When I came across Tokyo Tarareba Girls, I had just finished reading volume 1 of Princess Jellyfish. After reading both mangas, I would say that Princess Jellyfish is made for a young adult audience, and Tokyo Tarareba Girls is geared towards women in their twenties and thirties.
Ten years ago , at age twenty-three, Rinko went on a disastrous date with a shabbily dressed man who bought her a cheap ring. Since, then Rinko has given up trying to find a man to marry, and settled on becoming a well respected television writer. Now, she's thirty-three and about to embark on writing the script for a new web series, and spends every weekend getting drunk with her equally single friends. When it is announced that Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo, panic sets in on Rinko and her friends. Suddenly, Rinko is on the hunt for a husband and she vows to find a husband before the Olympics begin in six years. The man who gave her the cheap ring ten years before is now Rinko's fashionably dressed (but still single) coworker. Could he be Rinko's last chance at finding a husband?
Tokyo Tarareba Girls is a critique on modern women who believe they need to find a husband in order to be happy. Although many of the scenarios in this manga are exaggerated, the societal pressure upon women in their thirties to get married is very real, especially for Japanese culture. Rinko's story is not supposed to be a message to all single 30-something women to find a husband. Instead, it pokes fun at reality and shows what could happen when women become desperate to find a husband. It is more of a social critique by painting society how it is and not how it should be.
Throughout the manga, Rinko goes out drinking with her two best friends. They are called the "what-if" women as they try to plan a future for themselves as married women. Instead, they keep returning to the pub every weekend and lament about their lives. As they drown their sorrows, Rinko begins to envision the pub snacks, liver and codfish, speaking to her and giving her advice. These two are the imaginary mascots of Rinko's subconscious, pushing her towards desperation to meet a man. They tell her "What if! What if! If you let him get away you'll be... alone!!! forever!!" As the story progresses, Rinko becomes even more desperate as she tries to navigate the rough roads of love at age thirty-three.
Tokyo Tarareba Girls is from the same creator as Princess Jellyfish (my favorite manga of all time). Although they are completely different, and I have never been a thirty-three-year old "what-if" woman, I could really connect to Rinko and her misadventures. Not only is this manga extremely hilarious, it is also a subtle social critique of how women see themselves in society.
All in all, I would recommend this manga to anyone who loves comedies with a dash of disastrous romance.

Rinko, an early 30-something Japanese screenwriter for webseries, vows to marry by the time the Tokyo 2020 Olympics roll around. She regularly meets up with her best friends, also bemoaning their singledom, to gab over drinks and snacks. Akiko Higashimura paints a thoughtful and humorous picture of women who agonize over romance versus financial practicality. Around them, society and talking snack foods (alcohol-induced in Rinko's mind) poke at them for remaining single. However, despite her discomfort, Rinko doesn't exactly thrill at the idea of settling. Higashimura includes her own experiences at the end of the volume, as source material for the characters and scenarios. Readers will also gain insight on "career" women in Japanese society and anticipate how their journeys progress. Does getting what you want equal what you need?

When I heard that the creator of Princess Jellyfish had another manga she was working on, I had to check it out. Princess Jellyfish is an amazing manga that I fell in love with. I got Tokyo Tarareba Girls Volume 1 for free when I went to Anime Expo at the Book Walker booth. Unfortunately, Tokyo Tarareba Girls is only available as an ebook file for English readers. I would have to continue buying the ebook if I want to continue to read Tokyo Tarareba Girls, which I don’t mind. I would love having a physical copy of the book instead, but oh well. Also, there is a Japanese Drama adaptation.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls is extremely relatable for women that are getting older and have stayed single. The story’s protagonist is Rinko. She is a career woman that has not dated since her last boyfriend proposed to her ten years ago. She is 33 years old and realizes that her biological clock is ticking. Rinko has spent her life focused on herself and knows her youth is fading. She and her group of best friends gather to drink at a pub and complain about life and marriage.

