Iguana no Musume

A provocative collection of short stories. The first three were my favorites in no particular order. The first one is Iguana no Musume, which is the story you see in the synopsis and cover. It's a narrative that flows seamlessly and does a good job of portraying the protagonist's complex and even expands on her view of the world and how that changes. Beyond that is how it addresses death and new life. There's just so much in this story that makes it so thoughtful and lovely. The second one has a male protagonist. I like how the story concerns friendship between a man and a womanand addresses the idea of how not everything of that sort has to be romantic, it's a refreshing idea that the protagonist directly addresses, with a satisfying end for the protagonist. The third was stunning. There is so much to work with regarding the misogyny of late 20th century Japan, and seeing two generations (and the one between that) unwrap that was truly impactful in its execution, all the way to the ending. There's also the element of self sacrifice, and the idea that the mother protagonist was. She had so many chances in life and in the story itself to change things, yet didn't, and now her daughter who actually stands up for herself outwardly (instead of relying on someone to dig those things out of her like with what happened with the mother) gets appreciated for those things and rewarded with a more fulfilling life. I can't explain this in its entirety as it resonates with some personal circumstances, but some people, especially parents in a nuclear family, hole themselves into a position where the things they've learned in life actively benefit others, and that's just their role. They can only cope with what they've built for themselves, whether out of willful ignorance or not. My only complaint is how the relationship with her ugly husband was handled, because despite what I stated above, it was filled with unnecessary resignation. Most especially it was unnecessary given the conversation with her daughter where she calls her out on that. However this was all quickly wrapped up because the couple shared camaraderie that was never shown until the very end? Really. Given what her daughter said there would be no problem in the mother choosing a more peaceful life for herself. The fourth story did not resonate with me as it was way too gimmicky with the "everyone is now unrecognizable," how that situation began, and how that was executed psychologically with its resolution. Kind of boring despite being wacky. The fifth was just your standard BL dynamic and I'm not into BL. Good thing it was the shortest.

STORY: 6 Meet some people, going on with their own situations and trying to understand each others. Iguana Girl is a collection of five short stories with slices of life and a topping of surrealism. Nothing epic, just some adequate feelings. ART: 6 A fine 90s style. POLITICAL POTENTIAL: 6Characters are trying to overcome their problems within the short time of each story. They have some empathy and are not too self-centered, lovely. FEMINISM: 7 One story focuses on a middle-aged woman with compassion. Another story depicts a painful mother-daughter relation, but the abuser is not just depicted as a villain. A third story has a boy who suffers, and, instead of turning to cynicism and desires of revenge, like so many characters, he learns to express his emotions in order to heal! There's even the 'young boy and girl alone in the room', and, it's not turning into that manga trope where the boy looses control and assault the girl! 🥳 CONCLUSION: 6 A nice, heart-warming, short read that is deeper than you expect.