Goodbye, My Rose Garden

This manga ended up being one of my favorites. The story itself is a bit predictable but still very fun to read. There's definitely a strong focus on love and romance and not much on the sexual side of things which I love, but it might not be what you're looking for. The art is absolutely amazing, the detail put into drawing out every intricate dress design is impressive. This is one of the prettiest things I've ever read. The characters all act in rational ways so the plot is never driven forward by people making stupid choices. Like most anime, the characters tend to haveonly a few interests that become their full personality, but it works better in this story then in most and the characters don't feel too flat. My overall enjoyment is a 10/10.

Really sweet manga as just about any romantic story set in a time when people had to deal with prejudice, discrimination, and class differences. And in that regard it is a incredibly enjoyable period piece, with great pacing, loveable characters and beautiful art but nothing really sets it apart. The positives are many and Sayonara Rose Garden was for sure a quality read for me. The romance progresses nicely and although we only have 17 chapters the not one relationship feels rushed. In fact the pacing is one of the greatest strengths of the manga because the story knows what it aims to achieve from chapter1. No important moment in the nurturing of the relationship is then missed and it properly feels that these 3 volumes are only snapshots of the passing of time. In contrast other romantic mangas Ive read either make the plot up as they go, spanning hundreds of chapters and multiple arcs until they forget what the original purpose is and have no idea how to reach a conclusion. This happened with Hanayome, Horimiya, Domestic for me. Those mangas reiterate and maybe even stagnate until the ending just feels lackluster and unspecial if ended. Here there’s initial attraction between Hanako and Alice, we then delve into some of their maybe simplistic character writing which is does a great job at making the leads endearing and progressing the relationship. The maid Hanako at first appearing as a timid determined type we get to see grow to be able to stand up to herself and her mistress Alice. She first travels to Britain in pursuit of her dream of meeting a writer but its nice to see ambitions get benched once Alice takes her in as a personal companion. Alice on the other hand is at first the flawless distant Mary Sue character, but really comes to her own once the story delved into her vulnerabilities and backstory. It was a great idea for both of them serve as inspiration of the other on equal grounds - Hanako through action and Alice through fiction - and seeing these seemingly perfect characters become needy and selfish around each other was cute and very enjoyable. Another positive, there’s a lot of effort put into the art and locations such as the rose garden pavillion and Hastings bookstore, Alices room are detailed and well realised. We are always made aware of where a scene is taking place and each setting is a beautiful eye candy if you’re looking for the Jane Austin aesthetic in manga. Now, the one gripe I have with Sayonara Rose Garden is the ending which feels both overdone and out of place SPOILERS here but don’t worry because the ending is so predictable knowing what happens won’t affect your enjoyment whatsoever. Hanako ends up not killing Alice wow and they both run away to travel the world wow. The fact which was mentioned by the manga mind you that Alice couldn’t do that because she would disgrace her whole family name is suddenly forgotten and we see previously likeable character publicly humiliate the man who loves her at the wedding to selfishly run off with Hanako in the possibly most corny overused ending to any romance against society story. Its neither empowering nor deserved and all of the setup we had from the previous 16 chapters is thrown into the trash. SPOILERS for real this time. The ending would have been infinitely better imo if they went for the bittersweet route and had Alice get married and have a child, and Hanako going back to Japan and becoming a prominent writer. The final scene would be a 10/10 for me if the final panels were a juxtaposition of both of them in their late 20s visiting bookstores, buying bestsellers written from the other, finding out both reference the time they spent together in the rose garden pavillion 10 years ago and realising both still love each other. Not that this ending isn’t overused, but it’s way less corny and the author themselves seemed to be going for this. The current ending can’t help but feel like they were only forced to comply with the demands of some stupid publisher/editor who wanted a happy ending. Sayonara Rose Garden is a manga I’d recommend to anyone, since I enjoyed it immensely and until the end never found it boring nor overbearing which sometimes happens when I read romance. The Victorian aesthetic is a nice change of pace from modern life Japan, high school and medieval isekais and the length allows for a one sitting binge. It’s a sweet story of found companionship and feels refreshingly realistic, as opposed to so many romantic mangas that rely on archetypes, gimmicky premise, or harems but then I feel that if one has seen other lesbian period pieces like The Handmaiden 2016, or Portrait of a Lady on Fire 2019 for me, they might find the manga corny and less unique.