I found Tokyo Tarareba Girls to be a hilarious take on the pressures to get married by a certain age, especially if you are a woman. This manga tackles social norms of society. Society wants women to be a certain way. You have to settle down and have kids. Rinko knows that younger women in their 20s are her competition when it comes to dating and her career. Rinko is also pure of heart. She has the innocence of girl, though she is a woman. What I love about Tokyo Tarareba Girls is how anyone can read this manga and relate. The comedy was by far my favorite aspect of the story, especially the situations that Rinko was involved in. As for the love interest, I am really interested to see how it is going to be developed since the guy is younger than Rinko. I can’t wait to continue reading Tokyo Tarareba Girls because I see the potential in this story. I really want the story to focus on Rinko’s friends and their potential romances in further volumes!!

Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVE Akiko Higashimura, particularly Princess Jellyfish, so I was super thrilled to pick up this series. I almost wish I could reserve judgment until I read the whole series, though. I think Akiko's author's note/comic at the end helps contextualize the volume, but where the action leaves off it seems that the message of the book is kind of going counter to what she's saying in her author's note. This leads me to believe that the series OVERALL is going to reinforce what she says in the note, but this particular volume kind of showcases some retro "must have a husband" mindset. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes, though.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

3.5 stars

Rinko and her friends are 30 something-year-olds who have realized that life has passed them by. They struggle with work and relationships all while wondering "what if?" What if they had just married that guy in college or had kept dating the plain coworker? They spend nights drinking complaining instead of doing something about it. They finally get a wake-up call from a stranger in the pub they frequent and have to decide how they're going to live their lives.

The cover drew me in with its colors and I loved the fashion used in the illustrations. It was funny and I found this graphic novel to be very relatable. There is a part where they talk about not knowing any of these new celebrities and watching old Friends re-runs instead of regular TV. I kept saying to myself, "that's me!" Although I'm ten years younger, not much changes. Everyone thinks "what if?" at some point and this novel just dives into the question.

I will say that I expected it to end differently. I thought it would be more about girl power and not needing a man to succeed. After reading Akiko's bonus story at the end I found that she had written it about her friends and is basically telling them that they should go after what they want. So if Rinko wants a husband she has to get up and go get one, but it won't be easy.

Just a couple weeks ago, I talked about how much I had been enjoying the Wotakoi manga, and how I yearned for more josei manga that centered around the relatable struggles of women’s everyday lives. I had forgotten that the print edition of Akiko Higashimura’s Tokyo Tarareba Girls would be coming out so soon, and it is another shining example of exactly what I’ve been looking for.

I want to preface the meat of my review by saying that I am very different from the story’s protagonist, Rinko. I am 28 years old, happily married, and while I’m still trying to figure out my career, I am at least heading in a direction that feels fruitful. And even if all that weren’t the case, I very strongly do not ascribe to societal ideas about appropriate ages to marry, have children, etc. But a lot of women do, and that external pressure can be suffocating.

Rinko, at 33, is an established screenwriter for various webseries dramas. She is not only unmarried, but has also not really been dating for quite some time. Our story starts with her 33rd birthday and the announcement that Tokyo will be hosting the 2020 Olympics. Suddenly, she feels that she doesn’t want to remain unwed once the Olympics start, so she’s given herself a deadline to find a husband.

The only problem is, she’s not working particularly hard to meet anyone new! She hopes that a man she works with who had shown interest in her ten years previously might be interested again, but he has moved on to her much younger, pink-haired coworker, leaving Rinko feeling old and unwanted. At the pub she and her friends frequent, they encounter a rude young man who tells them plainly that they’re wasting time getting drunk, and that their activities are less like a “girls’ night,” and more like an “old maids’ gossip circle.” He is the one who first calls them “”what-if” women, and while he’s extraordinarily rude, something about his words rings true for Rinko. When he shows up to audition for one of her dramas and complains about the script, she loses her position on that series and begins to truly feel that she is unwanted.

