Chapters: 20
Rating: PG
Imagine, for a moment, that you were completely, totally, invisible to everybody around you. Conversations would carry on without you, people would walk by without even knowing you were there, and even though you could do things to try and prove you existed, nobody would take any notice. Then, imagine that all of a sudden, in the last place you'd expect, in the last moment you'd expect, somebody took notice of you.
This is the basic setup for I Am Here!, and one that captured me. The story revolves around Hikage Sumino, a middle-school girl with crippling self-esteem issues. She's so shy and soft-spoken, and makes such little visual impact to everybody around her, that most times her classmates don't even know she's there- and when they do, they never manage to get her name right. Even when she tries to speak up, her comments go unheard. She could skip class, and nobody would be the wiser- which is a thought that makes her feel all the worse about herself. Sumino's only real validation of her existence is her picture blog, where she has two daily visitors she chats with about her day-to-day life and whatever new photo she's posted. This all changes when two of the most popular boys in her class suddenly drag her into a game they're playing, and what's more, when questioning in shock that they've actually seen her, they actually remember her name correctly. Having felt human warmth for the first time in a long time, Sumino decides that she's going to try and change herself, so that people have to acknowledge that she is, indeed, there.
Let me start off by saying that I totally get it. I've actually felt like Sumino a few times- completely invisible, like I wasn't even there (though admittedly, I've never had it as bad as she has). That's probably why this manga was so appealing to me, because of just how relatable she is as a character. Watching her struggle with changing herself, it's hard not to root for her, especially in the times when she's so demoralized that she's ready to give up- and she finds a new reason to keep going.
Now, while I usually don't bother with shoujo manga (and this is, in fact, shoujo), I couldn't help but like I Am Here! despite its flaws. What flaws, you ask? Well, unfortunately, it's a bit predictable at points. There's the token Bitch Squad who want to scare Sumino out of the picture simply because she's close to the boy they like, and Sumino herself tends to jump between "I MUST CHANGE" and "oh God help me I wish I was still invisible" with reckless abandon, which is a bit frustrating to watch. The 'sunflower' metaphor is repeatedly and unashamedly beaten into the ground over and over again, and after Sumino finally gets the courage to stand up for herself, it turns into even more of a typical shoujo plot than it was before. In regards to said Bitch Squad, though, it's not often that bullying is a central focus in the story- I can think of precisely two examples right now, but I digress.
 |
| D'aww. |
Rating: 7/10
Pass/Fail: Pass
Comments
Post a Comment