It is easy for an autobiographical slice-of-life comic to go wrong. Make your story too specific and personal, it risks coming off as self-indulgent. Focusing on the mundane or unremarkable too closely, without mining drama or humor, you can end up with a boring slog. Hanami, by Spanish cartoonist Julia Cejas and published by Humanoids, avoids both of these pitfalls, making for a comforting, funny, and optimistic perspective on travel, finding home away from home, and struggling through the growing pains of living with a partner cooped up in a small space.

In Hanami, Julia Cejas recounts her six months living in Tokyo with her husband Marc. Flush with cash through a grant and a severance package from her husband’s civil engineering job, the couple decides to fulfill a lifelong dream to live in Japan, the home of their various inspirations in gaming, comics, and music. Throughout Hanami, Cejas recounts those six tightly-budgeted months with honesty, humor, and nostalgia.

Julia Cejas’s work in this comic is so enjoyable because it celebrates the joy of discovery and exploration without being precious or overly romantic about it. Culture clash is fodder for self-deprecating humor, and the small victories surrounding the ins and outs of everyday life in a foreign country (such as taking out the trash) are celebrated like the dramatic climax of a manga story. The artist’s comic timing and ability to construct a page are outstanding. The way she uses small panels to set up a gag and half a page for the punchline lets us as readers build anticipation through the rapid-fire setup and then bask in the sprawling dramatic moment. She constructs these absurdly inconsequential moments like a superhero artist would construct their big wham-bam fight scenes. The visuals are filled with homage and pastiche to Cejas’s influences, including Junji Ito and Hayao Miyazaki. The book avoids romanticizing the cultural differences, instead focusing on the couple’s personal foibles and joys.

Hanami is not broken down into chapters or even constructed with much of a narrative. Rather, it comprises various vignettes of Julia and Marc’s brief time in Tokyo. No scene is particularly long, and most scenes flow one into the next without much fanfare. It allows each moment to read like a standalone comic strip. As she jumps from one day to the next, you can almost feel the author trying to capture the memories as they blur together into an indistinguishable mass. The fleeting nature of time and memory is made tangible.


The art by Cejas is gorgeous. The softness of her lines and brushstrokes make the figures and the city of Tokyo inviting and approachable. The limited colors—mostly black, white, and gray tones accented with splashes of red throughout evoke the manga that inspires her. The presence of the red helps small, important details to pop off the page and by limiting the detailing to the colors of the Japanese flag, the artist embraces the nation that welcomed her for a brief time. Just as importantly, the varying shades of red–often nearly pink– evoke Japan’s iconic cherry blossoms. The book’s title is derived from the Japanese tradition of enjoying the brief blooming season of those cherry blossoms. The Hanami-mania, like the foliage mania that bears down on New England states in the US, is the subject of just one of the book’s vignettes. But the spirit of Hanami permeates the entire project. Hanami is a celebration of the fleeting beauty of the blossom season. In her Hanami, Julia Cejas revels in the fleeting beauty of her experience in Tokyo, inviting readers to join her in that joy of discovery and inspiration. It’s a touching reflection on treasuring brief, unremarkable moments in life and filling each with beauty and meaning.

This was so fun! I love that this is based on the author/illustrator's real life! I have always wanted to visit Japan, so safe to say I was living vicariously through this graphic novel!

I DNFed (did not finish) this one. Maybe it just wasn’t for me. I typically love graphic novels, but this one just wasn’t hooking me, and I didn’t feel connected to the characters. Maybe another time.

3,5/5 ⭐️

First of all, I’d like to thank both the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this arc.

I was instantly drawn to this title, I haven’t read many graphic novels, tho I have quite an extensive knowledge on manga and books related to Japan.
I myself have lived in Japan so this book just called my name, and I knew I had to pick it up,

We follow the lives of Julia and Marc, a Spanish couple, who decided to relocate to Japan. We follow their journey as they get used to their new lives, from their first experience at the local supermarket - yup, vegetables can be that pricey -, to their day-to-day worries.

I must admit I had a hard time following the story as it’s more a collection of snippets of their lives, and sometimes I felt a bit disoriented as I struggled to figure out when a story ended and another was beginning.

I’d still recommend this book, the drawing style was new and different to me and it could be a quick read for anyone who relates to the possible struggles us young adult face in our daily lives.

Beautiful well drawn snippets of the author and her partners life in Japan. It was a delight to learn about their ups and downs when moving to Japan.

Thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc. for the opportunity to read and review this graphic novel. This was an informative yet intriguing comic about an older couple living in Japan. The art style is jarring but it is accessible to people wanting to learn about what the best ways to accomplish living in Japan on a budget. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I completely delightful look at a foreigner experience in Japan! I loved reading about Julia and Marc's experience in their tiny apartment in Japan. I loved the parts that were set in the school with them learning Japanese! The art style of this book is also wonderful. It's a funny slice of life graphic novel that I recommend checking out!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for access to the Arc!
Loved it! It was a great insight of how a foreigner could live on Japan following the day-to-day adventures of the couple, from the language challenge to the sorting of the garbage!
It was a fun read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this graphic novel from Julia Cejas!

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ | 4/5

First and foremost, I LOVED this book. I loved the art style, I loved the little stories inside the larger adventure of the story of Julia and Marc's time in Japan. The colors of the book were purposeful and gorgeous, and as an artist myself, seeing Julia have these moments of anxiety and tentativeness when it came to their portfolio and finding an art job really resonated with me.