And this, for me, is what Tokyo Tarereba Girls is about: the fear of being unwanted once you are no longer young, pretty, and willing to please. There is an insidious idea that women are no longer interesting once they become — pardon my language — unfuckable. In fact, Rinko loses her position to a younger woman who she discovers is sleeping with the producer, causing Rinko to spiral into a deep depression. At the close of the first volume, the rude young model/actor, Key, offers her a way to get ahead.

Tokyo Tarereba Girls has been available in English digitally through Kodansha for some time now, so I’ve seen a fair amount of single panels or discussions of its message and meaning (without completely spoiling myself, of course). It is my feeling that the story will go on to redefine Rinko’s position that she needs to be married to one where she learns to focus on herself and her goals, without buckling to outside pressure. At least, that’s what I hope!

In many ways, Tokyo Tarereba Girls isn’t a happy story. So many women (and I’m sure folks of other genders, as well) feel adrift in a sea of societal expectation. There are so many thinkpieces out there on millennials “choosing” not to buy houses or have children; even if you have no interest in bending to the whims of society, it’s hard to avoid acknowledging that you don’t tick off certain boxes. And yet, Higashimura delivers this anxiety wrapped in the sense of humor that set Princess Jellyfish apart before; there is no attempt to show Rinko and her friends as beautiful paragons of virtue who are underserving of their fate. They are all normal women, with normal lives and normal stresses. They are crass and selfish, women who we might not want to be, but who we recognize in ourselves and in our friends and family.

It is tempting to claim that women like Rinko, who obsess over age, desirability, and the perceived expectations of others, are silly and shallow. Indeed, it is not uncommon to see this kind of criticism even coming from other women. So it was rather refreshing to see, at the back of this first volume, Higashimura’s own beliefs about marriage — essentially, that she fell into it by accident and that she doesn’t put too much weight on its merits. She has pushed back against her friends for their own fears, encouraging them to eschew their anxieties and just live their lives…but then she has also crafted this story highlighting those very real anxieties. She cannot relate to her friends in real life, but she can understand the concerns they have enough to show readers their value.

Since manga began legal English-language circulation, there have always been stories centered around adult men and their struggles and fantasies. It is gratifying to know that the girls and women who facilitated the huge manga boom of the late 90s and early aughts now have manga that have grown up with them, with protagonists their age who also may feel adrift, alone, and unwanted as they age and change. I believe that the manga market is ready for more josei and has been for a while now.

Because I’m terrible at keeping up with digital releases, I’m looking very forward to continuing Tokyo Tarareba Girls as it comes out in print. I know that she’s been acknowledged extensively in Japan, but I really hope to see Akiko Higashimura recognized for her genius in the North American market. To that end, I encourage everyone to try her work, whether it be this or Princess Jellyfish. She captures the struggle of being a woman from so many different perspectives and with such sensitivity, without sacrificing either wit or drama. She truly is a spectacular creator.

Akiko Higashimura, the creator of Princess Jellyfish, is back at it again with Tokyo Tarareba Girls. Main character, Rinko, can’t believe it — she spent so much of her twenties asking ‘what if’ then one day she wakes up, and she’s 33. Tokyo Tarareba Girls, tarareba meaning ‘what if‘, follows Rinko’s day-to-day life of asking ‘what if‘ and having girls night out with her friends. Her main goal? Getting married by the time the Tokyo Olympics happens in six years. She’s not bad-looking, but Tokyo is full of younger women that the men seem to have their eyes on. Can a 33-year old find love with that competition?

Originally, it was the Tokyo Tarareba Girls cover that drew me to this manga. I absolutely love the color-scheme, and the fashion worn by the three Japanese girls. Plus, I’m a sucker for anything deemed cute, and follows the lives of girls. Girl power or something. The inside pages were also covered in beautiful art, and an aesthetic I just couldn’t get enough of.

