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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane I've enjoyed We Were There since the first volume, but as I continue reading I find I'm appreciating the story even more as it progresses. Nanami and Yano's relationship rings remarkably true to me: both the ordinary growing pains of a new (or first) romance and the ways they each try to deal with Yano's painful history are very believable, and the line between the everyday and the extraordinary challenges they face as a couple is realistically blurry. Vol. 4 covers a lot of ground, or at least more than I've started to expect from this series, which usually feels slow-paced (but not draggy!) even when things are happening quickly. Nanami has decided to act on her feeling that she's ready to have sex with Yano, and while love scenes between inexperienced girls and very experienced boys can be very clichéd, Obata writes the opening chapter in a way that acknowledges and sidesteps that pitfall. It's Yano's past that gets most of the focus in this volume, though: Yano himself has started to think more about his history and previous behavior and how it affects Nanami. His last girlfriend, Nana-san, may be dead, but her younger sister is a constant, pointed reminder of things he's starting to wish he'd done differently--some of which he'd really rather keep Nanami from ever finding out about. Throughout the book, there's a feeling of unwanted momentum, of "it's too late now"; Nanami thinks she can't change her mind about sex once she's agreed to it, and also that she can't stop wondering and asking about Yano's past even if she wants to. She reads as hopeful but worn down, a sharp contrast to how young she seems, especially when she's acting out of insecurity. Yano's variety of ways of acting out continue to hurt both of them, although he's becoming more aware of his actions' impact on her. The cumulative effect is one of a heartfelt but precarious relationship, and both characters know it. We Were There is unlike most shoujo romances in its awareness that the relationship is more likely to be torn apart by the main characters themselves than by any external influences, and yet it avoids the feeling of a doomed romance. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Think you could have written a better review of We Were There v4? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC |
10 March 2010
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