オハナホロホロ

OHANA HOLOHOLO

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
6
RELEASE
December 7, 2013
CHAPTERS
42

DESCRIPTION

Maya, who works as a translator, lives with her bisexual former girlfriend, Michiru, and Michiru's son, Yuuta. Residing in the same apartment building is an actor called Nico, who drops by for a visit almost everyday, and knows about Michiru's past. Somewhat like family, and somewhat not, their lives interweave full of warm days.

Note: Includes five side stories and an extra.

CAST

Maya Nagumo
Michiru Amamiya
Nico Kusaka
Yuuta Amamiya
Megumi Mochizuki
Hiyori
Eisuke Kuwabara
Takaki
Keiichi Amamiya

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

Dacry
100/100
so many broken people, but the bisexual rep is good
You know how there's never a bisexual person in some stories? They go "well, are you gay then! are you straight then!" and you can only be one, not both. And if you choose a person, you actually chose the side you are, and doesn't stay bi. I say bi instead of pan because the story used bi for one and i'm not entirely sure how their attractions work, since they are busy living life, healing and getting hurt to speak about it.

Anyway.

Maya has been abandoned so many times, including by her own family. Twice by Michiru. She just grew used to losing, missing, and despite being hurt anytime, she does what she can even if she suspects Michiru will leave at anytime again.
Honestly, she was particularly relatable to me in her choices. She often comes off as dating to be able to get closer and help people, prop them up. Everyone she does that towards, she has some attraction actually (i think). But despite everything, she knows that Hidesuke, the soccer player, was mostly trying to fill up an emptiness in his life of broken expectations and loss of his dreams by marrying his first love. And knowing that, she gets twisted up over accepting and giving the chance of a normal life for Michiru's son. (she also had short hair when younger, and people say she has trans vibes, so she could probably be erased from the family registry for that reason)

I don't know why I began with Maya. Everything in the characters revolves around Yuuta, despite him not appearing in some chapters or revolving around adult subjects like overworking, workplace gossip and stuff.
Yuuta is just the cutest little thing. He's so well drawn and expressive and loved, he runs adorably and has shiny eyes and blushy cheeks, a precious little bean.
I took many pics to share, but i can't share here, so just read the manga! People say he looks like an alien, but I think he's adorable and the truly baby way he runs and walks, especially when smug, it's lovely!
And everything he wants is to have his whole family. Nico, Maya and Michiru. He doesn't want people to say his family is weird (in a bad way). Maya (tries to) leaves Michiru not only because she's afraid of being abandoned again by her, for another man, but because Yuuta was in danger of being bullied again, and because she wished a normal family to him. Michiru thinks about accepting the daycare man not because she likes him (tho she does a lil) but because it would help a lot with Yuuta (daycare man has the idea of helping her with him by dating her too).
fuck everybody is relatable in that lol

Well, Michiru. She's childish, selfish, runs away at conflict and doesn't come back unless she knows she's welcome, minds people's opinions far often and feels often lonely and lost, just waiting for someone to tell her what to do. She had a good structure with the grandparents of her dead husband, but her mom berates her for troubling them, tells her to go back home... and makes Yuuta a withdrawn and unwelcomed child. It's no wonder that Mochi, daycare man, sees her often like a small lost girl. They don't deepen much in her childhood, but they don't need to. The glimpses and every flaw of hers is always blinding in how she was treated when younger.
But she's doing her best always for her son. Michiru is a clumsy mother, but she hurries her son to daycare when possible (and later makes him get third place in a race even though he runs so slow thanks to that hurry), she gives him pudding even though the pudding was all eaten and was supposed to be hers, she searches desperately whenever he disappears (runs away for a reason or another) and my favorite part:
she doesn't slap him on the face when she finds him again. that really turns me off when it happens in manga with so called loving parents, but she doesn't do that.
She's a single mom with support, even if shakey due to their fights and doubts, and everyone just loves her son and worries about her.

And for the end. Nico.
My man, my mirror, the suicidal man! You can barely tell, you just know that he loves Yuuta, gives support to the girls' relationship while keeping Yuuta happy and well cared for, and has the habit of having two girlfriends meet with his key and fight.
He doesn't have knives or scissors in his place. Actually, his home is bare and he is mostly always at Maya and Michiru's when not acting for his work. He says it's because his girlfriends picked the sharp objects when fighting with him and each other. Me (and soon his acting friend) say he is lying.
I just really relate and love his portrayal for depression and suicidality. He calls Yuuta his reason to live. His friend says "can you even call that living?". He feels guilty for letting go of Keiichi, Yuuta's father, they were called soulmates. They really loved each other, but still let go for the sake of Yuuta, while Michiru stalled going back to Maya, afraid she wouldn't have a home at her side if she went back.
Nico tries to kill himself by the end, but is stopped by his found family. When he tries to reach up to the sky thinking about how he missed Keiichi and finally saw him, and Yuuta holds his hand instead... It moved me.