For a lot of single women in their late twenties and beyond, I feel Rinko could be seen as very relatable. At this point, a majority of our friends have found their potential soulmate and already have a child or two. It’s really easy to feel left out, or even as if you’re behind in some weird race. I 100% feel this. I’ve also had some realizations, that wow, I’m twenty-seven, didn’t I just turn twenty-one? Time sure does fly. So, with all that being said, I truly did like Rinko. I could almost see myself in her.

My biggest issue with this manga is just the idea of a female character wanting a husband so bad, that she’s willing to just settle for anyone who is interested in her. It’s not something I would typically read, as I much prefer stories of strong women who needs no man. But, that’s part of the plot and I understand that.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls ends with a bonus story that features Akiko Highashimura, whom discusses her inspiration for the manga. It’s this bonus read that makes up for the aspect that I disliked. She found inspiration in her friends who, just like Rinko & the other what-if girls, wants to find husbands before what they consider too late! & after constantly hearing about it, Akiko was tired of appealing to their good senses, and told them how it is: stop your daydreaming, find a man & it’s definitely not gonna be easier now that you’re older. Of course, after that, the Tokyo Tarareba Girls were born. Tokyo Tarareba Girls is filled with Akiko Highashimura’s sharp opinions on girls, which makes it more of a comedic adventure than a sad outlook on life.

Even though, I spent most of my time wondering if Rinko would ever overcome her fascination with finding a husband, or even just finding someone that she’s not just settling on, it was a decently fun read. I laughed multiple times and enjoyed the banter between the girls and a man who, out of annoyance, nicknamed them the what-if girls. If you’re just looking for something light and fun, I would definitely recommend Tokyo Tarareba Girls.

You’ve probably read (or watched) Princess Jellyfish. But have you read Tokyo Taraeba Girls by Akiko Higashimura?

The story is about Rinko, a 33 year old woman who is without a husband. Her days are taken up by going to work, and her evenings with drinking with her friends. When they hear that the 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo the friends make a pact – to have a husband by the 2020 Olympics.

Rinko isn’t necessarily a likeable character. Things don’t always go her way, but this isn’t always due to the unfairness of the universe or the struggles of adult life. Many of the manga’s events are completely due to her actions or, conversely, inactions. Rinko’s a little selfish. A man’s looks are the most important factor when trying to find a date. She tends to moan and groan and drink with her friends instead of actually trying to remedy her problems.

I tend to love stories like this. A character who may or may not bring their troubles on themselves struggling against, seemingly, the universe. They’re fun slice of life stories with great appeal. However, the mark is missed slightly here. Scenes lingered just a hint too long. When there is a lesson to be learned Rinko normally misses it. She never comes to any sort of conclusions or thinks about the situation too hard, even if there is an obvious takeaway from the situation. On top of that are certain things that just leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Honestly, many character’s actions are questionable at best. Decisions made by Rinko’s bosses at work don’t seem to be made with any sort of common sense. The ladies constant drinking after work would be amusing if they did more than whine and black out every night. There are issues of very questionable consent late in the volume, which I really didn't like.

I really loved the talking food which appear in the manga. These two anthropomorphic creatures usually appear when Rinko drinks too much and begins to get inside her own head. They speak to her, repeating her fears, desires, and what-ifs. They’re a wonderful touch, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of the talking kitchen appliances from Welcome to the NHK. These function in much of the same fashion, and really drive home just what sort of mental headspace Rinko is in. Elements such as this really carried the volume.

This is a good manga overall, and one which I might continue with. Even so, it frustrated me immensely in certain places. Other manga and light novels with similar unreliable narrators who are self-defeating usually have one thing that makes me root for them – they’re overall nice people, or at least people who mean well. Certain things Rinko says and does makes her come across as mean and self-centered, making her less likeable than she could have been.

