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!

Julia registra in brevi sketch l'anno che ha passato in Giappone con il marito, approfittando di una borsa di studio per lei e della liquidazione si lui. Armati solo di una conoscenza mooooolto basilare della lingua e dell'amore per manga e videogiochi si avventurano ogni giorno in una quotidianità nuova, spesso incomprensibile, dalle prove antiterremoto alle misteriose regole per la gestione dei rifiuti. Personalmente non amo molto la narrazione frammentaria, preferisco qualcosa di respiro più ampio, ma è comunque una lettura gradevole, e sono felice che Julia sia riuscita a trovare la sua strada come artista. ;)

Hanami is a lighthearted autobiography following the author and their partner as they experience Japan for the first time. It covers everything from the food prices, the toilets, the garbage policies, and any unfamiliar traditions and how they grow to love them.

It was fun to watch the couple experience so much and I loved that they didn't shy away from any poor experiences they had. It's lighthearted and heartwarming to read about!

The art style is cute, and the muted and limited color palette was a nice touch. I'm nitpicking, but I wish the artist chose a different font. The letters are thin and they have very little spacing so they blend into eachother. It was difficult to read on my 7" screen, but it won't be a problem if the printed book has large pages.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. It follows a Spanish couple during their time living abroad in Japan. I thought it was an interesting look at what it’s like to live in Japan. I also appreciated how I learned a little about Japanese culture. I also thought the art style suited the story and I appreciate the use of color.

If you've ever day-dreamed of moving to Japan and just enjoy exploring a new culture, a new space and new rhythms, "Hanami" is the book for you.
The art style is very emotive, able to be funny in one panel and awe-inspiring in the next one. The experiences of the author and her husband are shown in a very relatable and compelling way that makes you both happy for them and quite jealous at the same time. I studied some Japanese a while back and I can say that this novel is great at showing the feeling of being a complete beginner in a language that you find so beautiful but also so very difficult.
My favourite chapter was "???!!!"

This slice of life journey as a foreigner in Japan has me thinking about my own times and experiences in another country. It’s wonderful to see the little moments that make up the daily life during these experiences. It’s also great to see culture shock is a universal experience. I loved the art style and the narrative woven into this graphic novel. 10/10. This is yet another reason I’d like to visit Japan some day.

This was such an enjoyable graphic novel about a couple that moves to Japan to start fresh. This was written in such a real, relatable way that chronicled the realities of moving to a new place with a different culture. I thoroughly enjoyed stepping into Julia and Marc’s experiences though the beautifully illustrated scenes. Overall, a great one to pick up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc for the advanced copy.

If you, like me, have daydreamed about uprooting your life and moving to Japan for a while: This is the book for you.

An illustrator and civil engineer trying music composition for the first time, decide it's now or never. They pool their savings and play a wild card by moving to Japan. Follow their journey as foreigners in Japan, having to give up on things and relearn others to enjoy an experience of a lifetime.

I’m in love with the author’s artistic style and comedic timing. I truly laughed at several of these stories because how authentic the experience of a foreigner in Japan felt. The author made the perfect choice of stories and situations for the reader to get the general differences between west and east cultures. So much so, that even though I am not Spanish like she is (I'm dominican), the parallels/differences she pointed out between Spain and Japan felt so true to me too.

The fact that it’s snippets of the characters lives and not a single big story made it so much more bingable too (I read the whole thing in one sitting). I’m 100% looking for everything this author has ever done to read it and will be following what she does next!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really simple, beautiful book depicting the struggles of immersing yourself into another country and culture (or even just moving in general), and still growing as a person in the process. The art style is also quite unique and pretty.

Younger me would be absolutely shocked to hear that I no longer have the time to read full blurbs or the back cover matter of books anymore, but such are the perils of having so much to read, and so little time to do it in! Present day me was thus quite surprised to get several pages into this book and realize that the protagonists are both foreigners who come to Japan to live for an extended period of time, and aren't a Japanese woman and her foreign boyfriend, as many of these biographies tend to be. Perhaps that is just my confirmation bias tho, as an Asian woman and reader who is often exposed to same.

