keep deep inside her heart.

haru to midori is simply a beautiful story about grieving and make a peace with the pastㅡmidori can't really forget tsugumi and always thinks of her, most of times she sees her in haru. they live together and i love every single the time they spent together. of them taking care of each other, midori making bento for haru when haru prepares the dinner, midori coming home to haru. it's simply heartwarming, beautiful. well at the same time heartbreaking. of midori and tsugumi's past :( all i can say is they loved each other (and midori is still) tsugumi chose her own life but she loved midori just like how midori loves her. that letter at the end, tsugumi can't bring herself to say those words but it was obvious :( oh my doomed yuri... i love the story so much. it's heartbreaking got me for a second mulling over 'what-ifs', like what if midori and tsugumi can be together, what if midori and tsugumi ended up together.. but then there will be no haru.

haru is a lovely girl. she's mature for her age. no kids deserved to be mature of their age. i am so glad when she broke down in front of midori, crying and saying she wanted to be with her mom forever :( because i genuinely think grieving should only be us allowing ourselves to be sad and grief. but she's a strong girl without a doubt. she's just as cool as her mom. probably can be even cooler? ♡ she can choose everything for herself. going to highschool, go to college, works because she wanted too.

i kinda thought that they would end up living together for all those years but i'm glad they, still, end up together at the end. when haru is more stable with her life. she becomes an adult so quick and she's pretty... i can't really name their relationship but i think it's more beautiful than what relationship of theirs we can name. this story is more than any romance. they will be living together as family, as friends, whatever you name it.. more than that, they have each other.

very recommended for those who love a light, simple, yet emotional beautiful piece of yuri. i love how this author always convey feelings and emotions of their characters and make such beautiful stories. i am in love. definitely on my fave list.
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