As for the art, it is gorgeous. I have always love Akiko Higashimura’s art, and Tokyo Tarareba Girls is certainly no exception. The characters are pretty, the backgrounds are detailed, and really enjoyed the artistic aspect of the manga. Her art is iconic. It isn’t mistakable for any other art. And I would buy this manga simply for this.

In all, Tokyo Tarareba Girls by Akiko Higashimura wasn’t for me. I’m unsure if I’ll be continuing with this series. It does have themes I really enjoy, and I might read the second volume at some point. If you like contemporary stories and characters with unreliable narration this is something you’ll want to pick up.

This was such a cute and interesting read. I loved the art style and the story by Higashimuri. I loved how the characters came alive and it made me want to continue the story further.

This book, while very good, was also very depressing. I want to read the rest, if only with the hope that the ending is a positive one for the three friends who are no longer in their 20s. I was under the impression that women in Japan were more career than marriage oriented, however this manga is based off of the author's experiences with her own friends, so I guess I was mistaken in my beliefs.

I really enjoy taking a peek at the lives of others in cultures and locals different from my own. I may not be able to travel to exotic-to-me places, but books can bring some of the experience to me. And, even better, this is from the lenses of an inhabitant of that area, not my lenses interpreting what I see. So, in reality, the book really is better, lol!

The artwork was fun, the plot line, grim but with hope and the ending, cliffhanger territory. I definitely want to read more. 4 solid stars. YA on up I would say, considering that ending...

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Tarareba means "what if" which is also what the young and handsome guy Key named the trio of Rinko, Kaori, and Koyuki, who are friends since they were in high school. These ladies always enjoy a girls' night out at Koyuki's restaurant and their current dilemma is to be able to get married before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Countries like South Korea and Japan is reportedly has a decline in the number of women who are getting married due to lack of housing and employment. I even saw from the local news before that the government is alarmed by this because it also results in low birth-rate especially in South Korea.

Through the story of this trio, this manga shows that a great number of women in Japan are career-driven and pushed marriage plans aside, and on how people treat and view women who are still single in their 30's. This treatment is not only limited to East Asian countries because it's also being experienced by other women, especially in other Asian countries.

Although there are hilarious parts in this manga, Rinko and her friends' tale is quite relatable. Also, I found out that there was a TV drama adaptation that was broadcasted last year so I immediately check it out. And as much as I enjoyed it, I still prefer the manga because it's funnier and more entertaining.

The idea for this series is rather relatable. Women over 30 having a last-ditch attempt at love, marriage, and work. Though some might find parts of story boorish with the late night ranting and drinking going on. The English translation makes all the emotions rather full blown out on the page.

This is a story about women confronting ideals [of what a good life is supposed to be like] against a harsh reality. Aren’t they supposed to have it all by now? Turns out the odds are stacked up. Rinko was the writer of a web series project till a potential lead turns down the cheesy plot and she got the sack.

Would they all find the path to happiness? That’s something worth exploring. Well I can say that the characters themselves don’t really pull punches about their own insecurities and all. Be prepared for the ups and downs in this slice of life tale.

I would love to see how the story unfolds. Does it get better in the next volume?

Interesting story if you've seen the movie 13 going on 30 then I guess some parts of it would remind you of this graphic novel.

My thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of this one.

This was my very first manga read. I have watched some of the animated versions of course, Fushigi Yuugi (Curious Play), Nodame Cantabile, Emma, and Yatitake Japan, among them but had never really read any. So when I saw this on NetGalley, and the cover looked like fun, and the theme/plot something that could be interesting, I decided to give it a shot.

