I Want to be a Wall Vol. 1

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She now knows that there’s an explanation for how she feels, and as we see her relationship develop with Gakutouta, she suddenly has someone who is supportive of her identity. On the one hand, Yuriko and Gakurouta were a sweet pair, and I enjoyed watching them try their hardest to make their marriage work despite not having a clue what a marriage that doesn't include sex or romance should look like. As the couple strives to adapt to their less-than-idyllic union, Gakurouta learns more about his wife's interests, while Yuriko tries her best to hide her fujoshi delusions as she watches her husband interact with Sousuke.

Such is the case for both Yuriko and Gakurouta, two individuals who are “unproductive” in a society where having children is expected, even if the marriage is one of practicality. Kagiura is trying to come to terms with his feelings for Hirano in the second volume of Shou Harusono’s spin-off to fan-favourite Sasaki and Miyano. While Yuriko is grappling with embracing that she isn’t broken because she is asexual, Gakurouta is trying his best to hold back his romantic feelings for his straight childhood friend, crying as he holds it all in. Is the support they offer, the walls they chose versus the walls forced on them, any less important? Any love story aficionado will say that the key to a successful couple is intense desire for one anothe — but what if the characters in question are an asexual woman with a passion for Boys Love stories and a gay man whose heart forever belongs to his oblivious childhood friend?As much as it’s not great for them to be forced to be married each other, it is so sweet that they get along with each other! Then we see more of Yuriko’s school life, her long friendship with Ume-chan, their joint passion for BL – and how the two of them grew away from each other at university when Ume became much more interested in her appearance, partying and meeting boys.

After all, ace/aromantic people, the A in LGBTQIA+, are still greatly underrepresented in contemporary fiction.His stance with a clenched fist and the action lines, demonstrates his determination to be the best husband he can for Yuriko (his wife).

It would be rather ironic if people who constantly get mislabeled accidentally did the same to him instead.

I Want to Be a Wall is good at showing us what it means to be a young woman in Japan, feeling pressure to conform to societal norms and get married – and then even more pressure from doting parents, to give them grandchildren. And I feel even a chapter would have helped at this stage; hitting the ground running makes for a dramatic opening but it’s telling the story the wrong way round. The jokier aspects of this story tend to fall flatter than a possum on the interstate during Labour Day weekend, however. In this scene though, Shirono captures Gaku’s shock and awe at discovering that there are books in the same genre in a fun series of panels. An arranged marriage – a marriage of convenience – arranged by parents to bring two families together, with political, dynastic, business or similar societal motives behind the contract has been a favourite fictional plot over many years.