This month in the Yaoi Minute, no horror tale revisiting Dante's Divine Comedy , nor osteopath a tad too enterprising. But rather a bittersweet story between two lost beings. Discover One Room Angel, by the talented Harada!
The story
Kôki is a thirty-year-old bachelor living on the margins of society. With no future or dreams, he is rejected by others because of his frightening look. And his propensity to erupt in rage at injustice doesn't help him build relationships… While struggling to survive by working in a konbini, he is attacked by customers, one of whom manages to hurt him cruelly. Just as he faints, Kōki sees an angel falling from the sky. But this miraculous vision is actually not a hallucination! Indeed, when Kôki returns home, he finds the young boy with white wings. Without any memory of his life before or his death, the angel found refuge there. By the time its wings regain enough strength to allow it to fly, these two skinned alive will have to learn to cohabit …
One Room Angel: portrait of skinned people
Harada, also known as Paraiso, is a mangaka active since the early 2010s. She quickly imposed her style both sharp and sensitive through many doujinshis, including Gintama, but especially with her short but impactful manga. This author is indeed able to offer rather light and delirious works (Happy Shitty Life, The One I Love or almost) as well as poignant and disturbing dramas, like Nii-chan or Yatamomo. One Room Angel, a one-shot released in 2019 and available in France at Boy's Love IDP, stands on the border between these two styles. Indeed, Harada offers us here the portrait of two skinned alive. Kōki first. From the first pages, we feel this character entangled in chronic despair. At the same time victim of the prejudices of his entourage as well as of his entire character, the thirty-year-old lives, having for only horizon the next day. Nothing seems to hold him back to life, until the arrival of the angel. This one, which will remain anonymous for several chapters, brings a burst of life, an impulse. Or even a goal to this man who seems to have lost everything. But the angel is not free from wounds. Harada cleverly distills clues until the final, hard-hitting revelations. Moreover, through the metaphor of the angel with wings too weak to fly, she encompasses the condition of all her characters. Kôki, his mother (looking like a gyaru on amphetamines), his brother, the angel… All seem to bend under a weight, invisible but ruthless. From there to see it as a denunciation, there is only one step.
Harada, committed mangaka
Whether one likes his style or not, no one can deny the obvious. Harada is a mangaka who does not hesitate to take the bull by the horns. Even if it means disturbing or even shocking. For example, pedophilia (Nii-chan), homophobia (the beginnings of The Song of Yoru & Asa) or prostitution (Yatamomo). Whether through his series or his collections (Poji, Nega), Harada offers us in each of his liveries a string of characters striking realism. No detail is left to chance. Whether in their psychology or in their environment. If One Room Angel is close to a short story from the Henai collection, the story develops its true identity over the pages. Kōki and the angel echo each other. Whether in their physique (angular or much rounder), their personality (pessimistic or grumpy but optimistic), their way of seeing the world. It is extremely touching to see Kôki gradually let himself be touched by the tenderness of his strange roommate. While the extreme sensitivity of the latter to the emotions of the thirty-year-old suggests that a strong bond unites them. This dimension is found in the graphic style of the mangaka. The faces, and especially the eyes, are beautifully highlighted. Sequences of boxes without dialogue are as "impactful" as flashback scenes where information rains down. If violence plagues both the past and the present of the protagonists, it does not prevent them from opening their hearts to a clearer future. In conclusion, One Room Angel is an ideal gateway to discover the world of Harada. Between bitterness and hope, she gives us here a manga of great moral strength, where emotions have the best part, and where the hope of a better life is never far away.