This is the first volume of the Manga, and the author is known for her other series, Princess Jellyfish (which makes an ‘appearance’ in the book as well). The title roughly translates to the Tokyo ‘What-if’ Girls’. This one features three girls/women—Rinko (who is our ‘heroine’) and her friends Kaori and Koyuki who she has known from high school. Rinko is a reasonably successful screen writer for web series and has set up her own office, but remains single at 33 as do her two friends, and the three often spend their evenings getting very drunk, gorging on snacks (their favourites being milt with ponzu sauce and liver), and discussing ‘What-if’ we had done this or that scenarios. A young man who observes them at the bar quite often, tries to talk some sense into them but to no avail. Then Rinko’s career begins to take a downward turn as well. The book also has two interesting ‘food’ characters, the Codfish milt (tara) and Liver (reba) who appear to speak to Rinko, when she is under the influence, always raising the what-if, what-if, what-if…

So as I said, this was my first time actually reading manga, and when I started reading, for about 16–17 pages I read the… er… normal way, and wondered why things were not quite sitting right, why Rinko would graduate after she had become a successful writer, and only then remember that Manga was supposed to be read the other way (right–left), and then went straight back to the start and things began to finally make some sense 

But anyway, as for the book itself, I liked the idea of the story, of characters who realise that a large part of their life seems to have passed them by, without quite realising where it all went, and the things you had thought you would do by now, haven’t really happened at all, and there seems no likelihood of them happening either. One can understand Rinko’s frustration, her need to vent (but then you also realise that only doing this will get you nowhere), but what I couldn’t connect with was her need to get herself so drunk every day that she ends up literally walking into things and hurting herself—and doesn’t seem to even stop to question this. Perhaps partly because of this, and also because of her near obsessive focus of needing to ‘find a husband’, I didn’t really take to Rinko or her friends very much. But I did enjoy the two ‘food’ characters and thought they were good fun. The explanations of local and cultural references at the end I also found really helpful. While this wasn’t a book I can say I loved or even liked very much, it was still an ok read, and I wouldn’t mind reading the next instalment to see how things pan out for them.

I decided to take a look at this manga after seeing the Japanese drama adaptation of it so I was glad to see the first volume available through NetGalley. Tokyo Tarareba Girls is a humorous comic that follows 3 unmarried women who live and work in Japan. It's a lighthearted read and definitely worth picking up.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls was awesome! Finally an interesting josei manga! Tokyo Tarareba Girls is about these three thirty-something women, who don't have husbands and they keep whining about their lives in the pub one of them works in. Their lives and problems may seem slightly odd to Westerners, but the women live Japanese lives. The manga is very realistic and still full of humor and it's witty alright. All the women are personas and with real problems and the way they handle things is hilarious and pathetic at the same time. I've never understood the need to get married that's really prominent in Japan. Higashimura is awesome at portraying the women's dilemma and everything around their lives. I especially liked the model guy Key, who speaks the truth harshly and at the same time everyone is bonkers - even those who seem sane.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls is such an entertaining manga with heart and twist. It doesn't go anywhere, but that's the beauty of it. The art is very mature and cute at the same time, which makes this an amazing series. The manga is mostly about talking heads, but it's the heart and soul of it. This is so different to those josei series without any content and dumb women. These three women are ass-kickers and I love them! More manga like this in English please!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved the storyline, and the personality for each of the girls. They are quite relatable and I can see myself handling situations as they did. Definitely recommend!

First of all, thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free for an honest review, and thanks to Miss Akiko Higashimura, author of one of my all-time top favorite manga series, Princess Jellyfish! What an exciting honor!

Being a lover of Princess Jellyfish and its unique story line that avoid most of the tropes and cliches seen in many manga, I was excited to learn about this never series being serialized in English. After seeing some of the reviews about it, as well as getting a chance to sample it, I was a bit unsure at first if it would be quite on par with Princess Jellyfish. While the stories are both very different (and rather unique), after finishing this volume, I am definitely invested! I will be adding this one to my Higashimura collection and already have the second volume in my shopping cart!