But that worked out okay because this book was even better than I expected! I was thinking that this would be the portrayal of a Japanese woman's struggle to integrate her foreign boyfriend into her local community and culture, so was admittedly a little wary of what this actually is: the tale of two Spanish citizens with no ties to Japan besides their ambitions, moving to Tokyo to see if they can make a go of life there. Marc has just lost his job as a civil engineer and Julia is still struggling to get her career as an illustrator to take off. In their early 30s and with no dependents, what better time to pool their savings and severance pay to try to live for a while in Japan? If they happen to get jobs while they're at it, then even better, as Marc figures he can finally pursue his lifelong dream of composing music whereas Julia can basically work from anywhere with Internet.

The couple prepare for their trip by taking language lessons in advance of enrolling in a Japanese language school while staying in Tokyo. But nothing really prepares them for actually living in a country where they know so little of the language and customs. Fortunately, Julia and Marc are ready to learn, as Ms Cejas herself beautifully and hilariously details in this autobiographical graphic novel.

Each chapter of this book is a small but powerful vignette of their stay in Japan, detailing how they learned to adjust to not only an entirely different culture but also to the forced proximity of living in a much smaller space that they'd previously been used to -- excellent practice for the pandemic that would eventually tear through the world, as Ms Cejas wryly notes. Illustrated primarily in shades of red and blue, the art took me a little while to get used to, particularly when figuring out who was who, but flowed smoothly once the narration actually takes us to Japan.

The title vignette is likely the most powerful, as Ms Cejas masterfully transmits the hold that Hanami, or the traditional viewing of the cherry blossoms that bloom for such a short window once a year, has on those who experience it. I also really enjoyed her take on the local yokai, and would definitely read a whole book of hers on the subject.

But where this book really succeeded for me was in the respectful and loving way that Marc and Julia especially treat their time in Japan. They devote themselves to learning how to fit in, whether it be via something as rudimentary as language classes or something as seemingly menial as sorting out the garbage. Sure Marc thinks that the Japanese are overdoing it with the refusal to jaywalk, but they both concede that the adherence to community values likely informs why, on a micro level, no one feels a need to lock up their bikes or, on a macro level, take bribes in order to do their government jobs. Julia and Marc never stoop to making themselves feel more secure or superior by making fun of the locals: they always strive to learn what they don't know and honor their host country. I had worried, initially, that this wouldn't do that, but I should have had better faith in the publisher. Humanoids' Life Drawn imprint puts out some of the best slice-of-life graphic novels I've ever read, and I couldn't recommend them or this title more highly. Hanami is a wonderful reminder of how easy it is for people from all over the world to get along, so long as we set aside our egos and truly strive to understand each other.

Hanami: You, Me, & 200 Sq Ft In Japan by Julia Cejas was published August 6 2024 and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781643376653">Bookshop!</a>

First and foremost, thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

With a series of comics, it is possible to travel right away to Japan along with the authors, seeing the cultural aspects of the country and the challenges immigrants face. It is a true homage to Japan and the Japanese culture. The art is very cute, the coloring absolutely gorgeous and it gives the “slice of life” aspect of manga that I love. The comics address simple daily occurrences with humor and wit, with pages full of color, complex backgrounds and beautiful images. I loved it!

I loved this one. The way each memory was told in the form of a 1-2 page short story was brilliant. At the end of the book, the author also provided a list of famous Japanese artworks/manga that influenced her throughout the book. It was especially fun to go back and flip through to see how many I could find. The art itself was beautiful, and I thought the choice of colour was a refreshing change from your standard black and white graphic novel. This was a really fun and heartfelt read.

This is a wonderful book to be drawn into on a Sunday afternoon. The colours and narrative just took me away, and I really enjoyed joining the adventures of these main characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc. for the e-book copy!

