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Author and illustrator Hitomi Takano is probably best known internationally for her series "My Boy" which was published in several countries Even though "My Boy" ultimately did not convince me one hundred percent "Gene Bride" already sparked my curiosity when it was announced
"Gene Bride" was published from June 2021 to August 2024 in the Josei magazine Feel Young and will comprise a total of four volumes The series is being released in print format in the US market by Seven Seas.
How is Gene Bride?
The manga begins in a soberingly familiar way The 30 year old protagonist Ichi Isahaya is a tough competent journalist and yet she is reduced to her body her beauty and her femininity Already in the opening scene she is treated in a sexist way by a well known film director She smiles painfully remains professional but inside her anger is boiling Shortly afterward follows another example of everyday harassment A man masturbates demonstratively toward her while she jogs in the park Her reaction is resigned a sign of how normalized threat has become for many women
Takano does not hold back in her criticism of a society in which women are constantly confronted with microaggressions surveillance sexualized perception by others and structural devaluation This does not happen in a striking way but rather almost incidentally which makes it so unpleasantly realistic That Ichi still fights asserts herself and does not sink into self pity makes her a credible strong main character
The change begins when Makuhito Masaki appears on the scene A former classmate whom Ichi does not recognize at all He claims that during the school project "Gene Bride" they were a genetically assigned couple The idea sounds absurd an experiment in which students were “matched” based on their DNA But in the world of Gene Bride this was reality at least at an elite private school with questionable ethical standards
Makuhito is an interesting character strange stiff meticulous and at the same time sincere sensitive and earnest It quickly becomes clear that he is neurodiverse His routines his hypersensitivity to stimuli his direct speech many things point to an autism spectrum disorder But Takano does not reduce him to a diagnosis On the contrary Makuhito is not portrayed as a “problem” but as someone with a different perception of the world that is just as valid Particularly touching is how he tries to understand Ichi’s frustration about structural sexism not by asking questions or making demands but by thinking and reflecting on his own
Narratively the manga is unconventional Takano jumps between Ichi’s present and fragments of memory from her school days This makes the narrative at times seem confusing or erratic a circumstance that can indeed cause confusion among readers But this stylistic device is deliberate The fragmentation reflects Ichi’s mental state She is torn between repressed memories suppressed anger and the ambivalence toward Makuhito’s reappearance
Because the closer the two get on a platonic but emotionally intense level the more Ichi’s repressed traumas break through Her nightmares her unconscious flashbacks the feeling of having forgotten something crucial all of this condenses into a creeping undertow The reader realizes something about this past is not right And the gene matching experiment was probably much more than a harmless school game
On the last pages Takano dares something that many mangaka do not She completely tears down the narrative construct Suddenly all signs point to this being not just about memories relationships or sexism but perhaps about deep manipulation a conspiracy a scientific societal experiment with real consequences
This twist does not come off as a cheap cliffhanger but as a consistent escalation The entire first volume in retrospect feels like a sophisticated prologue a warm up and the actual drama is only just beginning
Gene Bride is a genre hybrid It is a feminist analysis a psychological portrait of a traumatized woman a realistic drama about neurodivergence and an emerging sci fi mystery That Takano juggles these themes simultaneously is a bold feat Not everything fits together at once Particularly noteworthy is the subtle but steady treatment of identity not only in the gendered or social sense but on an existential level Who am I if someone tells me my story that I cannot remember Who was I really and who decides that
Graphically Gene Bride moves between a reduced shojo style and expressive almost rough josei elements The characters sometimes seem a bit lifeless which fits the tone of the story Takano uses panels that often feel claustrophobic tight framing a lot of black areas little background Emotions are shown through exaggerated facial expressions sometimes caricature like for example the “Ichi to color in” scenes which occasionally gives the serious tone a welcome lightness
The title is released in a large format by Seven Seas Fans can look forward to a double page color spread at the beginning of the volume
Is Gene Bride Worth Reading?
Gene Bride is not an easily accessible manga It demands patience attention empathy and it puts a lot on the audience But that is exactly what makes it so fascinating Hitomi Takano shows courage for complexity and risk The manga does not just address grievances but feels them makes them physically tangible
The series is worth a look for all those who are interested in feminist narratives and who are willing to engage with a story that only fully reveals itself over time
Gene Bride Vol. 1
€11,24
€14,99
A sci-fi drama about a woman sick of workplace misogyny and the man she just happened to be matched with in a middle school experiment!Isahaya Ichi is fed up with men, a woman navigating a world where she’s underestimated at… read more