It's a dysfunctional family, in many ways and chapters. But they need each other, including Nico (Michiru's metamour i would say), and by the end, they move together. Things might get hard, but they can keep going with their weird little family that cares about each one of them.
It's a really good story. Except the daycare lil girl's grandma (wtf lady your son was left by his wife, you tore the little girl's long hair against her wishes, you are the biggest asshole of your family and still thinks you can bad talk and teach bad things to Hiyori!?!?) and Michiru's mother, i ended up getting fond of each character.
I hope you love this as much as I did.
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bloominlotus
100/100
a piece of a bittersweet journey that becomes beautiful at the end, easily one of the greatest pieces of all time.
this will be full of writing of feelings and emotions this manga gave to me and will full of spoiler. not something proper of objective, because this will be pure out of my own feelings.

this work is easily one of the greatest. classic yuri is one of the best out there. i love how the author wrote this one and releasing it in 2008. still amazed me how classic yuri always gives me this many emotions. they talked about being queer in the community and all the best ㅡ the characters being bisexual and the need of them to not actually follow what they want because of how the future will effect the kid. above anything all, yuuta is the most important here. everything revolves around him. his parents, his family.

a story about exes who separated and met again and they became roommates. co-parenting a child together. michiru and maya's story isn't that simple and easy. they went through a lot and most of times were depressing, heartbreaking, and devastating. it was a bittersweet piece of yuri but after michiru and maya finally, finally talked and being honest with each other, how they want to be with each other, it went a little better. easier. i love how it gave me feelings of being relieved ㅡ that the characters know that they love each other. it's always enough for me even it's not really is. i wish i see more of them together, michiru and maya. them on a date together, as lovers, as girlfriends, as lovers. i love them so so much with all of my heart.

yuuta is the star and the spotlight in this manga. he's such a lovely and sweet kid. he's not like the usual kid who will run and do whatever he wants to do in life without the care in life. for his age, he acts too careful and too mature. he also went through a lot, i can say that after seeing him as adult, for a child to be that smart and understand about the world around him ㅡ but he's always been so smart and wonderful. for all those times he tried to save his mother from falling ignoring the fact that he was still a little child and he could get hurt, those times when he tried to shoo away maya's pain when maya was crying, all those times when he was so kind towards miyori, and every little things he did. he's such an adorable kid. and when he leave his grandma's house, running away to home. to maya because he wanted to see maya :( my heart. he's such a wonderful little kid he deserves all the kindness and love in the world.

without yuuta, because all those heartbreaks michiru and maya went through, they wouldn't be where they are now. it was bittersweet, yes, and devastating. to know that michiru left maya and everything that comes with it ㅡ to think that michiru slept with keiichi and left maya and maya was left alone and after all that happened, they still went through a lot because they didn't want to be honest with their feelings, because they think they can't be honest with their feelings, and all the time just sacrificed themselves. like how maya always think of others but not herselr and again and again sacrificing her own feelings so the ones she loves the most can be with someone other people would call "normal" family. the times she was sad when the teacher came and thought that he would be with michiru and become yuuta's family just like how normal family usually go. it broke my heart for so many times, it was bittersweet indeed. the never ending bittersweet. but i love all the development that comes with it. how michiru always doing her best to become a good mother for yuuta (and she is, she always is) and become the adult she must be. she's still young after all, she made mistakes by mistakes and keep learn from it. i just love despite any of bittersweet things it gave me, it didn't feel too unbearable for too long. they didn't give any of the men that much of chances to be with maya and michiru, and i'm glad of that.

i love how they come up with the ending. the climax of everything. they showed adult yuuta. and they should how yuuta was struggling because of presence and the fact that his father prepared the note, the fact that he knows yuuta will ends up in such situation and decided to made the note for him to listen, for yuuta to listen to his father that his presence was wanted and precious, as precious as how his family thinks it is, and he's not something that shouldn't exist, because he is precious, priceless. he is his mama, maya-chan, and nico's precious little bean. he is and he will always be. the climas was nice. i found myself smiling to it and feel relieved. the fact that michiru and maya stay together for so long, too ♡ my happy wives ♡

i love them so much, so so much with all of my heart. they are so precious. each other. maya, michiru, yuuta. i would love to read this story for the first time again and being so in love with it again. this one is one of the greatest, one of the best, easily loved because it's loveable despite being bittersweet for most of the time. but the ending is beautiful. very beautiful. i hope each other find their own happiness and it sticks to them forever. i hope michiru and maya stay together forever, happy forever until death to them apart, and i hope yuuta will always be happy, too. all of them deserved it. i love my little family. so precious to me.
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