Hanami is the story of Julia and Marc as they move to Japan to get a fresh start on their careers and lives. This was a fun comedic read and I think it provides a different perspective on foreigners in Japan. I related to Julia and Marc who are both experiencing hardships in their careers and decided to take this leap in hopes of a better life and job. This is worth the read especially if you live in Japan or have visited there as you can relate to some of Julia's anecdotes.

The drawing style is very nice and the plot is fairly interesting but overall it didn't do much for me. I think like the storytelling could have been more developed.

A beautifully illustrated quick read!

I've never read an autobiographical graphic novel before, so it was a real treat getting to read one that is so beautiful (although I am quite partial to the color scheme). Hanami is about author, Julia Cejas' time spent living abroad with her husband in Japan. We are taken along with them from start to finish as they navigate every new milestone, no matter how awkward or whimsical.

One way I would describe this book is "no messages, just vibes." There is no agenda that the author is trying to promote, no lesson that we're supposed to learn. Instead, it's like we're reading someone's journal; the entries exist because things happened, but there isn't always a deeper meaning to it.

There are a few times when either the art got a little hard to decipher, or I feel like I'm missing out on something because I don't know enough about Japanese culture. But if you are Japanese, or a big fan of all things Japan, that shouldn't be an issue for you.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Life Drawn Books for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Hanami: You, Me, & 200 Sq Ft in Japan is out now.

This is a sweet, slower-paced graphic novel; readers looking for a slice-of-life story will enjoy this.

I didn't love it, mostly because it wasn't very unique or well organized. Another graphic novel by an out-of-work artist worried about selling their art? If you haven't already read half a dozen stories like that, then you might not find this as tired. The story feels a little herky-jerky, making really big leaps forward in time and jumping from experience to experience without transitions. The apartment isn't a major focus of the story, which only seemed weird to me because it's specifically mentioned in the subtitle.

The illustrations are 2-color pen and ink; I like the artistic style, but the illustrations could have done more the support the story-- there's no narration, only dialogue, and the illustrations could have helped with the transitions or pacing more.

eARC from NetGalley.

This is a good, light read perfect for anyone who has been curious about what Japan is like for a foreigner.

I love the use of colour in the book! The images were well drawn and the characters were so expressive. My personal favourite was the picture of them eating the pizza slice Attack on Titan style.

I don’t like the font that was used. A minor issue really, but it did distract me the whole time. The pages sometimes were already chaotic and that made it harder to read than necessary.

Thank you Humanoids Inc for letting me read this story!

"Hanami" by Julia Cejas is a book that surprised me a lot. I am not an expert when it comes to Japan, its customs, culture, language etc, but I know a bit here and there. It feels like this book is a good choice for people like me; having some chunks of knowledge helped me enjoying the story more and not knowing all about Japan kept me interested and definitely did not let me get bored. I feel like I learnt a lot!

The story covers adventures of a really nice couple who decides to try something new. I do not want to give you spoilers, check it for yourself! Their adventures are sometimes funny, sometimes filled with sadness or nostalgia. I was really invested! When it comes to visual aspects, Julia Cejas has an unique, interesting style. I admire it and consider it good. I would gladly see more of Julia's works.

I remember a lot from my read, it was a good experience and the graphic style engraved in my memory, Give it a try, it is worth reading! ♥

I post my reviews also on Goodreads and Instagram!

I hadn’t expected this to be a non-fiction comic book but honestly that was on me for not reading the synopsis past the first line or so.
I love reading comics like these because they really feel like you’re being spoken to by the author/artist. The art style was so expressive and fun I loved it and the different use of colour for the different chapters. It was interesting seeing a foreigners point of view from Spain whilst visiting or rather living in Japan.
I definitely learned a few things even though when I do plan to go, it won’t be to live or go to study there, but it’s still useful knowing these things in my opinion.