That being said, I wish some of the stories were a bit longer, and that we got some conclusion with the last, one year later part. I wanted to know how things went down when they got back to their home and how everything came to be to get them to that year later. So glad it worked out for them though, I just felt so invested in their story and was definitely rooting for them the whole time!

Overall a really insightful read and a beautiful art style.

Embark on a captivating journey with Julia and Marc, a vibrant millennial couple, as they immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Japanese culture over a year.
Set predominantly in Japan, this compelling book not only provides an intriguing narrative but also offers delightful insights into the nuances of daily life in Japan, which I found both enlightening and amusing. While there were moments when I struggled to keep up with the story, overall, I was thoroughly engrossed in their adventures.
Julia, a vibrant artist, exudes a contagious zest for life and possesses an exceptional sense of humor. On the other hand, Marc, though often stoic, demonstrates unfaltering kindness and unwavering diligence.
I highly recommend this book to fellow travel literature enthusiasts. It offers a refreshing perspective on Japanese experiences and may even inspire future explorations.

Happy Reading, Paige ❤️ 📚

This story follows a young girl who has always expected the worst, and was abused growing up. She and her spouse plan a trip to Japan, and we get to see their journey while they are there and the struggles they have as they are looking to follow their dream jobs. This story is based on real people. The art is very well drawn and expressive. Really enjoyed this book.

El estilo del arte estuvo d10, pero si queres leer historias cortas y, a veces sin sentido, este libro es para vos.

At times surreal, consistently eye-catching art and colorful style, I liked how this comic/graphic novel acted as a series of character-driven vignettes. Wonderful for YA audiences and onward.

So funny to read the shared experiences most foreigners living in Japan are immediately hit with. I identified so much with the extremity of the garbage disposal and this feeling of wanting to master it, and the awkward feeling when going through the disaster training, the amazing mundane beauty of things in Japan, because everything has been thought out, and nothing is just random... and you feel that.
Japan is a fascinating place and reading this comic will give you a view beyond what you would know by just staying there during holidays. It remains an expat experience, but it is a fun one to revisit as well if you're stayed there for more than a couple of months.
The illustrations are lovely, expressive, detailed, with a lot of personality.
This autobiographical comic really made me want to go back.

There’s nothing more grounding (in a good way) and supportive than seeing fellow millennials who are careerless, jobless messes, who have nothing figured out, who are still exploring themselves and reinventing themselves at 30+. It’s never too late! Yes, be a jobless nomad who went to Japan to study the language, slay!

I enjoyed experiencing this adventure with these two people via this graphic novel. Art is beautiful, the story was very “slice of life”, daily struggles, very mundane, unfortunately nothing out-of-the-ordinary was happening and that was kinda boring.

Thank you Netgalley and Humanoids Inc for giving an access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

3/5

I struggled to engage with this and as a result, didn’t finish it. I personally found it too sporadic and boring.

As someone who wants to someday visit Japan, Hanami was a real eye-opener to how it really is to live there as a foreigner. I think my favorite thing about the story overall would be the raw honesty Julia gives us of her and Marc’s struggles in adjusting to this new world and the wonders of experiencing everything up close.
I found it a little hard to understand what exactly was going on in the beginning of Hanami beyond Julia’s first meeting with Marc, so it took me a little while to really get into the story. But once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed each chapter, and the expressive art style. Everything is painted in a wash of reds and pinks, giving the story at once both a positive and anxious feel. I especially loved the little one-page panels of their neighbor going about her daily life, and the chapter about the fancy Japanese toilet (which was hilarious and kind of makes me never want to try one).
Overall, I found Hanami a beautiful tribute to Japan in all its blessings and flaws. It’s a great story for anyone with their own aspirations to move to the island country.
NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a short, cute glimpse into a couple's adventure living and learning in Japan. Julia Cejas makes some great observations, and I especially loved that she mentioned things like the fire patrol and how complicated it can be to take out the trash in Japan! The artwork is appealing and the format is easy to browse.

Hanami is a love letter to Japan, with its beauty and quirks, through the eyes of a couple just trying to make the best of their time there.

The graphic novel is gorgeous, and the short story format made this book really easy to read in a few sessions. My absolute favorite was the story about the cherry blossom fever engulfing the entire country during spring, with the author choosing to showcase a different perspective. Another favorite of mine was a bit of a recurring joke about how garbage disposal is handled - meticulously and intentionally, like many other things that Japanese people do. I loved this humorous take on otherness, and our main characters were likeable and relatable.

Overall, a lovely way to spend some time reading about Japanese culture from an outsider's point of view. If you like slice of life stories and ever considered moving to Japan, you'll enjoy this one!

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

Julia Cejas' Hanami feels like a peek into the artist's daily sketchbook while living in Japan, and Cejas perfectly captures each moment's excitement, confusion, and happiness all rolled into this funny yet poignant comic collection.

I like that the stories do the fish-out-of-water trope without playing into stereotypes ab0ut Japan and being insensitive of its culture. Instead, the author takes that invasive lens and points it at herself and her partner, with an unflinching self-deprecation.

I also love the art style. It does feel inspired by manga, but it has a life of its own. The bold strokes, the pacing, the page layouts, the subtle colors all come together to showcase a unique style that is vibrant and warm. I want to read more works from this author. Hope I still get to do so!