MANGA REVIEW | "Rainbows After Storms" - Volume One
“My best friend is my girlfriend. But we’re keeping it a secret from everyone.” These two sentences pop up in just about every chapter in the premiere volume of Rainbows After Storms, the debut series from Luka Kobachi. Although it’s customary to tell readers of the main plot in its first few chapters, I often feel like the constant reminders are kind of graining. However, despite that aspect, I can’t help but smile when reading through Rainbows After Storms.
This yuri places its focus on classmates Chidori and Nanoha. They share a similar friend’s circle, but when the others aren’t around, the two resort to their real relationship: lovers. Nanoha and Chidori’s romance is still in its infancy, but the more time is spent with another, the more it blossoms. However, as I mentioned earlier, their true nature is kept secret from their friends, for reasons yet to be determined.
LGBTQ+ relationships still aren’t as widely accepted in Japan as they are in the rest of the world, so perhaps that’s a reason for keeping it on the down low. However, a quick look into the eyes of either girl will easily see that they’re smitten by one another. Whether it’s out shopping, having pancakes, or sharing lunch on the rooftop, it’s hard to pretend that there isn’t something between Nanoha and Chidori. Heck, an accidental group chat confession almost outs them entirely, only for the other girl to fix it in a silly fashion.
Right now, Rainbows After Storms focuses on the early, cutesy side of high school lesbian relationships. It is a far cry from what we’ve read in the college-year story How Do We Relationship?, which shoves a ton more realism into the dating aspect. Instead, what Kobachi has given us is something more on the Disney Princesses side of love…that is if Disney ever grew a pair and actually had a legit main gay couple in one of their movies! Mind you, that’s not a negative thing, per se.
There’s a lot of charm in both Chidori and Nanoha’s means of showing their love. From friendship bracelets to school club join-ups, these two have a wonderful repertoire regarding how they fawn over one another. But it’s when the two first figure out that they have the hots for one another — done so by a Valentine’s Day gesture — where we see their hearts on display. Not only is it a cute confession, but it’s sweet to see how they share the same sentiment for one another.
However, Rainbows After Storms doesn’t have a real conflict to make it stand out from all the other yuri in the pack. Many series in the genre deal with characters coming to terms with their sexuality or finding others attempting to road block them from their happiness. Right now, there really isn’t anything like that. Maybe it’s because Chidori and Nanoha are just figuring it all out as it goes along, or perhaps they’re living in a more acceptable area of Japan. Whatever the case, the story is kind of playing it too safe.
Fortunately, it’s easy to be distracted by that thanks to Kobachi’s art style. Everything about this manga is pretty to look at, but not in the same vibe as a shojo manga. The characters all look very cute, and their surroundings — albeit limited — help bring out the sweeter elements of the designs. Kobachi also has a knack for making some solid comedic faces, especially when a moment has either of these girls caught off-guard by the actions of the other.
Volume One of Rainbows After Storms is off to a sweet start, thanks to its charming characters and beautiful artwork. With that being said, one hopes that they throw in some realism regarding how relationships tend to be like. Sure, it’s nice seeing things between Nanoha and Chidori being sugary sweet, and that’s a good thing to see when two people are dating. But if there isn’t a conflict on the same level as what we see in How Do We Relationship?, then Rainbows After Storms might find itself blocked by cloudier competition.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
