Silver Spoon (volumes 1-15 complete)
Dec. 30th, 2020 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustHiromu Arakawa is probably most well known for Fullmetal Alchemist, which is one of my favourite manga. So I was really pleased when her new series, Silver Spoon, was translated into English. It draws on her own experience of growing up on a dairy farm.
Yuugo Hachiken is an academic overachiever who has hit burnout, and wants to escape the pressures of his family. So he moves away from the city to enrol in an agricultural high school in Hokkaido.
The story is a mix of slice of life, coming of age, and comedy drama. Many aspects of rural life are new to Hachiken, and he gets a crash course in adapting to them. Most of his classmates are from farming families, and we learn about their world through his eyes. The cultural exchange goes both ways though. As a newcomer, Hachiken's questions and reactions also make them think about the assumptions they've grown up with. Hiromu Arakawa is good at ensemble casts, and Hachiken's classmates are an engaging and quirky assortment of characters. Hachiken himself is a great protagonist - earnest, sceptical, and curious - and, as it turns out, the kind of person who can inspire people to come together to achieve shared goals.
For me, some of the realities of animal farming were confronting, but it was approached in a thoughtful and sensitive way. We also learn about riding horses, growing vegetables, making cheese, baking pizza, and more. If I ever visit Hokkaido, I am going to eat so much food.
The manga follows Hachiken and his classmates through their three years of high school until graduation: learning and growing, dealing with success and setbacks, and going through the adventures of youth. There's something nostalgic about all these young people on the cusp of their adult lives, discovering their dreams and figuring out their paths.
I love the themes of planting seeds for the future and the legacy you leave behind. A very enjoyable story with a very satisfying conclusion.
Yuugo Hachiken is an academic overachiever who has hit burnout, and wants to escape the pressures of his family. So he moves away from the city to enrol in an agricultural high school in Hokkaido.
The story is a mix of slice of life, coming of age, and comedy drama. Many aspects of rural life are new to Hachiken, and he gets a crash course in adapting to them. Most of his classmates are from farming families, and we learn about their world through his eyes. The cultural exchange goes both ways though. As a newcomer, Hachiken's questions and reactions also make them think about the assumptions they've grown up with. Hiromu Arakawa is good at ensemble casts, and Hachiken's classmates are an engaging and quirky assortment of characters. Hachiken himself is a great protagonist - earnest, sceptical, and curious - and, as it turns out, the kind of person who can inspire people to come together to achieve shared goals.
For me, some of the realities of animal farming were confronting, but it was approached in a thoughtful and sensitive way. We also learn about riding horses, growing vegetables, making cheese, baking pizza, and more. If I ever visit Hokkaido, I am going to eat so much food.
The manga follows Hachiken and his classmates through their three years of high school until graduation: learning and growing, dealing with success and setbacks, and going through the adventures of youth. There's something nostalgic about all these young people on the cusp of their adult lives, discovering their dreams and figuring out their paths.
I love the themes of planting seeds for the future and the legacy you leave behind. A very enjoyable story with a very satisfying conclusion.
