As part of my tenth year of blogging, I've resolved to read and review a wider variety of books. Over the course of the last decade, I read everything from picture books to comics and even a few cookbooks. I was pleasantly surprised when one of my publishing partners Pantheon offered me a copy of Gengoroh Tagame's newest manga, Our Colors. I have never delved into the art, but I was intrigued by the gay coming-of-age story that the work's summary promised. It took me a few minutes to get past reading the book and panels from the opposite side of what I'm used to, but once I conditioned myself to the format, I was enveloped by the rich world that Tagame created.
Sora is a 16-year-old student who is slowly coming to terms with the fact that he is gay. He's terrified of revealing his true self to his family and peers, especially as he develops a crush on one of his male friends. He is simply too afraid to confide in anyone. One day it all becomes too much to bear, and Sora flees from his school in an emotional panic. He finds refuge in a coffee shop off the beaten path. The owner, an older man, reveals to Sora that he is also gay. The pair strike up a friendship that sees Sora learning to become more comfortable in his own skin. When the elder man's past comes to light, it threatens to destroy the friendship he's built and worse, may force Sora deeper into the closet.
What immediately struck me about Our Colors is the way with which Tagame builds deep characters and relationships through sparse words and brilliantly detailed images. Each frame deliberately works in service of this story he is telling. He illustrates the way Sora hides his sexuality from his friends and family by depicting him wearing a literal mask over his face, something we the readers see, but that the people he interacts with are blind to. Showing the internal thoughts through images seeped into fantasy helps to reveal the character's emotional journey while juxtaposing the more grounded images set within the real world. All of this comes together to make a coming-of-age story that is subtly moving. I had a minor gripe with an event that occurs near the end of the work, but that does little to take away the power of Our Colors.
For more information visit the author's website and Goodreads.
(2022, 29)
