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!

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!