This book read like poetry. I've learned a lot of new words, although I have already forgotten most of them. English is difficult. As Hanako found herself losing confidence and helpless as she wasn't able to help her student, she found peace in reading, namely by Victor Franks. A bookworm she is, she decided to venture to London to meet her favourite author Franks — as well as she is trying to become a novelist herself, arriving at a publishing place, there, she finds herself encountering Alice, a noblewoman, that is also quite a bookworm like she is. As this fate meeting unfolded, Alice was fondof her and sought salvation for herself within Hanako. Hanako then later finds employment as a personal maid to noblewoman Alice. As this story takes place in the 1900s London, things weren't exactly progressive. Hanako learned about the novelist Oscar Wilde — who had an affair — sodomy has been deemed a sin in this country. Remembering what Alice said, Hanako also believed that love is free. I enjoyed how their relationship started to unfold. As a maid and her mistress — befriended each other, both of them feel unsure of their feelings and how their relationship is supposed to be. I was quite fond of the way Alice's struggle was portrayed in this story, as she has a troubled past and her position as a noblewoman, as she can only find salvation by spending time with Hanako. I thought it was beautiful. "Roses bathed in the strongest light cast the deepest shadows." As they spent their time together, they became closer and closer. Secrets started to unravel — as they wanted to learn to understand each other true intentions. Afraid of being hurt or hurting others, they grew suspicious and kept their relationship distance as only a maid and her mistress while unsure of their feelings. It was probably my favourite part of the story, perhaps you can say this sequence of events only called for misunderstanding, and if so, it was certainly one of the better ones that I have read recently. Excitingly waiting for them to learn about the truth to unfold made my heart flutter for I only wish for them to be together by the end. The scenes in this book were particularly well-drawn and properly conveyed — as well as the dialogue in this story was elegant and sophisticated, suiting perfectly with the setting of the story. It was easy for me to immerse myself in them. The side characters were lacking in-depth as they only served as a commentary for the struggle of the two main characters, be that as it may, most of them are lovely and wholesome people, so I had no particular problem with them for this kind of story. Though, they are still a few side characters that stand out, one of which I love. I particularly enjoyed the scenes between the two of the main characters. Granted, the two of them are the main focus of the story, so it should be obvious. But their interaction was delightful, and it was easier for me to attach to them and react emotionally if the scenes "demanded" so. "Goodbye, My Rose Garden" was a fun read — it wasn't a particularly original story — but Dr Pepperco cleverly added a slight twist that made it slightly different from its genre, with well-thought-out execution. It is a romance story of two girls involving themselves in "forbidden" love and trying to overcome the burden that they carried alongside them. This story is definitely worth reading if you are a fan of the genre. With all that said, I wasn't expecting myself to write a review for this book, but something just clicked within me to do it. "My mind overflows with ideas, but when I set myself to the task, they are no more than a single drop of morning dew." As I write this review. Well, I hope you at least find something in this. Thank you for reading.

I really enjoyed this. The story of a noblewoman and her maid from Japan, both of whom share a love of literature, was an interesting setup. While there were some slightly unbelievable elements such as a woman of Alice's social class being so openly friendly with a maid, it really didn't detract from the story. The obstacles that do stand in their way are very real and provide a compelling narrative. I loved the references to Charlotte Bronte and Oscar Wilde. The literary references support the themes of the story quite well. This is a love story that is incredibly sweet yet tinged with a bitof sadness due to the difficulties of being both women not straight . Things felt a little rushed at the end but I didn't mind too much because the romance was so good. I love Alice and Hanako together and wish we could get either a sequel or an epilogue.