オハナホロホロ

OHANA HOLOHOLO

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
6
RELEASE
December 7, 2013
CHAPTERS
42

DESCRIPTION

Maya, who works as a translator, lives with her bisexual former girlfriend, Michiru, and Michiru's son, Yuuta. Residing in the same apartment building is an actor called Nico, who drops by for a visit almost everyday, and knows about Michiru's past. Somewhat like family, and somewhat not, their lives interweave full of warm days.

Note: Includes five side stories and an extra.

CAST

Michiru Amamiya
Maya Nagumo
Nico Kusaka
Yuuta Amamiya
Hiyori
Megumi Mochizuki
Eisuke Kuwabara
Takaki
Keiichi Amamiya

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

Dacry
100/100
so many broken people, but the bisexual rep is good
You know how there's never a bisexual person in some stories? They go "well, are you gay then! are you straight then!" and you can only be one, not both. And if you choose a person, you actually chose the side you are, and doesn't stay bi. I say bi instead of pan because the story used bi for one and i'm not entirely sure how their attractions work, since they are busy living life, healing and getting hurt to speak about it.

Anyway.

Maya has been abandoned so many times, including by her own family. Twice by Michiru. She just grew used to losing, missing, and despite being hurt anytime, she does what she can even if she suspects Michiru will leave at anytime again.
Honestly, she was particularly relatable to me in her choices. She often comes off as dating to be able to get closer and help people, prop them up. Everyone she does that towards, she has some attraction actually (i think). But despite everything, she knows that Hidesuke, the soccer player, was mostly trying to fill up an emptiness in his life of broken expectations and loss of his dreams by marrying his first love. And knowing that, she gets twisted up over accepting and giving the chance of a normal life for Michiru's son. (she also had short hair when younger, and people say she has trans vibes, so she could probably be erased from the family registry for that reason)

I don't know why I began with Maya. Everything in the characters revolves around Yuuta, despite him not appearing in some chapters or revolving around adult subjects like overworking, workplace gossip and stuff.
Yuuta is just the cutest little thing. He's so well drawn and expressive and loved, he runs adorably and has shiny eyes and blushy cheeks, a precious little bean.
I took many pics to share, but i can't share here, so just read the manga! People say he looks like an alien, but I think he's adorable and the truly baby way he runs and walks, especially when smug, it's lovely!
And everything he wants is to have his whole family. Nico, Maya and Michiru. He doesn't want people to say his family is weird (in a bad way). Maya (tries to) leaves Michiru not only because she's afraid of being abandoned again by her, for another man, but because Yuuta was in danger of being bullied again, and because she wished a normal family to him. Michiru thinks about accepting the daycare man not because she likes him (tho she does a lil) but because it would help a lot with Yuuta (daycare man has the idea of helping her with him by dating her too).
fuck everybody is relatable in that lol

Well, Michiru. She's childish, selfish, runs away at conflict and doesn't come back unless she knows she's welcome, minds people's opinions far often and feels often lonely and lost, just waiting for someone to tell her what to do. She had a good structure with the grandparents of her dead husband, but her mom berates her for troubling them, tells her to go back home... and makes Yuuta a withdrawn and unwelcomed child. It's no wonder that Mochi, daycare man, sees her often like a small lost girl. They don't deepen much in her childhood, but they don't need to. The glimpses and every flaw of hers is always blinding in how she was treated when younger.
But she's doing her best always for her son. Michiru is a clumsy mother, but she hurries her son to daycare when possible (and later makes him get third place in a race even though he runs so slow thanks to that hurry), she gives him pudding even though the pudding was all eaten and was supposed to be hers, she searches desperately whenever he disappears (runs away for a reason or another) and my favorite part:
she doesn't slap him on the face when she finds him again. that really turns me off when it happens in manga with so called loving parents, but she doesn't do that.
She's a single mom with support, even if shakey due to their fights and doubts, and everyone just loves her son and worries about her.

And for the end. Nico.
My man, my mirror, the suicidal man! You can barely tell, you just know that he loves Yuuta, gives support to the girls' relationship while keeping Yuuta happy and well cared for, and has the habit of having two girlfriends meet with his key and fight.
He doesn't have knives or scissors in his place. Actually, his home is bare and he is mostly always at Maya and Michiru's when not acting for his work. He says it's because his girlfriends picked the sharp objects when fighting with him and each other. Me (and soon his acting friend) say he is lying.
I just really relate and love his portrayal for depression and suicidality. He calls Yuuta his reason to live. His friend says "can you even call that living?". He feels guilty for letting go of Keiichi, Yuuta's father, they were called soulmates. They really loved each other, but still let go for the sake of Yuuta, while Michiru stalled going back to Maya, afraid she wouldn't have a home at her side if she went back.
Nico tries to kill himself by the end, but is stopped by his found family. When he tries to reach up to the sky thinking about how he missed Keiichi and finally saw him, and Yuuta holds his hand instead... It moved me.

It's a dysfunctional family, in many ways and chapters. But they need each other, including Nico (Michiru's metamour i would say), and by the end, they move together. Things might get hard, but they can keep going with their weird little family that cares about each one of them.
It's a really good story. Except the daycare lil girl's grandma (wtf lady your son was left by his wife, you tore the little girl's long hair against her wishes, you are the biggest asshole of your family and still thinks you can bad talk and teach bad things to Hiyori!?!?) and Michiru's mother, i ended up getting fond of each character.
I hope you love this as much as I did.
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