This book is about a girl named Rinko, 33 years old, who works as a scriptwriter for various web series. Oh and she's getting to that age where she worries about not ever getting married, and her friends are in a similar boat. When a young man begins to point out that they are "ladies" and not "girls," and that they are just a group of "What if's," Rinko falls even further into her slump of aging. "Tarareba," as defined in the novel, means "what if," and that's where Rinko's problems lay. She wonders "what if I dated this guy" "What if I didn't go out with the girls," "What if" this, and "what if" that. She soon finds that questioning things is a lack of taking action, and not taking action is what puts her in the situation she finds herself in as a 33-year-old woman!

While the beginning was a bit off-putting (I wasn't really sure what to expect from this manga), I was quickly immersed and some of the twists I was hoping for went in the right direction. I love the humor Higashimura uses (I find myself chuckling aloud often). One word of caution: This is for a bit of an older demographic, so it may just not be your thing. I am married but close to the age of the main character and can empathize with her situation to some extent. Despite this, the sexual tension, visual and verbal humor, and the story itself have really blown me away! The end of this manga has me itching for more, and also wondering if Rinko will ever find happiness in life without marriage...or perhaps one day she will find the right man!

It's nice to see a josei manga available on Netgalley. If you are tired of reading about kids in manga, this is for you! No one, including the protagonist single lady with a career, is perfect, but she has friends and they get by with friendship... as well as drinking and shopping. They are all tools if not weapons in life as you sort out what you want and figure out how to get it. The only character I'm not sure about is Key, but I suppose I should read the next volume for that.

A Tokyo version of Sex in the City is perhaps the best indicator of what you will find in this manga. Three women, all in their early 30s, realize they are getting old and may miss their chance to find love and happiness with a partner. These are their adventures as they reconsider their lives and life choices. The manga was a hit in Japan and even turned into a live action J-drama.

Story: Rinko, Kaori, and Koyuki - three best friends who drink copious amounts of alcohol while commiserating over life, are forced to one day realize that they are in their 30s and yet none have found a lasting partnership. Rinko is attempting to create a career as a scriptwriter, Kaori has her own manicure salon, and Koyuki works in her father's small restaurant - the hangout of the girls when they want to get drunk and complain about men. When a young man gets tired of their antics in the restaurant, he calls them 'white if' girls - women who have grown up but spend all their time thinking 'what if' rather than actually doing anything. Shocked and dismayed, the girls set out to change their lives.

Rounding out at 9 volumes, the heart of the story is each woman finding a guy who seems perfect for them but always has a fatal flaw. It is in this way that the appeal of Tarareba girls can be found: the author is unsparing in her portrayals of all three, showcasing their flaws and shortsightedness as easily as she does their charms. Indeed, most of the time they are being told just how silly, immature, clueless, and naive they can be. This isn't the series you want to read if you want overidealized heroines; I love that josei manga (manga geared for women and not girls) can often eschew happily ever after endings in favor of more nuanced storylines with bittersweet denouements.

Those looking for a clean romance won't find it through to the end. Instead, we have our flawed heroines and their flawed love interests flailing around trying to find their way in a complex world. But it is an entertaining read and grounded enough to keep readers invested to the end. The J-Drama made from this series doesn't have the charm of the manga and so I encourage reading the manga first before seeing the live action adaptation.

The title of the story comes from a play on words: Rinko often has drunken episodes where a pair of talking food pieces (codfish milt and liver) scold her and torment her with reality. If you take the words in Japanese, the two food items sound like "tara reba" - what if. Hence, the theme of the story of the girls spending too much time getting drunk and giving what if stories.

Our heroines aren't the brightest but they feel like real people; the author based the characters off her friends and it is an unflinching view of a society obsessed with youth. At heart is the idea that past the age of 27, a woman becomes a 'fruitcake' - something useless and tasteless that sits on a shelf forever because no one wants it. It's an unflinchingly harsh view and perhaps Western readers won't quite understand the seriousness with which these characters take the social norm of needing a man to be happy and fulfilled - to prove their worth as a woman.

In all, I enjoyed the series and the J Drama for it's somewhat quirky but often harsh view of Tokyo women who have reached their 30s single. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.